Having said that, in the meantime, please enjoy a blog post I just did on Filene’s CU Tomorrow blog on “Using Technology to Attract Young Adults – Lessons from Toy Story and Netscape.”
Posts Tagged Filene
>What’s the Next Big Thing?
>First, I’d like to assure you that Josh and I met this week and talked about many exciting things to come for this blog as we progress closer to this year’s YES Summit…so stay tuned! We are committed to posting more frequently as well – we’ve been sidetracked working on other things here in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin. It’s not that we don’t love you dear readers, we just want to post quality stuff.
>Filene’s 30 under 30 Interim Report Released
>As many YES CU Blog loyal readers know, I’ve been posting a lot recently about ideas and thoughts relating to my participation in the Filene Research Institute’s 30 under 30 group.
Yesterday, Filene released the interim report on the group and I encourage you to download and read it here.
One of the most interesting parts of the report are the brief descriptions of each sub-group’s project towards the end as well as each member’s thoughts on young adults and credit unions. Readers will also get a nice feel for the good information the group got in our first meeting in Chicago.
Enjoy!
>Second Life Opportunity for Credit Unions?
>
There’s some interesting stuff happening with the online economy over on Second Life. In fact, an article on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal spells it all out.
There’s some interesting stuff happening with the online economy over on Second Life. In fact, an article on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal spells it all out.
Before I get to the whole economy issue and what this could mean to credit unions… let’s do a quick run-through of Second Life.
In short, it’s an online world where users create a character, fly around to different communities/areas of interest, and interact with other users. It’s an incredibly in-depth environment where users can truly create a second life. Among the many activities, users can create their own businesses, find virtual jobs for their Second Life persona, and purchase items for their online home. Want more info, check out Second Life itself, or visit this Wikipedia entry.
So the folks behind Second Life, Linden Labs, created a virtual economy with it’s own currency (“Linden Dollars”) that’s convertible to and from U.S. dollars in order to help facilitate all of those fun interactions mentioned above. And as Biggie used to say… “More money, more problems.”
Those problems started when Linden Labs had to shut down 12 unregulated and unchartered financial institutions/banks that accepted Second Life deposits and offered interest bearing accounts. More troubles followed when one unchartered bank lost $750,000 in U.S. dollars.
As a result, Linden Labs has now decided that only legitimate, chartered financial institutions will be allowed to operate on Second Life. According to the WSJ article, it appears as though banks have little interest in serving the needs of this online community.
This begs the question… is this an opportunity for credit unions?
Our friends at Filene have an i3 group looking into the matter, check out a recent blog post and YouTube video explaining what they have in mind.
There’s also a bit of discussion on this issue floating around the blogosphere. See what’s being said here at iContract … and here at Digital Alchemy.
>I’m easy … kind of
>I’m 28, and, despite the fact that I ogle the Audi R8 in my spare time, I don’t have the money for it. When I shop for a car, I want just two things: 1) a car; 2) a good deal on the car.
To me, a “good deal” puts the best price, the best rate and as few fees as possible in one package. Good credit? Check. Access to pricing info online? Check. The first inkling about what fees a dealer and financer will slip out of my pocket on any given day? Not check.
Now, I can get around that. I can bargain with the best of them. I can demand to see the fee list and bust out the line-item veto. If I really had to, I would. But let’s be honest: I just want the car.
Enter Easy Wheels. If I’m a member of Miami University Community FCU, I simply call up the Easy Wheels guy at the credit union. I tell him what I’m looking for, new or used, and he’ll get it. Not only that, but he’ll get it at a good price because he:
- knows the market,
- knows the dealers,
- understands why the 2001 Civic EX with sports package should cost about $700 less at resale than the 2002, and
- has no financial incentive for making me pay more money.
And it’s free! The credit union pays the Easy Wheels guy a flat fee for each deal, and I get my car with no dickering, no arcane fees and no need to tell every sales guy on the lot that “I’m just looking today.” The Easy Wheels guy will even drive it to my house.
This even turns the tables on that long-standing indirect member problem. You know, a member “joins” through the dealership and you receive a check, not a relationship, for the duration of the loan. With a service like Easy Wheels and the right word-of-mouth, credit unions can make themselves the starting point for car buying, not just a faceless back-end financer. MUCFCU gets the financing (though, incredibly, they’ve allowed members to finance elsewhere before), the Easy Wheels guy gets his fee and I get a great deal.
Now, Miami University Community FCU is not the first one to do something like this, but kudos to CEO Rick Parker for making membership demonstrably valuable (and marketing it well). If I lived in Oxford, Ohio, I’d have joined his credit union a long time ago.
Ben Rogers is Driver of the CU Tomorrow project at the Filene Research Institute.
>Get Ready… Speakers for Upcoming YES Summit to Post this Month
>
Final preparations are underway with just over 3 weeks to go before the second annual YES Summit: Serving 18-to-30s . To kick-off the final days before the event, we thought it would be a great idea for some of this year’s presenters to share their thoughts and get attendees excited about the event.
Final preparations are underway with just over 3 weeks to go before the second annual YES Summit: Serving 18-to-30s . To kick-off the final days before the event, we thought it would be a great idea for some of this year’s presenters to share their thoughts and get attendees excited about the event.
This will be an open platform for speakers to share their thoughts. So expect posts ranging from personal insights, thoughts on credit unions, information on Gen Y, and perhaps even a glimpse or two at what speakers will have in store for attendees.
To give you a heads-up, look for posts from the following experts appearing at this year’s YES Summit:
- Ben Rogers, Driver of Filene’s CU Tomorrow project
- Bill Humbert, employment recruiting expert and CEO of The Humbert Group
- Brent Dixon, Trabian’s Chief Creative
- John Donovan, Chief Operating Officer of Lending Club
- Justin Ho, Young Adult Board Member for USC Credit Union
I’m excited to see what these folks have to say even before the YES Summit begins. I’m even more excited to start the YES Summit “conversation” before the event. What a great way to prepare for an awesome program and put yourself in a “YES Summit state of mind.”
-
CUNAverse Team
