I'm sure Posterous users are all in the 8% of people who know what a browser is...

I know that ignorance is actually great for online business (especially in my specialty, internet marketing...because it means more people will click on ads thinking they are search results).  

But for some reason this video depresses me to no end.  Maybe because at the end of the day, an ignorant public is actually terrible for everyone.  For me it really hits home just how uninformed the general public is and how much harder it is to get people to respond to your products in the way you intended.

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25 responses
I agree, and I think a lot of people are misinformed about the internet in general because it isn't exactly explained. The thing that I always loved when Windows 3.1 was around was that when you installed it, it would kinda explain you about the mouse and how it worked, and taking care of a floppy disk. Of course if you're pretty fluent in computers like most of us here are, you don't really need to see that over and over again. I still have my Windows 3.1 handbook laying around that Microsoft released, and I feel like they could use another one. I don't think it matters if it's Bing or Live Search biased because it's their products, but I think they've forgotten that some of us didn't start using computers until Post-97.
— Jessica Lares
I remember seeing this video a little while back. It really is quite ridiculous...but in a way not surprising, sadly.
— Prasant Radhakrishnan
Nice post. It is a good reminder for geeks like us, even more so when you are trying to reach a broad audience. Lucky for me I have my working class family and peeps to keep me grounded...
— Michael Messina
Don't you see this as an opportunity for people like us, who work in the tech industry, to create products and communications that talk to these people and make them understand the values rather than exposing them to the inherent complexity of technology? i mean, why does it matter if they know the definition of a browser? if they know the internet is a place where they can find things, isn't that good enough?
— Patrick Au-Yeung
Oh, I know it's an opportunity, it just makes me worry about all the other things they are misinformed about.
— Stephanie Lim
I think that video is funny but most importantly it shows that poeple don't need to know what a browser is. Why should they bother? They turn on the computer an go to Google and find what they want. They don't care how they get there. Why should they? That's why the OS and the browser is going to morph into one. All that matters is that they get to the website of their desire. To have an OS that runs a browser is such an outdated concept. People need instant access to the internet and whoever builds the technology that solves that with the smallest interruption (turn on computer, turn on browser, type in address ect.) for the user will win. Google Chrome OS running Ubiquity with voice recognition could be an attempt :-)
— Kahlil Lechelt
Looking for the day when a browser is built that cannot be exploited, and it becomes seamless with the one-zero switch....then we won't call it a computer anymore, or browser, or internet, or any of that...it'll just go back being the 411, which hardly exists right now.
— Bill Spinks
I love how that old dude tries to sound all smart. "Mmm, I use Google, Google predominates the market obviously, but sometime I like to go to Yahoo just to give them some business."

FAIL.

Sigh I guess you guys are right though about people not needing to know what a browser is as long as they find what they are searching for. It is just, as someone said, a good reminder for those of us working in the technology space.

— Stephanie Lim
It's an ad, people! Sheesh! Find something real and unedited to comment on.
— Stephen McGrath
This is hilarious. I was crying my eyes out the WHOLE time. That's actually scary how even in these times people don't even know what a browser is. I've encountered people who I've asked "What brand of computer are you using?" and a lot of them said "Microsoft Windows." I'm sure there were more people interviewed in this video that actually knew what a browser was. I think this was put together for shits and giggles.
— Justino Villafañe
Oh my... well I'm not sure what to say after watching a video like that.
— Kimberly
Interesting, when I provide remote support, I often have to ask customers "Please open your internet"...
— Luis Giraldo
Wow I'm shocked by this but i think that was mostly Windows users or people in Hawaii are just smarter. When I work at the Genius Bar I don't remember people being that naive about Safari or Firefox on the Mac.

Maybe as an company Apple spends more time making sure people know this or I just never asked the question cause we assume people know this. Like JV said when we used to ask people what brand computer PC iPod/iPhone users had many of them would say XP or Windows rather than Dell, HP et.al.

— Doc Rock
This is hilarious. I was crying my eyes out the WHOLE time. That's actually scary how even in these times people don't even know what a browser is. I've encountered people who I've asked "What brand of computer are you using?" and a lot of them said "Microsoft Windows." I'm sure there were more people interviewed in this video that actually knew what a browser was. I think this was put together for shits and giggles.
— Bottega Veneta
LOL Epic xD

I must definitely post this.. :)

— Shedo Surashu
That was crazy and funny.
— Camille Lake
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