Bad Ideas, Good APIs: What Weird Experiments Teach Us About API Design
Most of us have pushed a tool beyond its intended use - sometimes accidentally, sometimes out of curiosity.
In this talk, we’ll explore two real-world experiments that deliberately stretch popular platforms far outside their comfort zones: using Stripe metadata as a DNS backend, and turning Google Sheets into a production data store with a live JSON API. Both started as "this probably won’t work, but..." and both worked far better than expected.
These aren’t party tricks. They’re revealing stress tests of API design. By looking at why these odd ideas held together, we uncover what makes an API flexible, forgiving, and a joy to build with: composability, sensible defaults, and escape hatches that enable rapid prototyping. We’ll see how thoughtful, durable API design can support entirely new use cases long after the original intent - even ones the creators never imagined.
This talk is a practical, experience-driven look at how good APIs invite experimentation - and what engineers can learn from the ideas that were never part of the plan.
Key Takeaways from this talk:
How unconventional "off-label" experiments can act as stress tests for API design.
Why good developer experience often reveals itself when things go off the happy path.
What these experiments teach about evaluating third-party APIs for real-world use.
Read More
Stripe Is My DNS Provider Now: When Good APIs Meet Bad Ideas »
Using Google Sheets as a JSON REST API »