Firefox ponders marketing overhaul

[FN-GM]

The Mozilla Corporation is preparing a number of changes to the marketing of the open source Firefox browser in a bid to further grow market share.

 

"To date, Mozilla has done a reasonably good job getting people to download Firefox, but our data shows that a very high percentage of those people do not become long term, active Firefox users. We need to figure out how we overcome the default behaviour of 'clicking on the blue e'," JT Batson from Mozilla's marketing team wrote in a blog posting earlier this year.

 

Approximately half of those who download Firefox never actually install the application. Another 50 per cent of those who do install the software are counted as active users, according to data posted on a Firefox wiki.

 

The group plans an abundance of changes. The Firefox icon, for instance, could be accompanied by a text that more clearly indicates its purpose, and the developers will attempt to place it more prominently on the user's desktop, the Windows quick launch bar or the dock in OS X.

 

The group also plans to change the way it prompts users to set Firefox as their default browser. The change is supposed to make the prompt look "nicer".

 

Other suggested enhancements include a support website, the introduction of a feature that allows users to scroll through browser tabs with previews, resembling how applications switch in modern operating systems.

 

According to a Mozilla Wiki, the group aims for a 10 per cent monthly growth rate for Firefox and a 30 per cent market share by June 2008. The application is currently gaining users are a rate of 3.7 per cent per month.

[User3204]

Well, the fact that I'm deploying it out across our school should help them...

It does seem to be changing the internet explorer icon to the firey fox.

 

People will always need to be able to run IE, 'cause you can't do Windows updates in anything else....

 

And that feature enhancement listed, is something that Opera does already... sorta...

[webman]

@User3204: Microsoft releases Windows update Firefox plug-in, Nov 2005.

[CyberNerd]

Approximately half of those who download Firefox never actually install the application. Another 50 per cent of those who do install the software are counted as active users, according to data posted on a Firefox wiki.

 

they also don't count users like me who download it once then install it on 500 machines !

 

People will always need to be able to run IE, 'cause you can't do Windows updates in anything else....

 

really? http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/

[ZeroHour]

Where was this sourced? (please post the relevant link back generally)

 

As for http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/, its a little like downloading windows update from a non ms source, it can be done but I dont like the idea as really you have no idea what its doing and I know some say MS updates are just as mysterious but at least you have a little comeback *sometimes* with ms. These guys install malware and your on your own.

[CyberNerd]

As for windowsupdate.62nds.com/, its a little like downloading windows update from a non ms source, it can be done but I dont like the idea as really you have no idea what its doing and I know some say MS updates are just as mysterious but at least you have a little comeback *sometimes* with ms. These guys install malware and your on your own.

 

 

I see your point, but it's just the same as downloading and running any other .exe as admin. best compile from source if your that worried.

[GrumbleDook]

Or you could try not using windows update and use WSUS instead.