Where in the world?

It's probably the nerdiest thing in the world to admit that I loved the Where's Waldo books......I could spend hours searching for Waldo in all the different scenarios and pages in which he was drawn. Granted, this was BC (before children) when there was time and effort that could be expended in all sorts of nonproductive ways.........

Today, my "where in the world" asks the question of how do you know where you are when you visit a website and spend some time shopping/browsing? In the real world, you enter the front door and then choose the area you want to shop in. Along the way you might see a display of shoes which sidetracks you from your original search of towels but then you have the store directory or personal knowledge in which to guide you along the way.

In the virtual world, there is no such store directory which orients you to "you are here." Some websites provide a list of links so you can trace your steps backwards. Others may present in different ways through tabs or other directional devices. So the questions of the day are these:

• *do you need to know where you are on any given web page in a web site?
• *if so, how do you like to know?