Quora eyes expansion with API release

Quora, an increasingly popular question-and-answer site with a social-networking angle, has released an application programming interface that opens the door for third-party software to use the service.

The application programming interface (API), announced on Friday, has very limited features and is only an alpha release that the company warns may not remain stable. Nonetheless, it is an important milestone for the company as it charts a course through the complexities of building a business on the internet.

That is because an API, if rich enough, means people using a service do not necessarily have to use that service's website. For example, Twitter's API is powerful enough that many people employ software such as TweetDeck or Seesmic to use the short-message service. That helped Twitter grow fast into something of a utility on the net and saved the company money on web servers that show pages to visitors. But it also means the company cannot as easily choose one obvious web business model, showing online advertisements — and Quora's subject-specific discussions could be a nice match for targeted advertising.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see New API a harbinger of future Quora apps on CNET News.