surfers mark web pages with "Trailfire Marks."

collected wisdom is key emerging trend

[phranque]

from PC Week [pcmag.com]:

users click on the browser bar icon, and a box appears where they can name the trail, add a small comment, and then surf to other related sites. The hope is that "people who are passionate" about topics will create these trails, explained Trailfire chief executive John O'Halloran, and guide others.

The business angle: using what Trailfire knows about the Trails and those viewing and creating them to deliver highly-targeted ads and offers.

[jdMorgan]

> Those creating the marks need to download a small Internet Explorer 6, IE7 and Firefox 1.6+-friendly extension.

> The business angle: using what Trailfire knows about the Trails and those viewing and creating them to deliver highly-targeted ads and offers.

> Each Trail is indexed by Google and can appear in search results.

OK, an ad-ware toolbar for users, a data set ostensibly open to manipulation by professional paid "trail markers," and the collected "knowledge" replaces our sites in the SERPs, like a Wikipedia for links... Sound like fun, yup.

Jim

[linear]

There have been social browsing tools before, people stayed away in droves. I see nothing that would make this different.

Perhaps the public is just more inclined to furtive browsing than social browsing. I bet if they released a "see what another user is looking at without him knowing" widget, it would rake in the cash.