Changing Everything on ChangeEverything.ca

When we first launched ChangeEverything.ca, it was a hectic and amazing time. Not enough time to get everything done. One of the areas I felt we could do better was site usability and overall design. Kate and I always felt like we wanted to go back and make some improvements.

So this year, we blocked out some budget and started working on fixing some of those areas. Among the areas we focused on were:

  • improving the registration flow
  • improving the workflow for adding changes and blog posts
  • grouping social features together so people discover each other and interact easier
  • putting a sharper focus on the people, and not just on the text
  • making the site, well, just prettier

It was a complete pleasure working with Kirsten Hall, an extraordinary usability consultant here in Vancouver, the amazing Tim McAlpine and his team at Currency Marketing on the front end design, and Affinity Bridge a great Drupal development shop in town.

The process, like the original creation of the site, was charmed. Everyone worked together well, there were no real hiccups, and people had a lot of fun.

The upcoming design changes, including as mock-up of the new look and feel, were announced on ChangeEverything.ca today. We’re looking for Beta testers, so check it out and help out if you want.

Otherwise, I’ll let you know when everything launches in September!

An update on BarCampBankBC.

BarCampBankBC on FacebookHere’s a little update on BarCampBankBC.

We started a Facebook page. You can sign up for the event there and use it to help spread the word.

Pecha Kucha
We decided to do a Pecha Kucha to close out Day One. What’s a Pecha Kucha? Glad you asked.

Pronounced “peh-chak-cha,” it is a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour. It has become the forum for ideas on design, architecture and lots of other stuff. Pecha Kucha has swept the world in just four years now having taken place in over 80 cities globally. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each. This gives each presenter 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

We have 12 spots open. To grab the spot you want, add your name and presentation description in the table on the wiki.

38 people so far
We currently have 38 people signed up on the wiki, and I’m very excited at the diversity of attendees. You can see the full list here.

Sponsors

We now have all our sponsors in place, which is very exciting, and helps keep our costs way down. They include:

So make a plan to come to BarCampBankBC and join the conversation. We’d love to see you here…

PS: Tim also has a post today, where you can download some nice banners for BCBBC, like this one.

Make a plan for BarCampBankBC.

BarCampBank BCYesterday, Gene Blishen and I booked the space for BarCampBankBC. I’m very excited that we got such a great space at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology).

BarCampBankBC will take place in Vancouver all day on Saturday, September 20th and a half day on Sunday the 21st. You can sign up here.

What is BarCampBankBC?

What if we changed banking and finance? The aim of BarCampBank is to foster innovations and the creation of new business models in the world of banking and finance.

It’s going to be an amazing time, and may just:

  • change the way you do your job
  • introduce you to new concepts and innovations
  • connect you to some amazing people
  • inspire you

We’ve already got 16 people coming from some great FIs and vendors, including HSBC, Industrial Credit Union, Westminster Savings Credit Union, Everything CU, Credit Union Central of BC, Creative Brand Communications, Citizens Bank of Canada, Ripple Project, Open Money, Mount Lehman Credit Union, Community Savings Credit Union, Vancity and Currency Marketing. And I just noticed Denise Wymore is planning on coming in for it.

I have no doubt that by the time September 20th and 21st arrive many more FIs and vendors will have signed up.

BCIT’s downtown campus is extremely well located, right in downtown Vancouver. If you’re coming in from out of town, you can walk there from any of Vancouver’s downtown hotels. It’s also very close to a SkyTrain station, so it’s easy to get to from almost anywhere.

All that for about $35 Canadian. So go ahead, add your name to the wiki and come on down.

See you there!

UPDATE (May 29): Thanks to Boris for adding this event to Upcoming.org!