firefox 400 million downloads
From my post over at SpreadFirefox.com:
On November 9th, 2004, you all started a movement. Spread Firefox, supported by tens of thousands of contributors, took just 99 days to deliver 25 million downloads of Firefox to a world of people desperate for a better Web -- a Web that didn't overwhelm them with pop-ups, a Web that didn't infect their systems with viruses and spyware, a Web that was fun again, simply put, a Web that worked.In less than six months, you all doubled that number to 50 million downloads, turned open source into a household word and reassert the supremacy of choice and simplicity.
It took the Spread Firefox global community of activists only one year to reach the 100 million downloads mark and to let the world know that innovation was alive again on the Web.
And just one year ago you all helped to double that number again, to 200 million downloads. More than 50,000 of you, with Spread Firefox buttons and banners, no only helped Firefox achieve an amazing download milestone, but you all helped to make Firefox one of the world's most recognized and respected brands.
Today, you all have done it once again. With your amazing efforts, Firefox has reached 400 million downloads and demonstrated that not even the world's most powerful companies can keep people from a better, safer, and faster Web experience. You all, the grass roots and the heart of the Firefox movement, have helped hundreds of millions of people find that better, safer, and faster Web.
Thank you for building this movement. Thank you for helping Firefox to deliver on the great promises of the Web. On behalf of the hundreds of millions of Firefox users, thank you for all that you have done in just three short years.
reactions, thoughts, comments, etc.
Um, didn't someone say that Mozilla had stopped using download numbers as marketing material? :)
Confused...
Posted by: Manit | September 7, 2007 2:21 PM
Manit, this is explicitly not marketing. This post is a celebration of the work that our thousands of volunteers have done over the last three years. Did you read the post? Did you see who was addressed in the post (repeatedly)?
- A
Posted by: Asa Dotzler | September 7, 2007 2:35 PM
Well, your post makes it sound like the credit for all these downloads goes to a half-assed marketing/web2.0/community website.. not to an excellent product.
Nice spin.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | September 7, 2007 2:51 PM
Coward, much of the credit does go to our community marketing efforts. 80% of Firefox users get it because someone they trust recommends it. That's huge. Would it have happened if the product sucked? No, absolutely not. Would it have happened with a great product and no community marketing project. No, absolutely not.
- A
Posted by: Asa Dotzler | September 7, 2007 3:04 PM
+1 on word of mouth -- which is exactly how I caught on to Firefox, and then doing the same for many others. Cheers to a great web browser and keep up the good work!
Posted by: Tom Kralidis | September 7, 2007 4:24 PM
Someone counted the days between Fx 1.0 release and 7th sep 2007?
A Dutch guy did:
http://www.mozbrowser.nl/node/view/2242
Exactly 1001 ^^
Posted by: Amsterdammer | September 8, 2007 1:00 AM
This is a very note-worthy milestone. Another year goes by with twice as many downloads as the previous year. 400,000,000 - That's a lot of user freedom being spread around.
If only Linus Torvald were keeping the pressure on Microsoft with a Linux Kernel better optimized for desktop users, we might be looking at the end of the long, free ride Microsoft has taken at user's expense.
Why I quit: kernel developer Con Kolivas
http://apcmag.com/6735/interview_con_kolivas
Posted by: Paul | September 8, 2007 3:27 AM
great work from the devs and testers.
Posted by: a | September 9, 2007 7:52 PM
"You all, the grass roots and the heart of the Firefox movement, have helped hundreds of millions of people find that better, safer, and faster Web."
400 million downloads equals hundreds of millions of users. Now, that is some stretching of the truth.
Posted by: TP | September 10, 2007 11:33 PM