Generation Y, known as generally the children of the baby boomers, exhibit particular characteristics that mark them distinctly from other generations. No trait is as pronounced as their impatience; the Generation Y kids want everything immediately and identify success in terms of newness. It is, therefore, of little surprise that it is this generation and this age range that gave way to the development of ‘beta’ modes. Generation Y’s impatience and love of exclusivity directly sparked the onslaught of beta technology.
A website, software, or other technology is in ‘beta’ mode when it is not yet released to the public. Instead, it is still being tested by people aptly named ‘beta testers’. These users are generally members of the public at large who are privy to the technology before its release. Compensation for being permitted early access to the program or website comes from the consumer offering direct feedback and discovering bugs the technology may have. In using beta testers, companies cut costs while carefully manipulating Generation Y’s love of early access — and its impatience — via marketing.
Betas are ever-changing, just as technology constantly develops. At the time of this paper, Mozilla’s Firefox browser released its 4.7 betas amid countless news stories and press. Google’s email service, Gmail was in beta for quite some time. Their new Google voice service was in beta for two years. During that time, the buzz was generated for their products and when the actual technology was released, the number of people who wanted the service was quite large. By keeping their products under wraps, companies prey upon consumer desire to have the best immediately; Generation Y’s impatience and emphasis on the “me, now” is especially susceptible to such a ploy.
In addition to serving as a clever way to generate consumer interest, betas also reflect some other points. Idealistically, they make it quite clear that everything is a process; no technology is set in stone. Every beta marks an improvement upon the last release of a product and companies are dedicated to making better technologies. Improvement is important; it generates further consumer interest and keeps competitors at bay. More cynically, a beta release means that the manufacturer does not have to claim responsibility for errors and bugs. If a user is running a beta, it is with the understanding that the technology is not ready for consumer release and complaints, while valid, cannot garner very much traction. If beta is buggy, that is simply because it is a beta release. If a consumer wants an error-free experience, he or she should simply wait for the final release. In winding itself in beta, the company has plausible deniability for its accountability. Betas serve a company just as much as they serve Generation Y’s desire to have the best, the newest, quickly.
Generation Y has a direct impact on the entire idea of beta development. Their desire to have the new, to be part of an exclusive club, rises out of their unique experiences. They are the only generation to have such a large number of young adults living at home in a phenomenon called “boomerang kids”. After an economic recession, many college-educated young adults were forced to move back in with their parents to keep financially afloat. Beta development offered these people a bit of prestige in an otherwise frustrating situation. Generation Y also has very different employee/employer relations. They are the children of the internet; multitasking is a huge part of their everyday. Employers, who are commonly not of the same generation, are forced to understand that their workers can now focus on many tasks — including the release of new technology, oftentimes through the use of that very new technology — at once. The now-now-now, multitasking culture of Generation Y made it a prime target for beta marketing.
Beta testing is, at worst, an extraordinarily manipulative, clever advertisement tactic. At best, it is free labor for technological companies and a way for Generation Y to feel special. If nothing else, however, it is a uniquely interesting way for companies to utilize an entire age group’s impatient desire to access everything immediately. No one seems to hate waiting for more than Generation Y; the need for immediate satisfaction comes from never having anything denied and beta releases simply feed right into that sentiment of Generation Y.