Google Chrome Just Might Catch On

Christopher Masiello September 17, 2008 8:47 pm Product Reviews, Web Surfing

Could I Possibly be Wrong?

google-chrome I’ve been reading all of the news about Google Chrome, the blogosphere’s newest darling. I downloaded Google Chrome and tested it on a few machines to see what all of the fuss was about. Overall, I think it’s OK, but not as good as Firefox, Flock, or even Opera. I don’t really see it taking out Internet Explorer or Firefox any time soon. It lacks the extensions and customization of Firefox and it won’t be bundled with the Windows or Mac operating systems.

Whenever I look at the possible adoption of new technologies like Linux, Firefox, or Google Docs I always ask, “Will my mom use this?”

A few tech news sites are reporting that Chrome is being used by as much as 8% of their readers and are predicting time lines in which it will pass IE and Firefox. My initial thought was that these sites are read by tech geeks that installed and tested out Google’s new toy. I would be curious to see what Yahoo, AOL, or MySpace are seeing. For the record, VitaminCM.com is seeing right around 1%, which is just behind Opera.

My “Wakeup Call” to Chrome’s Mainstream Potential

So I see my phone ring at 7:55 AM this morning and it’s my mom. I figure that something really bad must have happened down in Del Boca Vista, so I answer. No deaths, hurricanes, or tragedies, just this:

“I was reading about this new browser, “Google Chrome” in the free local paper. Have you ever heard of it? I decided to try it out.”

Well that cinches it, the “Will my Mom use it?” threshold has been met.

Maybe I was wrong, this thing might take off. I’m still taking a wait-and-see attitude about how much market share Chrome will actually gain.