Flock, better browsing for social media

I'm a Flockstar!

Flock, a browser aimed at social media users, has been my default browser going on two months now. I tried it on a whim after some frustrations with Firefox, and I've never looked back.  Flock is built on the Firefox platform, and many of the extensions are compatible.  Flock is attentive to it's users. I have posed a few questions to @Flocker via Twitter, and always get a quick response.

There are numerous features on Flock, and these are what I find myself using over and over:

The People sidebar: Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and YouTube are all built right into the browser's sidebar. You can follow recent content from the users you follow on these sites.

I would like to see a feature where I can manually refresh tweets from Twitter rather than wait for the automatic refresh, and I understand that this is something in the works. I would also like to see more Twitter features such as direct messaging enabled.

The web clipboard: The web clipboard sidebar allows you to highlight, drag, and drop text, links or images. It saves text and pictures in the sidebar, so you can either view, email or blog them later on. So much better than saving a whole page in bookmarks for one paragraph or picture to refer to later.

The share this link via email button: I knew it was there, but I just recently started using it. Click the button, it goes to the default email you choose, whether it's web based or desktop based, and adds the headline and the link. All you do is add the recipients.

Photo Uploader: One button opens a window. Drag and drop a picture from your computer, and post to the web. You can even do some minor touch ups, and add a title and description. There are several different services that you can currently upload to, including Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, and others. It seems you can only upload to one site at a time.

You also can search Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, YouTube and other services from a slick scrolling Media Streams tool bar.

Extensions: I love that I can use my most of my favorite Firefox extensions. Some extensions have been added for downloading on the Flock site. Currently,  I use AdBlock Plus, Foxmarks, Google Toolbar, Blue Organizer and Long Titles (gotta be able to read xkcd properly!). Firefox themes aren't compatible but the Flock default is a clean silver theme that is easy on the eyes.  There is also an Eco-Edition in green.

My only real annoyance is that Flock will not auto-complete an URL. If I type in an URL without the .com, it takes me to a Yahoo search page. I would like to either see a choice of search pages or simply the ability to finish the URL.

Give this neat little powerhouse of a browser a try, kick the tires, slam the doors,  play with the features, and get more done with your browser. For more information on Flock, check out the Lifehacker Screenshot Tour of Flock 1.2.

Comments

[Posted: Jun 2, 2008 12:24:12 AM]

I too am a Flockstar. I love love love Flock!!!!!

[Posted: Jun 18, 2008 2:16:54 PM]

Flock is great browser for using in conjunction with the social sites like facebook twitter etc. Makes instant blogging so much easier to do aswell.

Tehre are a few minor problems i have notived...

When running a compendium of plugs like search status medium digg button google toolbar, seo for firefox etc you will ntice a lack in performance. There is also some worry when putting the tabbed brosing under pressure.

With the release of firefox 3 i think there will be some new updates for flock soon. I have managed to crash firefox 3 already though but that was extreme load 20+ tabs

Altogether Flock is very sexy :0

[Posted: Sep 7, 2008 11:21:29 PM]

Articles and content in this section of the website are really amazing. From http://www.puneonnet.com