09/27/2009

BarCampBankBC2: the crystal ball diaries

By Tim McAlpine

Today, William Azaroff hosted BarCampBankBC2 at the Vancity head office. The picture above is the inspired view from the boardroom! William has beat me to the punch with a nice recap of BCBBC2, so rather than just a repeat, I am going to give my thoughts on how this event compared to Seattle in 2007 and BC in 2008. I have enjoyed all three and although they could not have been more different, they do share a common theme—interested parties speculating on what the future might bring.

Seattle, July 2007

Being the first in North America, BarCampBankSeattle was shiny and new and full of discovery and optimism. I remember arriving in Seattle early in the morning not knowing at all what to expect. I was there first and found the tiny address numbers on a very nondescript door. I waited for someone to come. This black Suburban pulls up and this young man jumps out swearing a blue streak about the "guy with the chairs and food" falling through. By this time a couple others had arrived and we all helped him lug about 75 folding chairs through dark hallways and up a small elevator into a really cool space. It was an old building that had been converted into open-plan offices. It had creaky hardwood floors and you could tell that during the week the space was inhabited by a tech start-up.

Turns out the young man in the Suburban was Jesse Robbins, the event organizer. About 60 people were there from all over North America and it was the first time that many credit union bloggers met in person. There was a mix of credit union employees, bankers, analysts, technologists and consultants. The discussions were varied and deep and everyone participated. Online friendships were crystalized in real life and the discussions continued well into the evening throughout a dinner that about 20 people attended. There was a subset of people using Twitter at the event and I remember a discussion around what the heck is Twitter and why would anybody use it?

It had a Woodstock vibe and the pervasive crystal-ball theme was how would social technologies affect the financial services industry? There were a number of entrepreneurial people in the room in the midst of innovating and a lot of speculation on how online personal financial managers, peer-to-peer lending and social media would potentially disrupt the financial services industry. I would rate the experience a 10 out of 10. It was exceptional.

Vancouver, September 2008

Gene, William and I organized the first BarCampBank in Canada. The facility was fantastic—it was held at the downtown campus of BCIT, a technical university. About 70 people attended from 10 different provinces and states. Again, it was a melting pot of people. The discussions were more rooted in the realities of the time. We were in the front-end of the financial crisis and everyone was speculating on what would come. There was great discussions about the differences and similarities between the financial marketplace on either side of the Canada-US border and also the differences between banks and credit unions. Social media and technology were still themes, but the discussions had shifted to the real applications versus blue-ocean thinking. The vibe was less entrepreneurial and more practical.

Again the discussions were in depth, well argued and continued well into the evening as about 30 people continued on to dinner. I would rate the experience 8 out of 10. It was great.

Vancouver, September 2009

Gene, William and I envisioned BarCampBankBC2 as a more low key and local event given the economy and the realities of slashed travel and education budgets. We were able to keep the fee to just $10 because of the generosity of Vancity. We had access to the top floor of Vancity's head office. We ended up using the boardroom and a smaller foyer for each concurrent session. There were about 25 in attendance—mostly from the credit union world including credit union executives, technologists and a board member and also a number of vendors that work with credit unions. We had representation from four BC credit unions including Vancity, Westminster Savings, Community Savings and North Shore Credit Union.  There were also two people attending from Servus Credit Union in Alberta. Folks from Central 1 and Credit Union Central of Alberta were also there.

I liked that the discussions were rooted in the local realities of one of the most robust credit union marketplaces in the world. BC and Alberta are home to the four largest credit unions in Canada. This also made the discussions quite insular compared to my two previous BarCampBank experiences. Four people from Washington and Oregon had planned to attend, but were unable to make it. There were also at least two representatives from major banks that were unable to make it as well. This was disappointing, because I feel that perspectives from different realities and regions add so much to the discussion.

There were good debates about the future of products, branching and digital marketing. I felt the discussion on digital marketing was particularly good because it included e-mail marketing, social media and search engine optimization all in one discussion rather than the typical segmentation that happens. There is a growing realization that social media is just another vehicle that can enable credit unions to listen and to tell their unique stories. Ed Brett hit the nail on the head when he said (something to this effect), "Until we can say that creating compelling content is one of our core competencies, we are staying away from having a presence on Twitter and Facebook?"

Another good discussion centered around channel strategy. What different roles should our branches and websites play? I was impressed with the depth of William's thinking on this subject. He has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about how the web channel is different than the branch channel and how it should not be treated simply as another branch.

Because all of the credit unions represented at BCBBC2 (and half of the credit unions in Canada for that matter) share the same online website and banking system—Central 1 Credit Union's MemberDirect—the meeting felt more like a user group meeting than a freeform open sharing of big ideas typically associated with an unconference. There were three product folks from Central 1 there—Chloe Morrow, Margarita Lurye and Rene Gourley—who added to the conversation and kept it grounded in reality. This was good and bad. Good that the clients (the credit unions) could ask the vendor (Central 1), "can you guys do that?" And bad that it seemed to cap the big idea generation that I have experienced at previous events.

The vibe was good and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was definitely more low key and local and I was disappointed that it didn't naturally extend into a great dinner with continued discussion. I would rate it 7 out of 10. It was good.

Final thought

During the future of cooperation session, William asked the question, "What if membership to credit unions was optional?" I love this idea. It could really give meat and meaning to the advantages of membership.

The irony of this question hit me on the drive home. The BC credit union system is renowned throughout the world for its cooperation in technology and province-wide marketing. It occurred to me that inter-credit-union cooperation in Canada is mandated unlike the entrepreneurial CUSO environment that has organically sprung up in the US. "What if membership to credit union centrals was optional?" Now that would have made for a great discussion!

P.S. Had Gene Blishen been able to make it, with his Yoda-like comments and wisdom, BCBBC2 would have been exceptional!

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09/08/2009

Thing 8 of 30: send a bunch of staff to an unconference

By Tim McAlpine

September is 30 things I would implement or consider implementing at my credit union if I was a credit union leader.

Thing 8: send a bunch of staff to an unconference

I read a Callahan & Associates e-mail today (speaking of the importance of opt-in e-mail lists!). Within the e-mail was this quote, "According to 2Q 2009 data, credit unions reduced travel and conference expenses by 24.8% from the same quarter in 2008."

I can certainly back this up. Three of my speaking engagements have been cancelled this year due to a lack of conference tickets sold (I'll blame the economy instead of the lack of interest in hearing me—it's easier on my ego).

But before you scrap your conference budget entirely, there is another type of conference that is very affordable and extremely valuable. They are called BarCamps.

From Wikipedia: BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences—open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. The first BarCamps focused on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats. The format has also been used for a variety of other topics, including public transit, health care and political organizing.

BarCamps have also been established in the finance arena. In fact, in the last two years, there have been about a dozen BarCampBanks all around North America starting with BarCampBankSeattle in July 2007. Don't the "Bank" in the name fool you—there are always plenty of passionate credit union people in attendance.

I attended the Seattle event and thought it was fantastic. I also helped organize the inaugural Canadian event last year—BarCampBankBC—which was held in Vancouver in September 2008.

And we are doing it again in less than two weeks:

BarCampBankBC2
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Vancity Head Office
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Cost: $10
+ Visit the wiki and sign up today

William Azaroff, from Vancity was able to secure a fabulous location for zero cost! The ten bucks will cover the pizza lunch. If you have not experienced a BarCampBank, you should give it a try. If you have experienced a BarCampBank, you know it will be a worthwhile use of your time.

Can't make Vancouver? No problem, there are sure to be more next year. If I were a credit union leader, I would send a dozen employees (including myself and members of the executive team right down to frontline staffers) to a BarCampBank in my area. Everyone will come back energized and brimming with great ideas.

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07/29/2009

BarCampBankBC2 is less than 60 days away

By Tim McAlpine

It's time to get off the fence and put your name on the BarCampBankBC2 attendee list. Here's the details:

BarCampBankBC2
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Vancity Head Office
Cost: $10
+ Visit the wiki and sign up today

William Azaroff was able to secure a fabulous location for zero cost! The ten bucks will cover the pizza lunch. If you have not experienced a BarCampBank, you should give it a try. If you have experienced a BarCampBank, you know it will be a worthwhile use of your time.

I hope to see you there!

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04/28/2009

BarCampBankBC2. Here we go again!

By Tim McAlpine

William Azaroff, Gene Blishen and I are organizing another BarCampBank in Vancouver.

BarCampBankBC2
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Vancity Head Office
+ Visit the wiki and sign up today

William was able to secure the location for zero cost and it is a great space! The boardroom overlooks False Creek and Downtown Vancouver and is perfectly suited to having good discussions about financial services innovation.

We are doing a single day and keeping it real simple. If last year was a bargain at $35, this year it is an absolute steal at just $10 to cover the pizza lunch.

Last year's event drew about 75 people from all over North America. I'm sure this year will be just as successful.

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09/23/2008

BarCampBankBC: It's a wrap!

By Tim McAlpine

I'll make this short and sweet. Here are five reasons why BarCampBankBC was awesome.

1. My organizing partners William and Gene
2. The beautiful city of Vancouver
3. The people that came from all over North America
4. Morriss and Andy's rocking song to close out the Pecha Kucha
5. The industrious Brent Dixon broadcasting BCBBC around the globe

Thanks for coming and making the event a success. Visit the Wiki for links to blog posts and images.

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09/19/2008

BarCampBankBC: One day to go

By Tim McAlpine

It's BarCampBankBC Eve and I can't wait.

I love how it all came together. Gene, Nala and I went for lunch in April. During the lunch we started talking about the various BarCampBank gatherings that were taking place this year and at about the same time Gene and I both said, "It's time to hold a BarCampBank in Vancouver." We elected William to help and since he wasn't there to disagree, he was unanimously sworn in. That evening, I e-mailed Frederic Baud from France, one of the originators of BarCampBank movement, and asked how to setup the Wiki page. He e-mailed back with some simple instructions, I created the page the following morning and between William, Gene and myself promoting the event on our blogs, we now have approximately 65 people coming from all over North America.

Attendees are flying and driving from every corner of the continent including Alberta, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington! These people found the Wiki, added their names, paid by Paypal, made their own travel arrangements and will magically show up Saturday morning ready to create an agenda that doesn't yet exist.

No elaborate marketing, no speaker line up, no nothing. $35 per person to cover the cost of the facilities and meals. Is that not cool?

I like this quote from William's blog yesterday:

"We are lucky to have a great mix of local BCers and people who have travelled from far and wide to participate. Some of us have been to a BarCampBank before, and many have not. We have all the right people and expertise to create a truly amazing weekend. We hold this philosophy to be true: The right people will show up and the right things will be discussed.

 

Thanks for coming. See you tomorrow.

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08/28/2008

On the fence about BarCampBankBC? Canadian social media icon Mitch Joel thinks you should attend!

By Tim McAlpine

Mitch Joel, from Montreal's Twist Image, wrote a great piece for the Vancouver Sun entitled "Changing Business Through the Unconference." You can also read and comment on the article on his Six Pixels of Separation blog.

Cool. I'm a big Mitch Joel fan. I saw him present at the Credit Union Central of Canada conference in Niagara Falls last October and had the good fortune of introducing Mitch at the MACU conference in Whistler in June. He knows his stuff.

And if Mitch says you should check out BCBBC, you better listen. :)

Housekeeping

• If you have put your name on the Wiki, but haven't paid, please do. You can go directly to the payment site by clicking here. You can pay by credit card or PayPal. Come to think of it, how did I get strapped with the bookkeeping job when my two organizing partners, Gene and William, are credit union employees and actually know how to build a spreadsheet? Hmm.
   
• We will be ordering shirts next week, so if you haven't voted on which shirt you think should get produced, please do so now! Choice A is leading the pack, but if strongly disagree get voting.
   
• If you do want to attend AND want a cool shirt, sign up AND pay by September 3. After that, you can still sign up, but you better not come topless expecting anything other than pointing fingers AND strange looks.

That's it for now. Less than a month to go to BCBBC. See you there.

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07/24/2008

BarCampBankBC: Help us pick the shirts.

By Tim McAlpine

We are now inside two months to go until BarCampBankBC. If you haven't signed up yet, I encourage you to head over to the Wiki and sign-up today. Plan to be in Vancouver for September 20 and 21, 2008.

Today's BarCampBankBC interactive challenge for you: help us select the T-shirt design. The design with the most votes gets printed.

 

 
Some of you are no doubt wondering what the heck this BarCampBankBC thing is. One of my organizing partners, William Azaroff, does a great job of explaining the BarCampBank phenomenon in his recent blog post on NetBanker.

If you are on the fence and wondering if this type of event is for you, I encourage you to get off the fence and give it a try. You won't regret it.

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06/25/2008

BarCampBankBC: Registration, shirts, sponsors, Facebook, banner ads and Pecha Kucha

By Tim McAlpine

On September 20 and 21, 2008, I am helping to host an ad hoc gathering known as BarCampBankBC. As I reported in my last update, we have secured an awesome location: the downtown campus of BCIT.

If you are wondering what a BarCampBank is, one of my organizing partners in crime, William Azaroff, wrote a great guest post on NetBanker describing this growing movement of unconferences.

Registration: Sign-ups are coming in fast and furious. We are now at 38 at the time of this writing and there is still three months to go! The first bunch of registrations came in before I had setup the payment process through Eventbrite. If you are one of those folks that put your name on the BCBBC Wiki, but haven't paid yet, please do so!

T-shirts: Same goes for T-shirts. If you signed up early, you probably didn't see that we are offering T-shirts. If you want one, add your size to the BCBBC Wiki.

Sponsors: Our goal was to attract five sponsors to help cover the facility and catering costs and to keep the registration fee to a low $35. Thanks to Vancity, Mount Lehman Credit Union, HSBC Direct, Currency Marketing and MemberDirect we are all sponsored up!

Facebook: William has set up a Facebook event group. If you are coming, be sure to add yourself to the attendee list. While you are at it, write something on the wall!

Banner ads: Help us get the word out! If you have a blog or a website with a little extra real estate, I encourage you to grab one of these banners and proudly fly the BarCampBankBC flag. Although we will pay you exactly nothing to do so, your pay off will come when visitors to your blog or website think that you are extra cool. Don't forget to link the banner to the BarCampBankBC wiki at http://barcamp.org/BarCampBankBC. If you are interested, but none of these sizes fits your site, e-mail the pixel dimensions to tmcalpine at currencymarketing dot ca and I can do a quick resize for you.

 

 
Pecha Kucha: We've added a new element! We will end Saturday afternoon with Pecha Kucka presentations.

What is Pecha Kucha you ask? 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 Kucka 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 and 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. There is a table with 12 available spots on the BCBBC Wiki. If you want a spot, simply add your name and topic.

You are now all up to date with everything to do with BarCampBankBC. I hope to see you there.

P.S. Congratulations to the BarCampBankDallas gang for what sounded like a successful event this past weekend. I see that the blogs and pictures are starting to show up.

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05/27/2008

BarCampBankBC: We have a great location!

By Tim McAlpine

Things are moving right along with the planning of BarCampBankBC.

• We have secured a couple of great rooms at the downtown campus of BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology): 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
   
• We have an official logo (see above)
   
• We have expanded to two days: Saturday, September 20 from 9 to 5 and Sunday, September 21 from 9 to 1
   
• We will have T-shirts!

What are you waiting for? Head over to the wiki and add your name to the attendee list. If you have already signed up, make sure to indicate what days you will be attending and add your T-shirt size.

I'll keep you posted with further developments.

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