[Chrissy Scivicque]

Welcome to OfficeArrow!

And congratulations! You’ve just joined the world’s first online community created for office professionals, by office professionals. Pretty exciting, huh?

Looking around, you may feel a little overwhelmed. Never fear! We’ve created this brief article to help show you around the site and get you started meeting people. Don’t worry – it’s easy!

Now that you’ve got a username and password, you’re ready to start exploring.

1. Complete Your Profile
Your profile is where you get to share information about yourself with the OA community. Once you’re logged in, you can access your profile at any time by clicking on the “My Dashboard” tab which can be found at the top right hand side of the screen. From here, you can do quite a few things! But we’ll focus on the most important things for right now:

Edit Your Public Profile
On the right hand side under “User Profile Quick Links,” click on the words “View My Public Profile.” From there, you’ll be able to edit your information by clicking on the word “Edit” next to each item. Fill in the spaces with the information you’d like others to know about you. Try to be as complete as possible. In order to meet people, you’ll want to share enough about yourself to interest them! Be sure to select “Save” after you’re done! To change your notifications, date/time preferences, or login information, you can click on the “Edit My Public Profile” link under My Dashboard.

Upload a Photo
Now, you’ll want to show your new friends what you look like. To add a photo, click on the “Edit My Public Profile” section in My Dashboard. You’ll find another link at the top left labelled “Edit Profile Picture.” This will take you to a page where you can upload a photo from your computer or pull a photo from another webpage. Don’t forget to click the “Save Changes” button when you’re done!

Choose an Avatar
What’s an avatar? Good question! An avatar is a cute little icon that represents you around the site. You can upload your own if you have one or select one of ours to use. Again, go to your dashboard. This time, under the "User Profile Quick Links" section, select "Edit My Options." There, you’ll find the “Edit Avatar” link. If you don’t choose one of our avatars, you can upload one of your own (any photo will work), or use one from another website. If you choose nothing, a blank silhouette will appear as your avatar. Make yourself stand out! It’s very easy to pick an existing avatar so browse around in our different categories, and select one that represents you. Once again, don’t forget to click the “Save Changes” button when you’re done.

You can continue to browse around your Dashboard if you’d like. That list on the right hand side allows you to do quite a bit. Don’t be afraid to click on the links and see what you can do. You can’t hurt your profile just by clicking!

2. Participate
Once you’ve completed your profile, you’re ready to jump right in and participate in the community. This is where OA really gets fun!

Ask a Question
One of the most useful things about OfficeArrow is the ability to ask questions of your peers. Got a sticky situation at work? Get some advice! Got a problem you’ve never encountered before? Get some help! Chances are, at least one of your fellow OA members has been there, done that.

To ask a question, click on the “Community” tab in the top left corner of the screen and proceed to the “Discussions” section. From there, you will find a link labeled “Ask a Question.” Here, you can select a category and a forum for your question. Then, add a title and write your question in the big blank box.
Click the button that says “Submit” and voila! You’re question is posted for the OA community!

Start a Discussion
Starting a discussion is just as easy! Under the same “Discussions” section, you’ll find a link labeled, “Start a Discussion.” Again, just select the category, forum, a title for your question, and then write what’s on your mind in the big blank box. When you start a discussion, you’ll want to choose what type of discussion you’re starting. You can do this in the drop down box that says “Category”. Choose “Discussion” or “Idea/Hot Tip” or “Question”.

Answer a Question
Now it’s time to share what you know with others! From any screen on OA, you’ll see lists of recent questions, answers and discussions on the middle right hand side of the page. Browse around by clicking on questions to see if there are any you can answer. Share your knowledge with the OA community!

Join a Discussion
You can also join a discussion already in progress. In the same box where you’ll find the questions and answers, you’ll also find the discussions where our members are commenting on posts and articles. Click on the discussions that sound interesting and add your thoughts and opinions to the mix by typing in the big empty box that says "Quick Reply." Or, select the "Go Advanced" button for some more formatting options.

Start or Join a Group
The OA groups allow you to connect with people who have similar interests. Within groups, you can hold private discussions that specifically interest you and your fellow group members. You can either start your own or join an existing group (or do both!). To do either, first click on the “Community” tab and proceed to the “Groups” section. This will take you to a page that shows all “Available Groups.” Take a look at the list and see if any appeal to you. To see the members of any group, just click on the group name. Once you’ve done that, you can join by simply clicking on “Join Group” at the bottom of the page. You can even search for groups by entering a group name or keyword in the “Search for Groups” box at the top of the page.

If you’d like to start your own group, click on the “Create a New Group” link. You’ll be taken to a screen where you can choose a group name and write a brief description of what your group is all about. Once you’re all set up, be sure to invite your friends!

3. Connect with Others
So, you’ve set up your profile, you’ve participated in some discussions, and you’ve even joined a group or two. Now what? How do you really get to know your fellow OA members? You become friends!

When you’re reading discussions on OfficeArrow, you’ll notice that people’s names are actually links. If you click on the name of a person, you’ll be taken to their profile. So, if you really like what someone is saying and you think they’d be a good friend to have, click on their name. You’ll be taken to their public profile and the first thing you’re likely to see is their photo. You’ll notice that there are several tabs under the picture:

• My Network – These are his or her friends
• About Me – This is the profile information
• Contact Me – This is where you can send the person a private message through OfficeArrow
• My Activity – This is where you can see how active the person is on OfficeArrow
• My Groups – This is where you can see the groups to which he or she belongs

Another cool thing to note: The person’s username appears at the top next to their picture. You can click on that and pop up box will appear. You’ll have more contact options (including IM if the person has supplied their address for public viewing). You’ll also see a spot that says “View Content”. From there, you can see all of the posts a member has created – discussions they’ve started or participated in. So, if you really think someone has valuable information, you can check out everything they’ve contributed throughout the entire OA site.

In that same pop up box, you will see a line that says “Add [this person] to Your Contacts”. By clicking on that button, you’ll add them to your personal OA network. Next, you’ll be given the option to send that person a friend request. In order to become friends, they have to approve the friendship. When you request friendship, the other person will be notified that you’d like to become friends.

To see all of your friends and contacts, just click on your name at the top right hand corner of the screen. This will take you to your public profile (what others will see when they click on your name anywhere around the site). You can see all of the same things you see on other people’s profiles: My Network, About Me, Contact Me, My Activity, and My Groups.

4. Explore
Now you’re all set to jump into the OA community. Don’t be shy! Get out there and explore. There’s really no “right” or “wrong” way to do it. Just be nice and follow the OA Community Guidelines. Remember that this site has been created for you to improve your life at work. Your experiences will help others. There’s no such thing as a silly question!!

We also would appreciate your feedback. Tell us what you like, don’t like, want more of, less of, etc. If something is broken, let us know! You can do all of this in the Member Feedback forum or by simply clicking on the orange “Report a Bug” button at the top right hand corner of every screen.

Now, if you haven’t done so yet, head over to the Welcome Center and introduce yourself (by clicking the button that says “Start a Discussion”). Or, click the big Office Arrow banner at the top of the screen. This will take you back to the homepage where you can read our recent articles and view the latest discussions.

Go on, now! Have fun and don’t forget to invite your friends to join the OA community! The more the merrier!