If you're an avid social networker with accounts on Facebook, MySpace, or any other of the dozens of social sites out there, there's a web browser made just for you. Based on the open-source Mozilla platform, the Flock web browser isn't just outrageously cool, it's extremely functional as well. In this article, we'll take a closer look at this latest development in web browsers and what it means for the future of web browsing.
First Impressions
After I downloaded the Flock web browser from Flock.com's home page, I really didn't expect much. "Eh, it'll probably be just another boring browser," I thought. But when I launched the kitschy new web software on my iMac and went through Flock's initial setup procedure (assigning the home page, importing favorites and settings, etc.), the wow! factor hit me like a ton of bricks.
Upon launch, the Flock cartoon guy immediately sprang into action with an informative tutorial on how to use Flock's features. That was a very smart move on Flock's part because the Flock web browser really is different than anything I've ever seen. Along with the Flock guy, the Flock browser launches two handy tabs: Flock Getting Started and MyWorld.
When the Flock guy was done with his slick presentation of the browser's features and amazing me with all the cool sharing functionality, I clicked the Flock Getting Started tab. This tab displays a list of Flock-supported social networking websites including MySpace, Facebook, Digg, Blogger, and Magnolia.
The party really got started when I clicked the MyWorld tab. Accessible at the click of a button from the Flock toolbar, MyWorld is your start page that displays up to four columns of information (widgets): favorite feeds, friend activity, favorite media, and favorite sites. MyWorld blends together all your online activity on one nice-looking page. Very cool.
Navigating the Flock Interface
I really like the cool blue-silver appearance of this web browser. Navigation buttons are intuitive and attractive. But the really unique feature of the Flock web browser is its toolbar, located in the top left of the display. From left to right, toolbar features include:
MyWorld. Click this button to display the MyWorld start page.
People. Click this button to display the People sidebar which allows you to log into MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, YouTube, or Twitter. Using this sidebar you can display all your friends while you surf the web and even drag and drop pictures and videos to your friends.
Media Bar. The media bar is by far the coolest feature of the Flock web browser. Click this button to display the media bar above the row of tabs. The things you can do in the media bar are amazing: search for media on video and photo sharing sites; add media streams to your favorites; click pictures or videos to open a new tab that displays media via its original source; drag and drop media directly into blogs; and share with friends by dragging and dropping media into your People sidebar.
News Feeds. Click this button to display your favorite news feeds for instant updates on what's going on in the world.
Webmail. Click this button to log into your favorite web-based e-mail account and check your messages.
Favorites. Click this button to display the Favorites sidebar which displays your history, tags, local favorites (on your hard drive), and your online favorites via social bookmarking with Delicious or Magnolia.
Accounts and Services. Click this button for one-click access to Flock-supported social networking, blogging, and media sites.
Web Clipboard. Click this button to drag and drop links, images, and text into the clipboard for later use.
Blog Editor. Click this button to display Flock's built-in blog editor. Using the blog editor, you can create a new blog while checking out other websites at the same time. You must have already logged in to your blogging site for this to work.
Photo Uploader. Drag and drop any photo from the web or upload a photo from your computer to share on Flock-supported social networking sites. I uploaded a photo to my personal Facebook account and it was a breeze. You must have already logged in to your photo-sharing or social networking site for this to work.
Getting Help
If you need help, the Flock guy is available 24/7. Just select Help > Flock Tutorial and select a topic to get your answers. Or, select Help > Flock Help to display the Flock 2.0 User Guide.
Overall, the Flock web browser is a very cool way to navigate the waters of Social Web 2.0. While I would like to see search functionality inside the Flock 2.0 User Guide help window and the ability to customize Flock's list of social networking sites, I see a very bright future for this unique, fun, and exciting web browser.