Mozilla To Build Social Networking Into Firefox

In early April 2007, sites began popping up all over the internet addressing one of Mozilla’s new endeavors with Firefox: The Coop. The Coop, which will potentially be Firefox’s built-in social network tool, is currently a project in Mozilla Labs. According to its Mozilla wiki, The Coop’s “design was influenced by Chris Messina’s mock up for the unimplemented “People in the Browser” feature, with a horizontal bar containing avatars for a user’s friends, and icons overlaid on those avatars to indicate the presence of new content.”

So much time is spent on social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace that it seems as though The Coop is the next logical step in the ever-evolving world of online social networking. The implementation of such an integrated system would allow socialites to always be viewing their social networks while looking at other websites without having to open more than one internet browser window. Convenient? Perhaps. Could this be too much? Could too much, constant exposure to online social networks cause the ties they created to weaken as a result?

The Coop’s first step in implementation would be as an add-on feature in Firefox. Online discussions have begun on the subject, and some argue that it should remain as an add-on rather than become a built-in feature. These individuals ask whether or not the internet browser should be “married” to the social network. Implementation into the browser itself has both pros and cons. As a built-in feature, Firefox might lose some fans, while gaining others. As an optional add-on, penetration into the already-existing Firefox user base might take longer, but at the same time, will not alienate those current users who don’t like the idea.

As we have seen with the various initial reactions to the implementation of Facebook’s News Feeds, only time can tell the true impact that The Coop will have on the web. Also, initial reactions do not always dictate the success or failure of a product. As time went on, users began to embrace Facebook’s News Feeds, and cannot remember Facebook without it. If The Coop does get officially released by Mozilla, its success will be dictated by the creation of new ties between Firefox users, both old and new. The large social network between current Firefox users might even be enough to forecast Firefox’s potential growth in internet browser market share.

If implemented, it will be interesting to see the social network that The Coop will create. It will provide a playground for Firefox users to interact on a level previously unavailable to them. Since Firefox has a strong following as a browser, it has the potential to create a strong and powerful online social network.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/04/03/mozilla-to-build-social-features-into-firefox-bad-news-for-flock/