Firefox is Fabulous and Famous!

The New York Times Technology > In the Battle of the Browsers '04, Firefox Aims at Microsoft

If a million downloads a day weren't enough to convince you that Firefox is a valid contender in the new browser wars, today's New York Times article, In the Battle of the Browsers '04, Firefox Aims at Microsoft bylined by Steve Lohr and John Markoff should do the trick.

A statement by Gartner analyst David Smith quoted in the article mentioned Firefox's viability as a competitor to Microsoft. The article also noted that "Internet Explorer's market share has slipped more than 2.5 percentage points in the last five months, to 92.9 percent at the end of October, its first decline since 1999, according to WebSideStory, a firm that tracks Web traffic.

If you've used Firefox, (like I'm doing right now,) you probably don't need an article to convince you that this browser is popular because it is fast and easy to install, with the bonus of being more secure than IE.

Its widespread appeal and rapid adoption are a testimate to Firefox's elegant simplicity, which co-exists with open source code that enables techies to make their Firefox as complicated as they want, and, at the same time, newbies feel comfortable using it, too.

Haven't tried Firefox, yet? What are you waiting for? It's free, easy to install, and co-exists with IE, so there's no messy commitment. I know I sound like a marketer, here, but this is one of those products that is just cool, mainly because it works like its supposed to and makes my life easier. How simple that idea sounds, yet how illusive it generally is.

Don't wait -- Now that it's been written up in the New York Times, you don't have long to be the first in your cube farm to try Firefox!

Open Source Browser - Word of Mouth Marketing

Web Browser Firefox may have begun as a way to best Redmond, but the focus on its target user during its development shows in the excitement with which the market is receiving it. With the latest version due November 9th, users across the country are planning parties to celebrate the launch. The site includes a page about the reality of users, as well as a development charter that make it clear that Firefox is a collaboration that can improve the Web experience for a wider variety of users than the developers first envisioned. Built on the legacy of Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox and companion e-mail client Thunderbird, are free to download and use. Their benefits in fighting spam, spyware and popups have been touted by such publications as Fotune and USA Today. I learned about the efforts of a group evangelizing the new browser on a Fast Company Blog. From there, it was quick and easy to download, install and use Firefox. In fact, I'm blogging on it right now, just 5 minutes after I hit the download button, with no re-boot! I plan to test it on the different sites I need to visit in a day, especially those of the Online campuses where I teach, and I'll let you know what I find out. Give Firefox a try. Did I mention it includes an RSS aggregator? Check it out!

Too Much of a Good Thing?

In Today's New York Times, Bernard Holland raises some interesting questions about the effect of the ability enabled by iPod and similar devices to run a non-stop soundtrack to our lives.

When the music never stops, does the music matter, anymore?

Holland's column is thought-provoking from an individual perspective, and begs some questions for marketers, as well.

If the customer now controls the soundtrack, what does this mean to our ability to create customer relationships?

The Word of Mouth on Word of Mouth, Dave Balter on Real Buzz

I had almost forgotten about the subservient chicken I met last July. One of my students had introduced the chicken's Web site to our class and we debated its merits, with opinions ranging from those perceiving it as clever, inscrutable, effective and even offensive.

Virtually every student had an opinion, though, which is probably why BzzAgent Founder Dave Balter uses the Subservient Chicken as just one example of why all "Buzz" is not created
equal.

In a new free manifesto, The Word of Mouth on Word of Mouth, officially published tomorrow at thought leadership communication portal ChangeThis.com, Dave Balter points to the chicken as proof that purely viral messages may quite rapidly, but fail to deliver meaningful returns. The founder of BzzAgent, a company built on creating change through real word of mouth -- genuine personal interactions, Dave Balter's manifesto is a buzz on Buzz and its often-confused cousins, viral marketing and word of mouth promotion, that is built on his success in generating the real word of mouth promotion that drives action because it is real and heartfelt.

A Burger King Web site, SubservientChicken.com, is a prime example of a viral campaign with widespread success in creating Web visits without ROI. Dave also shares what works, and defines and differentiates viral marketing, buzz, word of mouth -- some of the hottest buzz topics in marketing today -- as he shows why Buzz needs to be real to be successful. You may remember hearing his company, BzzAgent mentioned as one of Seth Godin's 99 Cows or from our Blog post published June 27, 2003.

The Subservient Chicken had the viral power, generating 15 to 20 million hits the last time I looked, back in July, a scant three months from the time the site was "launched." The launch consisted of showing the site to just 20 people, and randomly flashing the rather obscure URL at the end of some Burger King TV ads -- a strategy with virtually no incremental cost! However, as Dave noted in his manifesto, viral does not necessarily mean effective. Part of the buzz created was that it was hard to find the link to chicken sales, and, if my students were any indication, the chicken may have done damage to the BK brand.

A couple of the points in defense of the chicken that I noted at the time were that: 1) making the
chicken do your bidding is supposed to make customers think of the "have it your way" message that Burger King has promoted for years and 2) that this is designed to be a "viral marketing campaign." According to a Wall Street Journal article quoted on the Urban Legends Reference Page at http://www.snopes.com/business/market/chicken.asp that documented the viral effect:

Consider this part real Word of Mouth, though -- Read and share The Word on Word of Mouth, the new manifesto by BzzAgent founder Dave Balter at http://www.changethis.com/7.WordOfMouth one of the newest manifestos to be released at ChangeThis.com this week.