Web services are all the hype these days. Some companies have put them out, like Google and Amazon.com so that people can use their backends to create their own applications. There's even a new book from Wrox coming out about using PHP to create and communicate with these web services.

But where are they really taking us, and what use do they really have? With the Google API, you can connect, get search results, and a host of other options - and with Amazon, you have access just like you were strolling through their website for products. But how much use are they really?

Do people need more web services on sites? Could a site be improved by adding a way for people to access some of the information it contains (search results, news, products, code samples, etc)? What do you all think about these web services? Useful or just another bump in the highway?