Yesterday, I was on a panel about Brand APIs at an event called "The Evolution of Distribution" put on by Mashery in San Francisco. Mashery is a company that helps companies manage their own API and they reached out to me after I wrote an article in Mashable called "Why every brand needs an open API for developers."

You couldn't have asked for a better group to uncover that answer. The group was moderated by Quentin Hardy national editor from Forbes and my co-panelists were Dan Jacobson, Director of Engineering for Netflix API, Kumar Kandaswamy, Director of Open API Platform Business at Best Buy, and Edwin Aoki, Chief Architect at PayPal.

So, does every brand need an open API for developers? 

Here are a few things I learned...

Tomorrow morning, Steve Jobs will address the masses at Apple's WorldWide Developer Conference. While there's been a huge hoopla about the impending launch of iCloud (a.k.a. MobileMe Returns, a.k.a. .Mac Episode III), I'm way more excited to see the next generation mobile interface in iOS5. 

I have a small wish list. Hopefully, Steve will read my blog this evening and make some last minute changes. Not likely, but a guy can dream.

Anyhow, I'm rubbing the lamp. Here's my three wishes:

On Sunday, I blogged about my 3 wishes for iOS 5 from Steve Jobs at the WWDC. Yesterday was the big keynote chock full of awesome announcements and demos. You can read all about that on the Apple website, so I'll just take a look at how I did with my wishes. Did I gain some traction?

It is hard to believe that Traction has now existed for an entire decade. What initially started as little more than idyllic chatter between old co-workers has blossomed into something we never imagined. When I think over the last ten years, I can't help but think back to how naiveté, passion and a little libation-fueled bravery started it all.

Last week I spoke at an event called "The evolution of distribution" along with the API chiefs from Best Buy, NetFlix and PayPal. The event was put together by a company called Mashery that helps brands build and manage APIs. 

They posted some videos on their blog which are really interesting. I suggest you check them out. Here's the one of me speaking...

If you've been following the last few posts, you're probably aware that I spoke at an event about brands and APIs last week. It was called "The Evolution of Distribution" and I spoke about the article I wrote for Mashable called "Why every brand needs an open API for developers." My presentation outlined how even a brand like Kraft might find unexpected value from releasing their own APIs.

I just added a few notes to my slides and posted them on the Traction SlideShare channel. I've also listed some other relevant links below if you're interested in the topic of brand APIs.

One year ago today I clicked delete on my Facebook account. Why did I do it? What's life like these days without it? Follow me below the cut to find out.

Ten years ago, we started Traction.

We weren’t really supposed to be an agency. Our original goals was to be a “freelance cooperative”—four friends who threw each other jobs and chipped in to buy computers. We used to put a percentage of our freelance money into a shared bank account so we could pay for website hosting and business cards to look the part. I remember our amazement when we hit twenty grand in the bank. We all went out and bought laptops.

Five years ago, I had lunch with the CEO of Pandora, Joe Kennedy. Not many people seem to know this, but he used to be CMO of Saturn during the Hal Riney "A different kind of company, a different kind of car" years. I remember him telling me over hot pastrami at Miller's deli on Polk Street that "nobody knows how to build a brand anymore."

Last night, Traction celebrated our 10th birthday. Hands down, the craziest party we've thrown. How could it not be with all the Tractionistas past and present, together with the Extra Action Marching Band thrown in for good measure (they were so sexy it was ridiculous)?

In the word's of Gabriel, "This is how we roll."