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There are an estimated 9.2 million souls across the UK who have never used the internet. Presumably if you're reading this you, like me, are not one of them.

Working on the Radio Scotland website and blog often means stumbling around new technology, programs and interfaces which can be tricky and at times - maddening. What makes it a heck of a lot easier is sitting in a working environment with colleagues who you can ask for help with while getting used to doing new things.

This is all fine and well but if you are new to this and attempting it on your own it's a lot more challenging. My folks, for example, are in their 70s and this year my Mum has bought her first computer. It's not going too well and sitting alone going round in circles is not helping. The frustration and embarrassment this causes is a serious obstacle.

There are a couple of new campaigns at the moment which aim to help people. One is called and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ campaign is called First Click aimed at people who would like to learn but are not confident about being online. To paraphrase Catriona McGrath, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Head of Marketing for Future Media & Technology, she says:

"By showing our audiences people just like themselves already online and loving it, we aim to demonstrate just how easy it is to get online.

The campaign is about reassuring people that they are not alone in thinking that they might be too old or unskilled to learn how to use the internet."

The site Webwise is another good resource for beginners and does a great job of explaining words like URLs, downloads, broadband which can be scary and act as barriers for newcomers.

I think I'll tell my Mum about it.