There are plenty of Web developer and marketing conferences, but Add-on Con lays claim to the first conference about the growing market for browser add-ons.
“We looked at the market and realized there is an unbelievable amount of add-ons coming out and all the major browser players have or are building functionality to support them,” Robert Reich, conference organizer, told InternetNews.com.
In addition to add-ons for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari, Google plans to offer add-in capability for its new Chrome browser as well.
Reich’s company OneRiot is itself a developer of browser add-ons.
The one-day Add-On Con is slated for December 11, 2008 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Cost is $150. In addition to keynotes, the event features two tracks: developer and business marketing.
Reich said the closing keynote will include representatives from Microsoft, Mozilla and Google talking about the future of their platforms.
Brower add-ons, which include everything from the toolbar search box from Google and others, to Web utilities and entertainment, are a big market getting bigger.
Just this week, Mozilla reported it passed a billion in add-on downloads since it started keeping track of downloads in 2005. Mozilla also just announced a new distribution channel for the thousands of Firefox browser add-ons called Fashion Your Firefox
“We think this conference is going to give add-on developers a voice and help establish this as a distinct industry,” said Reich. “In a tough economy, it’s about meeting the players and making business deals.”