Tag Archives: banking

Two articles in the new issue of The Credit Union Journal.

I was interviewed for an article in the new issue of The Credit Union Journal about ChangeEverything.ca and why Vancity created it.

Two articles by Technology Correspondent Kevin Jepson were posted today, and both require a subscription to the magazine, or at least a temp two week online trial subscription (which I signed up for) to read. The first article, CU Challenges Community To ‘Change Everything’ descibes ChangeEverything.ca in context against other CU social media ventures.

Vancity certainly isn’t the first credit union to tap into the flow of social media on the Web. Credit Union Journal recently reported how other credit unions are trying to reach out to the online market by hosting sites at MySpace.com, talking to members and colleagues on blogs or spreading the recorded financial word through podcasts.

But Vancity stands apart from the podcasting, blogging, MySpacing credit unions in a number of ways-in fact, “Vancity is the best example of a credit union building a social network,” according to Trey Reeme, one of the creators of the credit union blog called Open Source CU and executive vice president at Trabian Technology, a business application and development company in Plano, Texas.

Thanks to Trey as always for his kind words.

The other article, Vancity Creates A ‘Thriving E-Community’, describes ChangeEverything.ca and its history including the two events that helped ChangeEverything reach its tipping point: Got Hats? when over 4,000 items of clothing and blankets made their way to local shelters within 48 hours during a Vancouver winter cold-snap last November, and EnviroWoman’s amazing New Year’s resolution to use no plastics in 2007.

Credit unions are reinventing the way they use the web with “social media”: online technologies such as podcasts, blogs, vlogs, wikis and message boards where users share opinions-and advertise.

Change Everything, Vancity CU’s social networking website, encourages members and non-members alike to change something in their lives, or even just to talk about changing something.

The site has produced a “thriving community” of more than 1,000 registered users who offer up some “inspiring” social and environmental changes, explained William Azaroff, interactive marketing and channel manager at Vancity CU.

Pleased that the credit unions are getting this kind of information so more can start harnessing the power of the social web to engage their communities.

What’s the point of a homepage?

Because most banks have homepages that look like web portals from the 90s, I think a lot about the purpose and function of Vancity’s homepage. It’s not as cluttered as some, but not as clean as others.

Then, along comes Seth Godin’s article Blow Up Your Homepage. He says that your homepage is the page for newbies, not a real page people will use over and over again. That it’s akin to the old splash pages with a ‘skip intro’ button. With an Online Banking log in on the homepage, this isn’t as true for banks as it is for some, but still, a clarifying remark. Focus more on major internal pages (that we often neglect) and let the homepage be for those unfamiliar with your company.

Sounds obvious, but I found it rather helpful and timely.

Verity’s blog has kicked it up a notch.

Wow. I spend a lot of time looking at blogs and after a while they all start looking the same. But Verity Credit Union in Seattle has launched a new blog and has taken blog usability and readability to a whole new level.

By moving to 1024×768 they have three nicely sized columns to work with and they make a lot of their real estate. The left column works like you’d expect a blog to work. The middle column gives you easy access to different posts by department, laid out in a very graphically pleasing way. Really makes you want to click to find out more. And the right column surfaces the people who post and some other blogs they like. Impressive.

It was designed and built by the fine folks at Trabian. It’s one thing to know a lot about social media like Brent and Trey do, but to be able to design a site that’s attractive and functional, honestly this gives me a whole new appreciation for what they are capable of. Kudos to all of them, and Shari Storm, Verity’s CMO who has stuck with this and made it work better than anyone else. If you’re thinking of creating a corporate blog no matter what industry you’re in, you’d be well served to study what Trabian and Verity have done here.

Jim also gave it a rave.

Check it out, it’s well worth a visit.