Helping everyone enjoy the internet

It's easy to take the web for granted. Loads of us rely on it every day to catch up with friends, find the best way to get from A to B, bag bargains and watch films and funnies. But not everyone knows what a big difference the web can make and how to use it. That’s something we want to change.

Basic digital skills, like knowing how to do the weekly shop online, can help older people and people living with disabilities lead more independent lives. And being able to send an email or chat on Skype makes keeping in touch with far-flung friends and family so much easier.

We’ve partnered up with the folk at Digital Glasgow to develop and trial a new website that helps people get to grips with the online basics. It’s geared towards older people and people with disabilities who want to get online for the first time. We've designed it especially for easy to use tablets, and it shows the benefits of being online in day-to-day life, in a friendly jargon-free way. It will cover loads of useful stuff to help people save money, get information and have fun online – all the sorts of things needed to enjoy a more independent life.

To kick it all off, we've recruited a team of 40 dedicated Digital Coaches to help us spread the word in Glasgow. Sports coaches from across the city will be equipped with tablets and specialist training, so they can use our new website to help people get online in their local communities. Even some of our staff are getting involved and we’ll also be training up some of our very own Virgin Media apprentices.

But Glasgow is just the start. We’re excited to reveal that In September the website will be made freely available online. We want to grow our team of Digital Coaches nationwide to help people lead digitally independent lives up and down the country. So whether it's your granny, neighbour or a friend, if you know someone who could get more out of the internet, you can get in touch with us at switchedonfutures@virginmedia.co.uk