Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Beta for Blondes

Disclaimer: Geeks stop reading now. This article will probably offend you with its simplistic terminology and lack of tech talk.

A few months ago I was cruising through iTunes looking for sweet new jams to listen to while I worked. As I scrolled down the page looking at staff favorites and top hits, something new caught my eye, “Just for You” beta. Clearly I was intrigued. I think any blondes would be.  

So I began to explore this new frontier that was supposedly “just for me” and was pleasantly surprised when they gave me a plethora of musical options that I liked but hadn’t heard yet.  It was like iTunes was my musical mentor. I bought some new music and the world was at peace. A few weeks later I came back to my musical haven made “just for me”, but I was frustrated, it had all changed. I already owned the music they suggested or to my horror some of the songs I didn’t even like,
As you could imagine I was in utter turmoil and began to dislike beta.

Then beta became my biggest foe, showing up at every turn. It was there on my hotmail account, my friends and family started sending me Web sites that were in beta. I just didn’t get it!

What was this beta that was making me so flustered? One minute beta knew me and the next it was like a stranger. Well I did what any blonde would do, went to the web and wikied it (Wiki: A collaborative website whose content can be edited by anyone who has access to it.) The minute I got to the bottom of what this beta was, I felt at ease.

You have to understand I may work within the world of the Web, but I am by no means techy. I had heard of beta before, but brushed it off as “geek speak.” But when beta made a new appearance in my mainstream life it was apparent I needed to get with it.

Beta is basically the step after alpha in software development…right? That’s what I thought. Let me translate, when software is developed they do a great deal of internal testing, but that can only take it so far. At some point they have to test with the public and get a feel for what we think. This also helps to catch any last minute bugs because it can only be tested in so many scenarios internally. Allow me to compare to something we all understand: TV. Networks always screen test their shows to see how audiences react. Many times our favorite television shows were very different at their “beta” versions. An annoying aunt was replaced, or a new hot stud was added as a neighbor before we ever see the final version.

Beta isn’t just for geeks anymore. It seems that as companies work within the world of Web that every consumer becomes a beta tester. I myself have become a beta tester and I finally gave iTunes some feedback about “Just for You.” Who knows maybe beta and I can become friends.

I am not sure if everyone keeps their fingers on the pulse of iTunes as much as I do, but there is something very exciting, albeit extremely dorky now available.

If you travel to the "iTunes Store" in iTunes and look at the bottom of the left hand nav, you will see a link titled "iTunes U."

Is this an opportunity to listen to the latest in underground indie music for free? Sadly no.

However, iTunes U may be just as exciting (and if you go to iTunes radio you can find plenty of free music).

iTunes U offers users for free what students across the country are paying top dollar for--an Ivy League education. The evolution of the podcast and online class has taken a giant leap with this new offering.

Lectures by top academics and thinkers at universities like Stanford, M.I.T. and Yale are all available for free.

Want to learn about blackholes? Well, the scientist who wrote the book on the subject will walk you through the intricacies of these space anomalies with a series of lectures.

The topics available are endless.

Commencement addresses by top thinkers and entire courses are all available for you to download.

AND, if you invite friends and plan your playlists right you can mix in some party music and relive the entire college experience...

NBC Universal’s decision to not renew its contract with Apple to sell digital downloads on iTunes is a short-term blow to consumer choice but may prove to create more competition and better pricing for digital downloads in the long-term.
 
Apple, through its popular iPod and iTunes franchises, has become the WalMart of online digital content for the masses. Sure, there are other devices and other ways to download video and music, but for those who aren’t tech wizards, Apple’s 1-2 punch of ease-of-use and popular mainstream content makes it the default choice.
 
If media companies want to exercise any say in how their products are marketed and sold online, now is the time to act while consumer purchase behaviors and expectations are being shaped. And, content producers should take a look at the role between traditional distribution channels and consumer packaged goods and how those roles have evolved over time. Dominant distribution channels don’t necessarily bode well for the product manufacturer or for expanding consumer choice.