KivaFriends Liaison: discussion thread

[Guest]

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[KFLiaison]

This thread is meant as a place where KFs can discuss issues and ideas for the newly-created KivaFriends Liaison position.  It is being started from a new KF ID, KFLiaison, which will be the ID the named individual will use when putting on the liaison hat.  In this way, anyone who serves as liaison, now and in the future, can maintain their own personal identity at KF, and switch to this ID when soliciting input from the larger community or reporting back from Kiva staff, in possibly a more objective way.  There is also an email address associated with KFLiaison:  KivaFriendsLiaison@gmail.com  Feel free to send a PM or email whenever there's something on your mind.

For those who don't know me, I'm Diane Reese, a moderator here and an almost-two-year Kiva lender and KivaFriend.  I want to thank Liz and the Kiva staff for asking me to become the first Liaison.  I am honored to have the opportunity to serve both the KivaFriends community and the Kiva organization in this small way, and I will do everything in my power to make this a successful partnership.  Thank you also to everyone who volunteered for the position; it's an important link between these two integral parts of the Kiva family, and your willingness to serve in what might be a difficult role is so meaningful.  I would like to ask if there's anyone who volunteered for this role who would like to offer me their input privately, please feel very free to do so.  I would be more than happy to listen and incorporate new ideas from all sources.

This is a work-in-progress.  As Liz mentioned, we still have to work out some details, but we've already got a weekly call scheduled and will announce more specifics over time.  We'll work out many ideas here on the forum, but I would ask you to hold your suggestions just now, since we'd like to get a framework established first.  I'll post here and ask for input regularly, don't worry about that! 

For those who are newer KFs or who join after this point, I thought it might be a good way to start by posting the responses I sent Liz in my application, so you would know what I felt were my qualifications for the position.  I will attach them below.  For now, let me just say I hope to do the best job I possibly can in this position, open communication channels between these two parts of the Kiva family, and leave the position on a good trajectory for whoever becomes the next KFLiaison.  Thank you all for the support I know you'll provide as we move forward together.

--Diane.


My responses to Liz's application questions:
Questions to answer:
 
1.  How much time could you devote to this role per week? Would you be available to participate in a weekly call during business hours (PST)?
I dedicate a lot of my free time to KivaFriends and Kiva as it is, and have long been a proponent of the establishment of a liaison such as you are proposing now.  I would expect to devote at least two to three hours a week to this effort, and most likely more.  I am committed to seeing it succeed, as I feel strongly that it will benefit both Kiva and the KivaFriends community.  I would be able to schedule a weekly call during business hours PST.  (Establishing a regularly-scheduled time for this call would work best for me, but I do have some flexibility.)
 
2.  How long have you participated on the KivaFriends forum, and why do you choose to participate?
I've been a part of KivaFriends since early June 2007.  I have made over 2400 posts in that time, and have been serving as one of the volunteer moderators for the site (which is especially critical in Joe's absence).  I have long been an active member of many online forums, dating back to the mid-1980s and Usenet newsgroups.  Over the years I've found great personal satisfaction in being an active part of online communities, for the friendships made, the activities undertaken, the experiences shared.  The KivaFriends community, comprising so many Kiva lenders who are committed to Kiva's mission and methods and whose hearts are among the biggest and best in the world today, has been my joy and passion for the last year and a half, and I cannot imagine being a less involved part of this community.  (In case it's relevant, I've been a Kiva lender since May 2007 and have now made almost 2,400 loans.  I am very familiar with most of the issues discussed by KivaFriends, and with the workings of Kiva in general.)
 
3.  We love the diversity of opinions and independence of the Kiva Friends community, and it’s important that KivaFriends feel free to be critical of Kiva; however, it’s also important that the KivaFriends Liaison serve, as much as possible, as an objective reporter in both directions. To what degree would you be able to serve as a neutral reporter while wearing the KivaFriends Liaison hat?
I think this two-way objective reporting is absolutely critical to the success of the liaison role.  The individual needs to accurately reflect to Kiva staff the main concerns of the KF membership, hear and discuss the responses, and present as best s/he can the responses of the Kiva staff.  This should truly be a liaison, who strives for the success of both entities.  I believe I can serve as a neutral reporter, who can also embellish the KF concerns with greater depth and background as needed, and who will ask the right questions to be able to frame the Kiva staff response in a way that will respond meaningfully to the KF membership.  With the addition of a KF Liaison member ID and icon to be used for this work, separate from my personal ID, I can't see any problem with this at all.
 
4.  Do you have any past experiences that you think would help you to be successful in this role?
I have long work experience in the fine art of explaining technical concepts to end-users who may not have a technical background, without being condescending, confusing, or elistist.  I've served as moderator in several online communities, roles which have required me to exercise tact, patience, good judgement, and communications skills frequently.  In the case of KivaFriends, I believe I enjoy a trusted reputation as someone who is willing to listen, respond respectfully, and also to take action.  I've spearheaded a large number of fundraising drives which have benefitted former Kiva borrowers whose activities were deemed worthy of support by the KivaFriends community, and have been trusted to receive, deliver, and report on the funds to the KF membership, with positive results.  My technical communications skills may also be helpful in designing the best method of polling the membership for the top concerns each week, and if I determine someone else needs to be pulled in on an issue or a design, I am familiar enough with the membership of KF to know whom to go to for what sort of help, gutsy enough to ask them, and probably respected enough that I'd get a positive response.


Thanks for considering my application, everyone.   If nominated I will accept, if elected I will serve.  I would be honored to be asked to fill the Kiva-KivaFriends Liaison role.  Thanks again for your time and consideration.

[TheTatiana]

Wow, I'm so glad you volunteered, Diane, because otherwise I was planning on drafting you.     Obviously I think you're the perfect choice.  A natural leader of the kf community as well as being very committed to kiva, plus you're local.  They couldn't have found a better candidate if they'd designed you themselves.  Congratulations and welcome to your new role.  Tell me your plans.  What form will the input from kfs take?  Should we have a single thread?  PM you?  Or just voice our concerns on the forum as always and trust you to pick up on things and pass them along?

[KFLiaison]

Thanks for the really kind words.  (I've been looking for a blush icon but haven't found one that's quite right...   )

We will definitely work out a way for ideas and concerns to be shared on the forum out in the open, in an organized way, where we can come to a consensus of what the top issues of the week are, rather than just discuss behind the scenes in PMs and chat.  But anyone is welcome to send a PM any time, if there's a concern or thought that they don't want to post publicly.  I suspect we'll have at least one, and probably several, threads where we work on issues to present to the Kiva staff, but until I talk with Liz I won't have a lot more to say about that structure.  Part of the job of the first KF Liaison is to work out the best ways to open a two-way communication path, so we're likely to experiment with some things that might not work perfectly and may need to be thrown out and replaced by something else.

We probably won't be starting this dialog in earnest until next week after Liz and I have a chance to talk some more, but if you have strong ideas already about some facet of the communication process, post here or drop a PM and it'll get incorporated into the discussion as we move forward.

Sounds to me as if you're eager to get started, TheTatiana!     

--Diane.

[TheTatiana]

Yes I am.  I think one of the issues that is high on the agenda right now is the effect that PA2 has had on the loan availability, and payback amounts.  I think most everyone would like to see a smoother curve on number of loans available to fund on the site as well as the amount of money paid back by day of the month.  The current boom and bust cycle is frustrating and unfelicitous.  I'd like to ask if there are any ideas for smoothing out either or both of these curves. 

Actually, since the loan availability dearth is due to the boom in paybacks around the 15th, probably smoothing the latter of these would automatically smooth the former.  It also might give kiva a bit more float interest to cover their operating expenses.  I'm in favor of the payback amounts being spread throughout the month randomly to smooth both curves.

Does anyone else have any ideas on this?

[AccountAbility]

I've been away on business for a while, and am now reading all the posts to catch up here on Kiva Friends.  This development is the biggest thing I've read.  

So, congratulations, Diane!  

Two thoughts as you start.  First, don't let this one burn you out.

Secondly, it has always puzzled me what Kiva thinks their lender base is like compared to what Kiva Friends frequently articulate.  I hope Kiva shares with you the data they have on lender base profiles.  If we are the rare corner of their world and not at all what their "other" lenders think, I'd sure like to know it.

Dan

[Natasha]

Congratulations and Thankyou Diane!! 
Couldn't think of a better choice of Liaison!!

[mejane]

CONGRATULATIONS DIANE!! 
And best wishes.  We all know you will do a good job.   
Jane

[JohnR]

Diane, in answer to your question about communications issues, I find the best part of the KF forum is its free-form nature.  There are lots of ideas and comments, questions and answers.  The worst part of the KF forum is its free-form nature, there's no summation of all those ideas/comments/Qs & As.  In different words, I find coming to the KF forum a rewarding exercise when I'm trying to find out about some Kiva issue, but it takes a large investment of time to sort through some of the long threads, especially when the topic is covered in more than one thread. 

I'm optimistic about this creation of Kiva Liasons.  I just hope Kiva's motivation in creating Liasons is to have a better way to supply lenders with information, not simply a better way to gather information from lenders.

[QueenOfHearts]

Congratulations Diane on this new adventure.  I am sure that you will do a wonderful job and I dont think Kiva could have picked a better liason than you. 

Queen

[TheTatiana]

I think it's extremely important for this liaison office to have real clout on the kiva end of the connection.  Otherwise it will begin to feel as though we the lenders are just being shuffled off to a corner.  And we'll know that.  It's not something that we won't pick up on right away.  Diane, we count on you to make sure our issues are heard and given weight with the kiva staffers in charge, including Matt and Premal.  It's so important that this not become the department of explaining kiva's policies to the lenders, or soothing ruffled lender feathers, and instead be truly a two-way dialogue. 

You are an excellent choice because we already know and love you, with the one caveat that you're possibly too nice.  Since you're going to be the major focus of our interactions with kiva in the future, please be sure you hold their feet to the fire when things really aren't working for lenders.  You're our main advocate now, so it's important that you faithfully convey the full urgency of our concerns.  I know you'll do that, but I just hope that kiva is serious about actually listening to what you tell them.

If real communication doesn't happen, then the response will inevitably be that many lenders quit lending.  So far kiva hasn't had to worry about that as new lenders spring out of the woodwork to provide.  However, unless each generation of new lenders has a good experience and wants to come back again and again, kiva will prove in the end to be a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, and won't be able to seriously impact global poverty as we all hope.  For global poverty to be dealt a real blow, kiva will need to use their resources (us) in a sustainable fashion, and not just run through its lenders serially as each wave wises up and pulls out.  The original idea of kiva has a wide appeal, as we've all seen and felt, but unless the process actually works and provides a valuable experience to all involved, it won't last.

So I think it won't be amiss in your first meeting if you establish that as our number one need.  You need access to the ears and attention of Matt, Premal, department heads, everyone.  You're not just PR.  You should be able to call a meeting with anyone at any time and get real response.  In a way, you're the QA department now, and if you're not happy, then something is wrong that needs to be fixed.  I would like to see a post from Premal and Matt that confirms that you will get that level of attention.