Features
Profiles
Departments
UB EVENTS CALENDAR
Archives
Join the Alumni Association
To read about changes to the UB Today magazine production schedule > click here
To stop receiving the print version and to get e-mail reminders > click here
Or to download a PDF version of this issue > click here
in my OPINION
What new technologies do you use to communicate—and why?*
*Question posed in “In
My Opinion,” a feature
of the monthly electronic
newsletter @UB,
a portion of which also
appears regularly in
UB Today. To subscribe,
go to the UB Link
menu at www.alumni.buffalo.edu.
I’m a technology nut, though I’m not interested in blogging. This is because I’ve never been good at keeping a journal. I use the Internet for news and entertainment, but what most impresses me is Web-based communication. I stay in touch with friends more often than I ever did before e-mail, and I’m amazed at the amount and variety of information on the Web, both professionally and personally. All my profession’s journals are accessible online, as well as audio and PowerPoint presentations from conferences. It requires new skills not to drown in it all. I would be very interested in UB podcasts.
John MacDonald, BA ’77
Poulsbo, WA
I definitely use Facebook every day. However, in my position as a UB graduate student and as a future instructor for UB 101 [a one-credit seminar course that helps first-year students transition to campus life], I am always vigilant about what gets posted on my profile, especially pictures. It can be tricky to find a balance between sharing fun stories about yourself and maintaining some level of professionalism. It does allow me to connect with other students quickly and easily, so I doubt that I will stop using Facebook any time soon.
Mary Schmid, EdM ’07 & BA ’06
Buffalo, NY
I use technology extensively for work and professional purposes. While I subscribe to a couple of the social network groups (Facebook and LinkedIn, for example), I rarely have time to check them or to keep them up to date, nor do I intend to join additional social networking groups. I do belong to Development Executive Group, and would consider joining a UB or professional site. However, I don’t find blogs in general—and especially those open to the general public—all that useful or interesting. I don’t particularly like podcasts, as they often have very superficial information. What I do use quite a bit is SKYPE for staying in touch with family, friends and colleagues when I am traveling.
Learn more about opportunities
for UB alumni social
networking.
Meanwhile, more
and more campus units are
producing podcasts, including
WBFO, the School of
Social Work and the Division
of Athletics.
Joseph Lombardo, BA ’73 & BA ’73
Reston, VA
I use the Internet in many ways. I have a Web site that I mainly use to post photographs to share with friends and relatives, though anyone else is welcome to look at it. But I am not interested in online communities such as MySpace, though I can’t give a good reason why this is so. Maybe I could be convinced otherwise if I found the right community. Podcasts, on the other hand, are terrific. I subscribe to several, mostly professionally produced programs related to science and technology, and appreciate the ability to listen to them when it suits my schedule. If UB produced podcasts, I would be interested in seeing what was offered, but I would subscribe only if the content interested me.
John Barnes, MA ’72
Harrisburg, PA
I am an academic librarian and as part of my university service, I chair a campus committee whose task is to investigate ways to increase student retention. I’ve been using Facebook to make contact with the transfer students at our school; the goal is to find out what kinds of problems they have making the transition to our campus and to find ways to fix those problems. I also like Facebook and MySpace because they give me some insight into how the younger generation thinks (I’m 60). This helps me be a better librarian. I love technology, and definitely would join UB’s MySpace site!
Carol Goodson, MLS ’72 & BA ’70
Carrollton, GA
I blog, Facebook, Twitter—love it all!
Tamar Jacobson, PhD ’97,
EdM ’92 & BA ’89
Philadelphia, PA
UB in the News
New York Times
SUNY weighs the value of Division I sports
An article in the New York Times looks at the advantages and disadvantages SUNY schools have encountered as they upgrade their athletic programs to compete with other major public institutions at the Division I level. UB is mentioned as having led the way to Division I in 1991 and the football team played a bowl game for the first time in January, but the path has not been as smooth for other SUNY campuses. The article quotes former UB president William H. Greiner and UB athletic director Warde Manuel.
New York Times
UB photographer says a rephotograph lifts the illusion that time stops
UB's Doug Levere, photographer in University Communications, is quoted in a New York Times article about the changing urban landscape of New York City.
USA Today
Government downsizing may result in a dangerous concentration of power, expert says
An article in USA Today about efforts in Western New York to downsize local governments and the wave of national frustration over big government that was illustrated this year by raucous town-hall style meeting over health care reports a study by UB's Regional Institute concluded that if every municipality in Erie County cut two legislators, the savings would be "negligible," less than $4 per person a year in most cases. The article quotes Kathryn Foster, director of the Regional Institute.