Flock is a web browser that has integrated many of the popular social networking tools into it. It is firefox with added features like facebook, blogger, del.icio.us and in all 15 other social networking tools.
Blogging: It has a blogging tool which has amazing functionality when compared to the other blogging tools which are available on the net. There is no extra setup required. One is required to log on to their (blogger,wordpress,xanga,blogsome, livejournal,typepad or any other self-hosted blog) account and you can compose a blog entry through the browser. It has all the features like inserting an image, editing an old blog post and saving drafts and all the other features that any normal blog editor would have. What sets it apart is ease of usage and the functionality of the editor itself.
Mailing: Flock has only Gmail and Yahoo! mail integrated into it. It automatically checks the mail client for unread messages. To read or compose message it takes you to the concerned page on the mail client. One can have more than one mail account integrated.
Bookmarking: Flock has a built-in bookmarking tool. Other than that it also provides del.icio.us and magnolia integration which allows one to bookmark any site online.
Other features:
- Flock also has integration with flickr with which not only can one upload snaps directly but also can view the activity of their friends. One can also see their own albums and messages in the media bar.
- Flock enables integration with facebook and it comes with many functionalities of facebook.One can directly upload images and links into their profile directly from the side bar. One could message, poke, share media and links besides others. Facebook fanatics are sure to love this.
- One could also keep up to date with the twitter tool which is available in the browser. I am not much of a twitter user, but from what i gather it doesn't upload as fast as the other extensions (as Twitterrific) but does a decently good job.
- Youtube and the other media sharing sites photobucket, picasa and piczo are also available.
- It has an in built feed reader which does a decent job of retrieving the feeds and storing them locally. Any website which has a feed can easily be added to the feed reader with the feed icon which is placed near the left top corner of the browser.
People who are addicted to the whole social networking sphere would love flock with all the in built features. Even without all the tools, it looks better and is more stable than the firefox. All the drag and drop photo feature, blog editor and facebook tool are sure to win a few fans for flock. But with more and more websites flooding the social networking space it would be interesting to watch how flock will try to keep up its services. For now its a cooler and more 'social' browser that is creating a niche for itself in the otherwise flooded web browser space.
