ET = Entertainment Tonight and never has there been a more wretched hive of scum and villiany guilty pleasures I guess
But here's the REAL question: Is ET a viable business model anymore? Is the reason for all of the absurd and ridiculous posts and too many aliases to count merely a reflection of management at ET being more concerned with generating "web-activity" than quality of content? Because let's face it. At the end of the day, it's ALL about web-hits when you are an owner/operator of a website on the Internet. It's without a doubt, THE METRIC that is what current/potential advertisers look at. If there wasn't a "Politics & Religion" Forum on here that generated so much "web-activity" ( mostly by ET members that have nothing to do with the financial markets ), would ET even be a viable medium for advertisers? Far too often I notice numerous "controversial" threads started towards the end of the month - - - almost as if one particular poster is trying to paint the tape. I've also noticed that there are threads started up out of "nowhere" in the Trading Forum (also towards the end of the month ) by people that have registered months ago, if not years ago - - - but who have rarely posted in recent months. The "canned" response that ensues usually confirms to me the lack of authenticity that is occurring. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=167345&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=167572 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=167116 It almost makes one wonder if screen-names are "archived" or "stored" on ET for use at a later date. The pattern is all too consistently familiar, and I am not the only person on ET that has questioned this pattern, or the authenticity of these posts/threads. What say you ET?
ET as a pure business model is one of the most genius concepts imaginable. A social website for people interested in markets and trading, geared heavily towards conflict and drama to entertain. Let's face it: trading can be (and usually is) boring, frustrating and lonely. Providing a forum where that type of emotional angst can be released (over and over again) is the core business model here. Have you ever asked yourself what the true attraction to ET is at its core? Certainly not quality of content. Absolutely not a friendly, cordial, relaxing atmosphere. The core attraction is release of negative emotions via conflict. Provide the opportunity to fill that need, and viola... exploding click-thrus. But the "membership" here is six inches wide and five miles deep. The small percentage of truly lifeless serial posters are just the same retread trolls spouting the same drivel and crap. If Magna or Ivanovich shut off all alias' from the same IP address except first one created and deleted all threads from multiple alias hence, that instantaneous sucking sound would be ET imploding inward like a universal black hole. Gone are the long-time posters of solid content, the guys who really trade, the ones who make money. Everyone with two eyes and one brain sees that for what it is today. Truest test is to pick a poster and scroll back thru their posting history. What's there? Predominantly conflict and trolling posts? For the most part, yes to the majority of active posters. I've dropped by ET myself for the past three years. This was never much more than a social site for traders, but the conversation has degraded to a point of inane crap. Few remaining solid posters who are already in semi-lurk mode are too scant for making it worth searching for in the first place. There is one more post for me to make in the near future, and then I'm done & gone. I won't be back, I won't miss it, won't even think about it. Not in the least, not at all. Truth is, there ain't much left for traders serious about solid conversation worth missing here. Sad, but true.
I get more ribbing about the headstone of one of my relatives buried in Tombstone AZ... "Here lies Les More shot two times with a 44 No Les, no more."
http://www.livescience.com/health/080117-violent-cravings.html http://www.elitetrader.com/ad/mediakit.cfm
Well said to both posters! To answer op-- in a handbasket! The problem with more well behaved and intellectual threads, is the rate of information exchange moves very slow (I've watched some grind to a halt). So, it's hard to have it all. Every now and then, I still find some interesting posts here (just have to sift -- with a fine strainer, I might add -- through the garbage).