For those of you who haven’t caught wind of the greatest social media browser out, allow me to introduce RockMelt, otherwise known as Google’s Chrome on Social Media steroids.
Not much has been said about this revolutionary browser yet, primarily because of the invite-only phase. However, some of the team at ROI Media were given the opportunity to try the browser out and I was one such lucky individual! I thought it quite apt that at a SEO company would probably be the best judge of any browser given the frequency at which we use the Internet i.e. 24/7.
Overall the browser performed well, as anything would with a Chrome back end. With only 1 crash in 2 weeks total use, it’s even outperforming Chrome itself! The tab sliding animation just seems a little less smooth than Chrome though. Other than that there’s not much performance-wise where RockMelt falls short, even for limited bandwidth users.
In essence the browser brings the power of 2 major social media platforms to your fingertips… and more. You’ll be able to update and tweet to your heart’s content while browsing your favorite blogs without actually having to visit the sites themselves. Something may be said about how this may help better productivity in the office because now web-recreation is far less distracting (and time consuming) because the important information is readily available.
If you have the website (or browser itself) open at the moment, I’ll provide a quick run down of some of the functionality:
To the left you have all your online Facebook friends as they would appear in the chat functionality associated with the site. Also keep in mind that you’re always connected to Facebook when you open RockMelt, so you will permanently be seen as online when you’re browsing. By clicking one of your friends’ portraits it’ll open up a chat box so that you can have word or 2 with them. You can also select certain select friends to appear on the sidebar. At the very top of the list is your own profile picture and once clicked enables you to appear offline on Facebook, update your status and Tweet via your Twitter account. This is perhaps the most remarkable ease-of-use functionality I’ve ever seen in a Social Media application.
At the top you have the usual Chrome tabs and the tools menu you may be familiar with has shifted to the left and now sits in the very top corner. Bookmarks have also stayed the same as with Chrome and serve their purpose with one distinct difference, they’ll remain the same regardless of the PC you’re on. You have your standard back and forward buttons with the accompanying address bar. Alongside the address bar however is a ‘Share’ button that does just that. What to share the URL of the page you’re currently on? No problem! Alternatively you can also click and drag a link on the page you’re viewing into a Twitter or Facebook block that will appear below the ‘Share’ Button. Neat huh?! There is also a search bar many will be familiar with, this one is a little unique though in that the results now appear in a box of their own and you can then select a result from there and it will appear in your current tab (results all from Google.com and not region-specific).
To the right was the most awesome functionality of the browser, at least for my use. By default the browser adds Facebook and Twitter feeds. Customized to look exactly like the real deal, all new tweets and Facebook updates will appear within these feeds and also display a count of how many you’ve missed while you’ve been doing actual work. In addition to the defaults you’ll be able to add almost every RSS feed, Youtube Channel and Chrome extension to this sidebar giving you instant access to an update from your favorite place on the web. The coolest feature of all is that if you having trouble picking which feeds to add, RockMelt will automatically suggest ideas based on websites you visit!
Invites are shared via Facebook and there’s been word of only a 3-day waiting period on an invite applied for from the RockMelt site itself. Either way, rest assured, it won’t be long before you too can embrace the social media browser and the power within.
