In the last-minute rush of Earth Day press solicitations yesterday, it was easy to get a bit bogged down, and even let some things slip through the cracks. One email that did catch my eye, however, was web browser Flock’s release of its “Eco-Edition.” I’ve used Flock on and off for over a year now (it was fantastic for uploading a massive collection of stock photos for our writers last year), and was pleased to see that the browser had created a version that allowed for seamless “green” browsing, and tools optimized for green blogging.
I’ve always liked Flock for its focus on integration of social media functions into the browser itself: right now I’ve got one-click access to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. The Eco-Edition adds a one-stop shop for green news and blog hounds: the “Green” page that loads when the browser starts features feeds from most of the web’s top destinations for information and opinion on sustainability and environmentalism (including sustainablog — thanks, Flock!). The refresh button even features the ubiquitous recycling symbol — a nice touch! As our friend Michael d’Estries at Ecorazzi noted, this creates a seamless experience: the best of the green web is right at my fingertips. Combined with Flock’s integrated social media and blogging tools, the Eco-Edition provides an efficient interface for all of the steps we green bloggers go through in writing, publishing and promoting our work.
I will say that I still tend to stick to Firefox simply because I’ve had some issues in the past with Flock locking up or slowing down: it clearly uses a lot of memory (though I freely admit this may be more of an issue on my end than with the browser itself). But I’m writing this post right now in Flock, and, so far, the experience is acceptable — I’ll likely give it another go as my default browser, both for the stellar combination of features, and the fact that they’ve taken the time to create an edition that addresses my specific needs as a green blogger. Finally, Flock will donate 10% of search proceeds to an environmental charity chosen by Eco-Edition users at the end of the year.
I’ve still got some features to try out, and will report back on them in due time. If you’re not that patient (and no reason you should be), check out other reviews of the browser at Lorna Li — Green Marketing 2.0, Earth & Economy, Max Gladwell, and EcoTech Daily.
Want a greener computer for your greener browser? Check out our selection of eco-friendly laptops.
See also:
curt
Thank you Jeff! You certainly wrote this article about Flock in a so very tempting manner, that I simply cannot refuse to ‘taste’ it in real.
Everything is turning green, more and more, well, that’s what we all want, aren’t we?
Probably, I am going to use both – Firefox and Flock, because I simply can’t do it without some very useful plug-ins in Firefox.
Thanks for green motivation about Flock, again!
Evan Hamilton
Thanks for the great review, Jeff! It’s been great to see how excited people are about Flock’s Eco-Edition.
@curt: Most Firefox extensions will work in Flock, so just give them a try. If any of them don’t work, drop me a line; oftentimes there is a pretty easy hack you can do to make them work.
Flock’n’roll,
Evan Hamilton
Flock Community Ambassador
evan at flock dot com