Web Developer usability: 3 lines of javascript per feature

Product management has a natural tension between features and elegance, the richness of more and the simplicity of less. This is true for APIS as much as for user interfaces. Telecom technology is complex, a high learning curve for outsiders. In the last year I’ve seen Voxeo, TokBox, Skype and now Twilio expand their reach to web developers by simplifying the programming experience, hiding the details of making connections and streaming media.

Twilio announced this morning that its “Twilio Client” is just three lines of javascript.

<script src="http://static.twilio.com/libs/twiliojs/1.0/twilio.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript">

Twilio.Device.setup(token);

Twilio.Device.connect();

//you decide what happens next

</script>

With minor code variations you can build call center, conference call, intercom, softphone, audio recording  apps, and text-to-speech apps in the browser. Promoting the launch, “five developers who write the most awesome Twilio Client apps in the next 2 weeks will win new Macbook Airs, tickets to the Twilio Conference, and Twilio Swag.” I’m loving the t-shirt.  For those who use the Client, Twilio is cutting the cost of audio to a quarter penny per minute. 

There are similar examples. A tiny Skype client powers Facebook’s first video calling app. Its API was also dramatically simplified, removing even usernames. TokBox embeds video calls and conferences with a few lines of javascript.  Voxeo launched Phono last year, also a few lines of javascript to invoke their telecom APIs.

The gold standard for realtime communication: can you reduce your cloud service to a few lines in a language four million web programmers use every day? Can you simplify the object model, prune your parameters, and limit option so what is left is pure, elegant, beautiful and useful?

art credit: Twilio