Here’s some basic information about the Compass Dreamwork website and blog:

A website is just a location on the worldwide web that has different forms of information and interaction available. Some of the information remains relatively unchanged, and other information is updated on a regular basis. The information/communication that is regularly updated is called a blog. The blog is part of the website, and is made up of posts. Posts are just interactive pages—allowing readers to leave comments.

Some websites use the constantly changing blog as their home page, but on the Compass Dreamwork website the home page is just a page of information that stays the same. When you go to the website’s main address, you always get the home page first, and then can go to other pages, including the blog, easily from there.

(If you want to get to the website another time, you can just enter “Compass Dreamwork”– into Google—and it will find the site for you.)

From the home page, there are a lot of different possibilities.

As I mentioned above, the site has two kinds of pages: 1) “Static pages” (like the home page), containing information that stays on the site at all times (with occasional editorial changes)—and 2) Blog pages or “posts,” which are listed on a main blog page (described below). New posts appear regularly, like newspaper columns.

To access the blog: After you’ve looked at the home page, just click on the yellow rose at the right of the screen, which will take you to the blog. (You might also get to the blog by clicking the word “Blog” in the menu at the top of the page, but I think the rose is more fun.)

The main blog page lists the ten most recent posts. You’ll find the first few paragraphs of each post (they’re in reverse chronological order, most recent at the top), and at the end of each excerpt, you can click “continue reading” to get the full article (“article” is another name for a post).

To leave a comment: At the end of any full article (scroll all the way down), there’s a box where you can write comments, if you like. Comments are public, and remain on the site, connected with the post. Just write your comment, provide your e-mail address (no one sees your e-mail address, but it’s needed to verify that you’re not a spammer), and your name or a nickname (it will appear with the comment on the blog). Then press “post comment.” There’s a slight delay, and then your comment appears, following the post. Sometimes another person (usually me, but occasionally other blog readers) will reply to your comment with another comment.

You’ll also find more information in the sidebar (where the rose is) to the right of every page or post, and in the area at the bottom of every page that has a black background. Information at the bottom of every page includes archives of older posts, and a list organizing the posts by category, so you can look for themes that interest you and get a list of posts on those themes.

To subscribe to (or “follow”) the blog: I’d particularly appreciate it if you would take a look at the subscription box in the sidebar to the right. If you subscribe, you help the website to become more visible (this is because of the way that Google and other search engines find websites), and so help Compass Dreamwork to reach more people. Subscribing simply means that you will get each new post e-mailed to you, so then you can choose to read it or delete it, depending on whether or not the topic is of interest to you. Subscribing is pretty simple—just follow instructions in the subscription box, type in your e-mail where it says to do so, and click “subscribe.” You’ll get a confirmation email, and when you click “confirm subscription,” the process is complete.

If you feel like exploring the entire site with all of its static pages, you’ll find a menu at the top of every page (the menu says: Home—Blog—Programs and Events—About Dreamwork—  etc.). If you mouse over any of the headings in that menu, you’ll find subheadings (and, occasionally sub-subheadings). Click on any of these headings or subheadings to visit other pages. This main menu is always at the top of any page you open, so you can jump around without losing your way.

I think this kind of website-software really represents technology at its most delightful—all kinds of possibilities for exploration and creativity. I hope I can inspire you to try it out—investigate, subscribe, leave comments…

Thank you!

Kirsten