Legal Research

Just Beta it, Just beta it ?

By scott

I came across an iPhone app for Brightkite the other day, which was handy as it reminded me that I actually have a Brightkite account. I could remember it was a kind of location tracking/updating tool but little else. I have since had a further play with it and am not really sure it gives me anything I can not already get from most Twitter Apps. Also, it has failed to correctly identify my location on almost every occasion I have used it - which for a location-based tool is not a great selling or recommending point.

But anyway, this also got me thinking about the many (make that MANY) things I have signed up to look at over the past few years, and just how many I still use. A quick search for the word ‘beta’ in my email folder brought back a frightening number of hits which included the following: (and yes, I was too lazy to provide hyperlinks to them)

Brightkite
Fire Eagle
Friendfeed
Mento
Ning
Twitter
Pownse
Jaiku
Netvous
Yahoo 360
Diigo
Twine
RawSugar
ToRead
Quotiki
Library Thing
Listal
Tag2Find
HelloTxT
Trumba
Tripit
LastFM
MOG
Onaswarm
Scrybe
Plaxo
Pageonce
Social Thing
Eluma
PingFM
Profilactic
ZigTag
Evernote
Funambol
Soocial
True Thinker
Plum
Kwippy
8apps
Backpack
Box.net
Identica
Highrise
Me.dium
TagWorld
Big Contacts
Webslides
Thumbstacks
All peers
Zapr
Collective X
Mywebdesktop
LinkedIn
30 Boxes
Pageflakes
Netvibes
ClaimID
Wink
Zoto
Rollyo
Rapleaf
Consumating
Offbeat Guides
Shelfari
Plurk
Digg
Bebo
Corkd
Dopplr
Facebook
ma.gnolia
Jotspot
Mahalo
Multiply
Orkut
Newsvine
Mosuki
Remember The Milk
ToDo
BlinkList
Airset
Conversate
eSnips
Tiktrac
NewsAlloy
Bubbleshare
MP3Tunes
Alltunes
Newshutch
Comeeko
GlobeTrip
Fuser
Zivity
ThinkFree
Zimbio

There were at least half as many again, but I think this list illustrates the point. Anyway, I thought that this might provide an opportunity to maybe reassess some of these products and services - a number of which, I really don’t have any recollection of at all. Did I stop using them because I didn’t like them? because they were crap? because I just couldn’t see my own need for it, even though it may have been good? In some cases I am not quite sure. So, over the next few weeks I will be taking a second look at a number of the things above to see if I may have been too hasty to abandon them, or in case they have developed into something that is now worth paying attention too. I will also get around to mentioning some that I could not live without.

Whilst you wait for me to do that, I wonder if my list will remind you of some things that you too signed up to and had totally forgotten about?!

Full post as published by Information Overload on February 25, 2009 (boomark / email).