Webwatch

Face-to-face meetings can be hard on resources. Often there's just not the time or the money to bring people together. This is especially true for those working in rural areas or those who need to communicate with others in regional offices. Therefore, people need to be more creative about how they communicate with each other. Online social networks, such as Yammer, LinkedIn and Facebook help to fill these communication gaps, offering spaces to share information and to engage in conversations with others.

My Home Life (MHL) was originally a project set up in 2006 by the National Care Forum (an organisation that represents not-for-profit care homes) and Help the Aged. It was established to promote quality of life for those living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people through relationship-centred and evidence based practice. MHL has evolved into a collaborative movement of people across the UK.

The term 'Enterprise Social Network' is getting bandied about quite a lot of late. It sounds a bit techie, but it's really not. Enterprise Social Network (ESN) is a term that emcompasses social networking tools and software, some of which are used internally in organisations such as Sharepoint. However, ESNs also include the new wave of public social networking websites that allow people to connect, collaborate and share information on subjects of interest. Yammer and Socialcast are two popular examples. These websites can facilitate groups both within and outwith organisations.

'Wellbeing is about how things are going for children and young people in their lives'.

Playlist for Life bases its work on the premise that music is for everyone and that it can be used as a powerful tool to improve the lives of people with dementia, either in the early or advanced stages. It encourages families and other caregivers to offer people with dementia a thoughtfully compiled and personal playlist of music that has been meaningful to them during their life. This is delivered on an mp3 media player device such as an iPod. Playlist for Life can be used in home and residential settings.

On 12 June 2014, the Scottish Recovery Network (SRN) launched its Write to Recovery website at The Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. The launch forms part of the organisation's 10-year anniversary celebrations. It was a very inspiring day that featured guest speakers, Linda Gillard, an acclaimed, self-published fiction writer who spoke about the importance of writing in her recovery journey; and Robin Ross, a man who has experienced some 'serious life challenges' speak about how he has managed to turn his life around through writing and telling his story.

Matter is an online community for young adult carers which has been created by Carers Trust. The Carers Trust works to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring, unpaid, for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. With its Network Partners, it aims to ensure that information, advice and practical support are available to all carers across the UK.

Pearltrees is a creative and visual way to save and manage your favourite websites or 'pearls' as they are known. 'Pearls' - websites, files, photos and notes - can be saved and organised into what's known as 'pearltrees'. These 'trees' can be created and organised around subjects of interest. For example, you may have an interest in photography and want to save lots of interesting websites, blogs, photos on the topic. Using Pearltrees it's simple.

The Care Inspectorate, the independent scrutiny and improvement body for care services in Scotland, has launched The Hub, a website that provides access to resources aimed at supporting improvement in social services and social care through the use and sharing of intelligence and research-led practice. A fully accessible website, the content is provided in three categories: knowledge, innovation and improvement.

If you often need to collect feedback on an event, create a noticeboard, take notes, brainstorm ideas or make lists, then take a look at Padlet. It enables the creation of a 'wall' or web space where you can post text, photos and videos, and then invite others - colleagues, clients, friends - to do the same, working collaboratively to create content. And it's really easy to get started and use - you don't even have to create an account!