Welcome to the first post of the Social Media and Banking blog. My name is Jesse Torres and I will be your tour guide as we discuss matters related to social media and banking.
As this is the first post, I figure a brief background is in order. I am a career banker with a major technology addiction. All through my career in banking (roughly 17 years), I have always favored technology as a way of improving the banking industry.
In my early days I was a bank examiner with the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and a senior consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick. In those roles I was always the tech guy who was called in when things went wrong in the field. It explains why I also hold CISA and CISSP certifications.
As I moved out of the field and into management, I continued to favor technology. Eventually, I came to oversee the IT departments of a couple banks I worked in and played a major role in technology acquisition and deployment.
Most recently I have played significant roles in marketing and developing brand identity for banks. This is where I became convinced that there are many benefits to be had in banking through social media.
In December 2008, I released an ebook called The Community Banker's Guide to Social Network Marketing. The Guide was released as a primer on social media and social networks targeted at community bankers. The goal was to raise bankers' awareness of the uses of social media. This project became quite a success, resulting in significant exposure for the Guide.
I established this blog after receiving considerable requests for an ongoing source of information related to banking and social media. I hope to address developments and stories to make the banking community better informed and more successful.
Thanks for joining me on this trip.
Jesse
