Our Own Newbie's Introduction to Blogging

So what is this site and how do you blog?

Thank you to everyone who has viewed or participated in our blog. It seems to be taking flight pretty well. I was thinking that it is quite likely that most of our credit union membership is like myself in that they are new to blogging and may not understand exactly how to do it. This is sort of like an online version of our newsletter except that it's interactive, meaning readers can easily share their own input on topics. Kind of like a discussion forum. To make a comment just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the article you wish to comment on. It will give you the option to login to a Google account but that is not required. Feel free to just leave a comment with your name or even anonymously. Also it may or may not ask you to type in a set of funny looking letters. This is to keep spam off the site. Your comment might not post immediately. During business days it's faster than off hours.

In our initial post "Welcome, PCU to the world of blogging!" it was stated,

"I hope that this forum will become a place that fosters the cooperative, "people helping people" attitude that has driven Piedmont Credit Union since its creation."

I would appreciate your help in keeping myself and other contributors and commenters accountable to that goal. So here are a few things to consider when you leave a comment. Etiquette if you will.

1. This site is not our main website and is not secured by any type of login/password. Your comments may be read by anyone in the world. Just treat it like you would any other public place. You wouldn't shout out your account number to other people standing in our parking lot? Likewise, this site is just another public place for our credit union and our community to interact.
2. Give credit where credit is due. If you quote someone else, convey that somehow.
3. Please be considerate of others when you post. This site should always remain G-rated or better. So please abstain from profanity, vulgarity, or other inappropriate content. Again, it's like any public place. Such comments or posts will be blocked, removed, or edited.(Any edits will be noted)
   

Please take a few minutes to browse through our archives(bottom right of page). There is also a set of labels which are like topic names for articles. Thank you so much to all our members, employees, volunteers, and friends who work together to make our credit union something very special!

Wow.... the benefit of cooperatives!

Recently I helped to form a brand new cooperative! If you're wondering what a cooperative is, just look on wikipedia has a good definition as does Miriam Webster. My new cooperative is called the Pressure Washer Family Co-op. My father-in-law, brother-in-law, and I all own a share of a new gas powered Troy Bilt 2550 psi pressure washer. My coop total cost of the pressure washer is less than $95. It cleaned my house beautifully last weekend. Since I am not the sole owner of it I have already noticed that I treated it more nicely than if was altogether my own. I followed all the directions being careful not to damage anything. (I usually don't read directions!) But the best part is not having to pay two months worth of my savings to buy it and not always having the responsibility of storing it in my limited storage space. Sure, it requires a little more communication and planning if I need to get the pressure washer, but we're all social creatures. Personally, being naturally reserved and quiet, I need a little motivation to build relationships with my friends and family.

Much like my little co-op, Credit Unions are big cooperatives. Every credit union member owns a share of their credit union. They each get one vote as to the operation of their co-op. They can even volunteer to serve and oversee the administration of their co-op. Since my pressure washer co-op consists of just three people we don't have alot of administration to worry about. If I ever have a problem with the way my family uses our pressure washer I have a responsibility to let them know otherwise, in the long run, I may lose the benefit I have by owning a share of the pressure washer. And the benefits are what makes co-op's so attractive. I pay a little and get alot! In my case I save almost $200 by sharing a pressure washer. It's the same for credit unions. Members pay alot less for the same(or better) services that for-profit business offer.