You've got Portal
Jamie Earle
Issue date: 10/29/01 Section: Technology
"You can't get there from here!"
The above saying refers to one of two things: getting around San Francisco by car or navigating the old GSB website. Last year when I wanted to look up something in the Master Calendar, check out classmates in the Online Facebook or cruise the CMC site, here's what I would do: go to Google. It seemed that using an outside search engine was the only way to find your way around the GSB's haphazard network of websites. Scary.
But now, thanks to the GSB's own Web publications group, a team of internal and contracted staff, and the Student Life office, we've got portal! The new MBA Portal links together all the sites from services we use--class web pages, Axess, the CMC, the MCP, the GMP, the PMP, the NBA, the NRA and CNBC…Okay, maybe not those last few. But it does seem to bring together sites from just about every service we use during our time at the GSB. And what's more, the GSB hired someone to manage this portal, thus ensuring constant improvement, content that actually changes on a regular basis, bug fixing and the like. Her name is Kirstin Cruikshank and she was hired by the GSB as our very own Producer of the MBA Student Portal. Kirstin joins us from Alta Vista, where she served as Manager of Content Programming.
I caught up with Kirstin last week to get the scoop about our new portal, ask what changes were being made and find out her plans for making improvements on an ongoing basis. What struck me was her insistence on getting student feedback. She insisted that I publish her email address (Cruikshank_Kirstin@gsb.stanford.edu) as well as the general feedback email address (webfeedback@gsb.stanford.edu) so that students can email their comments, questions and concerns. She has even taken steps to set up a small, informal committee of students to offer the student perspective and help gather feedback (this group includes Shawn Carolan, MBA2, Bryant Jenkins, MBA2, Amy Koo, MBA2, and me). My interview with Kirstin follows:
The above saying refers to one of two things: getting around San Francisco by car or navigating the old GSB website. Last year when I wanted to look up something in the Master Calendar, check out classmates in the Online Facebook or cruise the CMC site, here's what I would do: go to Google. It seemed that using an outside search engine was the only way to find your way around the GSB's haphazard network of websites. Scary.
But now, thanks to the GSB's own Web publications group, a team of internal and contracted staff, and the Student Life office, we've got portal! The new MBA Portal links together all the sites from services we use--class web pages, Axess, the CMC, the MCP, the GMP, the PMP, the NBA, the NRA and CNBC…Okay, maybe not those last few. But it does seem to bring together sites from just about every service we use during our time at the GSB. And what's more, the GSB hired someone to manage this portal, thus ensuring constant improvement, content that actually changes on a regular basis, bug fixing and the like. Her name is Kirstin Cruikshank and she was hired by the GSB as our very own Producer of the MBA Student Portal. Kirstin joins us from Alta Vista, where she served as Manager of Content Programming.
I caught up with Kirstin last week to get the scoop about our new portal, ask what changes were being made and find out her plans for making improvements on an ongoing basis. What struck me was her insistence on getting student feedback. She insisted that I publish her email address (Cruikshank_Kirstin@gsb.stanford.edu) as well as the general feedback email address (webfeedback@gsb.stanford.edu) so that students can email their comments, questions and concerns. She has even taken steps to set up a small, informal committee of students to offer the student perspective and help gather feedback (this group includes Shawn Carolan, MBA2, Bryant Jenkins, MBA2, Amy Koo, MBA2, and me). My interview with Kirstin follows: