Welcome to Joe Public, part of the new look SocietyGuardian.co.uk website which we hope will make it easier for you to read and use our unique combination of jobs, news, analysis, comment and interactive debate covering the public services and the voluntary sector.
As part of our makeover we are launching this blog, Joe Public, to encourage comment and feedback on the key areas we cover - children, communities, health, local government, social care and voluntary sector.
The Guardian is highly regarded for the strength in depth of its public sector coverage - as well as the place to look for jobs in the sector - but we feel that online this can become more of a conversation and less of a lecture.
So we are keen to hear from readers - and of course fellow bloggers - on the topics that interest them, whether it is Lord Steel interviewed about the Abortion Act 40 years on or the kind of frontline concerns that surface in blogs such as the Policeman's Blog whose views "probably don't reflect official policy", or his female counterpart PC Bloggs, or the London ambulanceman writing in Random Acts of Reality.
There will be authoritative criticism of public services or poor performance in the voluntary sector but we are not afraid to stick our necks out when something goes right, as in Harry Ferguson's moving tribute this week to the people who cared for his terminally ill mother.
The website can now bring you a richer mix of pictures, audio and video to supplement the strengths of Society Guardian in print - strengths brought home this week with a prize for anti-discrimination journalism for reporter Mary O'Hara.
You can still sign up for our daily email briefing delivered to your inbox at 10.15am every weekday - giving you details of the latest news, comment and analysis on the site.
We are anxious to hear from you. Use our Joe Public blog to give us your feedback and comments. You can also send your questions, advice and experiences in the sector to editor@societytheguardian.com.
