As for the adoption of a FB browser, I would be curious to see how it would fare. I'm pretty convinced that most early adopters which sustained the initial adoption of Firefox and Chrome would never use a FB browser, because they would be worried about Facebook becoming the sole owner of the internet - and because they're perfectly able to be always on on FB, should they want to.
Could the typical Facebook user become an early adopter? Everything's possible, but it wouldn't be very easy.
If Facebook wastes their time and resources building and supporting a full-fledged BROWSER, they would be out of their mind. A Toolbar makes perfect sense.
The same way there's a new phone out there with a Facebook button right on the front. They are an add-on.
Building a browser is not just about adding neat social features. People use their browser to do everything - Facebook related or not, and when things happen OFF of Facebook, Facebook doesn't care - not in the same capacity as Google anyway. But if they build a browser, then they open a whole new can of worms.
Majority of Facebook users (35 - 45 yr old females and older) are not the crowd who like to install or capable of installing a new browser or even a new Firefox or Chrome toolbar without the help of GeekSquad or their nerdy nephew.
The other majority are tech users who are already on Firefox or Chrome and the last thing they want is another browser or let Facebook monitor all the websites they are visiting (although this is already happening in some levels)
Honest question - is it because people are ok with Google being in that role, or because they don't think Google is trying to get into that position?
Google has a nerd-friendly message, and produces things that are building dependence and are genuinely useful (like, say, gMail). So, people are less scared of it, and after some time denial kicks in.
Also, I'm bitter because Google is the one software company that I'm scared of more than of Facebook :-D
Of course, with Google betting so much on G+, this could change. But I can still hope that google will try to differentiate itself from FB, at least in the eyes of developers, by being more outwardly than facebook. If they can make an offer that is more compelling for third parties, not driving them to completely relocate themselves inside the G+ environment, they could benefit from that in the long term.
It is also not clear that a Facebook web browser would be an overnight success, as this article presumes. I'd say the opposite in fact. There has been enough big, old fashioned media interest in Facebook's privacy slip ups, that any Facebook browser would be negatively talked about in the press.
You'll need to explain that, because I don't think it's a logical step at all. The remainder of the article presents some benefits, but mentioning those does not make for a clear argument for why facebook should attempt to compete with their own browser.
Fixed the headline to be truthful.
And, of course, Google isn't stupid. Google+ is a fairly competent attempt to head off even this out there future.
Exactly. Facebook wasted their investment. That browser will never get above 5% usage. It would be like Camino.
I'd be willing to bet that a significant percentage of Facebook's users don't know what a browser is. They fire up Internet Explorer and are blissfully unaware that there are alternatives. This has been my experience with non-techies.
Those who do know what a browser is are likely to have Chrome, Firefox or Opera installed and probably see no personal benefit in downloading yet another browser. They are also unlikely to want to have Facebook invading their privacy even more.
The reasoning is backwards. Converting 200 million users to a new browser is not a trivial task. In what way would a facebook browser allow people to better access facebook?
An otherwise interesting article, but there is no iPad app.
