Kiva.org on Oprah Show - September 4th

[Guest]

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[Fiona Ramsey]

Dear All:

Well, you've all figured this one out already, but Kiva.org will be included on the Oprah Show episode airing tomorrow, Tuesday September 4.  Matt and Jessica, as well as Kiva Lender Ann www.kiva.org/lender/ann3660 will be appearing on the show.  How long they will be on air really comes down to the edit, but there is plenty of video of entrepreneurs and Ann that they will be showing.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the show, tape it, tell your friends, and BRACE yourself for the explosion that is about to hit Kiva!!!!!

(And of course tune in tomorrow to find out what the big event tomorrow is!)

Fiona

[simba]

Fiona:

We are ready for the K-bomb explosion, but are you ready?

(I just love the name Fiona....)

[KivanSteven]

I tried to make my second loan today, Sunday, as I try to make two per week every Sunday.  This was the message I received:

"Due to the overwhelming response to recent Kiva press coverage, we will soon run out of businesses on our website. We are limiting everyone to one $25 loan today so that as many people as possible can try Kiva. We thank you for your understanding and for making a single $25 loan today."

I really hope there will be enough micro-businesses to fund with the enormity of traffic that is expected after Oprah tomorrow.  It would be really disappointing if thousands of people didnt have a chance to get involved and then just forgot about it all.  Most likely nothing like Oprah will happen again for Kiva in the near future.

[cpbailey]

akshara,

I hope if they run out of loans that there will be a way to easily capture the email addresses and then send an email saying, "Kiva has loans available!  Come check it out."  The email list could be broken up if it is enormous, and then send reminders to a smaller part of the list.  This way there wouldn't be stockouts.

This way if people get a reminder, and it doesn't get forgotten.

Colette

[fredr1c]

I really hope there will be enough micro-businesses to fund with the enormity of traffic that is expected after Oprah tomorrow.  It would be really disappointing if thousands of people didnt have a chance to get involved and then just forgot about it all.  Most likely nothing like Oprah will happen again for Kiva in the near future.

It's going to be great.  And I think they're wise to do whatever is necessary to make sure the maximum number of people get a chance to make their first Kiva loan After Oprah.  It wouldn't bother me if they restricted lending to new lenders only for the next couple of days, if that's what it takes.

I made my first loan the night of April 10th, right after the inspirational Frontline piece on Kiva aired. Being able to make a loan that first night was part of the magic that cemented my relationship with Kiva. 

By the end of April there were more than 50,000 Kiva lenders.  Kiva now has close to 95,000 lenders, so when the numbers kick up AGAIN it's just going to be ridiculous -- in a good way.  It will be that much more difficult to have enough loans available After Oprah for every new lender's first magic moment, and that much more incredible if they're able to do it.

Here's to Kiva on the eve of the next phase.  May your servers be stout, and your available loans many.

Fred

[AccountAbility]

One little way (maybe bigger than I realize) that Kiva is getting ready for volumes on their webservers, is that when I clicked on the posted picture I was redirected to some site connected with amazon which was storing the image.

Dan

[Fiona Ramsey]

Nice catch Dan.

We are storing our images on a service provided by Amazon, which is helping us deal with increased traffic.  It's a nifty service and it appears to be helping!

Fiona

[Krishna]

I got same massage as "akshara" mentioned, when i tried to lend earlier today. Good that traffic issues have already been addressed. However, i will keep away myself from lending so that new people get to participate

[KivanSteven]

Krishna has a great point.  If need be, I too would be willing without question to refrain from loaning for a week or more if need be.  If Kiva is unable to keep up with the demand to loan and lets say a few hundred of us refrain from loaning for a week or two, that allows a pretty large number of people to jump on the opportunity to loan that might not otherwise have the chance if we all loan according to our habits.  Lets all consider that if the need arises to do so.

[stubear1012]

I agree with the postings about holding off and letting the new people make their first loan.  The interest generated from the Oprah show is a rare opportunity and Kiva should take full advantage of it.



Stubear1012