As Web Becomes More Social, Should Facebook Worry About Firefox?

While social media is all the buzz on the Internet these days, we should also be paying attention to how social the web is actually becoming. As previously discussed, it seems that Facebook considers Twitter its newest and biggest competition. However, new speculation has arisen as to whether or not Facebook is going after the right internet giant. What about Firefox?

At first glance, many may wonder what the correlation between a social network and a web browser might be. In terms of audience, Firefox estimates a usage of over 270 million people, about 35% more than that of Facebook. This is just a projection, but others speculate that the number of Firefox users is much higher. In terms of socializing the web, the shifts in how users browse the web will shape the way in which social tools are used. According to ReadWriteWeb, the biggest push for the social web stems from the launch of Google’s browser, Chrome. “[I]n a bid to extend the reach of its new browser, Chrome, we expect Google to build OpenID and its associated friend connections into the browser; look for Firefox and eventually Internet Explorer to copy this feature”. After all, Firefox already announced plans to create a command-line-type Ubiquity system into the address bar. As a result, users will be able to view their apps from their Firefox browsers. Ideally for Firefox, some of these apps could include messaging, profiles, newsfeeds and other social tools.

What about Facebook? After all, users can already perform searches that take them to the world wide web from Facebook’s results. Once users do click on these results, a new tab or window opens, taking them away from Facebook. How can Facebook tap into the web browsing space? ReadWriteWeb states: “Facebook already has its own frames it uses for links shared through the site, holding the browsing experience inside the Facebook ethos. It’s not hard to imagine a search bar being placed inside that frame”.

While Firefox’s audience exceeds that of Facebook, Facebook has clear advantages. For one, Firefox’s attempts to reach the mobile web have been futile, while Facebook has a vast mobile following. As the web becomes more social, will Firefox and Facebook really go head to head?