Mozilla Integrates Social Into Firefox

Mozilla just announced its first set of social integration into Firefox in a partnership with Facebook. Over the last few months Mozilla has been building the Social API – a way to allow you to plug your favorite social sites into Firefox – and they are now ready to release their first Social API test with Facebook Messenger for Firefox.

The release, which is available today, is still in beta, but can be obtained by downloading the latest Firefox Beta build. Once you have the latest Firefox Beta installed, then visit Facebook like you normally would and when Facebook prompts you about Firefox integration, click install. If you no longer want to use the social integration features, Firefox makes it just as easy to remove, and of course, if you decline the initial offer nothing will be installed.

When you turn on social integration, you will see the sidebar which has social news and chat — the social sidebar doesn’t move (which may or may not be annoying to you) so you don’t need to switch between tabs. Another feature that social integration provides is the ability to share the website you’re on with a single click. The sidebar can even let you know when you have new notifications, all without leaving the page you’re visiting.

While Facebook is currently the only social network supported by Firefox’s Social API, they expect to work with many more networks in the future. Additionally, it’s worth noting that the Social API doesn’t change what social providers can see about your online behavior unless you explicitly decide to share it.

One thing that I’m wondering is if Firefox can have more success with its Social API platform than Rockmelt has had. Rockmelt, if you’re not familiar with it, was the first “social” browser, with Facebook and Twitter integration, however, never really gained much traction. I guess time will tell.