March 3rd, 2010
Review: Prosper’s Talk About The Taboo Campaign
If people will divulge the ups and downs of their love life via Facebook and Tweet about their breakfast, Prosper’s Talk About The Taboo campaign hopes America will be as eager to open up and talk about what’s in their wallets.
Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending site, boldly goes where financial companies haven’t ventured before to bring taboo topics about personal finance into consumers’ everyday conversations.
Prosper’s Talk Taboo campaign, launched today, is a website that spotlights your personal stories on money, debt, and more: how Mr. X tackled debt, how Miss M paid off $50,000 in shopping spree charges, or how Mrs. Z needs help picking out a debt consolidation company.
Credit Karma was lucky enough to get an exclusive peek at the site before it launched, and it is simple, attractive, and easy to navigate. The home page immediately catches your attention with snippets of people’s stories, and the “Share Your Story” tab offers you the spotlight if you’re inspired to share your financial life. The idea is that the Talk Taboo campaign is as much about sharing your problems and it is about celebrating your triumphs in working towards healthier financial fitness.
Why would people want to share such personal information, such as how much debt they owe? Just like our recent review on Blippy illuminated, people are surprisingly interested in other people’s financial lives—maybe precisely because it is taboo. Plus, encouraging more talk around money problems and finding a community of people in similar situations is a great step towards solving it.
Another nice addition to the site is the Debt Guide that covers the basics of debt and debt consolidation– necessary reading for the millions of Americans who owe $2.46 trillion in outstanding US consumer credit debt (Federal Reserve, Dec 2009).
One of the most exciting reasons to check this site out right now is the “Talk About the Taboo” sweepstakes. It’s free money to spill the beans on your personal finances! Log on the site and fill out a simple post about your own money situation, and you are automatically entered into the sweepstakes to win $1,000.
Every consumer out there has a story to share about debt, money, or even the latest small financial victory like kicking your expensive coffee habit. Talk about the taboo and be part of Prosper’s community. Anyway, when was the last time your Facebook status or Twitter update had the potential to earn you a $1,000?
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Life is difficulty without a Credit Card! I ran overdrawn on my two cards last year. Though I have paid off my debt they will not give me another card. I cannot remember such a thing as score numbers in the other countries I have lived in!?
“Down with credit cards”.
Is this website correct about how soft inquiries can erase hard inquiries?
I’ve noticed my hard inquiries dropping and do not recall necessarily making these inquiries exactly 2 years ago from the month they disappear, but I’m curious if it’s because credit histories only hold so many hard and soft inquiries before older ones fall off.
“Bumping” does not really work anymore. The credit bureaus have recognized the work around and have fixed most of the loopholes.
I find it hilarious that prosper is mentioned on your “credit karma” blog. Prosper has got some bad karma for sure, along with all those people who loaned money from people like me. I “invested” on prosper and 9/14 of my loans defaulted. I loaned to people that prosper deemed to be low risk too. WARNING-AVOID PROSPER!!!!!!! The only recourse I have to to let other’s know. I looked to sites like this to find information when I started loaning.
Wow, that’s terrible that the borrower defaulted on payments owed to you. Prosper can’t personally force borrowers to comply; of course they can only provide and facilitate the means through which peer to peer lending can happen. They attempt to minimize risk and assess creditworthiness, but ultimately cannot force borrowers to pay up. There is a fair bit of warning for peer-to-peer lending, so good for you for being a voice of concern.