I've been doing some thinking for the past few days about the initial direction of the Snag.gr project. Originally, I had intended for this project to be a publicly accessible image search engine and, for a short while, that's exactly where it was going. But, recently, I began wondering about how others might want to use something like this. Maybe, there's a use for an API that 3rd-party developers could plug into which provides the very same service as Snag.gr. Then again, maybe not.

Luckily, there was already a "sort-of" API in development for a potential, unannounced, partnership with another image service. With this in mind, I thought it would be an even better move if I built the API functionality first and then built the public search engine on top of it. It doesn't make much sense having 2 completely different systems performing the same functionality within one site. At least this way, the underlying search functionality will be tested and proven enough to provide a reliable starting point; the rest of the site will only be a layer on top of this API.

So, with that said, Snag.gr is to release an image search API. I've been working on some finishing touches and, within the next day or so, the site will have the initial API fully documented and ready for public viewing. The actual API should be ready for private testing within the next week.

When I'm ready, I will post an announcement asking for testing participants. At  this point, they will be given an API key and user account on this site so they can interact with and manage their searches. I'll be honest with everyone, I'm not sure if I want this API to be a 100% public offering or if I want to give full access to a limited selection developers. We'll see in the end, I suppose.

You will also notice a few updates to the site. It's much more responsive now and you will see I've added a few new sections in preparation for the actual launch of the service. The original microsite was just a placeholder which pulled the latest tweets and blog entries for the service. The updated version uses the Kohana framework and contains all the brains of the upcoming API!

More to come, so in the mean time, be sure to follow us on Twitter and check the site out!

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