The most recent issue of Wired Magazine has an article called We are the Web, about how the web is really powered by a culture of participation. Kevin Kelly mentions how businesses have benefitted by creating open APIs and sharing their databases with the world. Want to know the best strategy for sustained customer growth on the web? Be a real team player.

When a company opens its databases to users, as Amazon, Google, and eBay have done with their Web services, it is encouraging participation at new levels. The corporation's data becomes part of the commons and an invitation to participate. People who take advantage of these capabilities are no longer customers; they're the company's developers, vendors, skunk works, and fan base.

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