PSFK grimaces at the dead-man-walking entrance of Google Analytics into the blogosphere. I agree, and like them have found the trusty Statcounter to be, well, trusty. But this is just another manifestation of the beta-ness of so much of what we use for tools these days. (Can you imagine – Honda Civic 2006, Beta 1?)
So I’m not as perturbed as some might be with all things beta (heck, I spent the weekend stress-testing an alpha version of a new theme for the blog) – even if Google Analytics was unusually DOA – and one of the things I’ve come to admire about Google is their inclination to release betas as such, warts and all – something that they are able to do more than most, of course, because of the freedom their revenue model gives them from consumer expectations. Yes, I know the perma-beta-ness of their launches is something of a standing joke, but it seems to me that it also speaks to a relative fearlessness of culture, which, I think, is a very good thing.
After all, they are the Borg, and it’s not the today or the tomorrow they’re after – it’s the thereafter. Now, if they could just deal with the splog issue, that would be something ….
