Much talk at Mashup Camp 2 has centered on mashup monetization. What was most interesting about this talk was that it focused on ecosystem sustainability. This dialogue attracted many people who were leery of the "build it and Yahoo! will buy it" approach that is being proffered as a substitute for building a sustainable business.
Most people know to avoid single points of failure. Developers typically work with two sources of information at a minimum. How can developers implement failovers for applications built upon web services? The technology exists to solve this problem, but the providers aren't there. There's no current source for buying or accessing multiple sources of data for a mashup application.
Each individual business needs to evaluate who its audience is, what value will be delivered, and what supply chain it relies upon. Web services is no different from the physical world in needing a reliable supply chain. Supply chain standardization hasn't happened in Web services - why not? HousingMaps needs a reliable source of classified listings, and Walmart needs a reliable source of sporting goods. The ideal template might look something like this:
- Back-end reporting/additional services
- Service level assurances
- Interoperability standards that enable API users to switch between data providers
Mashups imply integration, which increases potential problems
exponentially. Sustainability will be essential - without supply chain
processes and standard access agreements, small vendors will not be
able to have a reliable system with long-term viability. Sustainability
means that all elements of the ecosystem derive benefit from its
existence and their own participation within it.
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