Anyone who uses the internet knows that social media is growing exponentially and can also be vital in bringing in new traffic to your website. Not to mention a great way to network. So anyway, Flock is a new social web browser and can be used as a regular browser if you want, but to get the most out of it, you need to use it for what it was created for. To connect everything you do in the world of social media.
Once you download the browser to your computer and open it up, you’ll be brought to a page called “My World.” Here you have a collection of all of your favorite sites, which already includes Myspace, Flickr, YouTube, and several more. Then there is a section for your feeds. This area is also pre-filled with several RSS feeds, mostly news related. The third section on this page is for your favorite media sites.
You can also add extensions. Most Firefox extensions seem to already work in Flock, but of course some don’t…yet. Just download your favorite extension and see if works. People are already creating Flock specific extensions, so you can be sure that your favorites will be included at some point.
One of the coolest features of Flock, is the ability to right click on a web page and select “Blog This” in the menu. A little editor will pop up that will give you the ability to type something up real quick, add tags, and preview your post. All you have to do is hit “Publish” and you can select from a drop down list of hosting services, which include sites such as Blogger, LiveJournal, and WordPress. When you are done, it will add your post directly to your blog and will take you to your site to preview it.
There is just so much stuff in this browser it can be a little daunting at first, but once you start poking around and checking things out, you can see just how useful this browser can be. Keep in mind that it is still in the very early stages of development, but I seriously recommend trying it out now and watching it grow more and more useful.
I like the ease of use features but how is Flock better than Firefox + a toolbar, add-in or two?
I wouldn’t say that it’s better than Firefox, but it’s an addition tool to add to your arsenal. I like how the browser is focused mainly on Social Media and puts all of your profiles in one easy to access place. And since it is compatible with Firefox plugins, you don’t have to open both browsers to use all of your other tools.