Rappler drops beta, officially launches

MANILA, Philippines – One year and 8 months after going online, Rappler officially leaves its beta status behind.

Rappler managing editor Glenda Gloria made the announcement at the #ThinkPH Big Data Summit, held at the New World Hotel in Makati Friday, August 23, marking the website’s official launch.

In her opening remarks, Gloria acknowledged the power of social media’s growth and how Rappler provided context and analysis for its readers.

By providing context and analysis and writing compelling stories, she explained, people can make better sense of the world and bring about change. The formal launch of Rappler is a testament to that.

While the beta tag is often used to say that a site is in an experimental form, dropping the tag also cements Rappler’s place as a public service for news and information.

Gloria mentioned how, as Rappler is now out of beta, the site would also be receiving some upgrades.

“Rappler is now completely mobile responsive,” she explains, adding that the service also has an app on the iOS and Android app stores.

In addition to the mood meter and mood navigator, Rappler also introduced the mega-drop-down menu.

The mega-drop-down allows users to easily find site content, with story thumbnails acting as indicators to new or interesting stories on Rappler.com.

“Today’s milestone,” said Gloria, “is our way of saying we’re in this for the long haul and we hope we’re all in this together.”

While Rappler removes the beta from the site, the spirit of constant innovation at Rappler will remain, with new features and improvements pushing Rappler.com forward to new milestones in the future. – Rappler.com