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blockchalk:

We’ve just released a brand new API for BlockChalk.  It’s very easy to learn and use: requests are made via HTTP GET and POST, and data is provided in XML, JSON, and RSS formats.

These new interfaces enable developers to do nearly everything that you can do at http://blockchalk.com.  It’s now possible to build client applications, mash-ups, and other tools based on BlockChalk geolocation data and services.

You can read the full API documentation here: BlockChalk API v0.6

So what does this mean?  It means that BlockChalk is now more than just a nifty GPS app for your iPhone.  It’s an open platform for storing and accessing user-generated content within a geographic context.

What makes the BlockChalk platform unique?

• It’s dead simple.  There are no badges, medals, points, unicorns, pirates, or other viral gaming craziness.  BlockChalk is about locations and the messages people leave there, that’s it.

• It’s flexible.  The interfaces and data structures are general in nature, and we encourage you to build application-specific functionality on top of them.  We’ve thought up plenty of uses for BlockChalk, but we think it’s the independent developers who will come up with the best ones.
• It’s anonymous.  This means authentication is unnecessary and security concerns are light (when was the last time you heard that?).  The API just uses a simple user ID token to tie together a given user’s chalks (i.e. messages they’ve posted) and replies. Anonymity also means that BlockChalk is unconcerned with identity, friends, and social networks.  Think more Craigslist, less Facebook.  Tired of the ego-driven status-update rat race?  BlockChalk is for you.

This is our first major release of the BlockChalk API (v0.6) so we welcome your feedback and suggestions on how to improve it.

Finally, we’d like to recognize Joshua Schachter, Toby Eilliott, Les Orchard, and Joao Prado Maia for their invaluable input in the design of this API.  Thanks guys!

Stephen Hood

BlockChalk

Hope they add some AR soon!