WebProNews

A lot of people enjoy being testers; the practice essentially lets them get their hands on cool stuff way before everyone else.  At the same time, the people behind the products appreciate receiving early feedback.  So Yahoo's adopting a smart approach to its SearchMonkey program and making unfinished applications more accessible.

Would-be users needn't worry about getting treated like guinea pigs; Yahoo will continue to screen things for both security and legal problems in addition to basic functionality.  What's at stake here should more often be just a little polish.

Nick Cox explains on the Yahoo Search Blog, "[O]ften minor details such as a missing logo or a non-conditional display can keep innovative apps from reaching the gallery.  Starting today, even if an app doesn't meet all of the gallery guidelines, it will still be quickly approved as an experimental app . . ."

From there, users who opt in will be able to play with whatever Yahoo search upgrades they like.  They'll be able to provide developers with feedback and feature requests, and should any changes occur, Cox notes, "You can also get automatic upgrades to the latest versions when changes are made to the applications."

This seems like a smart way to get users and developers more involved with Yahoo.  Don't be surprised if the official integration of SearchMonkey apps picks up as a result, too.