Thanks to Olga for pointing out a cool new free service for websites from a company called Conduit Connect that allows you to quickly and easily create a fully custom browser toolbar. Click on the banner to the left to go to the download page and install it.
If you have used the Google tool bar, it is very similar. It even incorporates a Google search box with the highlight option which comes in very handy when you are doing research and are looking for certain terms or phrases in a page. Additionally, the toolbar can be customized with the a logo and icons, menus, chat, RSS reader, links, email notifier, local weather, web radio and much more. It is compatible with Firefox on all platforms and in Internet Explorer, as well, if you are still using that browser.
I'm not sure what the business model of the company is, but I'm certain it must be tied into searching and ad revenue. Whatever it is, it is unobtrusive. The toolbar is very well done and thought out. The steps to create it were clear and easy to follow.
The Association toolbar features direct links to the Association web site. I've included a drop down menu for the different features of the Virtual Cafe and another menu for the different online directory tools. There is a link for the events calendar and a RSS menu that displays the latest blog articles.
There is a chat feature that allows you to chat with whoever else has the tool bar installed. Unfortunately it does not tell you who is online or provide you a method of notifying them that you are online. I'm not sure how well this feature will be utilized.
There are numerous other options, but there is only so much room on the tool bar to include them. If I change my mind I can update the toolbar and the next time the end users open their browsers the toolbar will be refreshed and reflect the new changes.
Currently the staff is testing the toolbar to insure that there are no major issues. So far, I do not see any. It looks very promising and that's why I am writing this blog article. I think it will be a very nice compliment to our web site.