The need is there, especially for small CUs.
30-40% of CUs do NOT have a website
Trabian's Open Source CMS
The Hurdles:
How to release it?
How to keep it in the industry?
Which parts should be released?
To the Bank and CU Industry consultants: Are your clients ready to communicate and collaborate?
There are some big usability hurddles still in place.
Some will be forced to or be left behind
There is not even enough internal collaboration within individual FIs, especially within big FIs.
Why? The tool are old and from an old mindset.
New FI employees know Facebook...that's how they share information.
Why is there not a Facebook for sharing info within an FI?
After this internal knowledge base is built, there is an opportunity to turn parts of it outward facing.
Some of the most viewed pages on a certain FIs intranet are the classified ads that employees can put up. What makes these so easy to use and read?
Is it culture or systems that keeps efficient collaboration from happening?
Even if you have the best tools for collab and knowledge sharing, some people will still pick up the phone and call internally or email before consulting a knowledge base.
Can you create a culture where this calling is "called out" and looked down upon?
Tech nerds will search online for hours before breaking down and asking someone else a question. Pride is also involved and most probably look longer than what would be ideal efficeint.
People will find the path of least resistance.
One of the rewards for using collaborative tools HAS TO BE the reward of EASE!
Ease to the point of "periphifaral participation", the person records something because it's the easiest thing to do, and a by-product is that the information is shared throughout the organization.
We must use plain language to define and describe the tools that can be used in collaboration.
Trey hates telling people about "blogs" and "RSS"
Much prefers something like: "On our new website, you can talk to people. And they can go here (or here or here) to hear what you are saying"
Education only does part of the job, necessity is required for the tools to be used.
Intimidating (Power Users v. Newbies)
Threads many times tangent drastically
Ridiculously long (One thread having 77 pages is silly.)
Some actually do work:
ShackNews (gaming site): Extensive moderation and liberal deleting of name calling, etc.
Digg model
Q&A sites
ePinions
BazaarVoice: User generated comment review with 3rd party moderation
Started in 1997
Eventually died off due to:
Lack of funding
Loss of focus
It turned into a "Bitch (complaint)Board"
Ideally it would have needed a full time moderator
Idea was a little ahead of its time but was a good experience to learn from
Highlight
Found success in having forum during Retirment Investment (RRSP) Season for a retirement expert.
Daily this expert would log onto the forums and answer questions posed by other forum members.