Cooliris is a Firefox plugin that duplicates the Browster search preview functionality, although only on Google. Once the plugin is installed, you hover your mouse over a Google search link or image and the underlying content is pulled up on screen before you click.
Browster CEO Scott Milener wrote about Cooliris and other competitors on the Browster blog, using it as an opportunity to announce that Browster still has a few tricks up its sleave. My previous posts on Browster are here.
One thing this functionality does not do that browster does is that it doesn’t mark the links as read when you hover over them. And that’s a really good thing.
How do you make money doing this?
This seems more of a feature than a stand alone tool/company. Ask.com has some of this in their newly launched version, I believe.
While there are obvious similarities between Browster and the initial version of Cooliris, Cooliris beta is different along several key dimensions.
As both Browster and Cooliris are clearly in the business of making browsing more efficient, we feel that we have a differentiated product offering because of the following key differences:
1. We do not insert any icons or graphics and leave the appearance of the page as is without altering the content provider’s aesthetic.
2. We enable the user to mouse-over on any part of the link and depending on the location, the preview pane size is automatically adjusted to ensure that the user still has visual access to the search page content while previewing.
3. We give user control to turn the preview feature off and on.
4. We give users the ability to customize preview size so they don’t lose the context of their search. We even bring the content to them (our right-click search feature is a case in point).
5. Cooliris works with Google (Search and Images), Craigslist and Ebay. More will be enabled based on user requests.
6. We do not insert any ads in the previews. Users find them disruptive to their browsing experience and annoying as they did not sign up for watching additional ads. Further these ads can conflict and compete with ads native to the webpages.
7. Cooliris has not adopted a revenue model that compromises user experience. We have structured the company to operate on a shoe string budget - so non-revenue is not an issue for anyone. Sweat investors will see a return on an acquisition - a chance we all are willing to take.
8. Advertisers will love the product as users are offered information before they decide to click and generate the cost for the advertiser. This will increase their conversion rates and deliver a better ROI for their ads.
We commend Browster for their efforts thus far and we sincerely hope that web-users are the ultimate victor in this new wave of development.
Cheers,
Josh with Cooliris
http://www.cooliris.com
Showing Previews
Cooliris has not adopted a revenue model
Bubble 1.0 economics.
We have structured the company to operate on a shoe string budget - so non-revenue is not an issue
Perfect example of why there is no Bubble 2.0. People are not naive enough to believe that they can make money from things like browser enhancements. Anyone remember Backflip?
I wish them luck, although I would postulate that building companies just for sale is never going to be a successful strategy on the aggregate, as you are always at the mercy of the larger players ‘building it themselves’.
What is the big deal with this? Why would I want to see a preview of a page (by loading the page) instead of simply loading the page?! It is utter madness.
Why hover when you can click?
Hi guys! Thanks for all the comments.
We at Cooliris feel that the point of the preview is to enhance the browsing experience. Often you visit dead links, pages that don’t make sense, pages from which you can’t ‘back’ up without pressing the back button loads of times, pages with popups, malware etc. The preview functionality allows users to get past this barrier and make their searches more efficient within the search results.
Ask.com’s binoculars are very cool but the content shown is not legible and often the image shown is not the latest/most recent. More importantly, ask.com works only for ask.com where as Cooliris works for Craigslist, eBay and Google web and image searches.
Cooliris has a long roadmap of products ahead and as we blitz the releases, users will (hopefully) see what makes us unique over the competitors and why hovering is a useful tool!
Your product is causing essentially fraudulent links and wasting adwords dollars and not saving ad costs as you claim. The mouseover feature of the adwords previews the page allright, but you are costing a click when you do your prefetching - even without the user having clicked the ad.
Michael,
Thank you for writing about Browster and others who are vying for a slice of what we see as “Next-Gen Web Navigation”. I think its great to see new companies forming in this space, and to see Ask pushing Binoculars, MSN pushing their new preview feature and Google doing the Orion buy. Clearly users want a better way of moving through links. Web sufing will get away from the click-load page-back-back-back tedium that makes searching and browsing less eficient than it should be.
As for Cooliris, there are certainly similarities but also substantial differences between it and Browster 1.6.8 (new release as of today with faster performance and enhanced Firefox features! http://www.browster.com)
I think the big differences are what separate us most.
1. Browster has invested alot of effort in the technology underlying our browsing client. We’ve developed a platform that is extensible in ways a javascript plugin like Cooliris simply can never be.
2. Just placing the mouse on a link won’t work on most sites as there are too many links, we already tried that and users hated it. On sparse pages, like Google results, it may work. however, with Orion, I’m not sure Cooliris has a future enhancing Google.
Regarding he comment about browsing tools not being businesses: The Search toolbar drives 40%+ of search traffic/revenue for many search players, Firefox is making about $6M/month on search referrals and a password mgmnt plugin called RoboForm is a very profitable business.
3. Only about 6% of time spent on line is on the search results page of an engine. A successul navigation tool has to be more broadly applicable and go beyond just previews, which Browster will soon.
4. Browster has a well thought out revenue model delivering paid search clicks. It is also transparent to the user and not invasive(no pop-ups etc). We’re building a company not an acquisition target.
5. I think Cooliris has the right idea with image previewing. Users want to be ‘bridged’ to their data with fewer clicks.
As I posted on my blog recently, I believe we will see an evolution following the personalized web of Web 2.0 into personalized viewing. The power will go more into the hands of the user to view sites the way they want. Given that it’s all digital content and Browster is placing powerful browsing code on the client, it’s a pretty interesting step into “Web Next”.
Thanks,
Scott Milener
CEO
Browster
415-726-3036
Why would I want to peek through a window when I can just open the door?
Who would want to buy you Josh? Anyone can create this on their own.
Errm … don’t you know about BetterSearch?
Firefox essentially solved this issue using the tabs. I can easily browse results by CTRL-clicking each link on the results and get full pages all nicely tabbed. For me at least, it’s a faster experience than waiting for pop-up.
Just tried BetterSearch. Wow.. definitely VERY cool.
Scott (CEO of Browster),
This seems like a really nice idea, but can’t Google or MSN or Yahoo just do the same thing by throwing up a nice AJAXie-DHTMLie pop-up window with a preview? And more importantly, and to your point #4, if you do generate $$ from doing this, how long till the search engines do this themselves and run all over you?
What is the business behind this idea or is it just a hobby or web 2.0 show?
What difference does it make? Its another browser tool. I never heard of Browster, so it makes no difference to me. Why be so hung up on if it generates revenue? The male ego is such a frail beast, and american’s are ungrateful, hereby proving a theory in an international debate I had the other day-
Americans are spoiled, self serving and appreciate nothing….and wonder why other countries have a growing distain for many people born and raised here.
Kmw,
… which is, of course, assuming that everyone who commented here is American.
It doesn’t matter if “anyone can make their own”. I’m sure Google can program their own video service like YouTube and I’m sure Microsoft could’ve had their own e-mail client like Hotmail.
It’s the userbase that matters. If Browster or Cooliris get enough users, it WILL be purchased by one of the big guns.