Beta
Posted by David Harris Thu, 05 Jan 2006 18:57:00 GMT
So, yesterday I buy the coolest thing EVER. It’s a Beta Book. For those not familiar with software lingo, “beta” is a prerelease stage where you have people who will be customers or users actually use the software and comment on where it is, so changes can be made to customize it to the people who want it.
Now, I’m learning all about AJAX, which is the ability to basically run an application on the web without having to keep loading new pages. Think GMail or Google Maps, or I think even Yahoo Mail has some AJAX features. Basically just sweet to use. And pretty much all my web application business ideas are based on the concepts AJAX gives me. Except, I’ve kinda been absent from the web world over the past year and haven’t stayed up on things.
So, I went to buy a book from people I trust, the Pragmatic Programmers. They tend to follow the same software development mantra as myself; Less Software, Customer Driven, etc. And I knew they had a book Pragmatic AJAX. Only I did not know it was a Beta Book.
The beta book is basically the concept of instead of waiting to have it printed, you get an electronic copy of the book (PDF format) for a few less bucks in its current condition. You submit “errata” (i.e. typos, incorrect information, potential hazards, etc.) for each page. When new versions are released, you get free upgrades. When the final book is released, you get the final copy and any future upgrades to it, and you have the option of paying a few extra bucks for a paper version. Some companies even give the paper version for free to people who have contributed to finding errors. The main benefit is that you get information right away, and you can stay current to technology, especially important in today’s world. And usually, you get it for cheaper because they know you will contribute too. A better book is published, with little editing needs before publication.
Now, I expand this idea to everything. Art, movies, music, novels, poems, software, anything a person wishes. What if there were a central place to contain people’s personal projects? If they allowed a Beta version of a movie they were creating? Or a video game? And that place would allow other people to not just comment on it, but would have the ability to actually edit it and make changes, kinda a collaboration place.
I just bought the domains ourbeta.com and mybetaproject.com for just this purpose. This is probably at the top of my business ideas list, and one that can make decent money. Instead of charging users for using the site, I simply take a percentage of whatever they make by selling their beta projects from the site. An EXCELLENT way for an entrepreneur to start a portfolio or business, and a way for me to get a cut of it. :)
