Firefox

Rockmelt, Anyone?

By Mark Evans in Browsers, Social Media 3 Comments Tags: , , , ,

In November, Rockmelt burst onto the scene as the new (and latest) social browser. It helped the start-up is financially backed by Marc Andreessen, and it’s a browser with a strong dose of Facebook.

Since Rockmelt made its debut, it has disappeared from the scene. There’s no chatter about Rockmelt, no sign it is gaining market share, and no one in my social-happy circles seem to be using it. In other words, Rockmelt seems to have melted as opposed to rocketed.

So what happened? Why has Rockmelt fizzled after such a strong kick-off?

I think part of it is Rockmelt’s heavy focus on Facebook, making it a Facebook browser as opposed to a social browser. It may also be due to the reality the browser market is extremely competitive with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari dominating the scene. This makes it difficult to establish a foothold unless a new browser is fantastic or launched by a strong player such as Google.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Rockmelt is it wasn’t launched by Facebook. So while it’s a Facebook-dominated browser, it’s not part of Facebook. My sense is Rockmelt would be a much bigger success if was the much rumored F-browser as opposed to a plucky start-up that was seemingly created to be acquired by Facebook.

If Rockmelt was the F-browser, it would have the backing and clout of Facebook and, as a result, would have an easier time convincing Facebook user to adopt it. It would probably have tighter integration with Facebook and be closer aligned with with Facebook’s new features.

Instead, Rockmelt sits in an awkward place. It’s trying to be a social browser but it’s a difficult place to establish a foothold. For people who remember Flock (aka the original social browser), it’s not clear whether people are looking for a browser that embraces social media.

At the same time, Rockmelt’s biggest obstacle may be people are happy with the other browser choices. It may be Rockmelt was a victim of bad timing in that the new kid on the block status was claimed by Chrome, leaving Rockmelt on the outside looking in.


One Web Browser Isn’t Enough

By Mark Evans in Browsers 5 Comments Tags: , , ,

Here’s a confession: I’m a tab junkie. Not Tab, the diet cola soft drink sold by Coca-Cola, but Web browser tabs.

Without even thinking about it, there can be 30 to 50 tabs open within Firefox, which probably explains why Apple’s ball of death appears on a regular basis. The problem is there’s just too many interesting things to use and read.

So, what’s the solution for having an addiction to too many tabs? Well, you simply use a second browser (aka the secondary browser, according to my friend, Kevin Restivo). The second browser provides access to the services used on a regular basis: GMail, Facebook, Google Reader, Twitter, YouTube, Techmeme, Hacker News, et al).

For the second browser, I’m using Google Chrome. It’s a quick, no-frills browser that serves as nice companion to Firefox, which has all the bells and whistles (and add-ons) required.

Using two browsers probably isn’t the best or most processor-friendly solution but it helps manage my tab addiction. (Note: Hat tip to Cheryl Smith for the tab tweak.)


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