All but the idiots know that the Firefox browser has lost its mojo on the desktop (not discussing browsers on mobile devices in this post).

For the last couple of years, not only have I found nothing to get excited about Firefox but also encounter too many vexing issues (plugin icons disappear from the tool bar, the problem with back button on Google search, loading of blank pages occasionally after entering a password on sites like Hotmail and blogs that require login etc).

My experience must obviously be mirroring that of countless others since Firefox has lost a whopping 13% market share in the last four years (down to 18.95% in December 2013, source: Wiki).

In the same period (Dec 2009-Dec 2013, Google’s Chrome browser vaulted from 5.45% to 44% and Safari has jumped from 3.48% to 9.1%. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser has fared worse but that’s a discussion for another day.

Ads Coming to Firefox

Now Firefox has taken another giant step toward its irrelevance by deciding to display ads inside the browser.

Mozilla, a non-profit foundation, is calling its nascent ad program Directory Tiles.

Tiles are what you see when you open a new tab in Firefox (there are nine tiles).

Ads will come from the Mozilla ecosystem as well as from sponsored content.

I just don’t understand the logic of a non-profit foundation like Mozilla jumping on the ads bandwagon!

Mozilla plans to start its ad journey with first time users initially.

I suspect other users will be compelled to clamber aboard the Firefox ad train when they update their browsers in the future.

Mozilla did not set a time frame for the ads to appear.

Mozilla’s VP of Content Services Darren Herman said the organization intends “to start showing Directory Tiles to new Firefox users as soon as we have the user experience right.”

Mozilla’s ad trip reminds me of the Opera experience with ads a few years back. As I recollect, the ad version of Opera was not popular with a lot of people.

Instead of innovating and providing a solid open source alternative to Internet Explorer and Chrome, the non-profit Mozilla foundation is heading off in weird directions.