The New World of Internet Browsers
Today, RockMelt, a company that was founded by a group of people from Netscape, is going to release a new browser and offer free downloads to help get the word out[1]. RockMelt is a browser built around the idea of social networking. Most people spend far more time on their Internet browsers than on any other program on their computer, but most browsers have not adapted and evolved with the introduction of social media on the Web.
When you first look at the new RockMelt browser it looks like any other browser you have ever seen, but the difference comes on the sides of the screen. Each side of the browser has a thin rail with icons on it. The left shows peoples friends, and the right shows the users favorite social media sites including twitter and Facebook. The browser also includes a “share” button that will help to make it even easier to share links and post items from the web onto twitter or Facebook. Users will also be able to update their statuses and see what their friends are doing right on the browsers main window.
Another added feature makes using Google easier. Usually when a person searches on Google, a list of options comes up with a description of the page, but with RockMelt the browser gets the page so the user can see the page they are about to go to before they click on it. “Had we known about Facebook and Twitter and Google back in ’92 or ’93, we would have built them into the browser,”[2] said Mr. Andreessen, whose company is providing much of the financial backing for RockMelt (he is referring to when he was involved in the creation of Netscape).
RockMelt will be free, and they plan on making their money by earning a share of the revenues that come from Web searches that the users conduct. RockMelt knows that a major challenge is simply going to be making sure they are heard. Being a new browser, it will not be easy, but they are hoping word of mouth and the uniqueness of their browser will help. Chrome, Google’s browser, has been promoted heavily and has been out for two years, but still only holds 8% of the browser market. And with Internet Explorer coming out with a new browser, it is important that RockMelt is heard.
RockMelt is not the first company to attempt a browser like this. Flock came out with something similar three years ago, but that was before social networking went mainstream. RockMelt is hoping that coming out with their browser now will work out better than Flock, simply because of timing.
Something like this could especially take off in colleges across the country. Students are always looking for the next cool thing, and recently that often relates to social networking. So if you could have a browser that helps you keep up with Facebook while you are browsing, why not? Getting the word out may be tough, but it is an interesting new product and one that may not have a large following at first, but it will have a loyal following.
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