Mozilla To Introduce Users To 'The Coop'

Posted by Paul Glazowski on April 5th, 2007

We’ve imagined that Mozilla intended to leave it to third-party extension experts to incorporate social networking into Firefox, its wildly successful, open source browser. There are thousands of add-ons for Mozilla’s brightest star, each with their own sets of users; some even die-hard fans. Why make its own? Besides, when it comes to social networking, Flock, a browser developed on top of Mozilla’s code, does a pretty good job of integration of all the core Web 2.0 apps and services out there right now. Wouldn’t the inclusion of social networking features in Firefox encroach on Flock’s turf?

Yes. But in a world that’s clearly loyal to law of open source, there should be choice. A lot of it. And in terms of social networking, an obviously booming movement nestled within the larger Web 2.0 movement, it is entirely logical for the folks at Mozilla to want to help fans of their browser network with one another better, more efficiently, and more expansively. In other words, all the chatting, the bookmarking, the blogging, the video viewing should all tie in together.

That image of idealism is what Mozilla intends to pursue with The Coop, a product that will make the user’s browser-based life less solitary. Sure, today we lead less solitary lives online, what with MySpace, YouTube, etcetera. But we more or less keep our networks separate, and not because we want to (though some do, which is understandable), but because we have to.

The Coop is definitely multifaceted, but it’s definitely not meant to overwhelm. With the add-on (it will not be installed inside Firefox by default, though if a success and a hit, it’s bound to be included in a future release of the standard Firefox download/upgrade) you’ll be able to see what your friends are doing online, but it’ll stop short of being an eerie CCTV-like snoop.

You’ll be shown a list of your friends’ faces/avatars/profiles and gain easy one-click access to his/her favorite photos, favorite videos, blogs, tagged webpages, and his/her status on a social network. This means no more unnecessary bookmark folders to maintain for routine morning/afternoon/evening/continuous visits to their pages, which anyone with limited time on one’s hands would tell you would be much appreciated.

Mozilla makes it clear that The Coop does not intend to subvert or replace existing web services. Instead it will “leverage and integrate” them, and shouldn’t require a server infrastructure of its own. So don’t fret all you extension developers and social network operators. The Coop will be a peaceful contributor to the betterment of the online lives of many, many people. At least those living Firefox lives. And that’s, what, at least 15% of all connected folk around the world? That’s quite a lot. Sounds like it’d be a good thing to have, no?