Hannah spotted this story on BBC News today. Apparently, we are no longer content with browsing the web; we simply want to get on, find what we’re looking for, then log off as quickly as possible.

As part of the article, “usability guru” Jakob Nielsen claims that our increasing success rates in finding what we are looking for are down to two things: better web design and our improved familiarity with the interactive environment. Personally, I think we have Google to thank for a large proportion of our success. I have to admit that with Google Alerts and Netvibes accounts set up and offering us quick links to the things we are interested in, there is little need to surf the net aimlessly anymore as we can be directed straight there.

Perhaps it’s an age thing and youngsters with time to kill still spend hours trawling through various sites looking for nothing in particular, but Google clearly dominates in our office and negates the need for hours spent surfing.

Rebecca Wheeler