Flock 2: A Social Networking Browser

Flock 2 is an intriguing example of how decentralized, open-source codecan combine with Web 2.0 applications to create an almost entirely newapplication. As usual, Ars Technica has a review. If any of you don't already have an RSS subscription to Ars Technica, I highly recommend it as a site where the writers have serious technological knowledge and a deep interest in many of the same topics that concern us here at HASTAC.

But, this post is about Flock, not Ars Technica. It is browser based on Firefox, but the many add-ons it includes create a radically different browsing experience. They allow you to aggregate feeds from sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, compose blog posts for a variety of sites from the browser (whether online or offline), upload and edit photos, and group all your various friends/contacts/people-you-know from across different social networking sites into a single sidebar.

I've only just started playing around with this browser, so I don't have a lot to say in terms of reaction, but so far it looks like it does a good job bringing together all the tools you need to manage a virtual social life spread across disparate sites and applications.

So, if you're a social networking fanatic (I am not), read the Ars review and try out this browser. It should be right up your alley.