Magazine News Story/Aug 21, 2006

How far will you go to find more friends on MySpace? San Francisco startup Browster is betting that MySpace fiends will do anything, even change the way they browse.

The company is to announce this week a deal with the web’s biggest social networking site to provide a customized version of its free software, a browser plug-in. The plug-in reduces the need to click by showing a preview window with search results when users move their cursor over a link. The idea, says Browster CEO Scott Milener, is to eliminate the need to use the browser’s Back and Forward buttons. “We are bringing MySpace users more picks, filtering it, and making their search results more secure,” says Mr. Milener.

While Internet users are getting more sophisticated, browsers have stagnated. Popular browsers like Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Opera still have the look, buttons, and functionality of 10 years ago, says Mr. Milener. Although what users can do on the Internet has changed dramatically, the way they do it has pretty much remained the same.

Startups like Flock, Tablane, and Maxthon have launched their own browsers, which they say will speed up web navigation. Browster is following that trend, says Ed Birss, general partner with Advanced Technology Ventures, one of Browster’s investors. In January, Browster raised $5.8 million in its first round of funding from Advanced Technology Ventures, Vanguard Ventures, and First Round Capital. So far, 600,000 users have downloaded the Browster tool.

Creating a customized version for MySpace is a risk that could pay off big. MySpace users have a reputation for being among the first to try new ideas and for spreading it virally. “The MySpace crowd is huge and very vocal,” Mr. Milener says. “If it takes off there, this idea could spread like wildfire.”