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SmartyPig Blog
The SmartyPig Blog
October 20, 2009 • Posted by Michael Ferrari“Smarter” Pig Is On Its Way
In the 18 months since we launched SmartyPig, we’ve made a dozen or so unique upgrades to our service. Why? Because you told us to. Sure it’s cliché to insist a product is what its customers want it to be – unless you mean it. And we do. We heard almost immediately after we launched that we needed an ACH option at redemption, so we added it. Then we heard it needed to be faster. So we made it faster. Connect with sites like Mint. Launch a mobile site. Add additional sharing features like Twitter and Facebook connect. Enhance our widgets. Done. Done. Done. Done. Done. Done.
We’re not just tooting our own horn, but typically a financial services company would take 18 months to launch a single product – after a lot of focus groups and maybe a few pilot runs in test markets. It may work. It may not. The need for it may have changed or gone away completely. In the social world of Web 2.0, though, where you are right now, things move pretty fast. People want back and forth. People want more. People want a new kind of relationship where their ideas matter.
So within the next month or so we’re going to unveil a few pretty dramatic upgrades and enhancements in our service. More will come in December, and then even more in January. We’ve been hearing what’s important to you. And we’re all set to take SmartyPig to the next level – faster, easier, better. As the leader in the Bank 2.0 space, we vow to continue to provide groundbreaking features, terrific technology, the best possible deals and top-notch customer service. What all of that looks like, however, is pretty much up to you. Just let me know.
Thanks,
Mike Ferrari, co-founder
@mferrari
SmartyPig Dream Big Video Contest Winners!
The results are in! First, let me say thank you to those that shared their dreams with us. We hope you enjoyed creating and submitting your video. We sure enjoyed watching them!
Winners were determined based on the following:
- 33.3% – total number of views
- 33.3% – star ratings
- 33.3% – SmartyPig judging panel
And to those that did not win, we’d like to offer you a $100 SmartyPig gift card for your tremendous effort. After watching your work and hearing your stories, we all agreed we couldn’t let you go home empty handed.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…
Drum roll please…
$2,500 Grand Prize winner!
marcu5aurelius
http://www.youtube.com/user/marcu5aurelius
“I recently moved to Napa, California to take a job at a vineyard. It is my dream to start my very own vineyard. This is a pricey dream to pursue, and I am hoping that this contest will help get me started. I’m not a cinematographer and may not have the fancy equipment other people entering this contest have, but I’m the only person willing to risk pneumonia to make my dreams a reality.”
5 – $500 Runners-Up
Fizzlebearsbabygirl
http://www.youtube.com/user/Fizzlebearsbabygirl
brookenp
http://www.youtube.com/user/brookenp
boblotich
http://www.youtube.com/user/boblotich
PSJCS
http://www.youtube.com/user/PSJCS
thelehmonator
http://www.youtube.com/user/thelehmonator
To all winners and non-winners, please email us at support@smartypig.com with the link to your video and your shipping address and we will get your gift cards in the mail.
Thanks again. We had a blast!
The SmartyPig Team
Groundbreaking Social Features Launched!
On Tuesday of this week, I gave a first glimpse into some of our new social features we’ve been working on to those in attendance at Finovate in NYC. And today I’m excited to announce that they are now LIVE! These new features exist in your profile under a new tab called “Sharing”.
Facebook and Twitter Integration
New features introduced today expand on SmartyPig’s existing social media functionality and are a first in the banking industry! SmartyPig users now have the option to securely connect their existing Twitter and/or Facebook account to any goals that they have chosen to share with friends and family. When Twitter is connected to a shared SmartyPig goal, SmartyPig will automatically post to that Twitter account any time funds are added towards meeting a goal. The Facebook connect feature works similarly, posting to the Facebook user’s wall every time funds are added towards meeting a goal that they have chosen to share. The best part about this connectivity is that the posts and tweets happen automatically. So even if you are not logged in to your SmartyPig, Twitter or Facebook account, SmartyPig will continue to post tweets and wall posts on your behalf when funds have been added to your goal. Again, this type of connectivity is a first in the banking space so we are really excited to get your feedback. Check out the screen shots below from my own personal account! Connecting to your Facebook or Twitter account is simple. Here’s the Facebook and Twitter connect pages.
Once connected, the page expands and you can now select the goals you would like SmartyPig to post/tweet on your behalf. In addition, you can include a link to your SmartyPig sharing page, so friends and family can easily contribute to your goal!
And here is an example of what a tweet and wall post looks like to your friends and followers, anytime funds are added to your goal (via recurring monthly contribution, one-time adds of money and gifts from family and friends).
Enhanced Widget
Second, we heard loud and clear that you wanted more customizable options for the widget so we completely enhanced the widget creation process. As of today, we launched an entirely new customizable widget that allows you to include multiple goals, customize messaging and graphics, link to your SmartyPig sharing page and integrate with over 28 social destinations like Facebook, MySpace, blogger and more. Here is the widget creation page:
And here is a sample widget:
Setting and achieving a goal is a very empowering experience and many of you enjoy involving your friends and family in the process. Please test run the new Facebook and Twitter connect features and enhanced widget and let us know what you think.
Thanks!
Mike Ferrari, co-founder
@mferrari
