Dave Morin

Just to clarify, as I have been getting quite a few responses to my last post. AMEX did not steal my idea. Nor am I necessarily sure they stole anyone’s idea. But, woot.com, as far as I knew, were the pioneers behind the “one day, one deal” idea.

I was originally pointed to woot.com by Seth Godin’s blog, back in September of 2004.

Sorry for the confusion. Happy Monday

What bank do you use? Why?

I’ve been a Wells Fargo customer since 1989. I have been decently happy with my service, but occasionally when something wierd is going on with my accounts, I don’t find out until a couple of days later, and a whole bunch of charges happen. I’ve got a couple of checking accounts, a savings account, and multiple small business accounts. In the world of business, I’d say I am a pretty good customer.

But they keep screwing me.

Why can’t I get a text message (or a phone call) when something wierd is going on in my accounts? On the SAME DAY.

Why can’t I get a secure RSS (I know the spec is evolving..yeah yeah) feed telling me everything that is going on in my account. I could read this feed in my browser, my RSS reader, and on my Treo if I should so desire.

Wells Fargo has undergone 3 iterations on their website in the last five years, and not one of them has made the site more usable or displayed all of the information for all of my accounts in an intuative fasion. In fact, the last design is worse than the prior one. AND, they’ve got billboards up in San Francisco hailing the brilliance of their tabbed design.

Why is it that banks can build magnificent buildings, but not a usable website?

I’d love to hear what bank you use, why you love (or hate) it. Does the online banking work? Do they notify you when things are going on with your account that you should know about? How easy is it to manage your money?

May the best bank win.

(I’m leaning towards Bank of America right now, with their fantastic new “Keep the Change” program.)

Just got back to San Francisco, had a fantastic late night dinner at Cafe De Lucchi in North Beach. Have a lot to think and write about after this trip. Every time I go to Boston, I end up having some of the best and most intellectual conversations ever. Is it the number of universities concentrated in one area? I don’t know. Whatever it is, I like it.

This time, I hung out with a good friend and collegue of mine, Clif Hirtle. He’s a passionate individual, with a passion for digital media in Education. Which, I like. He left me with a pretty awesome quote about life and the “real world” post college:

“I hate mediocrity.”

Enough said.

I just finished reading Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat.

Did you know:

In 1985, the operational worldwide economy included 1.5 billion people.

In 2000, that number moved to 4 billion people.

Think about that for a second. 15 years, 2.5 billion new participants in the worldwide economy. It may seem cliche to talk about right now. But, the world is changing. And, FAST.

A huge thank you goes out to the fantastic group of TiE Young Entreprenuers (hey, I’m still young too) that hosted me last night in Berkeley. It was an absolute pleasure speaking at your event, and I look forward to the chance to spend more time with your group again soon.

I love being in the presence of people with fire in their eyes, passion in their hearts, and a will to make change in the world. I love it! Go for that big idea.