Serious question. I've been posting in ET for quite some time. Most of the stuff I post in here is a complete joke. And I know that I'm a 1/2 troll, 1/2 regular poster. I've been here long enough to understand that I will be trolled on this thread. I was just on Google Talk with a fellow buy side IT dude about what I posted in ET, about systematic trading and etc. I've never had the chance to post and paste stat. figures on hard file, so I was planning on posting a few code snippets for people to run tests on their own using F#... or .NET. Anyways, the story is that I got an offer from the dude asking me if I wanted to start a blog. I've gotta a few questions: 1. How will the IT dude make money off the blog? My threads are never popular (look at how many "reads" I have) ... so then how else would the guy make money??? 2. Any unforeseen benefits? Will you quit ET and post on a blog?
1. If you assume that your material may be satisfactory enough to attract visitors to the blog, then the IT guy can make money from the site's advertisements. He may be under the false impression that you could freely advertise your new blog on ET (against ET policy, unless you are a sponsor). If you have any following from ET your site can generate sufficient volume to attract advertisers. Remember, controversial posts are usually more popular and attract attention better than mundane ones. 2. Posting on a blog (if you want to make money) is tough work. You need to be consistent and write information on a daily basis. It's not like ET where you can say "I feel like going online and reading through some posts." Plus you can't put up bullsh!t opinions on a blog without some stats or good information to support your claim. Otherwise you would not have any credibility. I personally wouldn't put in the time to make a blog if someone is trying to get a financial gain from it. I think a blog is better suited if a trader wants to be disciplined and use it as a form of a trading journal.
Yeah... I've gotten a few IMs about this, and they say... 1. I have an attention span of a 5 year old so I won't last. One thinks I'll just say, "FUCK OFF, RETARD!" and quit writing on the blog. 2. "Why the fuck are you posting research and idea on ET or in a public forum to start off? Go get another set of servers and run more tests at the same time. If you have time to post a bunch of shit on a website, make more money. 3. Hire another trader. A hot chick this time. That should keep you busy when you're bored. Sorry guys... it was a dumb question... I should stay away from ET for a while... I'm getting addicted again...
I have to post this... Now the dude wants to make an online system / model testing service. In another words, a web-based backtesting software... LOL!!! Seriously... why would someone post their system to be tested online? That's the same thing as asking for a freebie model... Funny stuff...
Here are the types of people who post on ET: 1) Known sponsors trying to advertise their business. 2) Those who do not want to pay the sponsorship fee and indirectly advertise their business. 3) Confidence men who figure out a way to get someone's money. I.e. The "Im a fund manager" or "Im Mr. Wall Street" routine and they make contacts with the ET crowd trying to scam their money away. Sometimes they meet with the ETers in real life and cook up some kind of deal. 4) Guys who are bored at work with nothing better to do. 5) Older, bored, retired guys with nothing better to do and need a way to bring attention to themselves. 6) Legitimate internet trolls who truly enjoy flame wars and watching boards get out of control. 7) Extremist groups who try to boost their cause in the Politics and Religion section that want to get their group to the top of the google search. 8) Newbies to the trading community who the sponsors, non-paying sponsors and confidence men feed off of. Thats it. Thats all the people who post here. A good blog can actually make you over 100+ grand a year. Lets take Robert Hoffman (SNP500TRADER on youtube). He started off with videos on youtube and then created a blog/chatroom where people pay 300 a month. Say he gets 50 guys to use the chatroom per month. 50X300= $15000 = $180,000 per year. Thats not bad for blogging and creating a youtube video each day. What about Brian Shannon of Alphatrends? I think he charges 50 a month for his service. Lets say he gets 500 subscribers a month. 25000 per month = 300 grand a month. Not bad for making a youtube video where you constantly state we are either above or below the 5 day moving average...
Thanks for the comment. The IT guy got fired from an investment bank and he wants to startup a internet venture. Rather than me writing shit about trading models, I told the dude to start a financial IT blog considering that he's worked as both Exchange and Client Connectivity Teams. I've never seen a well documented Financial IT information that caters to low budget traders who use Open Source stuff, like a step-by-step instructions of how to implement QuickFIX or how to setup a multi-thread quote msg srv. using open source libs. If you see one starting up in the next few months, thank me.
If can demonstrate the process for building an ATS from start-to-finish I'm confident it'll be a winner. No need to let some other guy hog all the glory (and money), just do it yourself ... that's what the game is still all about.
Nah... Posting in ET is good enough charity for me. There's not a lot of places where you can waste time, help and troll at the same time. Seriously, I help people in ET by trolling and flaming at them.
Quote from 530HudsonSt: Here are the types of people who post on ET: 1) Known sponsors trying to advertise their business. ... Thats it. Thats all the people who post here. highly incorrect. Most of the people who post here are traders seeking social contact, trying to learn or improve their methods, seeking other ideas, etc. etc. etc. A good blog can actually make you over 100+ grand a year. Lets take Robert Hoffman (SNP500TRADER on youtube). He started off with videos on youtube and then created a blog/chatroom where people pay 300 a month. Say he gets 50 guys to use the chatroom per month. 50X300= $15000 = $180,000 per year. Thats not bad for blogging and creating a youtube video each day. Looked at his site. Like most, doesn't bother to evidence his trading skills via auditing or even a track record. He can talk all he wants, but if he can not demonstrate his methods work, then there is no reason to pay $300 a month for it. There is already a lot of sites that offer worthless advice for free