Thursday, October 21, 2010

A Facebook Browser? A Facebook Operating System?

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...Image via CrunchBase
TechCrunch: Another Chrome OS Engineer Defects To Facebook In The Build-Up To Launch: 99.99 percent of my working day is currently spent in Chrome ...... a mildly worrisome trend occurring leading up to the launch of Google’s first desktop operating system: defections. Also interesting: what does Facebook want with these guys? ..... the talent continues to pour into Facebook — and much of it from Google


So you think Facebook is up to a browser? If they want to do it, they can do it. That's not the point. They got Mark, they got money. And as a younger company, Facebook perhaps can offer more in stock options, the pre IPO type, to the best in the business. My point is they don't need to do it. They don't need a browser, or an operating system. They already are all on all browsers and all operating systems.

Just like it makes more sense for Google to focus on Android and Chrome OS if they want to stay hot in this coming decade as well, search is one thing, it is still at the web level, but for Facebook to get into the browser and the operating system would be to miss the mark, pun intended.

The father of Gmail also defected. He first did FriendFeed and now is with Facebook. That does not mean Facebook has been quietly working on a Gmail killer. That just means he is a top notch developer Facebook is glad to have in house.

Google acts like it owns the web. People ask Google, but Android is free, what are you
Keaton - Flag FootballImage by bradjward via Flickrthinking? Google says, Android will get more people to spend more time online, and that is good enough for us, we will serve more ads. With the Chrome OS, you sign not into your Gmail account, but into the operating system itself. Facebook might want to compete at that level where you sign into Facebook before you do anything online. So it makes ambition sense for Facebook to look into the browser, operating system space.

But the biggest reason I think Facebook is not thinking at the browser level is because they have not even begun to tackle the inbox. They are going to have to tidy up the inbox space before they get into the browser and operating system space. Even then they don't need to. Social graph portability is a big enough proposition. They could go from web property to web property just with that.

The Inbox: Like Search Before Google
A Sophisticated Like Button
Google Chrome OS Netbook Assault Imminent
Facebook Needs To Revamp Email Next


Google Chrome IconImage via Wikipedia
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