To whom did you introduce Vivaldi today?

[jon]

@qpongo , thanks. Clearly the more people using Vivaldi, the better for everyone here.

Best,
Jon.

[Catweazle]

Apart from among my relatives and friends, where always advice to use this wonder, instead of IE or Chrome, I am talking about Vivaldi in forums and social networks, explaining the advantages of using it instead of other browsers.

[Pathduck]

@qpongo said in Who did you introduce Vivaldi to today?:

I know you were joking but understand how it works?

Of course - it was very much tongue-in-cheek :face_with_stuck-out_tongue_winking_eye:

I try to recommend V whenever I have the opportunity. Last I think I recommended it to some guys at the sdf.org bboard.

However, I know from my experience surviving the browser- and OS-wars that choice of software is often a very personal matter, and there is little point in being that guy who keeps pushing their choice on others. People will use what they want and trying to change their opinion is often a futile exercise.

For example I've been using Total Commander for 20 years now. I often get people saying "well if you use TC, you should try alternative Y, it does X much better". But for me TC is so ingrained in how I use a computer, that I have absolutely no interest in spending time to learn any alternative. I might even check it out, then go "meh..."

Maybe I'm just getting old and set in my ways

[luetage]

I talked 2 people into using Vivaldi. A colleague who kept complaining that there is no Android version for a month and then quit using it, and a friend who is still happily using it to this day.

It's hard to talk to people about browsers, most either don't know what a browser is, or just use the operating system default since they couldn't care less. Yet some others already have a favourite and don't want to change their habits. A question often thrown around is: is it fast? – and then you know they have no idea about browsers and you might as well stop talking.

In my opinion a major advantage of Vivaldi, which is usually understated, is that it's European. That's something people can connect to. No one really wants to use a Chinese or American browser, if they can help it. It's just like with cars ^^

[greybeard]

@Pathduck said in Who did you introduce Vivaldi to today?:

TC is so ingrained in how I use a computer, that I have absolutely no interest in spending time to learn any alternative.

Same for me with Opera pre ver 13. I had it tweaked perfectly to my workflow.

We have to find the curious among us who seem willing to try something new. Start the message there then spread Vivaldi further afield.

[jon]

@Catweazle Thanks!

Best,
Jon.

[mib2berlin]

I present Vivaldi a friend but he complained about to much updates, was the snapshot.
Next week I will try again with stable.
Every PC I setup or update Vivaldi is on board and I show user what it can do.
No idea how many use it still.

Cheers, mib

[jon]

@Pathduck, I think most people still do not know that we exist. A lot of people use Chrome or IE, because that is what came with their machine or got installed by some random software. If they knew there was an alternative, they just might try it.

I do not know how many times I have had an interview where the journalist ends up trying Vivaldi and becoming a user. It is really all about getting them to try it long enough to see how we differentiate from others and see the flexibility we offer.

Of course, you have to be careful not to push too hard. That does not work. Just let people know that you are using Vivaldi and why.

Cheers,
Jon.

[jon]

@greybeard Yes, it is really hard to move from a software that adapts to your needs. That is why so many of us were not happy with the move from Opera 12 to Opera 15.

The goal of Vivaldi is to provide the flexibility so that you can adapt it to your needs. We continue to develop Vivaldi towards that goal. We already have a lot done, but there is a lot more on the way.

Cheers,
Jon.

[Catweazle]

@luetage said in Who did you introduce Vivaldi to today?:

I talked 2 people into using Vivaldi. A colleague who kept complaining that there is no Android version for a month and then quit using it, and a friend who is still happily using it to this day.

It's hard to talk to people about browsers, most either don't know what a browser is, or just use the operating system default since they couldn't care less. Yet some others already have a favourite and don't want to change their habits. A question often thrown around is: is it fast? – and then you know they have no idea about browsers and you might as well stop talking.

In my opinion a major advantage of Vivaldi, which is usually understated, is that it's European. That's something people can connect to. No one really wants to use a Chinese or American browser, if they can help it. It's just like with cars ^^

Obviously it is not easy to convince people to use another browser to which they normally use. What usually helps so that they at least prove it, are questions of the style, can your browser do this? or some impressive screenshots that can be done by Vivaldi (configuration page, history, mosaic screen, etc.)
Apart, if you know the profession or custom of people in the network, telling them about the advantages that the multiple functions in Vivaldi can offer them.

[treego]

I think Vivaldi should get some of their "experts" making YouTube videos featuring the cool features that Vivaldi has with the headline being, "Can your browser do this?"

I nominate Pesala, Gaelle, and Ayespy ... I am sure there are others that would know how to do this in an "expert" way! I would gladly share those videos with my online friends, then!

[jon]

@Catweazle I always feel that asking people what they need and explaining how a feature in Vivaldi can help them works really well. Like, if a person likes to have a lot of tabs, explain the tab features we have such as tab stacking and tab stack tiling. It is all personal and individual.

Best,
Jon.

[jon]

@treego, videoes are always a good idea. Luckily there are quite a few that we have made and that others have made out there. Having others talk about what we are doing is clearly very powerful and reviews out there have a lot of impact.

There are a few Vivaldi videos here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHG0CNxmtdl7cXhAV7AZKkQ

Cheers,
Jon.

[treego]

@jon I am thankful for your response, and I am happy you agree that videos can be very useful for spreading the word about Vivaldi.

I do think Vivaldi's YouTube channel could be improved. There are literally tens if not hundreds of things that Vivaldi does that other browsers do not do.

I think videos that specifically highlight that would be a terrific incentive for someone to give Vivaldi a try if they could see specifically what Vivaldi does that Chrome (or their browser) does not do.

[i_ri]

Hello jon and hello everyone

"Have you heard of Vivaldi browser?"
Number One , most common, answer, "What is a browser?"

Some people just have nothing to push on.
It is becoming more fun to keep trying to spread Vivaldi.
Thanks.

[Folgore101]

@jon Right, depending on the user we are dealing with, we must emphasize the functions that can improve the navigation experience.
Even being too insistent is not productive, better to explain them on what can be useful and let them try, if they can understand the potential, certainly will become regular users of Vivaldi, this is the strategy that i usually use.
With more experienced users the thing is already more difficult because if they are used to working in a certain way not always Vivaldi is able to satisfy them, for example the Bookmark Bar more usable, in another forum that I follow has always been one of the most popular requests, now with version 2.4 this lack has been almost filled and some users are trying Vivaldi again.

Another thing that i often meet is "another clone of Chrome", unfortunately this is a fairly common thought, users stop at what's underneath without assessing the actual potential and with the fear that their data is at risk without even informing themselves about the attention to privacy that the Vivaldi Team cares about.
However, i am confident, when the mobile version will also be presented many other users may start to be part of this community, since they are waiting for this to switch to Vivaldi.

[jon]

@i_ri , yes it is still the case that people do not know the difference between a browser and a search engine, but there continues to be a lot of people that know the difference and could make use of a browser that adapts more to their needs.

Cheers,
Jon.

[Hadden89]

Unsure if use "you can even put the nyan cat on the bars, if you're in these kind of things".

About that, memes on vivaldi customizations, would be a great advertising
Especially true on Facebook. "One" share a nice meme picture from a browser social media and more users know about it

[jon]

@Folgore101 , yes the lack of better contextual menus in the bookmarks bar was something that was clearly needed and we have improved on that. That being said there is clearly a lot of bookmarking features in Vivaldi not found in any other browser. The speed dials, as implemented, are rather unique and the bookmarks manager has more features than most. This means that many people will start by looking at what they used to do, while Vivaldi may at times offer different and even better solutions to the problem.

I understand those that complain that we are using Chromium. I wish we had our own code base. That is just not an option. However, clearly Vivaldi has a lot of features that no other browser has and we are even seeing some of these features being copied by other browsers, which means we have to be doing something right.

Cheers,
Jon.

[Catweazle]

Vivaldi is certainly on the right track and this is also very evident looking for articles about Browers on the internet.
Although Vivaldi, by number of users, is still a marginal Brower, in many articles is mentioned in conjunction with the very established (Chrome, Opera, Firefox and Safari) show it as one of the great ones