“You’re walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place”.-Gordon Gekko
Well, we are about seventy two hours away from the first trade for 2013. We make too much of resolutions, they are overrated, but it is good to try to find an edge and make improvements where possible. Information and news flow are key when it comes to trading, and the faster the better. There are plenty of services that give you real time news, some are better than others, but the better ones will cost you a fortune. Not everyone can plop down twenty grand for a Bloomberg terminal.
News happens so fast now that it’s truly mind boggling. High frequency traders have actually built algorithms that read headlines, parse through key words, then trigger bids or offers. How in the world can the average guy compete with that? The answer is…you cant. So you need an ally, you need an edge.
So if you don’t have a Bloomberg machine or sit on an institutional trading desk, what can you do? I use Stocktwits a lot. You can set up a free account here.
I wrote a brief piece yesterday about Twitter, but Stocktwits is what I use for my trading. I like the idea of having hundreds (thousands really), eyeballs on the market. There are many phenomenal tools that come with Stocktwits (video, chart analysis, conversation, market analysis etc). Often times I will be long a stock that has a sudden move, and I don’t know why. I can type in the symbol on Stockstwits and instantly find the news, I will see comments from traders, and in most cases, valuable links on what may have just happened. That is the beauty of eyeballs, there is always someone out there that has caught a piece of news that I may have missed. That is the beauty of community. Everyone shares, you’re not alone..and that in my mind, is an edge.
Here is an example of what $AAPL looks like on Stocktwits. Here you will find commentary, videos and charts galore if that is your thing. Stocktwits has been called the Human Ticker and I think that is a great description. I like to call it “The New Tape”.
Stocktwits isn’t just for “kids” anymore, as portfolio managers, hedge fund managers and analysts of all types now use the service. It evens the playing field in a very big way.
The people on Stocktwits are generally phenomenal. If you have a question or want to get a read on one of your stocks, go ahead and ask, most of the community “wants” to help and add value. I don’t know to many places on the web where you will find this kind of give and take. If you are new to trading the learning curve for you will be fast and value added.
This market can be an evil mistress at times, and I want to have every angle or advantage I can muster. I get that here.
There are so many terrific tools that Stocktwits has to offer, so set up an account and tool around. I think you will be glad you did. Everyone needs an edge. It works for me big time.
Have a great 2013.
You can get a free trial to the Upsidetrader site right here.