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Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

sethgodin.typepad.com

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Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#11

Post by fallentimes »

halo wrote: post #3

No. That's missing the point. It's got to stop. Social features are great for some things. Social features are not great if you shoe-horn them in a totally inappropriate way that doesn't add value. Life is better for me and the vast majority of its users if FireFox doesn't add pointless social features that I won't use anyway. I don't want to see people's ratings for sites, see grouped recommendations or communicate…

Maybe it's just me and the people I know, but the real value of firefox - other than the obvious advantages over IE - is the plugin functionality.

So when Google Chrome came out, I immediately thought of it as a IE killer - not a Firefox killer. I'm almost scared for them to start providing plugin support/features/etc as it could just end up being Firefox.

Have you ever blogged about Halo's Law?

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#12

Post by ScottWhigham »

fallentimes wrote: post #11
halo wrote: post #3

No. That's missing the point. It's got to stop. Social features are great for some things. Social features are not great if you shoe-horn them in a totally inappropriate way that doesn't add value. Life is better for me and the vast majority of its users if FireFox doesn't add pointless social features that I won't use anyway. I don't want to see people's ratings for sites, see grouped recommendations or communicate…

Maybe it's just me and the people I know, but the real value of firefox - other than the obvious advantages over IE - is the plugin functionality. So when Google Chrome came out, I immediately thought of it as a IE killer - not a Firefox killer. I'm almost scared for them to start providing plugin support/features/etc as it could just end up being Firefox. Have you ever blogged about Halo's Law?

Same here - I only use FF b/c of the add-ins. After that, all browsers are equally suck in my book. Chrome was fast therefore I like it. It doesn't have add-ins so it loses to FF.

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#13

Post by fallentimes »

ScottWhigham wrote: post #12
fallentimes wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's just me and the people I know, but the real value of firefox - other than the obvious advantages over IE - is the plugin functionality. So when Google Chrome came out, I immediately thought of it as a IE killer - not a Firefox killer. I'm almost scared for them to start providing plugin support/features/etc as it could just end up being Firefox. Have you ever blogged about Halo's Law?

Same here - I only use FF b/c of the add-ins. After that, all browsers are equally suck in my book. Chrome was fast therefore I like it. It doesn't have add-ins so it loses to FF.

I've actually found myself using both or either depending on the task and the computer I have.

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#15

Post by unalone »

_b8r0 wrote: post #7
maurycy wrote: post #4

Actually I think that Seth misses the point as well. I don't care whether other people wear the same clothes as me. I recommend because I like. Firefox's response to Chrome should be not adding new features but removing existing ones, or, at least, redesigning them to make the UI even easier.

Actually I think that Seth routinely misses the point. He's a great marketeer, but he's not a product manager anymore than a usability specialist.

Agreed. He's shown that he can take anything, even crap, and figure out how to sell it better. I think that this example WOULD sell Firefox, for instance. However, I find that a lot of his stuff IS crap, and marketing doesn't fix that. Squidoo, for instance, is terrible and pointless, even if it IS on the Alexa 500 (and I'll never know WHY it is, for that matter).

Frankly, I'd prefer Firefox NOT market itself and focus on making itself the best browser it can be. It's not good enough right now to create good marketing, so it shouldn't bother.

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#16

Post by cookiecaper »

I guess nobody clued this guy in on extensions. As Firefox gains more marketshare, it also gains more extension developers and users. It also allows the web to advance. That is the aggregated benefit of more marketshare for Firefox. The social features this guy recommends belong in extensions, and, incidentally, extensions with that functionality already exist.

I think the "social media" obsession has gone on long enough. I was so sick of "social [x]" for everything (social laundromat finder, wee!) more than a year ago, when's it going to wear out?

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#17

Post by netcan »

fallentimes wrote: post #11
halo wrote: post #3

No. That's missing the point. It's got to stop. Social features are great for some things. Social features are not great if you shoe-horn them in a totally inappropriate way that doesn't add value. Life is better for me and the vast majority of its users if FireFox doesn't add pointless social features that I won't use anyway. I don't want to see people's ratings for sites, see grouped recommendations or communicate…

Maybe it's just me and the people I know, but the real value of firefox - other than the obvious advantages over IE - is the plugin functionality. So when Google Chrome came out, I immediately thought of it as a IE killer - not a Firefox killer. I'm almost scared for them to start providing plugin support/features/etc as it could just end up being Firefox. Have you ever blogged about Halo's Law?

This is off topic, but I'll bite.

Chrome isn't an IE killer, its a Firefox killer. Why? because Chrome (like IE) is a chosen browser. IE is a default.

Most Firefox users have chosen to use it. Downloaded it. Installed it. Tried it & use it. Most IE users have not.*

Once someone is making a choice, you can reach her. Say 'but wait there's more.' IE users aren't even going to know about Chrome. They won't ever be consciously deciding between browsers. If they are, resistance to change is a big factor. If Chrome becomes demonstrably better choice, it will be chosen. But only by those making a choice. Everyone else isn't listening.

So basically FF users make a choice & Chrome gets to make its pitch. IE users don't. Product similarity has nothing to do with it. Its market similarity that runs this show.

*Obviously some IE users made a choice. They're in the FF category.

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#18

Post by netcan »

pavelludiq wrote: post #5

I think i missed his point. Maybe I'm retarded, but i didn't get what he was saying. Did he compare Firefox to fashion, religion, and an obsolete communication device?

Yes he did. That part of the post makes sense.

He's encouraging FF to have an in-built mechanism for giving users incentive to recommend something, anything. What he proposes is bad.

Re: Seth's Blog: Firefox is missing the point

#20

Post by froo »

unalone wrote: post #15
_b8r0 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually I think that Seth routinely misses the point. He's a great marketeer, but he's not a product manager anymore than a usability specialist.

Agreed. He's shown that he can take anything, even crap, and figure out how to sell it better. I think that this example WOULD sell Firefox, for instance. However, I find that a lot of his stuff IS crap, and marketing doesn't fix that. Squidoo, for instance, is terrible and pointless, even if it IS on the Alexa 500 (and I'll never know WHY it is, for that matter). Frankly, I'd prefer Firefox NOT market itself and foc…

If you've ever looked at some of these 3rd string Internet marketers (the ones that mostly sell ebooks or talk about adsense arbitrage) you'll eventually see some non-expert talking about SEO and one of the first things they'll mention is Squidoo.

I think it is because Squidoo gives people a platform to put whatever contextual text they want in, with outbound links that provide link-juice to whatever site/affiliate link they want.

If you ask me, it feels more like a spam blog that has multiple authors that can sign up at anytime - but that is just my opinion.

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