The headlines today have been about the fact that Microsoft will need to offer users the chance to pick the web browser they want to know. I don’t believe this is going to make a sizeable difference to the browsers people use, the people who know which browsers are best are using them already and they also know how to find them.
What is interesting to me is the fact that both Internet Explorer and Firefox have both dropped in terms of usage. IE is seeing a study decline in usage which had originally been because of the growth of Firefox. However, with Firefox in decline its clear that the reason for both of these dropping off is now Chrome.
In the last month, Chrome has seen a 5% increase in usage. There are, I think, a couple of reasons for this:
1) Advertising. A heavyweight outdoor and online campaign from Google pushing its usage. Its been very visible especially if you travel on the Tube with tube car panels and cross-track poster sites. Given this has been running since before Christmas this could be a good reason.
2) Speed. Chrome just seems much quicker than other browsers. Even Firefox. Firefox is by far my favourite browser so to see it losing market share is not good, but Chrome is indeed quicker. This means streaming experience are better especially those from YouTube…. Google wouldn’t slow down the streaming from YouTube for other browsers would they?
It could also be about simply being the new kid in town. Firefox had this role for awhile but is becoming less cool potentially and therefore users are moving to Chrome. Either way, I’m sticking with Firefox but we will keep an eye on the developments over the next few months to see how quickly Chrome gains market share.
