Andrew Review Of Cardinal Money Mgmt

Andrew Meyer

CS 73N: Business on Information Highways

May 19, 2006

 

Project Critiques:

 

Cardinal Money Management—Michael Fan

 

Overall, Cardinal Money Management (CMM) fills a detrimental void in American students’ education—personal money management and investing.  CMM provides a service imperative for college students which should create a large user base and a heavily frequented site.  The market is well targeted and the site has the potential to be very successful.

 

I think credibility of the advice and information presented on CMM is what needs to be developed in order to maintain a strong user base.  It would be ideal if Michael could align his service with the University—perhaps with a professor of economics who could act as a mentor and assist in some of the updates on the site.  In addition, CMM could be linked from Axess when students are reviewing their tuition, housing costs, health insurance etc...Michael should post his credentials and accomplishments as well.    

 

The organization of the site is great as it is divided into three straightforward, non-intimidating sectors.  I think the key for Michael’s audience is to continue to make the site extremely user friendly by being easily navigable, simple, and fun.  I think a good portion of the site may need to be graphical/visual as Michael’s target audience is not interested in the more difficult math of money management.   Michael’s writing is thus far understandable and concise, and as long as he adheres to the writing for the web techniques from Wired Moon, the site will be popular.  I think it is especially imperative given Michael’s target audience that the writing is presented clearly and effectively.

 

There are a few things I would like to see from CMM.  As Michael discussed in class, real-estate advice would be difficult to incorporate given his experience; however, as the site expands I think in the future it would be great information to include as college graduates are looking to rent housing and apartments.  Personally, I would also like to see information on ethical investing in terms of the ramifications of investing in munitions or companies that are notorious for polluting etc…Also, I would like to see Michael outline a plan for advertising his site. 

 

Overall a great start for Michael Fan and it’s sure to be a great site!