Jessica had some obvious problems switching this blog from the old Blogger to the new Blogger Beta. She's not the only one who has blogged about Blogger Beta problems.

Now, I'm a big fan of the concept of "beta is forever," which has become one of the defining principles of Library 2.0. But releasing a product or service in beta that causes more frustrations, and more frustrated public blog posts, doesn't do anyone much good. I'm not saying everything has to work perfectly, but there should be more positives than negatives. When Firefox 2 came out, there were some problems (heck, my own upgrade on our family computer went much less than smoothly, making me a very cranky and unhappy camper), but in general, the responses I saw to it (and my own overall feelings about it) were positive.

I've really tried to apply "beta is forever" and good beta practices a part of my regular work at my library. When we're planning new programs and services and hammering out all of the details, I think it's important to keep in mind, and the remind everyone else, that what we present to the public doesn't have to be perfect, the final product. But it does have to be good, and we shouldn't put something out that's half-assed and a dollar short.

What does everyone else think about "beta is forever"? In what ways have you (or could you) apply it to your regular work? In what way can it be practically applied to librarianship in general? And in what ways is it a bad idea?

EDIT: In trying to set up "labels" for this post, I got a bunch of error messages that basically tell me the new Blogger doesn't handle tagging all that well.

Just in case there is any confusion:

Anyone can post a new topic to this blog once they have signed up for a Blogger account using their GOOGLE login information. Once that step is complete, just send me an email with/from your PREFERRED email address. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SEND ME YOUR GOOGLE OR BLOGGER INFO! All I need is the email address where you would like to receive your invatation to join the blog. Once you get your invitation, follow the instructions to ACCEPT the invitation. You will then be added to the Library Talk blog as a poster.

Right now I seem to be all set with moderators - thanks for all the interest!

ANYONE can comment and participate in the discussions - you do not need to be a Library Talk poster, or even have a Blogger account.

Library Talk (as well as my other blogs) has moved over to the BETA version of Blogger.
Since this is a new blog created using an unmodified template, I don't anticipate any big problems. On the plus side, posters will now be able to (and are encouraged to!) tag their posts; I will add a "tags" section to the sidebar prontito. Just FYI: Blogger calls tags "labels," and "labels" can be added in the lower-right corner of the post screen.

If you encounter any problems with the BETA version, please let me know.

OK, I need someone to talk to me about Google Reader.

After trying a few different readers (a long time ago), I settled on Bloglines. I guess I don't think about it much; it's always done what I thought it was supposed to do.

Now everyone is talking about Google Reader and how WONDERFUL it is! So, I tried it, and, um, I don't get all the excitement. Am I missing something? I am not using aggregators "correctly?" What's my problem?

Thanks,
Jessica

Library Talk is a community blog for librarians, library students, and others with an "information problem." If you have a question, an opinion, or just want to discuss something, this is the place to do it.

Posting a Topic
Anyone with a Blogger account can be added as a "team member" and post a topic to this blog.
To become a team member, please send me your e-mail address, the link to your blog (if you have one), and a quick hello. You will then get an invitation to join the blog, and you can post your topics. Please send me the email address you prefer to get mail at - you do not need to send me your gmail address or your Blogger account info.

Commenting
The "discussion" of posted topics will take place via comments.
Anyone can comment - you do not have to have a Blogger account or sign up to become a team member. Word verification will be on to cut down on comment spam, and comment moderation may be enabled if spam or other abuse becomes a problem.

Topics
I only ask (at this point) that topic posters be at least somewhat involved or interested in the world of info science. Libraries, librarianship, research, education, books, reading, internet technology, social software, information tools, conferences - all great topics. Comments should follow the post's topic; if you want to take the conversation to a "different place," please create a new topic post.

Be Nice
Naturally, common courtesy is expected. Debates are fine as long as they are civil.
Personal attacks, hate speech (on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion - you get the idea), and threatening language will not be tolerated.
This is designed to be an adult community, meaning, I don't get uptight about "profanity." But, you know, use your head.

I hope you'll join us!