Podcasts and CU Innovators

Hello YES CU readers and happy 2009! I want to share the following bit of news about one of our own as we plunge into the new year and refocus on important credit union tasks at hand.

YES CU Blogger, YES Summit co-moderator, and CUNA Councils Web Manager Christopher Morris was recently highlighted as a credit union innovator by the folks over at Currency Marketing.

Listen to the podcast and check out the rest of the details at the CU Brand Blog.

This naturally brings up the question of whether credit unions should podcast. I say yes, because of it's increasing popularity among the masses, and because podcasting is another relevant way to communicate your message and develop a relationship with members, young and old.

Because it involves technology, you may think that podcasting only appeals to young adults. But with the proliferation of iPods, Mp3 players, and home computing in general, podcasts are becoming more and more popular with all demographics. Although not considered "mainstream" podcasts have increased in popularity over the past few years and there's reason to believe podcast's popularity will continue to rise. This chart from a Pew Research discussion on podcasting backs up these assertions.

Click on the chart for a better view...

The folks over at CU Hype Blog aren't so convinced, so you may want to check out their posts on the matter here and here. The one post does offer 5 things to consider before jumping head first into podcasting, which are good rules of thumb in my opinion. Podcasting is simple, and with a little planning, you can offer something interesting and informative.

That said, there are a number of credit union podcasts out there on the Web you may want to check out. Topics range from member focused information to Movement related issues. Here are just a few that I've run across.

Keep in mind I offer no "endorsement" for those listed, this is simply a list of those podcasts I am aware of. Feel free to do a google search, or even search iTunes, for additional content. If you find one you particularly like, go ahead and post a link to it in a comment.

Random CU Related Podcasts I've found...

National Credit Union Foundation's REAL Solutions podcasts
Filene Research Institute podcasts
Open Source CU podcasts
Current Issues in Credit Unions podcasts
Home and Family Finance Radio podcasts
Michigan Credit Union League podcasts
The Golden 1 Credit Union podcasts
Omni Community Credit Union podcasts
ORNL Federal Credit Union podcasts