Okay, let's work through some naming confusion for a second: These days Netscape is a pretty multi-faceted brand, but for the purposes of this post we're talking about just two of those facets: Netscape.com, the web site recently reborn as a social news site, and Netscape Browser, the web browser that you download, install on your computer, and use to browse web sites... like Netscape.com. Got it? Okay, hold on tight.

Over at the official Netscape(.com) blog, developer Chris Finke has posted a teeny tiny teaser screenshot (above) of the upcoming Netscape (Browser) 9.0. Who cares about a new version of Netscape Browser anymore? Well, I do, but I may be a teensy bit (read: a lot) biased since I'm on Netscape.com's payroll as a Navigator. But, just as the Netscape.com team has pumped some pretty novel features into the social news site, they seem to be taking a similar approach to Netscape 9.0. Here's what Finke says about the new version: "Unlike Netscape 8, Netscape 9 will contain more standardized support for newsfeeds (a.k.a. Live Bookmarks); it will also have tight integration with the Netscape.com service, as evidenced by the icons for the two available Netscape.com extensions (Friends' Activity Sidebar and the Sitemail Notifier). Several Netscape.com-based extensions will be built into the browser; only these two have been previously announced."

If you already use Firefox and have installed the existing Netscape.com extensions, the above might not put you at the edge of your seat in anticipation, but Finke has promised new screenshots and progress reports every Tuesday until the browser's release.

Feisty young social news site Netscape.com, raised from the ashes of the old Netscape portal about 10 weeks ago, gained its 50,000th member today. (Disclosure: Download Squad and Netscape.com are both AOL properties, and I'm one of Netscape's Navigators.) The 50,000th member goes by the name of zvyozd, which frankly sounds like an alias to me. Though some people would argue that arbitrary milestones like this are meaningless, I do love seeing all those zeros lined up. My back-of-the-envelope calculations say that equates to about 5,000 new members per week (duh), and more than 700 per day. Congrats C.K., Jason, zvyozd, and all of the hard-working Netscape developers, anchors, navigators, and members. In case you're into such things, you can watch the new members, stories, votes, and comments roll in on the Netscape Tracker.

Just now AOL made its public launch of www.beta.netscape.com, the long-rumored successor to Netscape.com. Being an AOL employee, I've been checking out the private beta for a couple weeks, and I'm pretty impressed. The new Netscape.com (or "New N" as it's been referred to internally) takes the formula proven by sites like Digg and Newsvine and marries it to the editorial process of mainstream blogs and more conventional news sites, and the result is surprisingly cohesive. Content on the New N, e.g. links to news stories, cool web sites, videos, etc., is submitted by regular users like you and I and promoted via Digg-like "Vote!" button, and popular posts wind up on the front page. Where the New N diverges from Digg is the editorial layer. Expert "anchors" pick out the most popular stories of the day and promote them to a box at the top of the front page, where they tune in with their own commentary, related links, and so on. It sounds cheesy when put like that, but the result is fresh and intelligible news. The site has a variety of "channels," i.e. categories (30 in all), ranging from politics and celebrities to video games and (gasp!) sex, and channels have their own anchors (you'll probably recognize a few names from others Weblogs, Inc. blogs) highlighting stories in each. Also present are all of the social features you've come to expect, including comments (duh), friends lists, RSS feeds, tagging, and more.

It's worth noting that the paint is by no means dry on the New N, and that "beta" appellation is well-earned. The site launched literally moments ago and hiccups have proven not common. Bugs aside, it'll be awhile before I'm sold on this thing, but as a companion to more tech-oriented "memetrackers," I think the New N is off to a great start. Go check it out before all the good usernames are taken, submit some stories, post some comments, and feel free to add me as a friend.