Monday, December 27, 2010

Permanent Email

One of the things many alumni tell us they miss most about Geneseo is their e-mail address. Good news - U-Knight now allows alumni to have a permanent Geneseo e-mail address!

This is possible because the Geneseo e-mail address U-Knight is offering is actually an e-mail forwarding service. This is different from the webmail account that some of you had during your college years. There is no login site specifically for your permanent Geneseo e-mail address. What this means is that any e-mail sent to your Geneseo e-mail address will be forwarded to your current e-mail account, whether it is with yahoo, gmail, hotmail or any other provider.

To activate your Geneseo e-mail address, you must simply fill in your forwarding e-mail address on the U-Knight page. Your forwarding address is the e-mail you currently use at work or for personal use (e.g JaneSmith@yahoo.com). As long as you update your U-Knight information with your current forwarding address, anything sent to the Geneseo e-mail address will be forwarded to your e-mail account.

What am I getting by signing up?

  1. Giving people your Geneseo e-mail address associates you with the college, and the Geneseo network as a whole. If you’re on the job hunt, having that Geneseo e-mail on the top of your resume may help you build an essential connection.   
  2. A Geneseo e-mail will not only benefit you in the ease of sending and receiving messages, but it will allow you to be part of the official Geneseo network on Facebook.  To become part of a network, Facebook users have to have an authentic e-mail address associated with that network’s institution. Once in the Geneseo network, you will be able to view profiles of others in the network, as well as create and join events and groups associated with the Geneseo network. T
  3. The convenience of having a permanent Geneseo e-mail address means that even if you change your e-mail service from g-mail, to yahoo, to a company provider, as long as you update your information on U-Knight, your outward e-mail address will never change. This is a huge convenience for family and friends who send you e-mails, because they only ever have to keep track of one e-mail address for you.
  4. Maintaining the Geneseo e-mail address even when you change e-mail services increases the likelihood of not losing touch with people who want to contact you. However, the e-mail forwarding service does not mean people cannot e-mail your actual e-mail address. It just gives you another option for what people see in the “From” field of your e-mail.


Thanks for reading - we'll have more in-depth reviews of various U-Knight features in the near future!
The Geneseo Alumni Team

Monday, December 6, 2010

Finding Alumni on U-Knight - Advanced Tips

As an alumni, you might have times that you wish you could go back to your college days. This might occur more often than you want to admit…and while you can’t go back to college, you can re-connect with friends from your college years. Even if you’ve lost touch with them, and even if Facebook fails you when searching for an old classmate, don’t be dismayed. U-Knight makes finding friends and classmates easier than ever with the “Find Alumni” tool.
            This tool is a great opportunity to find classmates and fellow Geneseo Students using a number of search criteria. The best plan for finding alumni is to start with a broad search, and to narrow the search down as you go.
You can search for alumni using basic criteria, things like first and last name, maiden name, and class year, or you can narrow your search with more specific search criteria. You only need to enter information into a minimum of one field to return a result. Filling in more criteria will refine your search and increase your likelihood of finding a specific person, but using too many criteria may narrow it to the point where no results appears. If this happens, try removing criteria until you start getting results.
 The broader range of search criteria to use ranges from personal to professional to academic information. When using a first or last name to search, you can enter only the first few letters, and U-Knight will find anything close to it.            
Are you moving to a new region of the country or starting a new job? Use the advanced search tool to find alumni who would be happy to give you a hand because of your mutual Geneseo connection. If you are going to be in California working for Google, finding out if there are any Geneseo alumni in the company could give you a leg up on other new hires. For example:

Search : State/Province: California, and Company: Google

If you’re relocating to a new city, for example, Boston, finding other Geneseo Alumni can help you establish friendship networks in your new area. You can refine your search even more by selecting criteria that are relevant to you, and see if there are people you can connect with in those groups. Finding a fellow Greek sister or brother, or a teammate who played on the Geneseo hockey team could be a meaningful connection to build. For example:

Search : State/Province: Massachusetts, City: Boston, and Varsity Team: Men’s Hockey.

Once you have filled in your search criteria, you will be presented with a list of any alumni who meet all of your selected criteria. Clicking on an individual will bring you to their profile. Once you have found the alumni you are looking for, you can message them directly. Though U-Knight does not give out e-mail addresses to protect the privacy of its users, it does allow you to initiate contact using this mutual Geneseo network. The recipient then decides if he or she wants to communicate back and whether they want to share their email.

Stay tuned for more in-depth looks at U-Knight, and as always, don’t hesitate to ask questions and send feedback!

The Geneseo Alumni Team