The recent Google Chrome release has led to a healthy discussion of what it means to browser add-ons, as many publishers seek to create features which extend the browser.

A bit more light was shed into Google’s plans to support Browser Add-Ons with Chrome last Friday.  There is also an article from InformationWeek (http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/google/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210602700) that cites Google engineer, Ojan Vafai, as recently participating in a panel discussion on the future of Web browsers at Web 2.0 Expo in New York.

I am a strong advocate of browser add-ons.  Internet Explorer and Firefox have varying support of browser add-ons, and now Google has acknowledged its plans to support browser add-ons.  The implementation of your add-on will vary based on the browser being extended, so you need to be considerate of the user penetration for your target audience and the browser add-on which you are creating.  Lehman Brothers came out with a predication that Google Chrome could gain 15% to 20% market share in two years.

Add-ons have been created for so many different uses that it would be difficult to find a user which could not benefit from their existence.  Many of the technical users I am in contact with quickly gravitated to giving Chrome a try.  These users were impressed with the speed of rendering pages and improved tab features offered with Chrome.  I spoke with a few non-technical users and they were less impressed it.

However, one thing was common between both technical and non-technical users.  They both complained that Chrome’s lack of their favorite add-ons was what they missed most about Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Hopefully, Google seems to understand the importance of add-ons.  Hopefully, they’ll get these released before they give up on Chrome’s slow adoption rate, as I think they are crucial to the success of the product.

Ryan Weber, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Co-Founder, W3i Holdings, LLC
Ryan is an Internet marketing pioneer with over eight, profitable years evolving W3i (owner of Freeze.com) in the Integrated Interactive Media industry.

Clearly Google’s recent entrance into the browser wars demonstrates the importance of the browser to the future of application development and the interactive media industry. But just who is going to be most impacted by Google’s recent Chrome browser launch?

If you look at the August 2008 market share data as reported by Net Applications (http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=0), Microsoft enjoys 72% market share with Internet Explorer, followed by Mozilla’s Firefox open source browser with 20%, and finally Apple’s Safari browser at 6%. I believe that Microsoft will continue to maintain the majority of the browser market over the next couple years, and that Google threatens Mozilla more than any other browser player.

Why? Chrome was built for speed, especially with complex web pages loaded up with JavaScript and other advanced web technologies. Although speed is nice for the average web surfer, it is only a must- have for the more enterprise users that spend lots of time running complex web applications. Up until now, Firefox was the only viable browser solution for these enterprise users.

Chrome may change that, especially given’s Google’s brand. After the initial buzz wore off, Google market share reportedly dropped, presumably because early users quickly uninstalled after testing Chrome.  Time will tell, but if Google does start getting some traction, Microsoft will surely respond with a strong counter attack.

Visit the W3i blog next week for Part Two: “Google Chrome to Support Browser Add-Ons.”

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i Holdings, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over eight, profitable years evolving W3i (owner of Freeze.com) in the Integrated Interactive Media industry. 

St. Cloud, Minnesota, September 5, 2008 Developers and authors are making their software and digital content available for free to satisfy the demanding online public, but they should get some reward for their work. 

You’ve heard of the Windows installers Wise and InstallShield, and possibly Nullsoft, but how about W3i’s Install IQ?  Install IQ is a unique, ad-supported Windows installer system; and it’s the first Windows installer to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program ensuring compliance and user satisfaction.

Install IQ, can increase your revenue and/or traffic in three ways:  monetization, bundle, and carrot. 

As a monetization partner, you do the marketing and get paid for every installation.  Yes, you get paid to use Install IQ.   With Install IQ you can customize download images with your brand and text to increase conversions.  Our research shows that this Windows installer system is widely accepted by users. For example, Install IQ generated revenues of $86,280 during the first month for an audio and multimedia player distributed by an online marketing firm.  After achieving such phenomenal success, the firm asked W3i to distribute a dozen additional applications using Install IQ.

As a bundle partner, you pay us to distribute your software and content.  When a user installs a download that they are searching for–such as a game, screensaver, utility, or desktop widget–they are asked whether they would like to install your software or content too.  Through this partnership W3i has downloaded toolbars, weather widgets, games and other useful downloads providing a rapid growth in their user base.

As a carrot partner, W3i will market your software or content free of charge.   In addition to using our unique Windows installer system, Install IQ, we put our experienced team to work for you utilizing their expertise in online marketing.  We then direct users through Install IQ installing your software or content.  Thus, we can market your software and content with funding from approved partners.  

If you have software or digital content and are interested in getting additional revenue or traffic using W3i’s unique Windows installer system, contact W3i for a free consultation.  You can then determine whether monetization, bundle or carrot is the right solution for you. 

For more information, e-mail: info@w3i.com.