No, clearly the terminology is unimportant to a large extent, although the way these technologies are used is connected. My mum, for example, has big problems using the internet because she simply doesn’t understand the difference between a Google search and the address bar URL field. Increasingly of course (especially with Chrome but also to a certain extent with FF) this doesn’t matter, but I have her fairly frequently putting urls in the Google search box and search terms into the address field. Subsequently she has a whole bunch of issues which directly lead to her having a rubbish experience of technology.

So no, I don’t think people need to know what things are called – ditto, I don’t think they should be expected to understand how they work – but there is a level of technical proficiency which *helps*, and both training and developers can help this.

Most people wouldn’t be able to tell you thier Internet connection speed either, or the difference between the Internet and the Web. This lack of awareness of the exact definitions doesn’t hinder their ability to use the Internet though so I really don’t see a problem.

Should we be surprised if those same randomly selected people on the street are unable to point to the carbureter when the hood is lifted on their car?