One thing I see being consistently missed in studies of this type is a clear differentiation between two general types of users… defining two almost antithetical modes of web (and software) usage.

First, there are the “knowledge” oriented users (typically college educated) who…

1. Need to “know” first… and then “act” (this comes from the structure of our formal education – you study first… then you practice)

2. Need to have a clear goal for each activity (again “know first”… then “act”)

3. Think they know what they are looking for (when searching for information)

4. Need to know “where they are” – as learned by looking at maps… with an overview and complete understanding (as from above).

Then, there are the “experience” oriented users (typically people with less formal education) who…

1. Are accustomed to engage environments and use stuff without the (acquired) need to first understand “how this works” (comfortable being agnostic)

2. Are not accustomed to define clear goals every time they engage in an activity (not teleological)

3. Are aware of the fact they don’t really know exactly what they are looking for (when searching for information)

4. Are finding their way by “foraging” and following the “information scent” (tropologically, contextually).

Now, I would argue that the second type of users are, in fact, in a better position to feel at home on the web. Because their ways of thinking and acting are much closer to the exploratory, experiential, hypertextual (multitude of paths you cannot know about) nature of the web – where discovery is the main value.

Anecdotic evidence shows that the most educated (non-geek!) users within an organization have the most trouble using new software and web applications – believe it or not. That’s also my personal experience after 14 years of designing desktop software and web applications.