Personal websites are usually static, offering a one-way broadcast of information. But what if your website could talk to other websites automatically? Enter the personal API.
Sharing beyond the feed
A personal API allows you to expose structured data about your digital life. Instead of just writing a blog post about a book you read, you can output a JSON file of your current reading list for other developers to parse.
What is a personal API?
It is simply a set of endpoints hosted on your domain that returns lightweight data about your activities, making your personal site programmable.
Ideas for your personal API endpoints
- /api/now-playing: Pull data from Last.fm or Spotify to show what track you are currently listening to.
- /api/reading: A live feed of the books you are currently reading, drawn from an open database.
- /api/status: A micro-blogging endpoint that displays your current location or general mood.
- /api/projects: A structured list of your active repositories or creative pursuits.
Connecting the small web
When multiple people run personal APIs, we can build custom dashboards, dynamic blogrolls, and ambient social networks that exist entirely outside of corporate silos.