Spin Kitchen » browsers http://www.turnerpr.com/blog An Intersection of Travel, Fashion, Media & Public Relations Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:49:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1 en hourly 1 What Does Browser Behavior Mean for Homepages? http://www.turnerpr.com/blog/2009/10/what-does-browser-behavior-mean-for-homepages/ http://www.turnerpr.com/blog/2009/10/what-does-browser-behavior-mean-for-homepages/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:00:14 +0000 Ef Rodriguez http://turnerpr.com/blog/?p=86 browsers-blog2I read a fascinating article on Mashable this morning about how more and more web users are sidestepping a visit to Google.com in favor of the built-in Google search bar found in most browsers. When I thought about it, I realized that I very seldom visit Google.com – yet I use their search engine almost exclusively to find things online.

What this suggests is that browsers are becomingly vastly more versatile as a vehicle for exploring the web. As a Firefox user, I rely on extensions and plugins to expedite and enhance my browsing experience – but it hadn’t occurred to me that I had stopped visiting certain homepages altogether.

Take YouTube, for example.

I never type in www.youtube.com – not when I can just select the YouTube button in Firefox’s search bar and plug my query straight in. That takes me directly to the videos that I want to see. Thus, I never glimpse YouTube’s selection of “Most Popular Videos,” which are placed on the homepage.

Am I missing out on great content? Are external search widgets fair to websites, who see fewer pageviews (and ad impressions, as a result)?

Or do browser shortcuts give users more control, a development that is surely welcome?

]]> http://www.turnerpr.com/blog/2009/10/what-does-browser-behavior-mean-for-homepages/feed/ 0