Comments on: Glimpses Into BarCampBank New England

By: David Inverarity

David Inverarity — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:49:17 +0000

Well, this looks like the roundup that I missed while unplugging for a couple weeks to figure out the next step(s)…

I too was amazed at the breadth of knowledge locked in that room, and the desire to ‘co-operate’ in getting some real discussion flowing. I only wish it was a weekend event, and also that I had the energy and time to attend the BCMoney the following weekend…

Now that I am back in the cloud after my respite, let’s plan for the next meeting…

*ps, iLike pixellated furniture and Mr. Shevlin is a web-sniper, officially…

By: Dave DelVecchio

Dave DelVecchio — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:04:46 +0000

Ron - nice summary, and folks, that’s for all sharing your photos. Anyone questions my where-abouts on Sat, a quick Facebook search will answer that question

By: rshevlin

rshevlin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:01:09 +0000

@ginny: it was great meeting you in person on Saturday. good to hear you’ve got the book on your night stand — nothing will put you to sleep faster than reading my book.

By: Ginny Brady

Ginny Brady — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:55:52 +0000

I’m sneaking this comment in at the end of my work day. I have to admit - I was a little nervous about the day. I’ve come to expect “formal presentations” and an organized agenda at conferences and meetings. BCBNE sold me on the self directed format - I loved the day. The campers were great, the discussion is still twirling in my mind and the location was perfect. What a great day!
And Ron - I’ve got your book on my night stand and can’t wait to dig in.

By: BarCampBank NewEngland - intimate equals awesome « EverythingCU.com World 2.0 Adventure

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:59:54 +0000

[...] Shevlin contributed wonderful insights as always, and wrote a terrific blog entry about BCBNE here. My favorite quote from Ron came at dinner afterwards when we were discussing bankers in the CU [...]

By: The Paulson Plan: What’s A Credit Union to Do? « CU Communicator

The Paulson Plan: What’s A Credit Union to Do? « CU Communicator — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:58:52 +0000

[...] (and if you aren’t - START!). A comment that was attributed to Uber-Marketer Ron Shevlin at BarCampBank New England this past weekend says it best: “It’s not about telling members our stories, but about [...]

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:34:49 +0000

Great Recap of the event Ron. The museum blew me away. Its not too far from here so I’m hoping to make another trip down just to see everything again and take in some of the things I might have missed.

The whole event was genuinely inspiring.

Thanks for the compliments. I really enjoyed meeting you (and rocking out) you offered some great insights and I’m very excited to read through your book.

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:49:24 +0000

@Ron - On Saturday, we were all campers. And I love the new insight that all parents are F.I.s.

By: rshevlin

rshevlin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:19:56 +0000

@JP: first off, I think they’re called ATTENDEES, not attendants. Second, if you think that I’m NOT an FI, then you must not have kids.

By: Tim McAlpine

Tim McAlpine — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:51:08 +0000

@Morriss - excellent explanation for ‘Bank’ in the event title. I was just being facetious. You know me and banks.

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:43:23 +0000

@Jeffry - Nearly down the middle. We had 14 total in attendance, 8 on the vendor side and 6 on the CU side.

By: Jeffry Pilcher

Jeffry Pilcher — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:53:15 +0000

Breakdown of attendants: Financial vendors vs. financial institutions?

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:43:15 +0000

@Tim - The word "bank" in this context is used in the generic sense. It ties into the original one started in Paris as spin off from the more general, tech-oriented BarCamp. So while I briefly considered BarCampCreditUnion, I thought it better to have the name tie-in to the Paris and Seattle camps that preceded it. (After all, this one had the historical tie to those who have come before us.) Also, last weekend, BCBSF, was much more general finance oriented, and had both bank, credit union, start-up, and academic communities represented. Next week in New York City is BarCampMoney, whose organizer was not aware of the existing BarCampBank events, and is happily now a member of this genre. Topics proposed for BarCampMoney NYC include venture capital, investing, micro credit, payment processing systems, and alternative currencies. There are some other related events, notably Startup Weekend, StartUpCamp, FundCamp, and SeedCamp. For camps which are all about social media/networking/blogging/communication etc, there are the PodCamp events. I suppose there is the possibility to break off a new branch and create CreditUnionCamps, but I doubt there is interest in that quite yet. Last night at dinner, discussed was the creation of BankMetricsCamp, to be all about the proper use and analysis of financial institution metrics and ratios.

By: Debra Trautman

Debra Trautman — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:57:18 +0000

Great write-up. I wish I could of heard more on Saturday. You guys are leading an industry in a new direction…not unlike how the movement started with a group of people who care about providing better service to their communitities. This online discussion and events like this are what this industry needs to generate new blood. You have given me insight to get Maine CUs more involved in these type of events to help grow membership and collaborate!

By: William Azaroff

William Azaroff — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:46:31 +0000

Thanks for the post, Ron. Reading it, I remembered how rejuvenated and inspired I felt after attending BarCampBankSeattle.

I left feeling lucky to work where I work and do what I do. No way to measure the value in that except to experience it. Thanks for capturing that so eloquently.

Looking forward to meeting you face to face next month, my friend.

By: Tim McAlpine

Tim McAlpine — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:43:21 +0000

Thanks for the excellent recap Ron. I hummed and hawed about going and decided not to in the end. Too much with all of my other commitments. Sounds like I missed a great day though.

Question: Why are these gatherings called BarCampBanks when they are really BarCampCreditUnions? I love the collaborative nature of folks in and around the CU movement.

You better be careful, all this CU love might make you open an account one day!

By: Mark Vautour

Mark Vautour — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:11:55 +0000

Ron,

Excellent write up. I was glad to be a part of such a wonderful conversation on trends in the financial services industry, although I didn’t have much to contribute. I came away with many great ideas and hope to keep the conversation alive with all of you. David Inverarity mentioned he would be in Boston on Monday and Tuesday and I now know you’re around the corner from me, so we should do lunch. Thank you to Morriss for organizing, Peggy Powell for hosting, and everyone who attended and contributed.

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:08:47 +0000

@tinfoiling/Gene - and the other thing that is so special is that the movement was started in the U.S. with help from Canadian Alphonse Desjardins. He made the trip down to New Hampshire to help the French-speaking Canadians who had relocated in search of a better life working in American mills. There has been Canadian/US collaboration in credit unions from the start.

By: tinfoiling

tinfoiling — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:46:17 +0000

I am sitting here at Logan Airport waiting to go to Montreal, then onto Vancouver. It has been a month since being home but you know I would really just like to stay here for another day or two to further some of our interesting discussions of yesterday. It was good to be with real people, discussing real issues, and having everyone contribute.
Ron you added so much yesterday and your kind comments to Andy were pretty special. The museum, the people and a great meal at the end of the day, made it an event that will be remembered for me on par with Seattle.
The invisible layer was the building of relationships between people. It was as if that first credit union was present with us as members, relating key points of matters that we all hold dear. That building has something in it that contributed so much.
Anyone who is involved in credit unions need to get there someday. History comes alive and the beauty of how something as important as a credit union system beginning in the U.S., in this very building, is inspiring. There are many stories in that building, yesterday another one was created. I felt honoured to be there as a Canadian with people such as yourself.

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:16:19 +0000

Ron, thank you so much for coming, participating, and for this wonderful write up. You said everything so well, I don’t have much I can add.

I love that you are so competitive that you are happy that you beat both Andy and me…. what I am much more thrilled about is that I actually got to jam with you and Andy, made some rockin’ music, and as a band, we hit many notes in unison. And yes, you hit so many notes in a row, I saw that you earned “bass groove” status. (I forget if that was during Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive or Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun.) I think Gene took pictures of our band, and I know I’m going to treasure them and think fondly of when I actually played some hard rockin’ tunes with you and Andy (at America’s CU Museum no less).

When you get an Xbox 360 and Rock Band “for your daughters” (I’m using David’s air quotes here), I can’t wait to jam with you, Andy, Robbie Wright and Brad Garland on a virtual rock band tour. I will even join you in jamming on some Grateful Dead tunes.

But getting back to your main point, I am glad that you enjoyed America’s CU Musuem as a CU outsider. I am a CU outsider as well, and I think that one of the blinders that folks inside the movement have is that there are many folks outside the industry who care about this crazy movement almost as much as they do. Perhaps they are jaded because so many members that they deal with every day don’t care at all, but I believe there is much untapped resource in people outside the official boundaries of CU involvement.

Thank you again for being a part of a very special day.