BuddyWave is a new browser that’s completely focused on the tens of millions of MySpace users who generate 20 or so page views per day each on the site. The browser is downloadable on Windows machines. Most of the custom functionality requires signing into your MySpace account via the Browser. We had a lot of trouble getting the sign-in to work; however after a few tries we got in.
BuddyWave is a stripped down version of Internet Explorer 7, with some additional MySpace-specific functionality added. Click on the screen shot below for a larger view.
Like Flock, BuddyWave is specifically targeting the social networking crowd (although to compare Flock to BuddyWave isn’t appropriate – Flock is a full blown Mozilla based browser, whereas BuddyWave is at best a toy at this point in its development). BuddyWave has built in two main tools: an instant messenger-like friends list manager as well as an Ajax tool for editing your MySpace profile. See the demo (linked on their home page) to see these tools in action.
Now for the bad news. Since MySpace doesn’t have an official API, the browser is proxying requests back to MySpace on behalf of the user. This means MySpace can (and might) shut this down in a moment. Also, any change in forms or variables on the MySpace site will break BuddyWave, particularly athentication, until BuddyWave updates their software. BuddyWave has an auto-updater installed with the browser, probably to deal with these inevitable situations, although that is also an open door to allow BuddyWave to download and execute any other software they wish to send to your computer.
Also, the best feature of BuddyWave is the Ajax profile builder/editor. However, all they are doing is loading a third party editor, KillerKiwi, into a browser window. MySpace users can easily just go to that site themselves, from any browser.
In some ways BuddyWave reminds us of Browzar, another IE-based browser that launched last year and had fifteen minutes of fame. Unlike Browzar, though, we’ve seen nothing yet to indicate that BuddyWave is mostly a way to deliver ads to users.
If you spend most of your time on the Internet browsing MySpace, and you don’t mind using an IE based browser, BuddyWave may be something you’d use. If you don’t fall into that demographic, we suggest at least waiting until future versions have some of the kinks worked out.
The Company is based in New Mexico and was started by a group of “22 year old college dropouts.” The BuddyWave blog is here. One of the founders previously created MyWhatSpace, which we profiled last year.
it’s the end of the world as we know it…….
Yeah, I thought about going down that path with this post, but decided not to.
Maybe they are betting at a MySpace Acquisition ?
And What’s the revenue model?
they have this quote on their homepage “”BuddyWave, its like Viagra for Myspace.”
that’s completely ””Distasteful”” – sounds pedophilia/pervy considering the majority of myspace’s users are young adults and viagara is for older guys.
disgusting.
i hope buddywave SINKS
It is definitely a great idea, but I have my doubts that BuddyWave will be highly successful.
@ #5,
I hope you understand that what is distasteful to you may be perfectly acceptable to others. How do you equate viagra to pedophilia?
I love that you’re so disgusted and offended by a single comment… I’m betting you’re strongly religious, and that just makes me laugh (but I’m crying for you inside).
That model won’t work. So you need a different browser for every community site? That won’t fly…
So when do you publish the TechCrunch browser?
why do people get so up in arms about another digg clone? digg was based on del.icio.us, and reddit on digg, and netscape just went ahead and used their portal power to squeeze into the market. yahoo will do the same thing with brand recognition. more power to them.
oops. wrong post
ayo whats good nigga
whats good
damn boo
fuckyou
fuck u
fuck you both
this site reminds me of flock..
I doubt teenage girls and emo kids will download a new browser. Most of them reach for Internet Explorer and skip past mozilla everytime i walk by.
Seems like a good idea, but other than ad delivery, what’s the model? Also, I’m not sure, but the Jason Cox that is behind looks like the same person who was being sued by Microsoft recently:
http://www.linu...tory/52584.html
Hi guys… wow, interesting comments.
BuddyWave will make money from users
who search from our search bar up top –
http://www.firefox.com did approx 72MM according
to some authorities – with whats estimated to
be something like 30-50MM active users.
Also – by the end of the year – this buddywave
will work not just for myspace but all major soical
networks.
You will be able to send a comment/email to
your friends in face book and in myspace at the
same time with one click – thanks to buddywave.
There’s a whole slush of features coming that will
change the way kids use myspace —– it’s an exciting
time and we’re funded by a big player online who’s
planning to push major traffic.
Anyway, thanks to all who have provided good comments,
for all of you who don’t like our product (i dont see why!)
- i’m sorry you feel that way!
Warmly,
Jason Cox
Can I use this on my zooped.com profile?
jason, why not focus on a really powerful extension, just like adaptiveblue has with blueorganizer? why a whole other browser? myspace is just one site that people spend time on, and most of the people i know who use myspace use it because “everyone i know is on it and its the only way to get a hold of them”. i don’t think there will be a digg focused browser, or a yahoo answers focused browser.
nope, only myspace for now.
then we will do facebook.
then likely move into a major european
and our partners site livevideo.com ect.
zooped is waaaaaay down the list
Ok – well what you guys don’t realize here
at techrcunch is that – most of the kids i
know
ONLY USE THE INTERNET FOR MYSPACE
our browser will soon have all kinds of
BUILT in features that will make it nuts to
use IE or firefox if you’re a serious myspace
user…. im not going to reveal them here as
i dont want flock or the likes building it first,
but i’m quite confident in our product and that
myspace kids will flee from IE to buddywave.
what you’ve seen today is just the tip
of the ice burg…….
as to Why a browser?
Search Bar is the single easiest most proven
way to make money with this type of application
As for a “Digg” Browser… “Tech Crunch” browser,
people don’t spend their ENTIRE online time on these
sites — there’s nothing really to automate or expediate
at these sites — you just click and read.
MySpacing is an art.
You have to pimp out your profile, upload images,
send coments out, change your profile from time to
time, find cool new backgrounds, music codes, surveys
when you’re bored, the list of THINGS TO DO on myspace
is endless
right now theres TONS of profitabel companies spread
out all over the place with all these little things form layouts,
to music codes, surveys, ECT.
We’re going to PACK it all into one exciting fun to use
browser and not JUST be for Myspace- but – THE browser
of choice for anyone who uses a major social network.
PEACE OUT!
J
Not all teenagers use IE. I’ve converted all my pals to Firefox. (Satan programmed IE, me thinks). I have a myspace account because my friends do and I like to be in contact with them, but I would never ever use any of thing else affiliated with it-meaning this so called browser. I hope it goes belly up.
i can see why they dropped out. its not like it can take a programmer 5 minutes to duplicate this.
hey lemon – work on your sentence structure before you come out swinging with comments like that. please and thank you.
hate hate hate, thats all i hear is hate! and for what? i guess i just don’t see how anyone could wish such horrible fate (‘i hope it goes belly up’) upon such a young and harmless piece of software.
we made this to try and bring myspace’s charm back. we are not taking pageviews away or pulling users out of their network and therefore cannot see why myspace would feel the need to shut us down. also, we have no intentions of using our auto-updater for anything but fixes to the current software and to assume we will be using it to deploy some kind of malicious software is insulting.
yes, our profile editor is still third party but is nowhere near our most prominent feature. the ability to organize your friends list and send group messages is what we are built around and neither was featured in the post.
i find it funny that we were praised as ‘mywhatspace’ which was far more primitive and are now ripped apart for taking it to the next level as a browser.
in fact, i was once told by a very knowledgeable man in the industry: “that’s the only smart ‘we made our own browser’ play I’ve ever seen”
and no you don’t need a new browser for every social network. buddywave will be a single browser with specific features to manage each of your mulitiple social profiles.
so why ‘the end of the world’?!
With 10’s of billions of potential users in the ultimate viral marketing platform, who needs a business model
there you go! aaron’s got the idea
Myspace already provides an instant messanging client. http://www.mysp...e.com/myspaceim
Can’t think why anyone would use this instead.
thanks tallstreet. brilliant. i had no idea…
hahahaha
I dont think myspace can block this as this is a client app using IE
hey u
hey
ke le iso un perro a un gato bete