New Web Browser Feeds Facebook Addiction

Do you know which Internet browser you're using? If not, it's okay. Most Internet users either don't know or think it's Google.

Microsoft has Internet Explorer, Apple has Safari, and soon Facebook will have RockMelt.

The company behind RockMelt, also named RockMelt, launched a new web browser which they claim has been re-imagined for how people use the Internet today.

Namely, they use it for social networking, like Facebook and Twitter.

"Today's Web users need a browser that does more than just navigate pages. RockMelt helps people do the things they do every single day -- keep up with their friends, share, get updates, and search," said Eric Vishria, RockMelt's co-founder and CEO.

RockMelt enables the user to interact and share with friends on Facebook, Twitter and other sites instantly from anywhere on the Web and is built on top of Chromium, the open source project behind Google Chrome (another web browser).

"RockMelt is onto something huge. They've rethought the browser around the massive shifts in user behavior that will drive the Web over the next decade," said general partner, Andreessen Horowitz.

The browser, which can only be accessed if the user has a Facebook account, works like any other browser, but has some key differences:

• Once logged in, the user's Facebook friends are visible on either side of the browser page and the user has the ability to chat, share a video, or see their dashboard activity without having to be on their Facebook page.
• File Sharing is built in directly, making it faster and easier to share a video or news article.
• RockMelt will keep track of the users' favorite sites and alert the user when their friend shares content or Tweets something.
• Doing a search using RockMelt will gather the same results from Google, but allows the user to quickly flip through them to find the one he or she wants, without having to click back and forth.

While average Internet users may not care about their web browsers, RockMelt has excited some of the Internet's most powerful players.

The company is backed, in part, by Marc Andreessen, a web browser "grandfather" of sorts who created Netscape Navigator in 1994; Bill Campbell, chairman of the board and former CEO of Intuit, and Apple board member; and Ron Conway, angel investor in Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others.

RockMelt's success may lie in the fact that Facebook has over 500 million users, many who spend all day on the social networking site. Making it easier to view pictures and chat with friends might be the push many users need to switch browsers.

To sign up for a beta invitation go to rockmelt.com.