Flock: for people who like to be connected
June 30, 2008 – 9:11 amI was on a web site the other day when I noticed an advertisement for a new browser called “Flock“. I don’t know why I clicked it — I liked the name, I think — but, after reading about this new browser developed by the company of the same name, I decided to download it and give it a shot.
As the web site says in its company info page, “Flock was founded on the vision that the web browser can and should enable the richest user experience possible across information-gathering, sharing, communication, self-expression and interaction.” Basically, the company seems to have tasked itself with building a new web browser, based on the Mozilla platform, that will better integrate with some of the Web 2.0 services out there such as Facebook, MySpace, Digg, YouTube and Flickr, and do so in such a way that you have constant, consistent access to your accounts on any of these pages.
Flock is currently available on any platform that can run Firefox 3 — that’s the core of the browser code. So if you get a chance, download it and check it out…you might like it.
What’s the concept?
A browser that actively attempts to organize your social networking tools and accounts on web 2.0 media web sites such as Flickr and Twitter. It also has a blog editor, and it even is able to check online web mail for you and lets you know when new messages are received.
Why should you care?
Because as more social networking sites begin to appear, you’ll need some way to organize all that information!
How do they make money?
Right now they’re funded by venture capital. In the future, they may be funded by search clicks, much like Mozilla-based browsers like Firefox are.
Will this company last 5 years?
It’s likely that they will, but I think that it will greatly depend on the adoption of their web browser and whether others, such as Microsoft or Apple, see Flock’s unique attributes as something worth copying into their own browsers (IE and Safari, respectively).
Suggestions for improvements?
Though powerful, I feel like the interface is a little overwhelming right now, and maybe it’s because I’m a relatively new user. Perhaps as I get used to it I’ll be able to use it more effectively.
