Posted by Christopher Stevenson

Reuters.com posted an article today on the problems facing booksellers with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The big boys, namely WalMart and Amazon.com, are discounting the book so deeply that other retailers feel they need to match the price or lose business. The end result is that the smaller retailers won't make any money, or will lose money, on one of the biggest book releases in history.

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Turns out Samantha Larson wasn't using wireless from the top of Everest as I had thought when I posted "Young Consumers are Insanely Reachable." She was using a satellite phone to reach people who could post messages to her blog. I apologize for my mistake, and yet I think my point holds ... young people are insanely reachable ... satellite phone to help post to her blog! Wow!

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Bill Myers is retiring after 28 years leading community development credit union Alternatives Federal Credit Union, Ithaca, N.Y., toward its mission to "build wealth in the community."

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Need an example of a good CU blog post for members? I say check out Old Hickory Credit Union's "Environment and Adventure" post.

While I miss knowing the name of the staffer who wrote this, I very much like several things this post does:

1. The writing is to-the-point, but conversational.

2. It's short and easy for busy members to get through!

3. It's about something bigger than the CU itself.

When is a credit score not really a credit score? http://www.bankrate.com/BOS/news/debt/20070424_piggybacking_credit_score_a1.asp

By Ted L. Thames

Most of our management time today is spent dealing with immediate operational challenges. Liquidity is improving but funding costs remain high. Uncertainty about home values and consumer confidence continue to slow member borrowing. New membership is difficult to attract and member loyalty continues to slip away in a hyper-competitive environment. Fraud risk is increasing and expensive to mitigate, and there is always another audit to prepare for.

When Brent Taylor, the new president/CEO of WEOKIE Credit Union, spoke at the retirement party of his predecessor, Marv Cottom, Brent said he had asked Marv what he wants his legacy to be. Marv told Brent he doesn't want a building or a conference room named after him. To Marv, people matter most. His legacy is his staff.

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Credit unions are getting into the blogosphere. Most of the blogs I see in CU land are either 1) written by CU executives for other CU executives and cover credit union management strategies or 2) written by one credit union's executives for their institution's members and cover personal finance and community-related subjects.

But variations on this theme are coming.

Posted by Christopher Stevenson

In a recent conversation with my three-year old son, he noted that he and I were both wearing flip-flops. Putting my foot next to his, I asked him whose sandal was bigger. He said, "Mine."

"Oh, yeah? How do you figure?" I asked.

"Mine's size large."

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

On Friday my son and I visited the nearest branch to my home of Canadaigua National Bank and Trust, even though I'm not a customer there.

Why did I go? It was 90 degrees outside and the branch has a wonderful Brio wooden train table, plus an electric toy train running on a track above our heads. My son was in train heaven and I got to look around and think a little.