What Is Mozilla Popcorn And What Does It Mean For Web Development?

In 2011, the clever and creative guys at Mozilla (the ones who run that awesome search engine, Firefox) launched a project known as “Popcorn” that they believed would revolutionize the way that we use videos. Whilst the project has been in use for well over a year now, a lot of people are only just stumbling across it and are wondering how on earth it works and what its rise in popularity will mean for those working in the web development industry.

There is an area of the Mozilla network known as Mozilla Labs that employs a number of technologically savvy people who experiment with new ways of making the internet a better and more easily accessible entity. Their Popcorn project aims to create videos that work very similarly to the web itself. It is hoped that this will encourage a better appreciation for music, film and many of the other videos that are commonly posted online by allowing users to understand the deeper meaning behind them.

Take one of Adele’s music videos as an example – as user’s watch her perform, the right hand side of their screen will be filled with additional information that is designed to give the user a deeper understanding of the song. Adele may hit a particular note, for example, which will cause a definition to pop up explaining what that note is called and some of the history behind it.

Whilst the project has been available for download for around 18 months, the Mozilla Popcorn team has recently announced that they will be launching their newest installment, known as Popcorn 1.0, in November this year. Through their website, the Mozilla team is currently allowing members of the web development community to test the new app and to provide them with feedback about its usability.

But what has the introduction of Mozilla Popcorn meant for the web development industry and what will it mean for developers in the future? At the moment, the app has allowed developers to build interactive video experiences with very little effort on their behalf, as Popcorn will do most of the ‘heavy lifting’ for them. It is yet to be seen what Popcorn will mean for web development in the future but, if it really takes off, it could mean a drastic change in how users view videos on the internet.

There is nothing to stop members of the web development industry from downloading the current version of Mozilla Popcorn or from updating to the newer version when it is released in November – it could prove to be a useful tool in creating websites that are much more interactive and user friendly.