#21 - The labs of Google

You may have noticed that some of the web 2.0 services we've looked at are more complete than others. In the case of the later, most of the expected service features work but the overall service has yet to be perfected. Welcome to perpetual beta, a frequent occurance in the world of Web 2.0 where services are in a constant state of improvement.

Perpetual Beta

Tim O'Reilly, originator of the 'web 2.0' moniker, describes it this way:

the product is developed in the open, with new features slipstreamed in on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. It's no accident that services such as Gmail, Google Maps, Flickr, del.icio.us, and the like may be expected to bear a "Beta" logo for years at a time.

(the relevant section of this article is great, though long and technical)
Google and Beta

Today we look at the officially sanctioned world of Google beta products. Why Google? They're doing some wonderfully interesting things and most of the customization functions will work with the Google ID you set up for your Learning 2.0 blog.

Yes, I'm finally learning - we're trying to save you from password fatigue.

Google's beta world is officially labeled Google Labs.

This is where you can go to see their new ideas, some old ideas that were never-quite-completed, and a list of 'graduates' that are now in wider use.

Though some of the products you'll see in Google Labs are quite complex, today's lesson and Discovery Exercise are nice and simple.

1. Head over to Google Labs
   
2. Play around with 2 or 3 of the services listed - I highly recommend Google Trends which analyzes (instead of searching) occurances of your search terms
   
3. Blog about your experiences, what worked, what didn't work, what was potentially useful

And then give yourself some silent applause - you are halfway through the third to last week of Learning 2.0.

Next up: Web 2.0 Award Winners...