Tammy Camp

Flock Browser – Recommended Social Media Browser for Mac

Posted on 28. Apr, 2009 by Tammy Camp in Mac, Technology

If you are happily using Mozilla Firefox or Apple Safari for your OS X browsing needs, do you need to bother trying out any other browsers?

Software-savvy forum users are quick to point out that you’re missing out by not trying Camino, Opera, Flock, or Omniweb, depending on their particular poison of choice.  And they usually make convincing arguments…

But to the unconverted masses who haven’t yet sampled these or other underground browsers, you’ll probably find them unnecessary.

Good enough is good enough, assuming your needs are met. Having to download a new program and fumble around for a week until you get the hang of it is a pain in the ass start-up cost that isn’t justified unless you’re:

• A bona fide computer geek and a compulsively up-to-date maven.
• 110% certain, based on reviews and/or word of mouth, that it serves a useful function (preferably several) that isn’t being met with your current set-up.

For me, the leap from Safari to Firefox was justified. Firefox is open source, it has so many incredibly helpful add-ons, and it has worked for me since Day 1. Plus it also felt cool to leap on when I did, which was a little before “everyone else” found out about it.

Now, Camino, for instance, has its fans as the “faster, lighter Firefox native to Macs that won’t leak your memory.”

And I’ll believe that. But in my experience, Camino wasn’t noticeably faster than Firefox on my 2007 standard MacBook with 1 GB RAM, and it has limited tab capabilities (explained below).

But I’m not here to waste your time complaining about an otherwise very good browser; I’m here to make a recommendation that I believe is useful and unique enough for most users to try out.

Flock Browser, called “The Social Web Browser,” is my recommendation for 4 reasons:

1. The best social media integration
2. Useful features that actually work
3. Fully functional tabs
4. Aesthetics (obviously subjective and not essential from the standpoint of function, but a visceral part of the experience that makes me feel glad I put in the time to try this browser out.)

Flock Social Media Internet Browser

The Best Social Media Integration

Social media integration is Flock’s unique selling point. No other browser comes close to Flock in allowing one user to log into multiple social media services simultaneously, to save the log-in information for future use, and to transfer content quickly and easily between them.

The default services bookmarked in a brand-new copy of Flock are more than any one person uses, including (but not limited to) Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Gmail, WordPress, YouTube, Digg, Delicious, Flickr, and Photobucket.

The collapsible sidebar running down the left side of the browser window is where the integration magic happens. The sidebar shows you all of the services you are currently logged into, and it allows you to toggle between them with a click. You can also update Facebook and Twitter statuses from here.

Useful Features (That Actually Work)

• Blog Editor that beats the web-based user interface at WordPress.org. It looks like a simple text editor with 3 view modes: plain text, source code (HTML, etc.), and a real-time preview that doesn’t require a save and refresh.
• RSS Reader, fully powered and customizable, which allows you to organize your feeds as you wish and view any simultaneous combination in a number of different possible layouts.
• Photo Uploader that plays well with Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, Tinypic, and others.
• Favorites that can be programmed to automatically synchronize with web-based Favorite services like Delicious.
• Web Media Clipboard where you can copy and paste various file formats to post later.

It’s worth noting that none of these features come at the expense of raw browsing power. Flock is based on Mozilla’s Gecko engine and is open source, so it has a great foundation and is subject to rapid improvements.

Flock also has an enthusiastic and expanding fan-base. Its strong brand loyalty encourages frequent constructive feedback and decreases the likelihood that the browser will collapse any time soon.

Fully Functional Tabs

I need to click-and-drag tabs at will (although fans of Tim Ferriss’s The Four Hour Workweek and Leo Babauta’s The Power of Less know that this is not conducive to maximum productivity).

Firefox and Safari let you do this, but Camino does not. Flock gets points for allowing it.

Also, I have become dependent on Firefox’s “Recently Closed Tabs” tool, in the History drop-down menu, on a daily basis. (In Safari, it’s “Reopen Last Closed Window” under the History menu.) It’s as amazing as the Command-Z “Undo Typing” option.  Lacking this feature is a deal-breaker for any browser I am considering.  So Flock rocks for including this feature the exact same way it appears in Firefox.

Aesthetics

A note on tab appearance (my apologies for being a tad tab-crazy).

I absolutely loved the way Firefox 2 looked on OS X — plain and bubbly.

Firefox 2 for Mac

Unfortunately, Firefox 3’s tabs are squared off and metallic with engraved text, copying the tab style from Safari 3. (This is before Safari 4 went postal and split the application title bar into tabs.)

Firefox 3 for Mac

So Flock’s plain bubbly tabs, which are reminiscent of Firefox 2, are a hit with me.

Any Complaints? Yeah, I have 2:

1. Lack of Multiple User Profiles: I use the web for different functions, including work & blogging, procrastination, and allowing friends to browse without accessing my history, cache, cookies & passwords. I prefer managing multiple user profiles in Firefox, one for each purpose. Flock currently lacks such an essential feature, which is surprising considering the security risks inherent in having all your passwords logged in simultaneously in your lone existing browser profile.
2. Lack of Video Compatibility: I couldn’t catch my missed episode of 24 last week from Fox.com because their video player is only currently compatible on OS X with Firefox & Safari.

So if you’re intrigued, go give Flock a spin right now and leave your thoughts and rants on Flock in the comment box below.

Tags: Browser, Flock, Mac, Social Media