In recent weeks three different people I know have emailed me to say they like the site and will visit it from time to time. On each occasion I have responded to say that I am pleased they like the site but I have encouraged them to do more than just visit from time to time. I have emphasised that the site is intended to be an online community rather than just a resource to visit occasionally. So, what is an online community supposed to be? The following are the main (but not the only) features:

·         Discussion Online communities generally have discussion forums where people can ask questions, make comments, share ideas, seek guidance or information. This then provides a helpful resource for not only the people directly involved, but also for the many others who will ‘lurk’ (that is, read and benefit from the discussions without necessarily contributing directly). Discussion is also part of our blog facility. A blog is a ‘weblog’, a sort of online diary that people can respond to or comment on. At the moment my blog is the only one on the site but we have the facility to host many blogs (free of charge) so my hope is that, as the community becomes more established, more people will want to start blogging. If you are interested or you know anyone who is, please let me know.

·         Learning Online communities generally offer a range of learning resources and ours is no exception. We already have a databank of short articles, book reviews and training resources and these will grow over time. If you have something you want to say or a book you want to review you don’t have to ‘apply’ or ‘ask permission’, just load it straight on to the site (you have to be a registered member to do this). We also have the Social Work Wiki which is an excellent opportunity for members to contribute to building up an online social work encyclopaedia that the whole profession can benefit from.

·         News Our site has newsfeeds on the home page plus announcements, books news and details of events. Members can use this facility to find out what is going on as well as publicise their own events.

·         Access to information The Connections section of the site has links to a wide range of useful websites that social work and social care people may wish to draw on as well as a set of directories relating to various services and service providers. Members can recommend websites to add to the list and service providers can have free entries on the directories.

So, it should be clear that Social Work Focus is much more than a website to be visited from time to time. Why not make it your home page so that you can see what the latest news is whenever you log on to the internet? And why not tell your friends and colleagues about it? The more members we have, the more of a resource the community becomes for everyone.

People often ask me what I see as the future of social work. My response is generally that this largely depends on us as members of the profession. Of course, there will be macro-level developments in law and government policy that will be influential, but these depend in large part on how they are put into practice by professionals. And, of course, it is not only how the profession reacts towards external developments - there is also the proactive work we can do individually and collectively.

So, in terms of the future, I see a worst-case scenario and a best-case scenario. For the former I envisage an older generation of workers who are disillusioned by the way the heart has gone out of social work, how it is more about paperwork than people work, and they have become cynical and defeatist about it all, more or less burnt out. Alongside them is a newer generation of social workers who are puzzled by all this talk of 'real' social work and feel at a loss as to what they are supposed to be doing above and beyond rationing scarce resources. That is the pessimistic outlook.

The best-case scenario for me is that we all pull together to reaffirm our professionalism - a partnership-based, empowering professionalism, not a return to elitist traditional forms of professionalism - and, in doing so, reaffirm the value of social work. We do what we reasonably can to improve the situation and, at the same time, make the best of what we have got, rather than become cynical and defeatist. That is the optimistic outlook.

The reality is likely to be somewhere in between. Where we end up between those two extremes is partly down to us. Social Work Focus can, I hope, be a forum that can help to play a part in moving forward positively. Please do what you can to play your part. Social work is too important to give up on.