We’ve started organizing BarCampBankSeattle, which will probably be the first US BarCampBank meeting. A sign-up form and more information will be posted to the wiki and discussed in the BarCampBank group.
A BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from participants.
BarCampBank is a community organized around the following mission:
The aim of BarCampBank is to foster innovations and the creation of new business models in the world of banking and finance.
Here’s an article about “unconferences” like BarCamp in BusinessWeek: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_20/b4034080.htm
May 14th, 2007
Jesse did some banking at an ATM owned by a bank this afternoon. I went to the credit union to deposit money, to cash a check, to save, to manage my finances. In short, “to bank”. But I didn’t want “to bank” at the credit union, I wanted to um, “credit unionize”? No, “to unify.” Hmmm…this sounds ridiculous.
Our current linguistic limitations do not allow for the full expression of our interactions with credit unions. Going a little further, I would argue that our current use of language actually limits our thinking about the possibilities for credit union relationships and actions. Imagine a sailor, going onto a boat “to boat”. Now imagine that same sailor going onto a boat “to sail.” The specificity lends itself to more powerful statement. If a sailor couldn’t “sail,” but could only “boat,” she would be floundering in a sea of barges, tugboats, waterskiiers, and canoes. We wouldn’t know what kind of craft she was using. It would be very powerful to know what kind of craft a credit union is (because its certainly not just a bank).
Challenge: Create the verb.
Requirements: 1) sounds good. 2) does not include the term “bank.”
For skeptics out there: relevant examples and analysis of why linguistics matters can be found on The Name Inspector (a detailed and lovely blog).
May 8th, 2007
Credit Unions have a mandate to “encourage thrift among their members”. As Denise Wymore pointed out on OSCU, the industry currently sucks at this.
So… If ‘Thrift’ means the quality of using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully, and to encourage is to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope…
Why does Thrift take Courage?
May 3rd, 2007
