Previously, we announced the development of our API. Today it’s here.

The TotSpot API allows to developers to build applications (web, desktop, mobile) that, when given your permission, can interact with the TotSpot service.

An API is only as successful as the applications that are built on top of it and we’re excited that our friends at Pikchur have already taken advantage. Using Pikchur, TotSpot users can upload photos to TotSpot directly from their mobile phones or by sending photos to an @pikchur e-mail address.

Pikchur is the first of what we hope will be many exciting new applications and services powered by the API. If you are a developer, visit the the TotSpot API site to find documentation and information on getting started.

We hope you have fun with it!

Camille Sweeney has written a wonderful piece in tomorrow’s New York Times about TotSpot and the growing trend of parent-child social networking. 

Several of our most active users were interviewed for the article, including Nathan Chase and Erin Carrasco (if you’re interested in speaking to reporters about us in the future, send us a note).

The article also interviews, John Palfrey, about whose book, Born Digital, Adam wrote about a couple weeks ago. Professor Palfrey touched on an issue that’s very important for us at TotSpot:

Mr. Palfrey warns that parents posting the intimate details of their children’s lives need to ask not only who has access to this content, but also who owns it.

Kudos to Sweeney and the New York Times for highlighting this important and underreported issue. From Day 1, we’ve been committed to a “Your Kid, Your Content” policy and the values espoused by the DataPortability group.

Right now, our commitment manifests itself in small ways on the site, such as the ability to re-download your photos in their original, full resolution. We’re looking forward to making some more significant progress on this front with product announcements in the coming weeks and months.

We have come a long way with TotSpot in a short amount of time. All told, it’s been 8 months since Adam and I made the journey to Portugal to join the WeBreakStuff team, roll up our sleeves, and really get down to the dirty work of building a new destination and publishing site for parents.

At the time, our idea was simple: parents need and want a better way to share.

Two months later, we had our private beta out, and by June 6, exactly three months ago, we launched our beta site to the public. Since then, we have been overwhelmed by the tremendous engagement we’ve seen and feedback we’ve received from you, our users. All told, nearly 400 of you have gone out of your way to drop us a line, suggest a feature, a new first, tell us about a bug, or just share a kind word. Thank you for that.

We’re now looking to take an evolutionary step forward with TotSpot. We want to build TotSpot 2.0, and we want your input in doing it.

In the coming weeks, we’re going to make several blog posts about under the banner of TotSpot 2.0, sharing our ideas and yours on a vision for the future of TotSpot.

For this first introductory post, feel free to share your biggest, boldest, most wide-open ideas about what you’d like to see in TotSpot 2.0.

On Monday, we’ll continue the series with a post entitled “Evolving the Kid-Parent Identity.” We look forward to your thoughts!

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Update: we will be continuing this series soon; a little later than expected..thanks for all your thoughts so far!

Yesterday Stephen Haywood live-streamed the birth of his daughter, Samantha Marie, on uStream (the camera was turned off during actually delivery). The “event” first reported on Mashable sparked a heated discussion in the comments - was Haywood’s action appropriate, did this take technology too far, etc.

In response, Haywood wrote: “You didn’t know the situation. My parents, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles live 6 hours away and could not be here for the conception. Therefore I spoke with my wife and she agreed this would be the next best thing.”

Although I’m not sure I’d do the same, it’s not hard to appreciate Stephen’s reasoning. In fact, connecting distant families is one of the main reasons why we built TotSpot.  We believe that nothing can compare to face-to-face contact, to being “in the room,” or to see a grandchild, niece, or nephew in person. But for many families, this is easier said than done. Travel is time-consuming and increasingly expensive. The web can never substitute for “real” contact but it can be the “next best thing.”

I was born in Philadephia at a time when most of my family lived in New York. If I were growing up today, instead of 20+ years ago, my parents could build a TotSpot page, broadcast live videos on uStream, video chat on Skype, etc. Back then, the best we could do was talk on the telephone. Social media tools enable people to do a lot of cool things (Twitter meetups at Shake Shack, viral political videos on YouTube) but few are as meaningful as those things that help families stay connected. We’re proud to do our small part :).