By Mike Bernard, Digital Marketing Manager, GovDelivery
Yesterday, I attended an outstanding webinar, by my co-worker Richard Fong, about using APIs to improve how the government communicates with the public.He discussed what an API is and why they’re so important to government organizations.
Application Programming Interfaces (or APIs) are a hot topic in the government these days. Earlier this year, the White House released a new strategy for the Federal government called Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People. This new digital government strategy lists API use as a key element in fulfilling the vision for more open, responsive government communication. And U.S. CIO, Steven VanRoekel tweeted out earlier this year about APIs, with the hashtag “#yesitsthesecretsauce.”
Fong noted that API use has become more critical because the way we access information has dramatically changed. “In the past, businesses and organizations went to the Web because that’s where the customers were…we all sat in front of our desktop monitor and browsed the Web to get content. Then something happened. Technology evolved. The browser stopped being the exclusive gateway to information and content. A few trends that pushed this included social media, mobile, and location-based services. The public started to consume content using smart-phones, tablets and other intelligent devices,” states Fong.
Fong went on to highlight some of the excellent work being done with APIs throughout the government. For example, here are a few of the API integrations he mentioned in the webinar:
- The IRS created a mobile app that provided users with tax tips and allowed them to sign up to be emailed future information. This resulted in more than 14,000 additional citizen subscribers in just a 3-month period.
- The U.S. Census Bureau rolled out an awesome app that provides statistics about the economy called “America’s Economy.”
- The National Weather Service used APIs to automate and send near real-time alerts about tsunamis.
- The Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) uses APIs to automate transit schedule or delay and elevator outage updates via text message or email to passengers.
These are just a few of the success stories that Richard covered in his presentation. If you’re interested in exploring creative ways to improve communication with the public, check out the recording of this webinar.
And, if you are in the Washington D.C. area, you should consider attending our Annual Federal Digital Communications Event on October 16th. There will be in-depth discussions about the White House Digital Strategy and how you can use APIs to advance your communication goals. Space is limited, so register today.