Google has spent a significant amount of time over the past couple of years building a very impressive web browser, Chrome. By most accounts, it’s the fastest around, and isn’t system resource heavy, and those who use it seem to love it. But there’s a tiny little problem: Being the best product doesn’t matter when general users have no idea what the product even is. And I’m not talking about just your specific product, I’m talking about the product category in general. And I’m not talking about some crazy new tech, I’m talking about a web browser.
We’ve actually known since Google’s hilarious video this summer that plenty of normal people have absolutely no idea what a web browser really is, even though most use one on a daily basis. But today, Google has put together what can only be described as an extremely dumbed-down one minute video (below) and rudimentary website to attempt to explain to everyone once again exactly what a web browser is. And make no mistake, the undertone is clear: You should be using Chrome.
The web site consists of five parts: An area telling you what browser you are currently using, a place to show you the one-minute video, an area to show you a bit more about browsers and their performance benchmarks, an area to let you pick a new browser to try, and an area with tips and tricks for using a browser.
The video is much more subversive. While the first part is spent explaining what a web browser is not (not a computer, etc), by the end, Google throws out there that “the web browser is the most important piece of software on your computer.” And they continue, “so a faster web browser means that you’ll save time on every web page you open.” The hope there is that of course, people will look into what web browser is the fastest, and figure out its Chrome, and install it, since it is free to do so.
Of course, Google doesn’t bother to say that if you look up the fastest browser, find it to be Chrome, then try to install it on a Mac, you’ll be out of luck. Good luck trying to explain what Chromium builds are to these people, Google.
I all of a sudden don’t feel so bad having difficulty trying to explain to people what Google Wave is. And maybe now we know why Google actually is making Chrome OS: To stop having to explain to people what a damn browser is.
[photo: flickr/marshall astor]
This would be a great site for my mom
Post: http://blogs.zd.../weblife/?p=974
chrome is the ugliest and biggest pos. it scrolls down pages and screws up images. it looks like it was designed by fisher-price. the only people who use it are google fanboys
+5 No one who looks a for browser with a pleasing design will use Chrome. It is one of the badly-designed browsers in the world. Whatever explanation Google gives about browsers and computers, ordinary people who look for a good-looking product (and are not much bothered about functionality/speed) are surely going say, Chrome “sucks” in terms of looks.
Btw, do Google fanboys exist?
-5, did I answer your question?
I don’t get what’s so bad about it; it’s very minimalistic. Only if the current web design sucks, does Chrome look poor.
Additional +5
I love the “hope” of the Google browser, but the implementation is a bit lacking.
I’m sure that they are designing it around some master plan that we all have yet to fully understand, but in the meantime, it’s a bit unpolished for my taste and the interface drove me away.
But I know what a browser is and I’m probably not the target market.
Its very true. I am a strong supporter of Google chrome but I guess its lacking something which Firefox and IE is providing.
Microsoft came up with bing as an assault on Google search engine. Same way, let google find the problems with chrome and release the best version of Chrome in the market which will actually make it stand in the market filled with browsers.
Yeah, I think Google is learning what I discovered in trying to explain to a relative that, yes, her email does actually come home from work with her. People (outside TechCrunch’s demographic) don’t understand how computers work, and, quite frankly, don’t really care to. As long as it works, all the explanations of your email being on a server and trying to explain the idea of remote storage will fall on deaf ears.
And, if it doesn’t work, all those explanations will just amount to “excuses”.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Google wants to help clear up the confusion of a web browser vs. an operating system. Then they name both of their browser and OS “Chrome.”
Unreal.
It’s a perfect example of why so many “regular people” can’t stand some of the engineers & companies who remain oblivious to the frustrations they create and lack real-world concern for users.
WOW, what a bunch of idiots.
This reminds me of this video: http://www.yout...h?v=fJuNgBkloFE
The next question you should take to those morons is what is a Toilet, you will have the same result… 8%
Hmm..a toilet. A thing you use to help you brush your teeth in the morning?
That will be an improvement, at least it’s in the same room
Nah, 92% will answer that it’s that thing you sit on when you’re watching TV.
The place where TechCrunch is heading.
I should know it it! is it something that uhhh….MS Vista !?
This feels like Google’s attempt to influence the proposed “Ballot Box” browser selection process in the EU. I would not be surprised to see them promote this site in the EU as the place to understand what the ballot box is all about. Oh, and they actually included a ballot box (e.g. browser selection list) on their site in case the connection wasn’t clear. Note how they chose the .org domain extension to position as a public interest site.
This is a lot better than their other campaigns for Chrome. That weird TV ad with baby music playing and Chrome bouncing around didn’t really help anyone understand what it was.
I always liked this one: http://www.yout...iOP0&fmt=22
In order to garner new users Google would be best served if they identify the differentiating characteristics of their browser vs others
The only place where they differentiate the browsers is in the “Under The Hood” section, and that section is completely overwhelming to novice users. It needs to be simplified in order to give visitors some direction. Maybe a SaaS style chart would be a step in the right direction.
This is a war about “framing” the the browser in terms that give either MSFT or GOOG the advantage.
Nothing less, nothing more.
That sandwich looks tasty
Agreed!
The second video was very funny.
I was so annoyed with IE, that I had to move to Firefox.
I was very happy with Firefox, until the 3.5 version got released (tried Chrome, but still was a Firefox fan).
I downloaded 3.5 assuming that would be more fast and provide me some cool features, but on my Vista it simply started to crash 5-10 times a day
That was when I switched to Chrome, and I simply love it now.
wow, really insightful video. forget just how forward we are here in the valley.
Why cant i see the author name in the post ?
(the text is white? )
Try explaining what an ISP is let alone a browser is to a 10 year old autistic child. He just wants to know why his website doesn’t work and why I can’t fix the computer.
This is an amazing conversation that needs to be had!
Why is Opera not in that video?!
b/c is sizzzzzzzzzzzucks.
The should just wrap Chrome in bacon.
What average American doesn’t love bacon??
LOL at the perma IE banner on this page. MS’s agency is busy hunting mosquitoes instead of elephants.
I am running the same version of Chrome, 4.0.220.1 on Linux and Windows. Is it not available for Mac yet?
The opening page about instabilities on the Linux version disappeared with the last update.
I admit I haven’t tried printing, but Flash works.
What would that website say if you were connecting to it with AOL? My grandmother uses AOL and I’m curious.
It would probably say, “You’re using crap” as my girlfriend ingeniously thought up. :p
“Of course, Google doesn’t bother to say that if you look up the fastest browser, find it to be Chrome, then try to install it on a Mac, you’ll be out of luck.”
Well, the site does a pretty good job here too. If I click ‘Try a new browser’ from my mac osx, it only shows up Firefox, Safari and Opera. Chrome and IE are ‘intelligently’ removed from the list.
I am running the final Javascript test listed simultaneously on 3 different browsers (Chromium, Firefox 3.0, and Opera 10) and at first glance while under full load, Opera 10 is a lot faster than Firefox and Chromium. It would be interesting to see these browsers compared on a Windows box (I am using Ubuntu 9.04).
Of coarse Firefox 3.0 is not the most current release and Chromium is an unfinished release, however Google pulled ahead in the other tests with Mozilla taking the slight edge over Opera.
Is it Chrome or Chromium?
I though a browser was a hamburger
MG Siegler: Explaining what a browser is to the common man can’t be harder than explaining to you that there is an official Chrome release for the Mac:
http://www.goog...dev.html?dl=mac
It autoupdates and everything.
– Peter Kasting, a Chromium developer who is tired of having posted this comment for you something like 700 times now
Hahahahahahahahahahah +500!
A.) Both videos are stupid. It’s easy to stop a thousand people on the street and choose the 50 dumbest answers.
B.) If you “look up the fastest browser” on Google your first results are over two years old. (That’s going to really throw off those people who don’t know what a web browser is.)
I still remember having to teach somebody how and why a mouse worked – teaching adults is tough as things that don’t make sense to them seem illogical
When the Chrome tablet comes out, what will THAT be?
consumers care very little about the names of software….they care about utility.
in 2001 we conducted consumer research on this — nothing has really changed (from the consumer’s perspective).
caring about a browser is akin to caring about the kind of gasoline you put in you car. Some people care, and are in the know….most just want to get from point a to point b
TC has an ad for IE8 under the article..
How generous of the author to help Google with its corporate marketing and PR.
The headline is funny, but very close to the truth. To quote the advice from Google’s early in the video, your web browser is “not a search engine”. This demonstrates just how stupid the arrogant young geeks at Google think their potential customers really are. And how clever they feel they are in comparison.
Google has worked hard on their image as a company where every employee is a genius. It’s so ingrained in their culture that insiders are intoxicated by their own PR and can no longer contain their superiority complex. The latest Google “advice” is patronising and surprisingly condescending.
“Google has spent a significant amount of time over the past couple of years building a very impressive web browser, Chrome … there’s a tiny little problem: Being the best product…”
Sorry, but this is pure hype. Chrome is NOT the “best product”. In fact Firefox is arguably better.
It’s not that clever, either. It’s just another web browser. In fact it’s built on on WebKit:
http://blogs.zd...m/Apple/?p=2208
Chrome is not the fastest:
http://www.tima...rer_8_vs_chrome
Chrome not the most secure, either:
http://www.tima...ure_web_browser
Actually much of what Google does is not particularly new or technically impressive. E.g. Google Docs is based on an existing product they purchased, etc. They code in Python and their love for this language is famous, but they but they aren’t responsible for Python in the way that Sun are for Java or Microsoft are for C#.
What does distinguish Google is the success of their PR, their business strategy, their popularity and awesome commercial success. It’s exciting stuff, but let’s try to keep it in perspective.
Don’t be afraid to challenge the mythology surrounding Google. It’s a contemporary example of mass-hysteria. You’re free to check the facts for yourselves.
To pick up on what leftcoaster wrote, yes, it seems clear that this campaign is more about politics than genuine education.
This “educational” campaign, pretending to be all about advising us poor ignorant users, is really just Google raising awareness of its web browser to exploit the unbelievable situation with Windows 7 in Europe.
Lobbying and hysteria has achieved a momentous outcome at the EU, arguably the most corrupt and bloated public institition in the history of human civilisation. The overpaid pen-pushers of the EU have forced Microsoft to advertise products by rival companies on Windows 7. Users are forced to see an advert for Chrome and other browsers before they can use IE.