16 September 2009

I Guess CU Blogs Aren't Dead

It wasn't long ago that I lamented the near-death of the credit union blogosphere. Boy, was I wrong. In the past few months I have discovered a wealth of new blogs that have revitalized the online conversation.

Here are some of my favorite new (or at least new to me) credit union land blogs:

AndyJanning.com

Andy Janning is the training guru from Indiana's Forum Credit Union. I had the pleasure of seeing him speak at the Forum Solutions Partnership Symposium in 2008, and have been a fan of his ever since. Turns out, his blog is as good as his speech. Well-written, well-conceived, and full of takeaways for anyone interested in employee development.

Marketing Tea Party
Our old friend Ron Shevlin brings his unique wit, wisdom, sarcasm, and keen analytical ability to a new blog that calls out the insanity of commonly accepted marketing practices. His posts will make you laugh, think, and, often, feel ashamed of your marketing ineptitude. It's a slap in the face for financial services marketers like myself, packaged as a brilliantly written online rant fest.

That's So Northwest
Northwest Community Credit Union has really done a great job with their "That's So Northwest" blog. What I'm most impressed by is the personal stories and informal voices the authors use. I don't know a soul at NCCU, but I already like them. I think they have a clear understanding of what they want to accomplish with their blog, who their audience is, and how to write compelling posts.

Verity Mom
I don't think I could be more excited about this program. Seattle's Verity Credit Union has launched an elaborate search for a "mommy blogger" to manage content on their new Verity Mom site. At last count they have 34 excellent candidates to get the job, along with some amazing perquisites. This is a program to keep an eye on...Verity never ceases to amaze me with their creative initiatives.

Shared iDiz
I've really enjoyed the posts I've seen on this effort from the marketing agency iDiz. Multiple writers, including Twitter pal Kelley Parks, bring a variety of perspectives and creative insight into the world of credit union marketing. Definitely worth checking out.

Credit Union Cheatsheet

This blog by Tom Dluzen is billed as "Cliff Notes for Credit Union Managers and Board Members." Content is regularly updated, well-researched, and clearly written by someone with extensive experience in the movement.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Matt - Thanks for the prop's and the review of these other new CU Land perspectives. Will check them out!

Denise Wymore said...

I'm so glad you discovered Andy Janning's blog. He's an amazing writer. I look forward to buying his first book!

Shared iDiz is short, sweet and to the point. Love it.

And of course, Verity Mom kicks it!

Plan to check out the others - thanks for this post!

CUiNSIGHT.com said...

Great work. We haven't looked at a couple of these.

Send them all over to www.CUiNSIGHT.com and we'll get them on the Blogroll along side The Credit Union Warrior.

Tim McApine said...

Didn't you hear - blogs are now retro cool! Seriously though, I think there is a growing realization that on the personal side, you need more than 140 characters to express an opinion and on the business social media strategy side, you need to have a content creation outlet that you own and can control augmented by things like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Good list BTW.

Andy Janning said...

@Warrior - I'm speechless! Thank you so much for the amazing recommendation. I really appreciate it and look forward to visiting the other sites you've recommended.

@Denise - As soon as I can squeeze the words out of my addled brain, you'll be the first to receive a signed copy!

@CUiNSIGHT - Getting added to your blogroll = Christmas for me! Thanks very much.

@Tim - My daughters already think I'm ancient ("Why did all your red hairs turn gray, Da-Da?") so going retro is very easy for me!

shari storm said...

Thanks for the shout out friend.

Thea said...

Thanks Matt for the props and recognition. We love that our CU has given us the opportunity to bring That's So Northwest to blogland. Thanks for all that you do for Credit Union's! If you ever make it to Oregon - come see us!