May
27
2005Greasemonkey - Altering the Rules of the Web as We Know It
27
2005
The Greasemonkey extension [for Firefox] allows users to alter the content and behavior of any website through user scripts which work inside the browser.
What Greasemonkey does is not rocket science (not to knock the skills of creator Aaron Boodman, aka YoungPup - a DHTML god among men - currently hacking at Blogger/Google, of course), but it’s capable of completely altering the “rules” of the web as we know it. Check out all of the sites already being targeted. Is your site on it?
First of all, if you generate revenue via anything that annoys users, guess what? Consider those revenue streams gone. But, more importantly, get ready for seriously cutthroat competition. If you have the world’s best organized database of products, but don’t offer the best prices, with a simple bit of JavaScript, users can redirect all the “Buy Now” buttons on your site to somewhere with cheaper prices. It used to be that if someone didn’t like what they saw in your site, they could leave via a bookmark or a quick URL entered in their browser. That was already bad enough. Now, users can take their business elsewhere without ever leaving your site! It’s as if you were able to shop at Target, then pull an entire Wal-Mart out of your back pocket when the time came to make your final purchase.
Clearly, Greasemonkey can be used for good or for evil. All the best tools can. I’m a firm believer that once bits enter my computer, they’re mine to do with as I please. So, philosophically, I’m pro-Greasemonkey, but man… things are sure going to get ugly. The arms race is already beginning.
Absolute…
Absolute
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