George Carlin was right. "Think of the average idiot. Now remember that by definition, half of the people are dumber than that."
Over on Read Write Web, there was a bit of comedy. Turns out that a post they had put up about Facebook Connect which allows you to login to Facebook and share tha t. RWW had also implemented the Facebook Login so that you could use your Facebook profile information if you wanted to comment on the post. The problem was that the RWW article started tracking higher in Google's search than Facebook's real login page. This meant that folks using teh Googles to find their Facebooks were winding up trying to log into Read Write Web instead of Facebook and started complaining about how the new look sucked and how they couldn't play Farmville.
This lead to RWW later posting an article talking about how the web is hard for people.
The web is not hard. People are just willfully stupid. People love to be illiterate. They do not react well to any form of change. This is somewhat understandable, since even as apex predators, some percentage of the population is supposed to contribute back to the food chain.
We don't need to make the internet easier for stupid people anymore than we're not supposed to laugh at someone standing in a Starbucks demanding a hamburger because his five year old map said that the store he's standing in is a McDonald's or drive off a closed bridge after plowing through a half mile of "ROAD CLOSED" signs because his GPS said it was OK.
Yes, there are aspects of the web that are "too hard" for many people. There are aspects of "oil refinement" that are also well beyond the grasp of the populous at large, and considering the fact that most gas pumps come with magnetic quick-reconnect fixtures for when folks drive off with the hose still in their tank, it's obvious that there's enough of the population at large that can't even get the process of refueling right. Much like the petroleum industry, if there is a need and market, someone will find it worth while to spend the effort to build a solution that's easier for the less savvy to deal with. Kind of like how Apple found a market making the difficult concept of "Listening to digital music" easier for people to master. (Granted, i've got a whole host of issues with that company and it's masterful lack of understanding around hard databases are for them, but that's beside the point.) Honestly, if the Interwebs are too difficult for someone to grasp or learn how to use, i'm rather comfortable with the idea of them not being here, much like i'm rather comfortable with the idea that if you can't master the minimal skills required for properly operating a motor vehicle, you're not allowed to drive one.
As much as i complain about Facebook, it really is AOL 3.0. It's a closed off version of the internet with padded corners and helpful cartoon animals telling you not to lick the outlets. It's as much the real internet as Disney California reflects it's home state. i'm actually fairly ok with that. i'm not saying that Gran'ma needs to know how to manage an ssh key in order to use a banking site (although that would be an excellent idea), but maybe buying her a golf cart so she can go to the supermarket and write checks beats letting her starve in her basement apartment. (Granted, it would also be a good idea for the kids to make sure that her will is up-to-date before she decides to go for a spin on the freeway.) Otherwise it's a place people can go and pretend to be online. It may sound a bit elitist of me, but i don't see a need to cater to the Facebook masses any more than i feel compelled to advertise my blog to folks going to Costco. Yes, a lot of folks go there, including people i might be interested in talking with, but i'd do much better targeting better defined markets where the self selecting interests are less likely to also be interested in a five gallon jar of mayo.
Like real life, i'm fine with the fact that you must be intellectually so high before you can use parts of the Internet. i'm also fine with the fact that some folks think it's a dangerous place full of ne'er-do-wells, because just like everywhere except an altered reality like Disneyland, it is. There are bad people out there intent on making you a sad panda. The sooner you realize that and learn to deal with it, the less likely you'll be eaten by a grue.
As several billion years of evolution has taught us: life rewards you richly the more you use your brain.
Honestly, when the hell did everyone want to grow up and be the kid sitting in the corner wearing a DUNCE cap?
