How to Send an Email without Knowing the Email Address

fb-messageI met a woman in a campground last summer and I really wanted to keep in touch with her.  The feeling was mutual and we both wrote down our email addresses on slips of paper and exchanged them. 

Now … *where is* that slip of paper?  Nowhere to be found of course.  But, I do remember her name. 

Use Facebook’s Message Service

Using Facebook, I can search for her name and Voila!  there she is!  There is a picture of her, so I’m sure I have the right person.  Now comes the cool part, There’s a button in the upper right corner that reads, ‘Message’ click that and you can compose a message to be privately sent to this person.  It will go to their Facebook messages area, *and* to their email.  Facebook acts as the middle-man, sending the message to the person’s email address of record, without ever showing you the actual email address. 

You don’t need to be a Facebook member to look up a person’s name – just go to www.facebook.com and click ‘People’ in the  menu at the bottom of the page.  You will then see a ‘Search for People’ box where you can type in the name you’re looking for.

You do need to be a Facebook member in order to send a message.  If you’re not a member now, you will have the opportunity to sign up after you click ‘Message.’  It’s free, and the only information you need to supply are your name, email, gender, and date of birth.  Don’t worry, you can specify that these items not be shared, all except your name that is.

No Messaging Available?

If you find your acquaintance on Facebook, but don’t see a ‘Message’ button, it could be that they have blocked that feature from showing up to anyone but friends.  Remember this when you set your own privacy settings.  Messaging is available to Everyone by default, and I think that’s a good thing because it allows you to receive messages without giving away your email address.  I have never received spam thru my Facebook account.

If you have more questions about Facebook, we recommend that you watch our Tutorial Videos listed below.  Notice that two of them are marked as *Free* meaning that anyone can watch them.  To view the others, you need to be a paid member of Geeks on Tour.  You can join now if needed – it’s $39 for one year.
MrsGeek
Latest posts by MrsGeek (see all)