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eBay Wins the Devvies Over, Says Evans Data

A recent Evans Data survey divulges that eBay is considered the best overall Web 2.0 developer program over other online darlings like Google, Amazon, MSN, Yahoo, and even dear ol’ cousin PayPal.

The Developer’s Choice: Web 2.0 Developer Programs survey pitted online firms against one another for criteria that ranged from certification to documentation, as well as developer support, case studies, solution directories, marketing assistance, API functionality and Web services. Over 380 active developers were interviewed.

Before moving forward, it merits reading a refresher on Web 2.0, which you can do — extensively, even — with our Web 2.0 series (check out parts one and two).

So why did eBay make gold among 2.0-savvy devvies? Strength of service won the day. On the popular auction site, third-party developers have the freedom to develop Web-based apps for conducting business with the platform and through a similar interface.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that eBay is earnest. “Building a professional program for our developers is a critical enabler of our strategy to deliver engaging applications to eBay buyers and sellers anywhere they are on the Internet,” said Senior Director Max Mancini of eBay’s Disruptive Innovation and Platform Strategy (we could not have made up a department name that good).

“It is timely and gratifying to receive this honor so close to our upcoming Developers Conference, which will see hundreds of our developers gathered in Boston to gain inspiration, tools and advice to enable them to keep creating innovative new ways for people to connect with eBay,” Mancini added.

After becoming the program that launches a thousand metaphorical ships, we figure we can let eBay plug a little. It’s no small task to win the affections of the developer population, whose numbers are expected to hit 19 million by 2010, according to yet another recent Evans Data survey.

The Developer’s Choice survey also included the following wee factoids:

• Google and MSN tie for best tools. Developers dig Microsoft’s leveraged set of technologies, but Google has mastered enterprise-tier tools for search, collaboration, publishing and geospatial mapping.
• MSN glows in Web services technology, particularly where it comes to .NET Web service solutions and its built-in club of developer devotees.
• 31 percent of developers feel Amazon provides the highest levels of security.

You can check out the complete report right here. In other news, Evans Data recently also noted an IT affinity for SOA, or service-oriented architecture.