Rockmelt

I’ve been playing around with an new web browser called RockMelt.  RockMelt integrates social media directly into the browser making it much easier to communicate with your Facebook and Twitter networks, and to also share web content more quickly and efficiently.

I am enjoying the ease at which I can keep up with social networks while browsing the web. The browser is built on the Chrome platform, so it is easy to use and fast.

While it's not perfect and I'm not ready to make it my primary browser yet, it has a lot of things that I like.  Here are my observations so far:

Good:

1. RockMelt inherits all the benefits of the Chrome browser, specifically the browser speed. 
2. The user interface is easy to learn and navigate.  The left and right sides integrate social media pretty well. 
3. Facebook integration is well done.  I am now using the browser to update Facebook statuses and catch up on the news feed.
4. Sharing web content is amazingly easy.  The share button is integrated into the browser and allows you to share the page you are on on Facebook and Twitter.
5. The quiet button is a nice feature.  If I find myself being distracted when I have to finish a  report, I can quiet the screen and hide all the feeds and updates.

The "Not so Good" - but not really bad

1. Twitter - I find myself still preferring "Tweet Deck".  Will review tomorrow.  Still missing some key features that I like.  For example, would like the option of shortening my URL  
2. I am not crazy about the searching features.  The search results pop up in a column rather then in the browser window.  I prefer the single bar approach that Chrome uses where the top bar acts as both the URL and search box. 

RockMelt is not for everyone.  I would never recommend it for middle or high school students.  It woulld be far too distracting.  If you are a heavy social media user, the you will probably find this browser very convenient.