Google has come up with a Google Browser Sync extension for Firefox which enables syncing of bookmarks, cookies, history, even passwords between multiple Firefox instances on multiple machines and operating systems. The data can be passed to Google encrypted (and probably should be).
At first glance this looks like the ideal solution to that pesky problem of multiple desktops and operating systems. Indeed it might also be seen as a direct hit on del.icio.us‘s unique selling point. However, I think there is more to this story.
My move to del.icio.us this past January was indeed prompted by the fact that I switch frequently between 5 different desktops and operating systems. There just wasn’t a practical way to manage my bookmarks. Even a Google personalised homepage quickly becomes unwieldy (especially if you want to use that to handle your rss feeds). So del.icio.us had all the appearance of a solution for me. One web page that easily handles all my bookmarks, and a straightforward system for adding new bookmarks.
But this new Google Browser Sync extension also appears to answer my previous needs. So why not go with that?
This is where things get interesting.
The use of a technology changes one’s expectations and requirements. Prior to using del.icio.us I did not have much time for social software. What was the point? I’m just not that friendly and, frankly, strangers are usually called strangers because they are strange. But since embracing the open sharing concept employed by del.icio.us I have begun to both appreciate it and want more of it.
Using del.icio.us has changed my expectations and my requirements.
I now like the fact that I can trace my way through the other users of del.icio.us to find like-minded individuals whose bookmarks I can appropriate. And I like the openness that comes of using my real name for my del.icio.us page. (Of course that is not a requirement for use of del.icio.us, but I felt it was more in keeping with the spirit of openness to use it that way. The same goes for my blogger.com blog, obviously.)
Have my requirements now changed so much that a perfectly adequate solution (to my needs 6 months ago) such as the Google Browser Sync no longer suffices?
If so, then perhaps there is a lesson here for us all, and for the IT industry in particular. A simple reminder of how difficult it is to anticipate how change changes the underlying conditions.