Why "not in beta" ?

The short answer would be: Because we care (thanks to my lovely daughter Cille for the inspiration from CareBears) for our users. Following is the long(er) explanation.

First of all, we are very aware that no new product is (can be) perfect. We have learned a lot from real-world feedback from users of transLucid - the open-source version of transLucidonline with which it all started - over the past year or so. We've talked with people, asking them for their honest feedback on what we wanted to build with transLucidonline. We have worked hard to make sure that we can support our future customers and have diligently done the necessary work on the technology powering transLucidonline. But we cannot tell for certain that it is all going to work perfectly from day one. Only once we go into the preview stage (today!), which I compare to labour pains and subsequently our launch next month (fingers crossed), will we roll the drums a little louder and see what the efforts of the past 6-8 months have produced in real-world terms.

Knowing that you can never get it right from day one for any new product does not mean that you should have everyone who signs up for your service become a beta-tester. Our company is completely self-funded but we do not have the luxury of staying free indefinitely. In return for paying for the transLucidonline service, we offer our customers simple website publishing (sorry, a little marketing) and excellent support. We want them to feel they are getting more value from us in return for their investment in transLucidonline. And supporting an online product that will increase its value to them over time as well of course.

As is written on our FAQ page we do intend to launch new offerings (lots of them) and will invite a certain group of users for special previews of up-and-coming features.

Consider, in contrast, the following quote from Wikipedia on beta software:

"A beta version is the first version released outside the organization or community that develops the software, for the purpose of evaluation or real-world black/grey-box testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release. Beta level software generally includes all features, but may also include known issues and bugs of a less serious variety."

If something doesn't work here on transLucidonline, tell us (scream at us in fact) and we will be there to help and fix whatever is wrong, give an explanation of why it went wrong and what we did to prevent anything similar from happening in the future. These are standard business practices for offline businesses and they ought to be as well for online businesses.

Let me rant on a little bit (getting really into this now). Larry Page from Google saying that the Beta sticker on some of their products was "really a messaging and branding thing" (from a long-winded round of beta from ZDNet) is one of those quotes that brings me to the boil.

Change is a normal part of business. Only because you listen to your users’/customers’ feedback does not mean you have to say that your software is "in beta". Listen up Google Gmail! I do understand the marketing halo effect you receive as a "Beta" product where people will go to check you out simply because being in beta makes you the new, cool product on the block. I personally believe though that this will fade over time as the whole Web2.0 hype (yes, there is a transformation occurring and it's been happening for a long time) settles down and the bubble bursts (yet again).

Will we put transLucidonline on sites where Web2.0 beta products are being promoted?  Of course we will! transLucidonline itself can definitely be considered a new product and understand what Web2.0 might mean for us. Do we love our Web2.1 colleagues even though they are all in "beta"? You bet we do!

 'nough said now, over and out.