Backfill - should this term be used on Kiva loan pages?

[Guest]

.

[alan]

"Your funds will be used to finance this loan".

"refinance"?

[Sengbe Pieh]

Your funds will be used to backfill replenish this loan.

Your funds will be used to backfill refill this loan.

My vote would be for replenish:

re⋅plen⋅ish
   [ri-plen-ish]

–verb (used with object)
1.    to make full or complete again, as by supplying what is lacking, used up, etc.: to replenish one's stock of food.
2.    to supply (a fire, stove, etc.) with fresh fuel.
3.    to fill again or anew.

Since someone else already pointed out that this phrase is somewhat inaccurate since we are, in reality, replenishing the coffers of the Field Partners, it could be changed to:

Your funds will be used to replenish this MFI* (or FP*)

and the hovertext or popup link could explain the definition of MFI/Field Partner with the answer in the Help Center:

What is a Field Partner?
 
Kiva partners with existing MicroFinance Institutions (MFI) around the world. We call these our Field Partners. Our Field Partners are responsible for screening entrepreneurs, disbursing loans, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans. You can see a list of our Field Partners here: http://www.kiva.org/about/partners.

It would also be helpful if there was a direct link to that specific answer or to
All FAQs \ Kiva's Field Partners
Subcategories in "Kiva's Field Partners"
& not just the general link that takes you to the Help Center: http://www.kiva.org/about/help

My .02

[cjp1973]

Your funds will be used to backfill replenish this loan.

Your funds will be used to backfill refill this loan.

My vote would be for replenish:

re⋅plen⋅ish
   [ri-plen-ish]

–verb (used with object)
1.    to make full or complete again, as by supplying what is lacking, used up, etc.: to replenish one's stock of food.
2.    to supply (a fire, stove, etc.) with fresh fuel.
3.    to fill again or anew.

Since someone else already pointed out that this phrase is somewhat inaccurate since we are, in reality, replenishing the coffers of the Field Partners, it could be changed to:

Your funds will be used to replenish this MFI* (or FP*)

and the hovertext or popup link could explain the definition of MFI/Field Partner with the answer in the Help Center:

What is a Field Partner?
 
Kiva partners with existing MicroFinance Institutions (MFI) around the world. We call these our Field Partners. Our Field Partners are responsible for screening entrepreneurs, disbursing loans, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans. You can see a list of our Field Partners here: http://www.kiva.org/about/partners.

It would also be helpful if there was a direct link to that specific answer or to
All FAQs \ Kiva's Field Partners
Subcategories in "Kiva's Field Partners"
& not just the general link that takes you to the Help Center: http://www.kiva.org/about/help

My .02

I think this is a great suggestion.  Makes the most sense to use replenish in reference to the MFI/FP and not the loan.

[Jill]

The other day when I was driving around, I was thinking about Kiva’s backfilling dilemma, and it occurred to me to realize just how incredibly challenging it is for Kiva to to be able to state succinctly and transparently (and, oh, by the way, clearly, too) just exactly how these “person to person” transactions actually work.   It’s particularly challenging since as important as succinctly, transparently and clearly actually are, they may pale in comparison to how important it is for Kiva to be able to explain it all in a manner that is attractive, enticing and one that almost compels a newcomer to the site to want to lend, to want to become involved and to stay involved.


As I’ve watched the individual Entrepreneur pages become troublesomely crowded with numbers and dates and small print (very much a turn-off for those of us who like simplicity and who "just want to help”), pages that look anything but like the original simple and showy Kiva pages that first hooked me, as I’ve skimmed (and I’m afraid, as I’ve occasionally, myself, contributed to) some of these threads that often read like diatribes, I’ve become, I am becoming more and more sympathetic to Kiva’s predicament.


I’ve found myself becoming much more forgiving, for instance, to Heifer International’s own solution of encouraging what turns out is a bit of a fantasy in its regular copy, but covering their butts with their fine print revelations.  I’ve found myself almost wishing that Kiva didn’t have to write anything on their individual Entrepreneur pages about disbursal dates, about repayment plans, etc. (nada, nada) and thinking that maybe an asterisk or two, here or there, that would lead people to other pages and to the “real story” would keep their main pages looking crisp and clean and more engaging and would maybe suffice and be able to keep people from being able to cry, “Foul!” 


I’ve found myself feeling actually sorrier and sorrier for the Kiva people, whose integrity I have never, in my mind, really questioned, since I’m now seeing how really complicated this all has turned out to be.  How close to impossible it apparently is to even be able to please a lot of the people a lot of the time. Forget about ever being able to please all the people all the time—there ain't no way that that's ever going to happen.


During that same drive I took the other day, it also occurred to me to remember how it’s always so much easier to criticize something that someone else has done, or that they’re currently doing than it is to fix it.   The real challenge, and what would be the real help, would be to come up with alternatives that might  actually work, that would improve on what's currently there.   I’ve seen, from suggestions that people have made, particularly, over the last few days about alternatives to backfilling, for instance, that people here are trying.  I’ve also seen, though, from my own reactions to some of those suggestions, that either I or someone else could come up with reasons why those particular choices may not be a whole lot more clear or accurate than Kiva’s backfilling was.  It’s hard!  It's really hard.


Mostly, I’m writing this particular encyclopedia to encourage as many of you who might be willing to try to come up with ideas, not just about backfilling alternatives for the Kiva people, but really, with all kinds of ideas for improving the presentation (explanation) aspects of Kiva’s pages, in total.   I’m assuming, based on my own website-surfing experience, that what newcomers see and how they react to what they see maybe in the first 30-60 seconds of their exposure to the site will make or break their intent to explore further, to even think about becoming involved. about lending.


I’ve gotten as frustrated as hell with Kiva, sometimes, disappointed, really, since I first got hooked, now years ago.  But right now, I’m feeling a whole lot more empathetic to their situation than I have been, for some time.  Knowing that making their website simple and engaging enough to snag people in the first place is paramount, and that pleasing and satisfying those of us whom they’ve already successfully snagged (perhaps almost as important?) can be really really tough, I just want to say that I’m beginning to understand just how really hard they all have been trying, and I’m hoping others of you will realize that, as well.


I’m sorry about the length of this post, but, well, you know.   KF Jill ain’t  going to be winning any prizes any time soon either for terseness or for succinctness…..

[David2051]

My vote goes to purchase this loan.   

However, it appears to me that there is a lot of room in the new box, plenty to put another line in to clarify this if need be.  So, back to my handy image editor, and here is what I came up with, for what it's worth.  What do you think?

[David2051]

Mostly, I’m writing this particular encyclopedia to encourage as many of you who might be willing to try to come up with ideas, not just about backfilling alternatives for the Kiva people, but really, with all kinds of ideas for improving the presentation (explanation) aspects of Kiva’s pages, in total.   I’m assuming, based on my own website-surfing experience, that what newcomers see and how they react to what they see maybe in the first 30-60 seconds of their exposure to the site will make or break their intent to explore further, to even think about becoming involved. about lending.

Jill, thank you for that post, there are so many good things in it!   

You are so right that Kiva is complex, and the needs of Kiva "power users" (aka core lenders) are vastly different than the needs of newcomers who are thinking about making their very first loan.  The current model of the Kiva website is one size fits all, and we have reached a point, I think, where this model simply does not work well.  No matter what information Kiva presents, it can both overwhelm the newbies and be very unsatisfying to the power users.


I know that Kiva has limited resources for site design and development, but if growth is the goal, I believe the website is going to have to become more dynamic. 

I envision one site layout that is optimized for attracting the new user that is very clean, simple and compelling. 
 
This would be presented to all site visitors who have not signed in, and all users who have made no loans, etc.  The loans presented would be a good mix of "popular", single and group loans from a mix of countries.  Each user on the site would see a different group of loans.  Really, we need to admit that we do not know what loans will be compelling to different users, because we are all very much individuals.   So we need to present a mix of countries, sectors, loan size, etc.


I also envision a second site layout that provides customizable options for the rest of us! 
 
Options for the level of detail regarding interest rates, etc. Options for the default sort, etc.  One thing that I have noticed huge variability among KivaFriends is the extent to which people are drawn to pictures and stories versus numbers and details.  Maybe one person wants little pictures, or no pictures and lots of nitty gritty details on the terms of the loan, while another wants big pictures and to read the stories and doesn't care so much about the details of the MFI, rates, etc. 

Maybe there could be two or three set layouts for the lend page and a loan page and each user could select what they want to see.  Maybe the system could use the number of loans a person has and present additional information and tools as the number of loans increases.  I don't know, there are tons of possibilities. 

Right now all the people on the site at one time who go to kiva.org and click Lend are presented with the same information on the same set of 20 loans.  The information they see is either overwhelming or woefully inadequate.  I hope we can get to the point where if 100 people are looking at the default page 1 someone is seeing each of the 2000 loans on the site.  Beyond that, I look forward to us each being able to select the particular information that we want to see.  Someday...

I'm happy to do some more mockups if people have particular preferences in mind.  For me it's easier to compare by looking at actual images rather than trying to convey it all in words.

Here's to Kiva's future!     

[alan]

Well said, Jill!   

Another issue in Kiva's site design is the question of the kind of English they use. Many of Kiva's users are using English as a second (or third) language, and so the explanations need to be as free from nuance and culturally-specific references as possible to facilitate understanding. While away I started reading a book called The Prodigal Tongue about the current and future state of the English language. The author isn't one of those who laments what has happened to some imagined "pure" English of days of yore, but rather one who is intrigued by new developments in the language. There's a chapter on a variety of attempts to define a kind of "core" English with simplified grammatical rules, and a limited core vocabulary of perhaps 1000 or 1500 words, which would be supplemented by a few hundred technical terms for any given field or area of interest. The idea behind these sorts of schemes (and there have been several) is to have a standardized middle ground for people from a variety of mother tongues to be able to communicate effectively. One question raised is whether a native English speaker would be able easily to use such core English. I have neither examples where this is a problem on Kiva's site, nor suggestions on how to address it. I simply raise the issue here, in sympathy with your point about how difficult Kiva's job is.

Again, well said.

[Jan & John]

My vote goes to purchase this loan.   

However, it appears to me that there is a lot of room in the new box, plenty to put another line in to clarify this if need be.  So, back to my handy image editor, and here is what I came up with, for what it's worth.  What do you think?

I am one of those (thanks Jill) who like an uncluttered site and became an addicted lender when everything was clean and green (and nontransparent

If there is too much information on a page I am overwhelmed and will move on fairly quickly.

I have 4 friends right now sitting on uncashed gift certificates...
on speaking to each recently, the general opinion when looking at the site was...
"I don't have time to look into it right now"

We are meeting next week and I will give them a quick run through before our regular program, but that shouldn't be necessary.  All of these people, though not exactly 'young' any more, all have and use pc's for email etc.

I love your image editor David...
It tells me I would be perfectly happy to remove those 3 little lines and replace them with that hovertext idea.
I like quick easy access to learn more...
and then want the details hidden from me once I have done my learning.

just not as 'hidden' as in the past 

-jan-

[David2051]

Dan, as Gerard told me this week, he has agreed that it would be best to add some hovertext or pop-up link from the word "backfill", which would explain what was meant by the term.  I suggested other alternatives, but they were all too long to fit in the space available, so the link idea was the best ready alternative for now.  I hope he will go ahead and get this implemented before Christmas, which I understood to be his goal.

--Diane.

hmmm, there is already a popup on the term "Pre-Disbursed" but it brings up a very large window to define a different term, "Date Disbursed", and it also uses the backfill term and ends with:

By doing this, our Field Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by Kiva lenders, the Field Partner has to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva lenders.

I think if I were a newby here, that sentence would not reassure me that pre-disbursing and/or "backfilling" loans was a good thing.  It sounds like a bad, risky thing...

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing the grey text go away and having the underlined link thing bring up a very small window that clearly defines what is going on.  But, I think Kiva is trying to put everything right in front of people as a reaction to the NYT thing.  So, this is what you get when you're in reaction mode...

[closermann]

Jill,
Thank you for your inspirational post. Not only do you have a keen eye but are pretty good with words too. You have revived my flagging intrest in Kiva and strengthened my resolve to do what I can do to help.
Phil