DrewsBox

I recently stumbled upon a promising API; the CNET API, complete with access to the gargantuan CNET database of technology reviews. I haven’t had much time to inspect it, but I hope my first impressions prove to be wrong. I say this because its developer wiki is terrible. I can barely believe it is from CNET.

First Impressions

As I began to read through the documentation I immediately encountered broken links and redundant copy on several pages. The developer resources are so unorganized that, if you were required to rely heavily upon the API, it would be worth the time to copy all the documentation to your own document and reorganize it or at the very least bookmark all of the important pages in your browser for quicker reference.

Lousy documentation can make or break the developer’s will to use a particular API regardless of its functionality. I found this to be the case when developing a mashup with the Imeem API. Documentation was incomplete and just had an overall sketchy or nooby feeling to it. Not to mention, as soon as I finished the mashup, MySpace bought out Imeem and shut down the API, requiring me to remake the functionality which was required in the project which was due the next day! But that’s another story…

CNET’s API dashboard is also disappointing at first glance. This is especially true if you are accustomed to Facebook’s or Flickr’s dashboards where you can easily test any method with intuitive menus for the parameters. The janky UI makes this dashboard look and feel so much worse than it probably is.

API Details

Here is a brief description of the functionality available through the API (from here):

The CNET API service provides quick and convenient access to CNET’s full catalog of technology products and software titles. This extensive catalog powers sites like CNET Reviews, CNET Shopper and CNET Downloads. The API provides basic product information, including product categories and pricing information, as well as product images, review URLs, editors’ ratings, and more.

Using the CNET API, you can access data to create pages such as the following:

• A list of search results related to iPods.
• Comparison price listings for Windows Vista.
• Product views with various types of CNET-specific data, like the Editors’ Rating, the good, the bad, and the bottom line, and the Editors’ Choice logo for products that have received the award.

The CNET API is a REST-based service that supports XML and JSON response formats. REST uses simple HTTP GET URLs to request resources.

Applications

The CNET API would be a valuable resource for developers of e-commerce mashups where an extensive database of reviews and ratings is limited or nonexistent. I recently read a statistic that 78% of people trust user reviews. This provides a strong reason to have reviews on your site, regardless of if the data comes from your own users. Theoretically, this means that taking advantage of CNET’s extensive database of reviews will increase sales on your site. There are also opportunities for affiliate marketing.