A Social Web Browser | Katherine Boehret | The Digital Solution | AllThingsD

RockMelt tries another scenario for differentiation

RockMelt’s roots trace back to the Netscape browser founded in the early 1990s. One of RockMelt’s co-founders was at Netscape and it’s backed by Netscape founder Marc Andreeson’s venture-capital group. It was originally introduced as a private beta (read: downloadable by invitation only) in November and became available to the public last month. However, each account still includes six invitations, which users are prompted to send to friends as a means of word-of-mouth promotion.

Those who will really appreciate RockMelt on the PC and on the iPhone are the same people who think of Facebook or Twitter as their main means of digital communication. (Most sharing in this browser is done via social networks, not email.) If you fit that description, RockMelt will be a great tool for integrating social networking into your Web browsing. Just don’t expect too much Facebook friend interaction on the mobile app.

A Social Web Browser | Katherine Boehret | The Digital Solution | AllThingsD