I still remember the first time I was asked to implement a web API. I was working as a junior developer (actually, I was the sole developer) for a small radio station that did only one thing: broadcast music 24/7. It was one of the first radio stations in Rome to switch from CDs to digital files (MP2, WMA, RealAudio, and the like; MP3s were yet to come), but the daily programming was still done locally, using the workstations that were installed on the radio station’s premises.
I was the one who made the audio player (imagine something like VLC or Winamp, but much worse) that the radio station used to broadcast the content. My software was used not only to reproduce the songs, but also to insert advertising messages and the real-time contributions of the radio broadcasters who took turns managing the live broadcast. I was 19 years old at the time, and I really liked that job. I was paid decently, I had the chance to study and learn several new technologies, and (most important) it was a lot of fun.
One day, all the radio broadcasters fell ill at the same time. No one could come to the radio station to manage the programming of songs and advertising messages. That single event, more than 20 years before COVID-19, led that small radio station to understand the importance of being able to manage an entire business remotely.