Guest Author Robbie Wright: BarCampBank

Robbie Wright is the Vice President of the Credit Union Division for Nexcentri, a CUSO of Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union. Robbie is also one of the more prolific bloggers in the "CU bloggosphere", writing the blog The Life and Times of a Credit Union Employee. His insights on being in the employ of a CU and in the CU industry are honest and insightful, with a good eye for observation. His discussion in comments is usually lively, adding more background to the story as more CU professionals weigh in. Also an authority on "BarCamp", we've asked Robbie to walk our readers through the basics of BarCampBank Vegas, coming up at the end of April/Start of may. Robbie can be reached at robbie@nexcentri.com. 

Innovation.  Social media.  Core competencies.  All over-used buzzwords that seem to get discussed at every conference by some talking head that's paid to be there and has done the same dog and pony show for a year and a half.  Well, BarCampBank is here to change that.  Commonly referred to as the "un-conference", BarCamps have been around for a number of years and were initially popularized in Silicon Valley.  As Wikipedia puts it, "BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences - open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants."

Rather than be tied down to listening to the latest changes in BSA or an update on the Federal Register, BarCamp's allow the participants to choose what will be discussed and debated with their peers.  As much as hearing Gigi Hyland or Dan Mica speak is important, rarely are game-changing ideas conjured up during their discussions/speeches that will enable your credit union to succeed.  No sales pitches, no demos, just in-depth discussion with your peers on things affecting the financial services industry. There have been a number of successful BarCampBanks already, ranging from the first in Seattle in 2006 to New England and back to San Francisco.  Each city and venue brings with it a unique flavor as the participants are from many different industries, but interested in the same topics. If you have a topic you'd like to have discussed, please update the BarCampBankVegas wiki or email me with any suggestions.

With the rapidly changing financial landscape, now is the time to look for the "out-of-the-box ideas".  Sorry for throwing out a buzzword. Get down to Las Vegas early for the NACUSO annual conference and come to BarCampBankVegas. You won't be disappointed. And besides, having an extra night in Vegas is never a bad thing as long as you come home with your wedding ring and most of your checking account still intact.