Comments on: It’s not a Dreamcatcher, it’s a piece of String (3rd Guest blog) http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/ Zopa blog - updates, team, news, life and more. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:27:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: kittyhello http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12951 Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:00:42 +0000 http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12951 surely zopa makes a great more effort to reduce the investment risk than prosper whereas prosper make a great more space for user's own decision. zopa is more likely a web 1.0 company while prosper a web 2.0 company. as for safe or not, it is something like that zopa is a bank where you save money and prosper a stock you invest in Nasdaq. As i have said early in your blog, internet companies should be more open to the users. surely zopa makes a great more effort to reduce the investment risk than prosper whereas prosper make a great more space for user’s own decision. zopa is more likely a web 1.0 company while prosper a web 2.0 company. as for safe or not, it is something like that zopa is a bank where you save money and prosper a stock you invest in Nasdaq. As i have said early in your blog, internet companies should be more open to the users.

]]> by: James http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12788 Sun, 06 Aug 2006 21:15:57 +0000 http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12788 Hi there Kittyhello Are you a Prosper user or a Zopa user? Why do you think Prosper is better and more detailed? Perhaps more interestingly, do you think Prosper is as safe? Many thanks James Hi there Kittyhello

Are you a Prosper user or a Zopa user?

Why do you think Prosper is better and more detailed?

Perhaps more interestingly, do you think Prosper is as safe?

Many thanks

James

]]> by: kittyhello http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12743 Sat, 05 Aug 2006 14:50:04 +0000 http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12743 Anyway, www.prosper.com is much better an ebay model in p2p finance than www.zopa.com prosper is more friendly and much more detailed. Anyway, www.prosper.com is much better an ebay model in p2p finance than www.zopa.com
prosper is more friendly and much more detailed.

]]> by: philipg27 http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12666 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:37:11 +0000 http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12666 James, Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm looking forwards to any improvements with the website design. It's interesting to observe your comments that people feel more connected to the transaction when they know that the money comes from other people. In the big picture this is exactly the same transaction as with a bank or a Building Society. I guess what is happening here is the difference between the objective reality and the subjective reality. At the objective level you have borrowers and lenders performing a financial transaction via a commercial entity (or mutual entity in the case of a Building Society), but subjectively many people perceive the transaction differently when they can identify the other individuals involved. Rgds, Phil James,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I’m looking forwards to any improvements with the website design.

It’s interesting to observe your comments that people feel more connected to the transaction when they know that the money comes from other people. In the big picture this is exactly the same transaction as with a bank or a Building Society. I guess what is happening here is the difference between the objective reality and the subjective reality. At the objective level you have borrowers and lenders performing a financial transaction via a commercial entity (or mutual entity in the case of a Building Society), but subjectively many people perceive the transaction differently when they can identify the other individuals involved.

Rgds,
Phil

]]> by: James http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12638 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 09:19:39 +0000 http://blog.zopa.com/archives/2006/08/03/its-not-a-dreamcatcher-its-a-piece-of-string-3rd-guest-blog/#comment-12638 Hi Philip I really enjoyed your post - thank-you. Some thoughts: A lot of the changes to the website that we'll launch at the end of the summer I hope will give you the tools, info and simplicity that you're looking for in the context of Zopa as a market ... and will also make much more transparent what is happening in the "Zopa triangle". While I understand and agree with your thrust on Zopa as a market - I do believe, based on what members have told us, that for some people there is also a strong social aspect to Zopa. For some people, seeing where their money goes or where it has come from is really important; knowing it is coming from people is important; feeling more connected with their money is good - its more personal … a bit warmer and a bit more interesting. Others do feel some sense of community - although community is one of those great words that means different things to everybody - and I hope that some of the developments we'll be making in the future will help those, for whom community is important, get more of what they're looking for from Zopa. My conclusion is that Zopa is at its best where it can provide a place for people to get a great financial deal through a safe, efficient and transparent market AND a sense of social / community reward through people dealing directly with other people. James Co-Founder Hi Philip

I really enjoyed your post - thank-you.

Some thoughts:

A lot of the changes to the website that we’ll launch at the end of the summer I hope will give you the tools, info and simplicity that you’re looking for in the context of Zopa as a market … and will also make much more transparent what is happening in the “Zopa triangle”.

While I understand and agree with your thrust on Zopa as a market - I do believe, based on what members have told us, that for some people there is also a strong social aspect to Zopa. For some people, seeing where their money goes or where it has come from is really important; knowing it is coming from people is important; feeling more connected with their money is good - its more personal … a bit warmer and a bit more interesting. Others do feel some sense of community - although community is one of those great words that means different things to everybody - and I hope that some of the developments we’ll be making in the future will help those, for whom community is important, get more of what they’re looking for from Zopa.

My conclusion is that Zopa is at its best where it can provide a place for people to get a great financial deal through a safe, efficient and transparent market AND a sense of social / community reward through people dealing directly with other people.

James
Co-Founder

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