Exclusive Betas
The new Tweetbot for iPad app was released to the public today, and it’s a great app. Here’s something I’ve noticed about what the blog writers are saying about it, though:
I helped beta test both versions and there’s a ton of great new stuff.
I’ve been testing out Tweetbot for iPad for a few weeks now, it’s brilliant.
I’ve been using it for the past several weeks and the more I use it the more I like it. Highly recommended.
Though I miss the days of public betas - when for a little extra work and a little extra patience you could have all of the coolest stuff fresh off the build server - I understand why those days are over. For one, Apple won’t even let you publicly distribute an app beta, and that conflicts with the practice of never revealing a product until it’s ready to buy. Also, there are advantages to hand-picking beta testers. Above all, though, nobody will argue that the quality of apps have suffered as a result - well, at least I wouldn’t.
However, I’m a bit perturbed by how so many of the popular and highly-respected blog writers were in on the beta. Is it really a beta, or an exclusive preview disguised as a beta? Are the writers being let in on it because they’re good beta testers (which they probably are) or because they’re more likely to drive traffic to their new app than anyone else? It smells fishy to me.
