Firefox is Unseating Microsoft in Browser Wars

The Mozilla Organization's websites had more than 22.8 million unique site visitors in February 2009, a 61 percent boost from the prior month, according to Internet measurement company comScore, Reston, Virginia.

Growing Traffic Equals Growing Influence

The growth in web traffic is a strong indicator that the Mozilla Organization is becoming more influential as its Firefox browser unseats the various iterations of Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser. Firefox has long been the most popular browser among Internet savvy users. For example, Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal's technology and Internet Guru, called Firefox the best available browser in his June 2008 article. And the author of this article declared Firefox the best available browser in a widely read Practical eCommerce article in October 2008 after comparing it to other leading browsers like Apple's Safari and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7.

Add to these subjective reviews Firefox's growing popularity with web users at large. W3Schools.com, as an example, reported that 46.4 percent of measured Internet users browsed with Firefox versus a combined 43.6 percent for Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8, according to W3Schools.com. There is a clear trend toward Firefox and the top browser in the U.S. and perhaps in the world.

All told the boost in February 2009 traffic to Mozilla sites moved the organization up to No. 35 in the comScore top 50 web properties.

Will Firefox Lift Songbird, Thunderbird? Or Are More Deals Coming?

Exactly, how Mozilla will use its growing influence is not yet clear. But there are at least two possible lines of thinking.

First, Mozilla may pursue more strategic agreements similar to the Zazzle. In that deal Mozilla agreed to let Zazzle run its community store, providing on demand apparel like t-shirts. The deal may not seem like much, but it demonstrates Mozilla's willingness to work with for profit businesses. While it is certainly speculation, as deal between Mozilla and Internet search king, Google could be a major challenge to Microsoft.

Google's Chrome browser is the only real challenger for Firefox in terms of usability, and Mozilla's other software offerings (see below) could give Google a huge boost in email management and media playing.

Or second, Mozilla may use its browser's popularity to pedal other tools like its extremely good iTunes competitor, Songbird, or its Outlook-like email software, Thunderbird.

Both Songbird and Thurderbird are free, and both consistently get better reviews than their competition. Songbird, for example, does everything iTunes does, plus it doesn't force a proprietary song format on users.

Works Cited
comScore. comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top 50 U.S. Web Properties for February 2009. March 20, 2009. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2755 (accessed March 23, 2009).

Mossberg, Walter S. Mozilla Firefox 3.0 Is the Best Browser For Web -- For Now . June 5, 2008. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121261552570446443-nXhvKIJ70dpDWa1ipy8yLKDBmWk_20090605.html (accessed March 23, 2009).

Roggio, Armando. Browser Review: Mozilla Firefox 3. October 14, 2008. http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/843-Browser-Review-Mozilla-Firefox-3 (accessed March 23, 2009)

W3Schools.com. Browser Statistics. March 2009. http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp (accessed March 23, 2009).