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In the first story, it is alleged that many Brits find the Net to be of little value to them.

Another story carried by ZDNet suggests that email has a negative impact on productivity in the workplace.

Is it just coincidence that both of these stories refer to the Uk marketplace or is this a global thing that, in our race to embrace new technology, we've overlooked?

I suspect that most people reading this are already Net-advocates who have more use for the Net than the average individual or worker -- but people like us are in the minority. What does the Net mean to regular folks?

Well I can believe that improper use of email is a real time-waster. Even the old-fashioned paper-based office-memo can account for many hours of lost productivity when overused or abused -- so why should email be any different?

In theory, email should be faster and more efficient than either phone calls, letters or memos. With email, there's no need for a flowery introduction and a quick chat about the weather -- and being asynchronous, it means you don't have to make sure the other party is near their phone when you call.

However, it's probably the very strengths of email that are also its greatest weaknesses.

It's very easy to inadvertently convey the wrong emotion (or a complete lack of emotion) when tapping out a quick email -- and that can lead to all sorts of problems. Emoticons only go so far and sometimes the addition of a smiley (:-) might be taken as sarcasm instead of a genuine attempt at humour.

The asynchronicity of email also makes it easy to simply "file" a message for "later action" -- and then promptly forget about it (I know I do this) -- a behaviour far less likely when you're actually talking to someone on the phone or face-to-face.

And then (of course) there's the few moments in a day when the average worker quickly checks their personal mailbox or zips off to their favourite website on the bosses' ticket. Those minutes all add up over time and can represent a significant cost to a larger organisation.

So yes, if used improperly, the Net can have a negative impact on productivity in the workplace. As a result, I suspect that larger organisations will soon (if they're not already) be employing people to ensure that the Net (and the IT infrastructure in general) is presented and used in a way that minimises lost time and maximises efficiency.

Yes, a good "efficient" IT system really does involve a lot more than just fast, reliable hardware and full-featured software.

But what about those Brits who didn't feel the Net was useful to them?

Well they're dead right. The Net isn't useful to everyone.

A huge percentage of the population will be far better off using the phone, SMS or even (gasp!) pen and paper to communicate with others. Many of these people will also get their news from TV or a newspaper and do their reading or research at an old-fashioned library.

The Net isn't everyone's cup of tea and, no matter how good the technology gets or the prices drop, this will remain the case for quite some time to come.

If any Aardvark readers want to share an opinion on today's column or add something, you're invited to chip in and have your say in The Aardvark Forums or, if you prefer, you can contact me directly.

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