Just yesterday we got the news that the doors will be open for "testing" of New Moon Girl Media's upcoming online experience for girls ages 8 - 12, New Moon Girls Online. All our girl boards, including the GWEB, will get access codes for the site so that they can check out how it works. Even the staff hasn't been inside the new sites yet, so we're all at the edges of our seats!


All websites go through at least one round of testing before they're opened to the public. That's because, during design, it's not possible to imagine every possible thing someone might try on the site. By having real people come in and start using it before it goes public, it gives the programmers an extra way of catching problems. It also gives them the opportunity to make changes based on feedback, or to plan changes to be added onto the site later.


Have you signed up for a "beta" site? Many sites consider themselves in the "beta" stage when they first launch. That means that all the first users of the site are considered beta testers -- the ones who will give the programmers the information they need to know about whether the site's running correctly. I was one of the beta users of LiveJournal and Vox when they first launched, and gmail and the new YahooMail are both considered to be in their beta stages. Usually beta sites are fully functioning and the users can't even tell they're in the "beta" stages. But it still feels cool to know you're among a site's first users!


We'll be back with updates about what we've seen "inside" once we get our access codes to New Moon Girls Online!