What do you do? 
I support young companies (pre-starts, start-ups, early stage) on the Isle of Wight in technology or knowledge-based business sectors and work to increase their likelihood of success.  Support includes some or all of the following:  business plan development; finding finance for commercialisation of concepts, access to business angel networks and regional finance programmes, providing experienced mentors; matching up businesses with appropriate university research expertise; providing access to specialist IP advisors; creating networking opportunities; access to serviced accommodation with flexible terms.  This role is funded by the South East England Development Agency:  www.seeda.co.uk but I am employed by the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership www.iwep.com
 
I am also Chairman of Composites IQ, a European knowledge-transfer network for the composite materials industry (www.compositesIQ.com).  The network was founded by 28 partners from 10 different European countries and I was the project co-ordinator from 2003-2006.  The project was funded by the EC. The network offers easy access to R&D expertise and business support networks for European SMEs in the composites industry and the service was formally launched at the March 2006 JEC Show in Paris www.jeccomposites.com 
 
How do you live and work digitally? 
Live: email and messenger are my primary communication tools with non-local friends and family.  I buy all holidays and most music, books online.  I also buy some household items and clothing online.  In recent times I have bought an antique wardrobe via E-Bay and a new road bicycle in order to do the "Round-the-Island" cycle.  My children and I all use the Internet to research and communicate.  Broadband at home made this much easier and better.  My son now listens mostly to MP3 files instead of CDs and uses the home PC to add to and manage his library of MP3 files.
 
We all text each other with our phones and arrange a fairly complex domestic schedule via text. I take digital photographs and edit them on my PC.
 
I have once ordered my grocery shopping online.  I will probably do it again if I remember to plan ahead!  I am not as comfortable ordering fruit and veg as the other groceries.  I would like to buy these at the very good local fruit and veg shop and order the rest from the supermarket but I'll have to see how my schedule works out when school starts again in the Autumn.
 
Occasionally I check out the weather forecast online - it's part of my personalised BBC News home page:  www.bbc.co.uk and the other week someone alerted me to a local weather web site that has a live lightning strike tracker on it.  See http://www.isleofwightweather.co.uk/live_storm_data.htm  It was quite novel to see a storm moving in from France earlier this week, then hearing the thunder and finally the flashes of lightning as the storm rolled over the Isle of Wight. 
 
Work:  email has largely replaced the post and fax machines.  Email has also replaced a lot of telephone calls.  My work entails working in conjunction with a very wide network of contacts across Europe and email makes this manageable.  I have used online collaboration tools - see www.basecamphq.com  but they have not been very successful in replacing email as the primary communication and management tool.  
 
We have video conferencing facilities in the office but I have never found enough partners with the same technology or ease of access as we do and so I have never been able to use these facilities for work.  I think personal video-conferencing will be more successful: i.e. when every PC screen has an integrated camera and microphone and voice and sound transmission is all IP based. 
 
We have used Skype in the office on a project basis - specifically when Gypsy Moth IV made it's recent round the world commemorative trip, the project team in the office kept in touch with the boat via Skype. 
 
I synchronise diaries, contacts and some key documents between my work PC and my  PDA - even though my PC is a laptop!  I also synchronise my home PC's Outlook with my PDA from time to time.
 
I work from home several days a month connecting to work via VPN.  Broadband at home made this much more comfortable.
 
My laptop goes with me to most "out of town" meetings but I still take notes in A4 paper notebooks.  Have tried switching to taking notes on PDA using hand writing recognition but struggle with the screen size, the time lag between writing and recognition and the error rate.   Time pressure tends to favour the old-fashioned method for note-taking!
 
All work travel bookings are done online.  This is despite a staff member's long standing campaign for us to use a local travel agent.
 
All marketing materials are now designed digitally either in-house (increasingly) or by external suppliers.
 
The work website is being re-done again www.iwep.com  to better reflect the Island branding that we initiated within the past year.  Despite my previous experience in this area, I avoid involvement.  I have too much else to do and others have the responsibility.  Besides, I had my own project to get off the ground see: www.compositesIQ.com
 
What's different about "onliners" today than, say, a few years ago? 
The main difference is the extension and greater experience of the user base.  People who 3 years ago used to ask me how to find/where to find/how can we?questions don't ask those questions very much any more.  Online has been integrated into the fabric of work and most workers are comfortable with the technology.  I don't think they are as curious anymore though.  There used to be more web exploration going on than there is now.  This is partly because workplace rules have been imposed on suitable viewing / abuse of work equipment, etc.  Something else I don't see much of these days anymore is the "chain" email - neither jokes nor bogus virus warnings!

Anything or anyone online that is of particular interest to you?
Integrated video telephony will, I think become very popular and will kill off expensive, underutilised video-conferencing suites. 
 
I would like to see globalisation of online libraries of downloadable music.  For example I looked for ages to find a recording of a Mozart piano piece for my daughter.  I eventually found the piece on the US iTunes site but it wouldn't sell it to a non-US resident.  Incidentally, I think the potential for earning increased revenues from old recordings is significant. 
 
The online collaboration concept keeps coming around and I wonder whether wikis will "crack" the ease of use issues.  See http://www.jot.com/ for one example.