As more and more people scramble to Internet to seek their fortune, it's an easy step to allow Net to interfere with affairs of heart and home.

Lately, I have heard several variations of same theme from more than a few people. Initially, I pooh-poohed "criticisms" thinking "Aw, come on; lighten up a little" thinking maybe some were making a bigger deal out of an innocent preoccupation.

As "rumblings" became more frequent, further examination of this new, somewhat fractious phenomena seemed called for. There was some validity to "arguments" because guess what's happening?

We've stumbled onto a whole new way of being in middle of a love affair without ever leaving home or writing a "Dear John" letter!

Computers and The Net are wily masters at wedging themselves between people in terms of talking to and spending time with one another.

These rendevous are just as compelling and results can be just as tricky. Sneakily, they bloom and create same breakdowns in household communication as any other clandestine involvement.

The truth is, it IS possible to get a little carried away by our noble cyber efforts. Many times, we don't even recognize what's going on.

Allow me to present this hypothetic end-of-day scenario and ask if any of it sounds vaguely familiar. Spouse arrives home after a long day at office only to find Mate once again totally absorbed in front of computer. Spouse goes to greet Mate with a hug.

Momentarily startled, Mate looks up. "Hi, Honey. I'm so glad you're home, but I can't talk right now."

"Oh, don't look like that. I know, I know. You think I spend too much time on computer. But I don't. You're just feeling a little neglected, like when we bought baby home."

"Remember? You thought all my energies were spent on baby? You silly goose. I was only trying to get her to be able to feed herself at four months."

"Hey, didn't pediatrician say her development seemed accelerated? I was only trying to encourage process. It had nothing to do with cutting into my computer time. Honest."

The segment of overall contest I was assigned to was ROI, new lexicon for return on investment. ROI has become rallying cry of ecommerce as it tries to get off defensive and back up on its feet. Not surprisingly, it's a new category this year. Up until cyber-crash of 2000, Internet companies were blissfully free of dirty need to produce a return on cash invested. The small business audience of Inc. magazine never had this peculiar luxury.

The dot com boom was a high-flying gamble by high-moneyed players. Venture capitalists and large enterprises put up stake, and young dot commers were either new to business or young upstarts flooding in from investment and technology communities, both of which are nestled in padded nest of major corporations. ROI was least of their concerns. The dream was very big, and when you dream really, really big, mundane thoughts of profits are typically left for next generation of managers

The chronically under-funded small business community was late to Internet world. The owners of small companies live on a razor thin edge, and if blade slips, it cuts into personal income. One small blunder can cut very deep, setting owner back years. For small company owners, attention is just as dear a commodity as capital. Take your eye off ball for just a moment and your customers start scattering in all directions.