New version of Tinder available

A new version of Tinder, an API for interfacing with Campfire, has been released. If you’re using Tinder and you've been noticing flakiness, upgrade to the new version.

Tags API available for Highrise

Attention developers: Check out the tags API for Highrise.

The tags API allows you to add, update, and delete tags from parties (people and companies), cases, and deals. In the documentation below, the generic "#{subject_type}" text must be replaced in practice with either "people", "companies", "kases", or "deals", and "#{subject_id}" should be the id of the subject (person, company, case or deal) that you want to manipulate or query the tags for.

Related:
Highrise tags help you drill down to specific contacts [Product Blog]
New in Highrise: Improved tags list [Product Blog]

Interview with developers of Ember (Campfire for the iPhone)

Jane at Setting Contexts recently published "Interview: Overcommitted on Ember (Campfire for the iPhone)."

Right after I posted my Q&A with Morfunk’s David Kaneda a couple of months ago (I’m still a big Outpost fan!), I received a great outreach email from Overcommitted, telling me about Ember. Ember brings Campfire (the 37signals group chat application) to the iPhone – and fills a huge gap in my own productivity needs. I’ve been using the new version of Ember for about a week (in fact, a lot of the follow-up questions were discussed in Campfire), and I have to say it’s a noticeable improvement over V.1 in speed and feature set.

The interview discusses how the Overcommitted team got started, how they decided on price, the development process, etc.

> How do you guys use Campfire and why was that the app you wanted to focus on first?

None of us live in the same city and rarely get the chance to work together face to face. Campfire has been invaluable for helping us keep in touch across time zones and work schedules. We use it to discuss iterations for the various apps we’re working on, show sketches and talk through code. We developed Ember first because we knew we could get immediate use for it and felt other iPhone development teams could benefit.

Ember works on iPhones/iPod Touches running version 3.0 software or above and is available on the iTunes AppStore here.

Using the Basecamp API to create project reports

Bill Breen, Director of Web Development at SmartMoney.com, writes about using the Basecamp API to create project reports.

We have a weekly managers meeting where we briefly run down all our open projects and their status. The responsible party can then update and if necessary elaborate briefly on specific items within their project. It is a great meeting to have because it gets all parties from various groups in one room where we quickly keep everyone abreast of the projects being worked on. People in theory can get all the same information from Basecamp themselves, but reality is this is not always the case. Having the meeting lets us discuss small items with other groups and departments without having to have a longer time consuming meeting.

To create a report for this meeting, I decided to try the Basecamp API. I figured a quick report that can generate a concise PDF to print out and bring to the meeting will work best. I sat down and used my regular tech community channels to see if anyone has created a Basecamp API module for ColdFusion. Sure enough, I found baseCamp.cfc from Terrence Ryan. It was exactly what I was looking for. It was written for the older Basecamp API, so I had to plug in some new methods, but it was a real time saver because it handled all the requests, and parsing of the responses.

Read the full post for more details.

Improving the Basecamp API

We've been working behind the scenes to improve the Basecamp API. One recent change lets developers know whether the person making an API request is from a client or an internal firm.

This went over quite well. Here's the response from the guys behind Outpost:

Noticed this during testing this morning & did a double-take when I realized there were names appearing in Outpost — much kudos for keeping it in line with the existing API, so all us 3rd parties’ apps will just start working now. Very exciting to see progress on the API end.

Fyi, all communication on this topic was done via the Basecamp forum. We're making an effort to stay on top of API issues reported there. And we've also started a 37signals API developer list which is a great place to get feedback on API stuff.

As we come to expect more out-of-browser experiences, good, well-documented APIs are becoming more important. We look forward to continuing to improve the APIs for all our products.

You can check out the updated API documentation for further details:

People API Calls
Companies API Calls

The new 37signals API developer list

The new 37signals API developer list is meant to be the new hub for all things 37signals API. A place where developers can discuss their experiences and challenges working with the APIs from Basecamp, Backpack, Highrise, and Campfire. We'll try to make ourselves available as best we can to help answer questions and provide clarification on implementation. Sign up now.

Periscope Gadget: "Basecamp control on iGoogle & in GMail too"

Periscope Gadget gives you control over multiple Basecamp accounts on your iGoogle homepage, directly in GMail, on your Windows Desktop with Google Gadgets and even on your iPhone.

I really needed (and wanted) a simple way to punch-in to a project I was busy on; work; then punch-out and write a quick description of what I did. It’s really important to me to charge my clients by the minute: who wants to be charged 1hr of my time for a small copy change that really only took me 4 minutes to do? Enter Periscope.

Learn more about Periscope.

How INTO uses Basecamp as a content management system and wireframing tool

INTO is a web/print startup specializing in "cutting edge work, quick turn-around times, and a high level of web expertise." Below, INTO founder Kirk Strobeck details the creative ways his team uses Basecamp, including as a content management system and wireframing tool!

How do you use our products and why do you like them?
We depend on Basecamp. It has become a cornerstone for our project management and client communication. As soon as we get wind of a project, we've got it set up in Basecamp; it is step 1. Out of that we grow our communication--instantly gaining credibility and dependability by messaging and stockpiling infos online. Of all the aspects of our business, it's one of the few that we don't have to worry about.

However, project management isn't its only purpose at INTO. Upon browsing 37Signals we saw three letters on the footer, "API," we did a quick search for a way to connect to the backdoor of our favorite web application. After seeing the available data and the need for a simple server-side CMS that worked like Basecamp, we figured why not just use Basecamp as a CMS. We're a transparent company, so if it works — use it. We did, and we're happy to say it works great.

We now use Basecamp in the following ways:

• As a project management tool
• As a content management system
• As a website wireframing tool

As a project management tool
When someone sings, it's an incredible instrument. Not only can you hear the tune, tempo, and vibe of a song, but you can clearly absorb what is being communicated. In the same way, Basecamp is an incredble tool. While you work your way through a project, there are not only deliverable results, but a detailed record of everything that has been done and is yet to be done. It formalizes our business practices without skipping a beat and becomes a solid escape from redundant explanations... "Check basecamp, it's all up there."

As a content management system
For some light-weight websites we do what we call a "Basecamp install." In these websites we have fixed navigation and semi-flexible content. While the API doesn't support graphic integration yet, it does lend itself to text changes. Here are a few examples.

saltStudio
We didn't want to do a large CMS install for this client, because practically it only needed recent news. We could apply manual updates for the other sections. We made a backend script that checks Basecamp, and sees what new news posts are available, then writes a new content file and refreshes it for the next visit. While it is a flash movie, we simply import the textfile and have a news section. We don't only pull the messages here, but also the employee information from the "People" tab mounts data to the site.

A script checks Basecamp, sees what new news posts are available, then writes a new content file and refreshes it for the next visit.

Highrise Deals API

Attention developers: The Highrise API now works with the new Deals feature. Here's an introduction to the Highrise API and here's more info on how Deals work.

Coming soon: Outpost will let you manage Basecamp projects on your iPhone

Outpost (coming in August 2008 from Morfunk) promises to let you manage your Basecamp projects on your iPhone.

Take notes away from the office. Delegate tasks from the train. Check on deadlines. Upload photos to projects. Anywhere.

Sign up to get notified when it launches.