What is a browser? A friend on Twitter recently linked to this video from Google asking people on the street in Times Square this very basic technical question. You may be surprised at the answers they got.

I certainly was. The video is an important reminder for everyone in the technology industry: People define technology by its usefulness. Clearly, most of the folks asked this question use their browser to search the Internet. If you're reading this blog, you probably know the correct technical answer is a software application used to view and interact with servers on the World Wide Web.

When asked "What is a microwave?" my response would describe it heating up food because that's what a microwave does for me. If you asked a physicist, you might get something closer to "an appliance using microwave radiation to heat water and other polarized molecules within food" (Wikipedia).

When people ask what I do for a living, the response typically includes the word "wiki" - a word that few really understand. For the  majority of the population, the word is somewhere between completely and vaguely foreign. For the majority of the rest, it means Wikipedia. As such, my response invariably includes a reference to Wikipedia, and a definition describing it as a web site that anyone can edit (a simplistic but workable sound-bite-sized definition).

Google has focused on removing the technology from their consumer-facing products as much as possible. The simplicity of the Google home page is a testament to this. The recent announcement of Google's minimalist Chrome OS for netbooks is an even more compelling example.

But looking at their products that are not consumer-facing, such as Ad Words, a very different picture emerges. It's a relatively complex interface. Given the complexity of the product and the target audience - marketing professionals - it is perfectly reasonable.

How does this relate to wiki software? My goal with EditMe has always been to make web sites that are easy to edit. There is an unfortunate fact of wikis that most people won't edit them. The ones who do are of a certain type. They're the type of person who will study the buttons on their VCR and set the clock through trial and error rather than giving up after not seeing a button labeled "Set The Clock" on the front.

Organizing and managing a web site is fairly complex business. But editing the text on the page should not be. Wikis need to make that simple step the easiest thing to do and remove as many barriers as possible. Structuring the navigation and gardening tasks can be handled by more experienced users. But getting the content in and correct is the most important task. It's this reason that I'm an advocate of WYSIWYG editors in wiki software. In my view, text-based wiki markup is the equivalent of a VCR clock. It's not particularly difficult, but it requires a level of study and understanding that will eliminate all but the most persistent users.

So, next time you're talking to somebody who isn't in the high tech industry, ask them what a wiki is. And when you get a shrug of the shoulders or a blank stare, go ahead and tell them!