Let’s switch to the success of Firefox. What went right for Firefox and what made the difference and what continues to make a difference in the success of Firefox?
For Firefox, a couple of things lined up at the right time. First of all, it’s an important product. We talked about it earlier, how important it is. Not only was it important but the options were all bad. So people had a reason to look at something different. Three, we had the right product. So how do you get the right product? Sometimes it is the right people, sometimes it is luck, sometimes it is process. We rely somewhat on the right people and a lot on the right process—those two together which we had in Firefox and certainly we still do because if you look at Firefox 3, it really is a great browser—maybe the best that we’ve ever seen.
Interestingly most of the Firefox users are not in the US but outside. For instance, in India, there are millions of Firefox users. How are you reaching out to them? What are you doing in terms of localization of Firefox?
Well, we’ve always had an active localization community. In fact, I think Firefox is probably the leader in bringing real-time, multiple-language releases into consumer software. We have an odd way of doing this. We rely on local groups of people, volunteers to create the special aspects that are necessary. So, we localize both in language, menu items and so on but also for locale meaning we make sure the engine goes to the right place and various other parts of the products should be tuned and not just to a language but to the way you are.
We have such communities in India and we’ve been spending more time with those communities and learning more about India, and trying to figure out what other locales are there, what’s the most important thing, the various different languages in India, is its localization not related to language so much but other aspects of being in India. What other way can we make it so that people can participate. So the reason that the localizers are good example of what’s important in Firefox is we’re trying to build communities of people who demand the ability to build the Internet we want. It is great to be a consumer and it is great when things appear for free; browsers appear for free and websites appear for free. And being able to consume that is such a wonderful thing. When it is free that is wonderful. But it only goes so far. But if all we are are consumers then, if something doesn’t work for us, we’re just stuck.
And if something doesn’t work because it is tuned for one business company or one goal and we’re stuck with it, that’s a terrible place to be. So we’re trying to build not only Firefox but Mozilla as a set of people who understand that if you want the Internet to work in a way that’s good for you or your country or your people, who speak your native language or the other things that you care about, getting involved is the way to do it.
And then we provide the ways to get involved. So, that is what the localizers are.
What goals do you think you still have to accomplish both for yourself and for Mozilla?