What’s a browser?

by lemonarian on July 19, 2009 · 15 comments

in General Interwebz

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Wow… right?

Being so INTO the internet every single day – it’s where I make my living! – it’s hard to understand that so many people are so… un-techy.

Maybe we should reconsider the tech skills of our target markets…

…and are fancy graphics really that important from a conversion standpoint?

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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Sakana July 20, 2009 at 7:52 am

lol…big G trying to push really hard CHROM…but you got to love our internet US users and level of knowledge they have describing a borwser

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2 Hamza July 20, 2009 at 2:19 pm

Yeah dude,now i know why do landing pages contain this HUGE Buy Now button, because vendors know that people are stupid and need a very big button to know where to click … LOL

and yeah design is the main key for conversations specially if you are in a niche that don’t have to do anything with the tech stuff such as gardening or weight loss or hair loss … people don’t care if your site is a wodpress or html or css or php they care about what they see , they see a good design they say it’s a good website . that’s it

1:44 this guys are acting like an expert while he don’t know what he is talking about hhh i wont gonna be that surprised if they asked this question on 2003 or even 2005 but man we are in 2009 !!! sad people …hh

Cheers
Hamza,

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3 Vince July 20, 2009 at 4:04 pm

I’ve been working in the IT field for 19 years now and I find it difficult to make myself realize how little many of the users actually know. I guess I really do need to go back to the very basics in my interactions with people. What seems simple to us isn’t always that way to others.

Nice post and somewhat of an eye opener!

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4 David from Wedding Photographer Nottingham July 21, 2009 at 1:10 am

And no one mentioned image browsers, which differ substantially from Internet browsers. I use Breeze Browser Pro every day for images, along with Adobe Bridge and Windows. Then for the Internet, I like to mix it up a bit and use Firefox, IE with a Google toolbar and sometimes I use Chrome if my connection is bad that day.

The comments on the video don’t surprise me and for the most part, it doesn’t matter that people don’t know this term or that term. I have a relative that I cannot convince on the point that their operating system is Windows XP, as they are convinced that it is called, ‘Word for Windows’ and another relative, who has quite a senior (and well paid) position recently asked me, in seriousness, if I and all my competitors were trying to get to the top of Google by adding extra A’s in front of our business names, as he assumed that Google organised everything alphabetically. It really doesn’t matter. These people earn a living, get paid, lead normal lives. The World does not collapse around them.
We all specialise, even in the way we access information and control machines in our personal lives. We have programmable microwave-combi-ovens, multiple computers, netbooks and digital cameras that come with a manual like yellow pages.

In my case, a number of friends and relatives have laughed at me recently because I haven’t learn how to text quickly on my mobile phone. Personally I never thought it important, as I have several computers and can send a text or email from one of those if I want to. We can’t all learn everything. And nor should we.

Best regards to everyone who featured in the movie and those of you who made it.

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5 Skip July 21, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Very interesting. I wouldn’t have thought so many people would think it is a search engine. I shall try asking people around here in Saratoga Springs and see what answers I get.

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6 Vanessa July 22, 2009 at 12:28 am

hehe, I was thinking of browser vs buyer.

Til I saw it was a survey sponsored by the folks with a new browser app. This video does well for building awareness for G with proof that the majority of US consumers think a search engine means the same thing as a browser.
.-= Vanessa´s last blog ..Small Business Embraces Local Email Marketing, Direct Mail Declines =-.

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7 Mogul from Needmoney.com July 22, 2009 at 3:29 am

In my opinion fancy graphics can really hurt conversions. My research data over the last few years indicates that clean, simple designs with light-colored backgrounds (ideally white) perform best overall for most kinds of products.
.-= Mogul@Needmoney.com´s last blog ..Interview with Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney) =-.

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8 Ditesco from Make Money Online Business July 23, 2009 at 1:48 pm

LoL. Anyway to answer your question, I believe that fancy graphics does not help to convert, but it would not hurt to have a good presentation either. You know that there is a saying, “the package also sells”, an so not too much but not nothing at all. A combination will be the best of two worlds.
.-= Ditesco @Make Money Online Business´s last blog ..3 Step Guide To Simple SEO Article Writing =-.

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9 tracy from addi knitting July 28, 2009 at 6:55 pm

To me that is very surprising. The internet is everywhere even on your phone now so I do not understand why someone would not know that.

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10 Chris Cashton August 7, 2009 at 10:22 am

This information should definitely be taken into account when writing copy for non-technical target audiences.

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11 Gene Simmons Costume August 14, 2009 at 2:06 pm

I think we all take a lot for granted. Most people might know their way around a computer, but as the video showed, they know very about the jargon.

I recently posted some “Aussie Computer Culture” on a site of mine. Here are a few Aussie definitions of computer jargon.
MAIL SERVER: The bloke at the pub who brings out the counter lunch.
USER: The neighbor who keeps borrowing things.
NETWORK: What you do when you need to repair the fishing net.

If you are interested in a laugh, you can see the other 20 or so, at
http://thebalidriver.net/are-australians-computer-literate
.-= Gene Simmons Costume´s last blog ..Do Follow Blog, Comment Luv, Keyword Luv =-.

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12 Sean Callahan August 17, 2009 at 10:32 pm

Unreal….You know, I have to say, most people searching for my services (seo) already have a website and know they need it. The users that don’t know they need it, need to be contacted in some other way it appears. Direct mail here I come…lol…..it’s crazy to think that people don’t know what a browser is or the different between one and a search engine…thats so crazy…good post

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13 Mark Hostetler from painted desert real estate September 2, 2009 at 9:05 pm

I don’t remember but I think I’ve seen this video somewhere before. It’s shocking to see, ask them directly whether they use Internet Explorer or Firefox or Safari etc, and they’ll say Yes! You’re right that we should market intelligently and keep such people in mind as well. I won’t blame them that they’re so un-techy as long as they’re an expert in their field and if they’re getting their work done on the Internet lol. But I use Firefox! :D But I think now this % would have rose because you see people wearing Firefox T-shirts and on web, you see logos and on blogs such talks are going so I think many people would know today who use computer regularly what a browser is.

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14 Free Search Engine Optimization October 12, 2009 at 12:58 pm

I have a relative that I cannot convince on the point that their operating system is Windows XP, this system is very usefully as they are convinced that it is called
.-= Free Search Engine Optimization´s last blog ..Web design and SEO: integral part of internet marketing =-.

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15 Steve from Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters October 22, 2009 at 2:35 pm

I sort of agree with Mark Hostetler – most basic computer users would probably know what Internet Explorer is, because that’s what the icon on their computer says. However, they may not know it’s a web browser. In the same way, they would know what Microsoft Word is, but they may not know it’s a word processor.
.-= Steve @ Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters´s last blog ..More Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters To Come =-.

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