Beta List helps you join private betas ahead of the crowd

In most cases, by the time you hear about a cool beta test that you'd like to be a part of, it's too late. When sites like TechCrunch or Mashable break the news of a startup with an exclusive, the sign-up queues are inevitably flooded with wannabe testers, leaving you with a very big chance that you'll be left out in the cold. What you really need is an insider site, something that might warn you about closed, private betas before big tech sites announce the public beta. Something like betali.st, or Beta List, for example.

I must warn you: never has a single page contained so many hideous top-level domain wanks, and site names ending in the letter 'r'. But, despite the worrying, continuing prevalence of all-lower-case websites, Beta List is rather cool. Of course, for it to actually beat TechCrunch and Mashable to the punch, startup owners will have to actually tell Beta List about their closed beta tests. It has some well-established competition in the shape of The Museum of Modern Betas, too.

You can subscribe to Beta List via RSS, but the newsletter is probably a better option -- that way you can be properly alerted every time a new beta test is listed.

Tags: beta list, betali.st, BetaList, closed beta, ClosedBeta, MomBrain, private beta, PrivateBeta, startup, the museum of modern betas, TheMuseumOfModernBetas, web, web 2.0, Web2.0