Flock Eco-Browser: Annoying Eco-Trendy Crapola
The green trend has now hit web browsers – you can download the free Flock Browser Eco-Edition here. The browser comes pre-set with links and feeds from various eco-websites, and they give 10% of the search engine proceeds from the browser use to an environmental organization voted on by users.
I downloaded the browser and installed it (it does come in a version for Linux), but I’m not sure if I would use it that much. Some of the eco-trendy sites that come pre-loaded I don’t like particularly much. The one that wins my top “Eco-Irony Award” would be Sprig, which claims to be about the environment while pushing mindless consumerism. (No, you don’t really need to get a new pair of designer expensive “environmentally friendly” shoes when the ones you already have work just fine.) Ecorazzi, which focuses on green celebrities, seconds my list of mindless eco-trendy consumerist crap.
So while I feel that the idea behind Flock’s eco-browser is a good one, I am personally not thrilled about the trend towards corporatey, consumerist websites that play off the green trend but are in reality more of the same consumerism that got us into this environmental mess in the first place.
Hello (couldn’t find your name on the site, so we’ll just start with hello),
I really appreciate you posting your feedback, and I have to agree. The Eco Edition of Flock was an experiment in “Affinity Editions”, and a lot of things could have been done better.
Specifically, for our second Affinity Edition (the Gloss Browser) we assembled a small group of normal folks who were into said affinity and asked them what should go in the browser. I wish wish wish we could have done this on the Eco Edition, because I think the content would have been a lot better.
Live and learn, I suppose. If we take another look at the Eco Edition I will be sure to contact you…we need outspoken people like you to tell us what you like.
Evan Hamilton
Flock Community Ambassador
evan at flock dot com