Disqus announced this week the launch of the Disqus' API. So far, the API is young but allows you to handle some rudimentary parameters:
"The methods provided are enough to let you write your own comment import tools, export tools, or even a custom Disqus plugin for your platform"
What's so juicy about this API, and what is yet to come?
On the Inquisitr, Duncan Riley breaks the news and offers a positive opinion of Disqus' move, arguing that it will allow newcoming 2.0 publishing tools like Habari to offer an ultra-performing commenting system.
Louis Gray is also an enthusiast of the initiative. To his opinion, any portable, RSS-powered application is a competitive app that will meet growth in the collaborative environment that is the Web 2.0 (I can't argue with that).
Duncan Riley and Louis Gray agree that this is the best response Disqus could have formulated regarding the recent acquisition of IntenseDebate by Automattic. Sure enough, the Disqus' API shoe will fit most applications' feet. But I, as a Social Media geek, am more interested in the potential this API has for uncovering talented commenters: I think that Disqus primary leitmotiv was to create a commenting environment free of trolls, and where users could develop an authority through valuable contribution.
When Digg opened up its API, a plethora of apps and hacks grew on top of it, offering users the ability to see top diggers, top dugg stories, create specific widgets, create community maps, see who dugg who, and so on... Twitter's API offered the same types of development opportunities.
In the end, some commenters are not bloggers, and the only mark they leave on the Web is their comments (just like most diggers don't blog). Some commenters significantly contribute to the discussion, so I am convinced that the Disqus' API is not just an easy way for other applications to integrate a comment thread: A real social value should be extracted out of it.
For example, as a blogger, I would love to know who is the top dog of commenting to go flirt with him and pull him towards my blog. I understand that Disqus is more focused on growing market shares to keep its position in the game, but I think the API will become interesting only when this kind of social data will become available (I'm pretty sure it's on its way since top blogs haven't announced the API yet - if that's not the case, take this as a request).
