An API is a “must have” feature for many tech startus. Mailchimp CEO Ben Chestnut went so far as to write that the company’s API is “probably the best marketing we’ve ever done.” But for some companies an API is more than just marketing, it’s a core part of the business. As more business shifts online, non-technical business people will need to make strategic decisions about technology, including integrations with third-party sites via APIs.

This morning Microsoft sent us a guide to the new Microsoft Office . It’s 53 pages.

What a time for Marissa Mayer to take control at Yahoo . She’ll need all the smarts she can lay her hands on to revive an ailing Yahoo. Which is why any section of Yahoo which is innovating could be a key component of it’s future capability – especially if Yahoo is to drag itself out of the race-to-the-bottom media portal strategy which it’s been left with

Some Facebook page owners are seeing a new “Report Duplicates” module that allows them to search for pages related to their own and report those that are unofficial. Facebook will review the duplicates and then recategorize them as community pages that link back to the official fan page. This feature, which appears in the “Edit Page/Update Info” dashboard of some Facebook pages, will help page owners address the common problem of fan-created pages being confused with official pages. The screenshot below is from All Facebook , which first wrote about the change.

The debate over whether the Facebook IPO was or wasn’t a disaster is probably getting a bit tired, but at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, the magazine’s managing editor Andy Serwer couldn’t resist asking venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, albeit indirectly. Andreessen is on Facebook’s board of directors, which makes it irresistible to ask him about the IPO, but also means that he can’t talk about it specifically.

Donald J. Sobol, author of the acclaimed Encyclopedia Brown series of children’s mystery books, died last Wednesday of natural causes . He was 87

Barely an hour after longtime Google executive Marissa Mayer was announced as the new CEO of Yahoo , venture capitalist Marc Andreessen praised the move while on-stage at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen. Contrasting Mayer with Yahoo’s interim CEO Ross Levinsohn (who was seen as another leading contender), Andreessen said this is “a big statement on Yahoo’s part.” He was careful to praise Levinsohn, but Andreessen said Levinsohn would have been more of sales- or content-centric CEO, whereas Mayer will be a product-centric CEO — and having another product CEO is “great for the valley.” In fact, he noted that Yahoo’s press release says the appointment “signals a renewed focus on product innovation.” Andreessen also said he’s “super-happy” for Mayer, because she’s ready to step into a CEO role at a major tech company. But can she actually turn Yahoo around

Tout’d , a New York-based startup that describes itself as a “digital word-of-mouth social media platform and referral engine,” today announced that it has closed a $1.4 million seed round led by Warner Hill Angels .

TC Southeast Tour Wrap-Up 2,400 miles. Five cities. Two Honda Pilots.

Comcast wants to make all its content available online, and has been hard at work striking deals with content partners to bring their shows to its Xfinity website, mobile, and connected TV apps. The latest deal, with Scripps Networks, will add more programming to those platforms from networks like HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country. Comcast announced its TV Everywhere initiative three years ago , and has been busy striking long-term deals to improve its digital products