Let's start with some good news about Drupal version 8, in particular the D8 contrib space.
o A number of developers with positive attitudes have put their monies where there mouths are with #D8CX pledges.
o You can already create maps in D8
o New training materials, videos, courses have popped up everywhere, e.g. here (see comment by Ryan Rszrama) and at http://d8cx.org.
Yay! Stuff is happening!
But don't pop the champagne corks just yet.
At the moment D8 still suffers from technical debt. Wikipedia says of this condition:
"The debt can be thought of as work that needs to be done before a particular job can be considered complete."
It is a normal occurrence in software and not terminal. It can be cured.
Top Shelf Modules have been keeping a finger on D8's pulse with their live, up-to-date info-graphic on their home page. We've been +following its trend since this snapshot was taken one month ago, 18 Aug 2013.
So since that day, has D8's health improved?
Today 18 Sept 2013, 222 (+18, since last month) D8 modules are available.... and so are 7273 (+207) D7 modules.
It appears that we still spend more contrib development time on D7 than D8.
Net result: one month on we still have a gaping wound in D8 that is the size of 96.9% of all D7 modules out there.
The patient is responding to treatment, but there's not a lot of it, so recovery is slow.
If we continue to do little, the road to D8 will be paved with piles of D7 flotsam and jetsam plus some quality D8 modules few and far between. Progress towards a rich set of contrib modules that make D8 shine as an enviable platform will be severely hampered and delayed. [By the way, same will be true for Backdrop, if it doesn't pay attention to its contrib backlog]
With the increasing amount of D8 training materials available, the issue has become less how to do it. It is now: help us do it!
Time and dollars are limited resources. However these aren't the biggest road blocks. The real blockers are in the attitudes and in the minds of people.
Unblock your minds! And let's all hit the contrib road!
Image: D8 highway near Prague (by pildik)