WHAT IS RETENTION the preservation of the after effects of experience and learning that make recognition possible (Websters

s Dictionary). the ability to get users to come back to the website AUDIENCE Students who have already visited Loveyourmoney.org. We want them to come back to the website late when they are having nancial issues. SITE ANALYSIS Before Login Snippets of audio George Washington character A few pages with general money tips Brief overview of the website Links to Twitter and Facebook After Login Learning modules Financial calculators Messages Resources and links PDFs What we love about Love Your Money The fun, whimsical mood that is initially displayed on the home page. The George Washington personality adds a memorable face to the website. The tools, like the calculators, are useful. What we dont love about Love Your Money We have to hunt around for the information we need because there is no search bar. We dont notice any type of human connection. It feels too much like an assignment. While the audio is initially charming, it is unnecessary. There is no evident bene t for the user. GOAL To increase the retention rate of Love Your Money by creating an active and bene cial resource that is applicable towards all stages of life.

PROFILE

Since the rst appearance of the Web in 1990, we have come to accept that information in pixels is something to read and also a place to be (Heffernan). Online experiences challenge what many have traditionally called identity (Turkle, S. 1997) We propose an online pro le for each user of Love Your Money We want to give the user an online presence A prominent online presence, or place, will give the user a reason to return to the website. A pro le will decrease the users feeling of detachment from the website because they will be able contribute their own personal content. The pro le will be a place to keep their information, like an online bulletin board. Examples of well-designed online pro les (that do not try to recreate what Facebook has already done) ESPN Fantasy Football (http://games.espn.go.com/frontpage/football) Mint.com (https://www.mint.com/) Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/) Issuu (http://issuu.com/) How the pro le will work The users pro le will be the jumping off point for all of the content on the website. With the use of a search bar, the user will be able to access the information they learned in the modules, without having to re-do the modules. (For example, if they learned the de nition of a roth IRA in one of the modules, but they cannot remember it later on, they can just type it in the search bar, and view the information about it in a section of their pro le.) The user will be able to bookmark the nancial information that they want to look at later. There will be a link to each of the modules. The user will be able to view a progress bar (much like the itunes progress bar) that shows how far they have gotten in the modules. There will be a link to the Love Your Money social media. There will be an embedded news feed from a nancial online newspaper (for example, a CNN Money rss feed could be embedded into the pro le page in order to keep the information on the website fresh and always changing.) The user will be able to record personal goals, and an email alert could be sent at customizable intervals to remind the user of the goals. The user will be able to view the money tips one-by-one, and bookmark their favorite ones. The user will have access to all of the tools that are available on our proposed mobile app, and their account on the website will link their information from the app to the website. The pro le will be customizable The user can pick and choose which information they want to bookmark to put in their favorites section. The user will be able to chose how often they want to be reminded of the goals they set, via email. The module progress bar will be unique to each user. It will visually display how far they have gotten in the modules. The pro le will be dynamic The embedded news feed is an easy and sustainable way to keep the information on the website fresh and new. The money tips will be displayed one-by-one, and with the creation of a database of tips, the tips can be different everyday.

The pro le will make the site content easy to access The search bar is a key aspect of the pro le. With a search bar, the user has access to anything they want on the website, and they do not feel like they ever have to return to the learning modules again. This will increase retention because when users are no longer required to do the modules, the will be able to learn the information with feeling like they are taking an online course.

COMMENT SYSTEM According to Bradley Hess of Blogger Talk, the most valuable part of a blog is the comment section. Usually if one person has a question, so do many others. This is a great place for users to ask, answer questions, and provide their own tips and tricks that you may have no had time to cover in your blog. We propose that a comment system be added to Love Your Money. Why will a comment system be bene cial It will keep the website dynamic and constantly changing. It will add an element of social interaction to the website. It will give the users the option of creating their own content on the website. It gives you instant feedback about the website. People love to leave feedback More than 50% of videos on Youtube have been rated or include comments from the online community (youtube.com) 100 million people take social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments) every week (youtube.com) Facebooks user engagement increased by 31% after the implementation of the Like button (Russell). The Like button accounts for 84% of all Facebook user reactions (Russell). Example of a websites with well-designed comment systems Particletree (http://particletree.com/notebook/writing-resources/) Web Designer Wall (http://webdesignerwall.com/) A List Apart (http://www.alistapart.com/comments/organizing-mobile/) Where it could be added on website Below each module exercise. This will allow the students to tell you if the module was helpful to them. It will give them the satisfaction of telling you how they feel about the module. The students will be able to interact with each other by liking each other's comments, and commenting on each other's comments. Sustainability The website, Disqus.com, is a commenting system provider. It helps build an active online community, and it is already integrated with social media, like Facebook and Twitter. If the student believes that their comment should be shared, they have that option. Students will have the ability of interacting on the website without it being too similar to Facebook. It utilizes the popularity of Facebook, instead of competing with it. Disqus.com is simple to implement, and it manages everything for you; therefore, it is easy and sustainable.

MONTHLY UPDATES A Direct Marketing Association survey states that in 2010, email was the most widely used web-based direct marketing tool (Enright). We propose that monthly updates be sent to Love Your Money users via email. Why a monthly email update is bene cial This is an inexpensive way to directly market to the account holders. A monthly update reminds users that they have an account with Love Your Money. This would be a friendly reminder to keep the name of Love Your Money fresh on the users mind. Constant reminders that the website is up-to-date and fresh lets the user know that Love Your Money is trustworthy. Like an appetizer at a meal, the monthly update will whet the appetite of the user, and get them ready to visit the website. Ideas for the monthly update content Big nancial headlines in the news Money tips Info-graphics about the amount of users / module completion / general nancial information Personal statements from the creators News of any changes to the website Links to useful websites Updates could occasionally be sent in print via mail, in order to change up the source of information. Examples of well-designed email newsletters and updates for websites Avant Card (http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/8317FD8F319F0B17/) Nation Toys & Tees (http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/A442D8FDA76E4553) Cabedge (http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/1AB3E853DBF475AB/) Think! (http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/EF802EBD8A8E94A3/#) Wolda (http://www.wolda.org/news/14.html) Blick Shared Studios (http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/10FF930A9EB7F9E1/)

MOBILE APP The use of mobile apps in education encourages students to leverage the technology they use in their daily lives to solve real-world problems (Apple, Inc.). According to a recent AT+T survey, nearly 72% of small businesses are currently using mobile apps. The majority of these businesses said that they are using apps to save time; whereas, 59% said that apps increase productivity, 29% said that they are cost saving, and 11% simply said that apps are cool and hip (Rubin). We propose a a mobile app that will be supplementary to the website. What is a mobile app? An internet application that runs on smart phones. Mobile apps help users by connecting them to Internet services more commonly accessed on desktop / laptop computers. They make it easier for users to access the internet on portable devices (Webopedia). How will the app interact with the Love Your Money website? The app will not be a mobile version of the website, but a supplementary tool that can connect to the website. It will keep the brand fresh on students minds. Why is an app bene cial? Since the audience is a generation that is used to instant grati cation, the mobile app will cater to their needs of wanting information anywhere, anytime. A mobile app will embrace the students digital lives, and they will be able to apply this tool to real-life money situations. Accessibility will no longer be an issue. Once they download it, it will always be with them. According to Dennis Newel of the eCommerce blog, Get Elastic, A customer who actively downloads and installs an app has a pretty good chance of using it. The app on the desktop is top-of-mind. How will it work? Step 1: The user signs in to their Love Your Money account, and they stay actively logged in. Step 2: The home screen presents the user with four different navigation options: checkbook, budget builder, receipt tracker, and calculator. Checkbook: The checkbook is a place for the user to monitor nances. Here, the user will input spendings. Every time they buy something at the store, they simply type in what or where it was spent, and how much. A total balance will record how much they have spent in monthly intervals. They can also record the amount of money that they save. They can organize their spendings into categories that will connect with the categories in their budget builder. They have the option to use a location tracker to further categorize their spendings. The users checkbook section can also be viewed on the pro le section of the website. Budget Builder The budget builder is a tool that maps out nancial goals. The user can chose what time interval they would like to set their budget (monthly, several months at a time...) That budget will then be saved and recorded by date. All of these budgets can be revisited in an archive section. Now that the user has set up the time interval and date of their budget, they can add categories to it, such as food, rent, and shopping.

They will record how much they want to spend in each category. When the user buys something and adds it into a category in the checkbook section of the app, it will be noted in the budget builder. If the user comes close to exceeding their budget, the Love Your Money app will send them a text. For example, You are now $15.00 away form exceeding your food budget. The users budgets can also be viewed on their pro le on the website. Receipt Tracker The receipt tracker is an on-the-go tool that captures images of the users receipts in order to help the user stay organized. If the user does not have to time input their spending into the checkbook section, they can take a picture of the receipt, and input it later. The receipt images will automatically be saved by date in an archive section, so the user can scroll through them later. The receipts are automatically accessible on their pro le on the website as well.\ Calculator The nancial calculators that are currently on the website are extremely bene cial. There will be a Calculator section of the app, in which the user can click on which calculator they want to use. App Setting For students that are studying abroad, this app can be used internationally by changing currency preferences. Other Suggestions If you think the app is lacking social interaction, we suggest a live news feed, in which members can post online coupon deals and discuss money-saving tips.

Examples of other nancial apps that can be used by students Mint.com (https://www.mint.com/) This is an app that is a mobile version of the website. With this app, users can create budgets and make goals. The user can input their banking information, and it automatically connects their online banking information with the website. Every time they use their debit card, it shows up on the app. It also shows well-designed graphs that map out the users spending patterns. Chase Mobile Banking This app connects to the users bank as well. CNBC Real Time This app shows top nancial news headlines, and delivers real time market quotes, and it also shows interactive graphs. Why is our approach different than theirs? The app we created does not connect with the users bank account because it is an educational app, and we believe that the user should input their own spending information and make their own budgets so they can learn how to manage money. Also, this app is more trustworthy. The user does not have to worry about identity theft because they do not enter in their banking information.

WORKS CITED (in the order they appear in the paper) http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/the-con dence-game-at-google/ http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2010/04/cut-and-paste-identities-creating-our-own-realities-online/ http://games.espn.go.com/frontpage/football https://www.mint.com/ https://www.tumblr.com/ http://issuu.com/ http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics http://www.bloggertalk.com/ http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2011/10/11/facebook-user-engagement-up-84-like-feature-is-key-driver/ http://particletree.com/notebook/writing-resources/ http://webdesignerwall.com/ http://www.alistapart.com/comments/organizing-mobile/ http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/02/18/marketers-remain-hesitant-invest-some-areas http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/8317FD8F319F0B17/ http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/A442D8FDA76E4553 http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/1AB3E853DBF475AB/ http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/EF802EBD8A8E94A3/# http://www.wolda.org/news/14.html http://gallery.campaignmonitor.com/ViewEmail/r/10FF930A9EB7F9E1/ http://apple.com/education http://www.inc.com/news/articles/201103/a-third-of-small-businesses-say-they-need-mobile-apps-tosurvive.html http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/mobile_application.html http://www.getelastic.com/app-or-mstore/