Why we did it...
Below is my response to the thread here.
You're right: banks don't have a stake in social networking. But Vancity isn't a bank; it's a community-based financial institution that is as interested in making our community work as it is in making money. And these days, community is more and more about what happens online, which is why we thought we could play a role in helping use the Net as a tool to support community development in the Lower Mainland and Victoria.
Will this experiment work -- or will it remain a little outpost of the staff people and community members we invited to help get the site up and running? Who knows? Peace raises a really interesting point about most people's resistance to change. But that resistance exists in an interesting tension with most people's desperate desire for change -- change in our own (sometimes frustrating or disappointing) lives, change in our (sometimes isolating or conflictual) communities, and change in our (often messed-up) world. The idea of the site is to offer people some of the resources they need to move beyond fear and anxiety about change and towards embracing their capacity for positive change. And community -- that is, connection to fellow changemakers and would-be changemakers -- is perhaps the most important of these resources.
At the end of the day, however, what matters is not our vision for the site -- it's what people make of it. So if the site isn't working for you as is, let us know what would make it useful to you. Because among the things we're changing are the features offered here, and we're hoping the site will continue to evolve to meet the community's interests and expectations.
By the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I work at Vancity and was one of the people who helped bring this site to life. I look forward to hearing more comments...
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Hi Peace, I do say it with a
Hi Peace,
I do say it with a straight face, I really do. As a credit union we don't have stockholders getting rich from our profits or execs pulling in fat bonuses because of a great fiscal quarter. The more money we make, the more money goes back into community initiatives, which are valuable and many.
Obviously I want people to like this project and perhaps give Vancity a try, but we're not doing this with the express goal of selling mortgages or getting new members. That is simply not the case.
I do hope you like the site and will post your changes and write about them. And I promise you won't get an offer in the mail with a great rate on an RRSP as a result. It just won't happen.
Yours,
Wm
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Thanks for the post. Of
Thanks for the post.
Of course you have a job at Vancity. Who else would say that " the credit union is as interested in making the community work as it is in making money" and maybe even with a straight face?
You probably saw that you were quoted on the opensourcecu.com site as being a real champion of transparency by "stepping into it" the "it" being my supposed negativity. Meanwhile one of the commentors to our exchange, who called my comments "jaded" posted this paragraph on his own blog recently
"Trust me, MySpace can work... as long as you are careful about what you post. This is a great opportunity for credit unions to reach out and communicate with the younger demographic on their terms. It's a great opportunity to put a friendly face on your credit union, and explain a few things along the way. Who knows, you might even gain a few young adult members."
So I guess he is admitting in this post to all other CU promoters that this blogging by cu employees is a marketing tactic aimed at getting new accounts with the younger generation.
Hmmm that doesn't seem too sincere does it. Not too transparent. Not too credible.
Peace