Eagle-eyed online readers might notice some changes to the Echo's social media presence from next week - I'm off on maternity leave until next February.

We’re hoping the transition will be so smooth you’ll barely notice I’ve gone, but there are some changes that are unavoidable.

So, what will you notice?

Firstly, our Flickr group is now being moderated and managed by group members, not me. The monthly vote will still be going ahead – for any questions about that aspect of the group, email Sarah Cartlidge.

Second, those of you who are used to me responding to your comments under stories or blogs will notice I’m not there!

If you have queries, complaints or requests for clarification, you’re best contacting the reporter who wrote the story directly.

Third, for those who follow us on Twitter - @Bournemouthecho – and me on Facebook - Bournemouth Echo Sam – will see the biggest change.

The @Bournemouthecho Twitter feed will only be manned between 8am and 4.30pm on weekdays. Outside those hours, it will be monitored, but tweets may not be replied to – and if they are they will come from the @echonewsdesk account.

If you’d like some more Echo people to talk to we have a list of staff on Twitter here. (I‘d especially recommend our sports boys.)

We’ll still be posting all our news stories and blog posts. The #bmthair Air Festival hashtag will be going strong, just as it was last year, and we hope to use the account for tweeting from court in the near future - but you may find us less loquacious day to day than we have been.

To all those who’ve helped make our Twitter home such a chatty place to be, I apologise and ask that you bear with us. We will be back, I promise!

My Bournemouth Echo Sam Facebook profile won’t be updated as of Monday.

Again, I’d like to take the chance to say thanks to all those of you who’ve commented on our stories and my posts in the last year – it’s been very nice getting to know you all and I hope you’ll still be there when I come back!

In the meantime, you might want to like our Facebook page at Bournemouth Daily Echo because that’s where all our updates will be posted.

And finally, I would genuinely like to thank all of you who’ve tweeted, facebooked, sent in Flickr photos, commented on stories or emailed me.

I know we don’t always get it right, and there are many improvements we still hope to make - but talking to you, our readers, is by far the best part of my job. I may even find the time to miss you :)

Any web related queries should be addresssed to Sarah Cartlidge.