14 DAY TRIAL // Browser makers like Google or Mozilla tout their products' performance and features to get people to start using them but they are facing a bigger challenge than many would think. It's not only that many people don't care which web browser they use, most may not even know what a browser is, as Google found last summer. So the company decided to educate people on what a browser is in the first place and maybe seed in the idea that they should be using Chrome at the same time.
“I've been trying to explain to my mom for months what a web browser is, with little luck. After a few rounds of failed attempts, I grew curious about people's general understanding of web browsers,” Jason Toff, associate product marketing manager, wrote. “As it turns out, my mom's not the only one who is confused about web browsers — even though the browser is one of the most-used programs on computers.”
In a less than scientific study last summer, Google decided to take to the streets to find out how much most people known about web browsers. What it found was that most people confuse the browser with the search engine and are otherwise pretty ignorant about what a browser is or does. So, in an attempt to educate the masses, Google created a short video explaining what a web browser is and why it’s “the most important program on your computer,” as the company puts it.
Along with the video it also put together a very basic website dedicated to the same task over at whatbrowser.org. The site shows users what browser they are using and also provides them with some rather rudimentary tips and tweaks that may not seem like much but could actually be very helpful to the site's target audience.
There's also a little more insight on why Google set up the site, along with a slight jab at everyone’s favorite target, Internet Explorer. “We wanted to show people that they have a lot of choice in browsers, since we noticed that most people were using the browser their computers came with,” the site reads. Of course, if Google is so keen on educating people on browsers perhaps it should have started by not naming its upcoming operating system and its web browser the same.