Do we need another browser?

Netscape founder Marc Andreessen thinks we do and is actually funding a company called RockMeIt

All of us want the glory days of our youth a time when we used to roar down streets on a thundering motorcycle back. Of course, sometimes, it is a bit of a folly to revisit the days of our youth, when we had a lot more energy but were sadly lacking in wisdom, but many of us do it nevertheless.

One of those who are trying this is Marc Andreessen, who started the original browser revolution with Netscape. But Netscape was soon almost wiped out by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and Andreessen was remembered as the founder and for-a-while-competitor to the behemoth that is Bill Gates. Beyond that, right now, he is little more than a footnote in the history of browsers.



Comeback kid

Like all of us, Andreessen wants the glory days back. In 1995, when he was around 24 years old, he had something that few of us have 15 minutes of fame. And like all of us, he thinks that he still has it in him (hell, even Schumi wanted to do a comeback) and at 38 he is funding RockMelt, which wants to bring out a new browser.

There is one question that one wants to almost ask will it succeed? The answer could be a cruel but practical one who cares? After all, what you need is information, and to get that from the Web, you need a browser. Of course, there are things like Flash plug-ins and the like, but once you install them, that's it. You get information, so why bother with anything else?

Special features

There is one way in which RockMelt could make a difference by bringing out a browser that gives special features to people in a particular domain. For example, a browser called Flock (covered in IT ADDA in December 2008) has been created for users of social networking and is designed to appeal to people who use MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Blogger regularly.

But if RockMelt tries this, then it becomes a niche browser. Of course, it could try to become a general browser like IE or Firefox, but this could be a tough bargain. As the box shows, as of July 2009, Opera, Chrome and Safari have a combined market share of less than 9 per cent.

Connections matter

Somehow, there are indications that social networking predominantly Facebook, on whose board Andreessen sits as a director will have some connection here. In fact, The New York Times actually has a story that says that 'A privacy policy on the site...indicates the browser is intended to be coupled somehow with Facebook'.

And since Andreessen is also a co-founder of a company called Ning, which provides a platform for social-networking websites, there could be some truth in this.

So, though RockMelt today has nothing more than a logo and an input field for your e-mail so that they can give you an update, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that Andreessen is going to push for the social networking route. Of course, if he succeeds, he will have to contend with the fact that prominent browsers can also incorporate these features.

The moral of the story? Don't try at 40 what you were extremely good at while you were 20.

QUICK TAKE
>>Netscape's founder Marc Andreessen wants to create a new browser
>>Do we really need one?
>>It may face an uphill battle

Browser market share