The free online exchange of ideas and documents among credit union executives--and covering everything from compliance to investments--is getting a national boost this week with the debut of LINX, a new viral forum sponsored by a unit of the Maryland & D.C. Credit Union Association.
The founders of LINX hope the exchange forum may supplant unwieldy listservs and other bulletin board systems in which users get inundated with useless or unwanted emails.
LINX, which was formally introduced at the association’s annual convention two weeks ago by its sponsor, the Maryland & D.C. Credit Union Foundation, is designed to allow users to focus posts and searches into specific areas of interest.
Unlike listservs, LINX users “access the free service and choose only those posts they want to receive updated information on,” explained Kyle Swisher, executive director of the foundation. They also can search an archive of past topics to find answers to their questions before they start a new post, he said.
LINX topics also include governance, training, marketing, lending, small credit unions, financial literacy and other topics that can be added as users request, Swisher said.
The foundation head said he got the idea of a nationwide exchange platform from his experience as a user of automotive information in dealer forums. He coined the LINX name from both the basic online tie as well as the Mercury Lynx automobile.
“Though this started with our Maryland/DC members it is accessible to credit union professionals and volunteers nationwide,” said Swisher.
The program, he said, “becomes more valuable as more registrants are attracted to LINX - more questions, more archived answers, more people to answer posted inquires and share documents.”
Listservs “are a nuisance, too many unwanted emails, and they're not searchable,” said Swisher. “We wanted something more advanced.”
As part of a promo to build volume, the foundation will be giving an Apple iPad next month to a registrant who is among the biggest users.
