Last week, we held API Week at Rapid, a week designed to engage with our developer community and unveil the results of our 2022 State of APIs survey. We kicked off the event with Twitter Polls and subsequently announced the survey's key findings, including insights on monetization, testing, and reliance on APIs.
We received an overwhelming response, with thousands of developers participating in various ways. The week was structured into three parts:
- Twitter polls were conducted to engage the Rapid developer community and gather valuable insights from them.
- The results of the 2022 State of APIs survey were announced, providing key insights into the state of APIs in the industry.
- For four days, one key insight from the survey was shared, each linking to one of our products and showcasing what Rapid has to offer.
Additionally, we hosted a Twitter Space, which I will discuss in more detail later.
In this article, we will delve into Rapid's first API Week and examine its lasting impact on the developer community over the course of a week.
API Week 2023
The API Week at Rapid reached close to 230,000 developers, with 30,000 of them witnessing the announcement of our 2022 State of APIs results. Our Twitter polls reached an impressive 30,000 developers, with thousands of them actively participating.
Over 350 developers tuned in to our Twitter Space, where we dived into the 2022 state of APIs. Our four-day-long API week insight tweets also saw significant engagement, with nearly 40,000 developers viewing and interacting with them.
Day 1: Favorite Programming Language Poll
On day 1 of API Week, we focused on engaging with the Rapid developer community. To achieve this, we published a poll on Twitter, asking developers about their favorite programming language.
Our Twitter Poll received significant engagement, being viewed by nearly 20,000 developers, with 8% participating and voting for their favorite programming language.
When it came to the results, JavaScript emerged as the clear winner, with 38% of developers voting for it as their favorite programming language. Python came in second place, securing nearly 36% of the votes.
An interesting insight we gained from the poll was that more developers favored TypeScript over PHP.
Day 2: APIs in Production Poll
To gain further insights from developers, we conducted another Twitter poll on day 2. The poll aimed to gain an understanding of the types of APIs developers uses in production.
Around 10,000 developers viewed the poll, with nearly 7% participating and sharing their experiences.
The results revealed that REST API was the most popular choice, with 82% of developers stating that they use it in production. GraphQL received 11% of the votes, while Kafka and Webhooks placed third and fourth, respectively.
Day 3: State of APIs result
API Week 2023 was primarily focused on sharing the 2022 State of APIs results. To achieve this goal, we published a detailed Twitter thread on day 3, outlining the following key insights from the 2022 survey:
- TypeScript overtook PHP as the most popular language for building APIs in 2022.
- Partner-facing APIs saw nearly a 10% increase in the tech sector.
- A staggering 65% of developers reported an increase in their reliance on APIs in 2022.
- REST APIs usage grew by ten percent in 2022, now at 70% compared to GraphQL's five percent increased usage.
- A 16% increase in API monetization in the financial sector speaks volumes.
In addition to these insights, we also shared several other findings related to API testing, economy, and reliance. Our announcement thread reached nearly 30,000 developers.
Day 4: Twitter Space
The State of APIs 2022 survey garnered participation from more than 850 developers from over 100 countries. In order to share the findings with our community, we organized a Twitter Space for the fourth day of API Week.
The space was well-attended, with over 350 developers from around the world tuning in to hear the Rapid DevRel team present the survey results.
The 2022 State of APIs survey revealed that TypeScript has risen to become the fourth most popular language for building APIs, surpassing PHP. In light of this finding, we not only held a Twitter Space but also published a thread discussing the steady growth of TypeScript's popularity and usage since 2019.
The thread received nearly 7,000 views.
We also highlighted how this finding relates to one of our products, Rapid API Client. When working with complex API responses, writing types and interfaces can become tedious. The Rapid API Client, however, allows users to generate these interfaces with a single click, thus simplifying the process.
Day 5: API Testing
API testing was a crucial concern for developers in 2022, as it plays a vital role in ensuring the reliability and functionality of APIs. Additionally, by automating the testing process, API testing can significantly increase efficiency and reduce the risk of human error.
To further explore this insight from the State of APIs survey, we dedicated the fifth day of API Week to a discussion on API testing through a Twitter thread. The thread provided additional information to help developers understand the importance of API testing and how to implement it effectively in their work.
In our thread, we also highlighted the capabilities of the powerful API testing tool within Rapid API Hub. The thread received significant engagement, with nearly 8,000 views.
Day 6: API Monetization
Since 2019, there has been a steady rise in the number of companies monetizing APIs. In 2022, we observed a 5% uptick in API monetization compared to the previous year. As a result, Day 6 of API Week focused on the latest trends in API monetization for 2022.
We shared our insights on Twitter through a thread that garnered nearly 10,000 views from developers. The thread highlighted a 16% increase in API monetization within the financial sector compared to 2021.
API monetization is on the rise, and one effective platform for monetizing your API is Rapid API Hub, which we also highlighted in our thread.
Day 7: Increased usage of REST API
The theme of the last day of API Week was REST APIs and how there is a 10% increase in their usage in production. We published a thread on the Rapid Twitter account and discussed how 70% of developers relied on REST APIs and used them in production.
On the last day of API Week, we focused on the increasing popularity of REST APIs. Our survey shows that there has been a 10% increase in their usage in production. We also published a thread on Twitter discussing the findings that 70% of developers rely on and use REST APIs in production.
This highlights the importance and widespread adoption of REST APIs in the industry.
As the usage of REST API continues to grow, we also shared in the thread how Rapid API Client and Rapid API for Mac can easily test and describe the REST APIs you build and consume. The thread received significant engagement with nearly 12,000 views.
Wrap up
Rapid's first API Week was a resounding success, with thousands of developers participating in various ways. We publicly released the 2022 State of APIs results, engaged with our developer community through polls and Twitter Space, and shared key insights from the survey.
To review the survey results in more detail, you can visit the State of APIs website. Additionally, we have also published an in-depth analysis of the findings, which can be found here