Dec 08
16
Going Social With Flock
For the uninitiated, Flock is an open-source social network browser based on the same codebase as Firefox (Mozilla/Gecko). Because of this it has the same speed and security of it’s better known cousin. I had used Flock for a short period about six months ago so I thought it was time I revisited the project, and do a mini review of the current features.
After visiting flock.com and downloading the latest version, you find during the setup (not surprisingly) that if you’re used to Firefox, there are going to be no great surprises here. After the install has finished you are given the option of importing bookmarks from the other browsers on your system (and has support for the current front runners – IE, Firefox and Opera). Once finished you’ll be surprised at the clean and interesting look to the browser which does set it apart from Firefox – that, and of course, all of the extra goodies.
What sets Flock apart from Firefox and other browsers is the social network aspect to it. You can have all of your friends and the social networks you’re a part of built right into the browser. Now I know there are add-ons for Firefox that can do some of the things Flock does, but not as integrated or easy.
Then you come to the look of the browser too. The immediate difference is a sidebar and a media bar. There is still a large area to view webpages and the buttons to control this (like forward and back) although different in appearance, do the same thing you would expect from any browser. Also present is an integrated refresh/stop button, just like the old Netscape browser. However, when the browser really comes alive is when you start integrating social websites into it.
Above the sidebar, on the left of the browser is a group of buttons, shown here, that control what is displayed in the sidebar, or if the Media Bar is displayed. Also other things like a dynamic homepage (the far left globe icon) can be displayed – which updates itself with your most visited websites, overview of what your friends are up to and any feeds you have saved into the browser. However, we’ll concern ourselves with setting up some social networks with Flock. Clicking on the key icon reveals the huge number of networks that Flock supports.
Everything from MySpace & Facebook to Twitter and Flickr are supported – I counted 23 services supported, and there are new ones being integrated all the time. To setup a service you have a login for, simply click on the icon in the list and log on to the website. Flock will double check with you whether you want to integrate the site into Flock – and as long as you accept, most of the usability from the site will now be available in the sidebar. Clicking the People Sidebar button (second from the left) will give you options to change your status on Facebook, check other people’s status and more. For accounts like Flickr and Photobucket, you can upload pictures from the toolbar too, and be kept up to date with what your friends are doing.
Using the Media Button opens a Media Bar above the main web area. You can view pictures from your friends, or your own, or even search for pictures and videos using the handy search box to the right of the Media Bar.
Another welcome integration is webmail. Again, all you need do is log into your account and Flock will take care of the setup hassle. Flock will then periodically check your email for you and flag if there are unread items. Upon clicking the webmail icon, a short preview of unread email will show in a box – which is good if you want to scan quickly for an important email without opening another tab and visiting the site. Currently supported by Flock is GMail, AOL Mail and Yahoo! Mail. Although your contacts are not integrated into the browser, which is a shame – after all, email is the original social network!
Also built into Flock is the ability to write blog posts and have them directly published to your blog, although the feature does feel like an after-thought rather than a powerful addition. I’m sure in the future the blogging integration will mature and develop. For instance, you don’t have the option to integrate pictures into your blog post, only have a link to where it already is on the internet. If you compare Windows Live Writer’s ability to take a picture on your system, upload it with your post and display it properly, you can understand how far behind it is. Also the lack of categories from your blog make it difficult to have something ready to post. But then, it’s still early days for the integration, and should be fine for a way to get information online, fast.
Once you have set up all of your accounts in Flock, the People Sidebar will keep you constantly up to date with what your online friends are doing. Whether changing their status on Facebook, uploading photos to Flickr or comments on your Picasa photos, you will have a "river" of information flowing down the left side of your browser. If it all gets a little too much, you can hide the sidebar by the way, much like any of the features – essentially turning it back into a normal browser.
Finally, being the same codebase as Firefox means that most of the add-ons will work flawlessly with Flock – in fact the ones I use had no problems at all.
So should you get Flock? If you are a part of even just a few social networks, I would suggest you downloading it and giving it a try – you’ll be amazed by how easy it is to set up and integrate. Plus if you’re a Firefox user already, you’ll instantly feel at home. And if you are a member of lots of services, it’s practically essential you download it to keep track of your busy online life!