Google and Firefox part II
November 5th, 2005 by jeremychone
Very interesting. Google just added a referrals program for Firefox and their AdSense service. This is actually a good indicator of Google’s and Mozilla’s tight relationship. It is also great news for the "Open Web," making sure that the Mozilla Firefox "franchise" continue to grow. At a certain point, any Open Source product needs some industry support to continue growing (e.g., Linux with IBM, Intel, and DELL), and Google is definitely a big industry player.
The reference is also well done:
- If you are using Firefox, you are asked to download the Google Toolbar.
- And if you happen to use IE, your are pointed to a "Firefox with Google Toolbar" bundle package.
Today, Opera and Safari users will be pointed to the "Firefox with Google Toolbar." It will be interesting to see if Google will open up its referral program to other browsers.
I am sure we will see more from the Google-Mozilla alliance, and I am definitely looking forward to Google-Firefox, part III.
November 5th, 2005 at 2:01 pm
Problem is… Mozilla will most likely not make any money if people search through the Google toolbar. So this actually benefits Google more than it does Firefox. Then again, this could lead to more users for Firefox, so… who knows.
But as you can see, there’s definitely something in it for Google
November 5th, 2005 at 9:32 pm
Agree, you are probably right about the search from the Google toolbar.
However, Mozilla is presumably getting some “Google search earnings” from Firefox default search text field (at the top right) and from Firefox default home page, which points to a Firefox branded Google search page.
So, I think this alliance is more about spreading Firefox in general than promoting the Google Toolbar, which might just be the “ice on the cake” (and a catalyzer for the referrals program).
BTW, yes, agree, everything Google does is for a [business] reason ;)… they have too, if they want to compete with Microsoft. The good news, is that so far, they seem to care about the “health” of the internet…. I hope this will continue.