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I didn't write a newsletter last week, and I'm
two days late this week. I've been focused on my
work, and just haven't really felt like narrating the
Kin Lane story. But I like having my world documented as a
sort of journal, so I am pushing myself to make happen it
happen this afernoon.
It has been really, really, really smokey in NYC. The
fires in Canada have pushed in smoke and combined with the
heat and humidity, going outside has been brief. It
triggers flashbacks from fires in Oregon, but with a
unique humidity that makes me just want to stay inside
with the AC.
I came across the Juggler from Another World the other day
in feeds. It spoke to me. It reminds me of what I juggle
in my mind each day which often feels like it is out of
this world and in a time and space that does not quite
match with the year we live in. I love these random images
and storie sfrom Atlas Obscura--they always make me think.
There are always a number of side quests that occur
throughout my week, but last week I feel down a rabbit
hole around
how you could make the City of New York programmable. Building on my existing open data and API experience,
but considering how information can flow more freely to
help meet the needs of your average New Yorker.
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NYC Data Liberation
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I went to Munich, Germany the previous week for an APIDays
conference. It was some of the usual suspects from the API
community there, but there was also a bunch of locals. I
spent my time MC'ing 5 separate tracks, while also
giving a keynote, and participating in a panel. Munich is
a lovely town, and the API energy is much more nourishing
than it is here in the US right now.
On our regular farmers market excursion every Sunday we
stop at a butcher's booth to acquire chicken feet and
pig ears for Ms. Poppy R. Lane. She absolutely loves them,
and I don't mind spending $25.00 each week on them
for her. The look on her face when I am at the booth and
the ways she dances for joy when I give her one just makes
my heart swell. Sure do love her. (And Audrey too!)
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Look at That Smile While I Buy Pig Ears!
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During the last week we've noticed two robots mowing
the central park lawn. They are small and don't
appear to be doing very much. They don't move very
fast and seem very sedated to me. I am skeptical, as I was
with the Roomba that they actually do very much. Most
robots seem to just be theater and are there to appeal to
us men who are in the procurement and decision making
positions within the parks department.
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Mower Robots Coming For Us!
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I just finished a sci-fi fantasy book from N. K. Jemisin
called The Fifth Season. It is first in an award winning
trilogy. I love her world. I love the way she plays with
the timeline. The characters didn't speak to me like
Rin in the Poppy Wars, but they are all very compelling.
Audrey has bought me physical copies of the next two books
in the series, and I'll be losing myself there this
week.
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The Fifth Season
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After finishing The Fifth Season I came back to reality
and began reading Enshittification, by Cory Doctorow. Back
to the real world. Most of it I already know, but Cory has
some new stories I hadn't hear yet. He has a well
thought out argument that goes well beyond the word
we've all begun throwing around. I haven't
finished it yet, but I am looking forward to hearing what
some of his suggestions are for how we change the
direction of the tech space, because I've pretty much
given up home that we can do anything but burn it down.
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Enshittification
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My work on API Evangelist is going really well right now.
I am the happiest with my website as I have been in 16
years. It has all the sections and information I want. I
have a wealth of research at my fingertips on what is
happening across the API space. I am working on exactly
what I want to be working on. I have a clear vision of how
I am going to generate revenue. I just have to stay the
course. I have a lot more work to be done over the summer,
but I have an amazing foundation.
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API Evangelist
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Similar to API Evangelist, my work on my API search engine
APIs.io
is leaving me pretty pleased. I have invested some serious
time and money into the index of companies and the APIs
they offer. I have roughly ~25K companies and ~75K APIs,
as well as a number of other compelling artifacts to
support semantics, pricing, and many other dimensions that
people care about. It makes me happy to see the search
engine come to life and I am releasing several times a
week, improving the data, the website, API, and my
approach to how I make sense of the API realm at scale.
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APIs.io, the API Search Engine
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The focus of much of my work this week has been on what I
am now calling the "Kin Score". It is a rating
system for APIs I have been developing since 2014, but
recently have found the approach, data, and narrative I
need to do it right. I've been applying to companies
and their APIs across API Evangelist, and using it to
drive the search on
APIs.io. I am convinced I will be able to use it to shape many
different "horse races" across different
industries right now and force investors, and their
startups to demonstrate they are able to deliver all of
the agentic AI functionality they've been talking
about.
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Kin Score!
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I am in a good place right now. Enjoying the summer in
NYC. I did shave my beard off though. It has been
unbearably itchy with the heat and humidity. I went and
got a haircut today and came back without the beard.
Audrey said, "I prefer bearded Kin". :-) <3
Me too. I think I look goofy without a beard. But I
don't care what I look like. I care about how I feel
right now. And it feels so much better without a beard in
this summer heat. I'll grow it back in September.
"If the beard gave knowledge or if the white beard
made the wise, the goats would all be doctors." - An
Armenian Proverb
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