seemless web: this simple / that good ?

How would I respond to the question: Who actually sees the internet or this world wide web anymore ? What I specifically mean by that is, are users/viewers/surfers actually conscious of the technologies employed in delivering the on-line experience ? Now I could go off to forester or IDC, MS research, Nielsen, etc, but staying put and offering some observations from my experiences I would have to say ...yes... maybe.... em... ..no.. ok then.. yes ! (maybe I should make that trip after all).

When people have to click buttons, input data, upload, download, unzip stuff they are acutely aware of the technologies they must use ... Yes ! whether or not they understand what jpeg compression represents, know the history of the gif or can tell one codec from another isn't paramount but this still represents a yes in terms of knowing that these technologies are in use to enable their on-line experience.

When the grey or sandwich surfers, joe soap, the suburbanites or casual net users (exclude ebay auctioneers, bloggers and podcasters) encounter some 'download this' or 'input here' pop up or alert do they know exactly what is going on, has their disbelief already been suspended ? Does the traditional media's insecurity agenda dominate and result in immediate closure of the offending interruption? Has previous conditioning ensured that an ' I don't need to know' attitude prevails and ignorance is indeed bliss. Has it all become automatic or can each tell the difference between dynamic and static, interactive or passive, determine quality by ease of use, clarity of information, engagement, if it's this simple - is that good ?

Become a paying customer who wants a cool on-line presence created. Cool means nothing without functionality. If I see the technology at work, does that mean there must be cracks or flaws inherent ? If I can't see it, does that mean it isn't there and the potential value of the on-line experience somehow seems less ? Any clown with a library of manuals can trot out back end or marketing mumbo jumbo if they want to. If it doesn't do what it says in the brief (or on the tin) then no amount of research, metrics, statistics or third party analysis will convince me it's any good. I may not always be right but I’m seldom wrong if I’m a customer and whatever my ‘correctness’ I fully deserve to receive what I’m paying for.

But do we fully understand that ?..... Maybe not..... although today most kids leaving school in developed countries have at least a passing understanding of html and are perhaps therefore much better equipped to begin understanding third level languages like xml and currently in vogue internet tech tools. A whole generation is out there cutting a swath through PHP, Java, AS2, etc in the name of amusement and participation. My own 12 year old son and his on-line mates from around the world build their own clan websites that can rival commercial examples delivered by top UK agencies only seven to ten years ago.

Value in Digital Media ?....tell me about it !