One place I don't want to see the word "beta"

I've come to the conclusion that attaching the word "beta" to your fancy pants new website is less a commentary on your development status than a badge of honor, that you are down with Web 2.0, that you are new and different and exciting. And probably that you want money. This fad is generally pretty tame, and I've come to accept the fact that every new web service that launches will be a beta. One place however that is probably best served leaving the beta tag off the front page is the recently launched Healthline.com. Maybe I'm crazy, but if I am researching scoliosis treatments, I think I'd want a resource a little more advanced than some beta product. That being said I'm sure that healthline.com is a solid resource, and if you had scoliosis you'd be lucky to have such a fine website at your disposal.

Posted by Mark Allen on Monday, October 17, 2005