Is WebRTC Just One Part of the Browser of the Future?Is WebRTC Just One Part of the Browser of the Future?

It's not just voice and video--it's file transfer, social and more. At least that's the plan. But is it too much?

If you're a WebRTC proponent, you'll probably find this Wall Street Journal article very encouraging. If you're a WebRTC skeptic, you may find the same article fairly encouraging as well.

The article focuses on all the ways that browsers are evolving, and some of the new features that browsers are expected to add as native features in the near future. These include Dropbox-like file transfer, social integration, and (oh yeah) communications too. I think when they talk about communications they're talking about WebRTC-enablement for at least some of what they describe. But I can't be sure because the term never comes up in the article.

Well, OK, communications have never been the sexiest part of the Internet revolution, at least outside of our industry. And besides Skype, there haven't been a lot of young Internet communications companies cashing out for billions the way Instagram, YouTube, etc. have.

But I do think that communications is more valuable than, say, file transfer. Everyone communicates; not everyone transfers big files. Skype claims 300 million active users, while Dropbox has pegged its user base at 100 million--not an insurmountable gap, but I'd be surprised if it closes much more.

The big-picture case that the article is making certainly seems to support the WebRTC optimists; we're entering a new generation of browsers. Browsers are in effect becoming operating systems or true dashboards for Internet-connected devices (which is all devices)--you'll be able to launch anything from them that you want to do, and they'll hollow out the value of all those standalone applications that you loaded up onto your desktop or smartphone home screen. One such application being voice and video, thanks to WebRTC.

On the other hand, the article does what articles like this tend to do, which is pivot to an "on the other hand..." position near the end, introducing a note of skepticism. The case in point for the skeptics is Rockmelt, the social browser that Marc Andreeson helped launch, and which is in the process of being discontinued. The Journal quotes a statement from Tim Howes, Rockmelt co-founder and CTO, saying, "browsers today are just big dumb windows in [consumers'] way."

The mobile world is already the scene of a browsers-vs.-apps battle. The apps have won so far in that environment, while it's more of a draw on the desktop: The browser is an indispensible tool, but at least to date, significant application functions have emerged in standalone applications like Skype and Dropbox.

What we're witnessing seems to be one of those fundamental pendulum swings in technology implementation--single-purpose versus multi-purpose. Do people want to be able to do everything through a single interface, or do they want specialized tools and applications? Is it inevitable that a cool application will start out as a standalone, and once it demonstrates broad appeal, it gets sucked into the general-purpose tool?

Furthermore, what's the fate of the browser itself if we really are entering a "post-PC world?" Of course PCs won't go away, but if tablets are the preferred device for content consumption, aren't they likely to evolve to be the preferred multipurpose device from which to communicate? After all, communications shouldn't require the bulkier form factors of keyboard, mouse and large screen just to talk to someone and possibly see them--nor are these input form factors needed to set up the communications in the first place.

I'm not sure whether the idea of a heavy, multi-purpose browser will take off or not. People don't necessarily want a lot of complexity in their engagement with the Web. So the optimists' WebRTC mantra--Communications in every browser--may not wind up being as revolutionary as it seems at first glance.

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