My apologies if someone already posted this: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2024687,00.html Richard Wray, communications editor Friday March 2, 2007 The Guardian Reuters is planning to launch its own version of MySpace this year - though its community website will not be aimed at teenagers. Instead, fund managers, traders and analysts are being targeted. Reuters hopes to draw from the 70,000 subscribers of its messaging service as a starting point for its foray into the fast-growing sector of community websites. "You will see us, later in the year, launch a version of MySpace for the financial services community," said the chief executive, Tom Glocer. "It won't have the latest hot videos and the 'why I am into Metallica and the Arctic Monkeys' blogs. Instead we are going to give our financial services users the ability to post their research or if they are traders, their trading models." Article continues The website will also be exclusive to Reuters subscribers. "People don't want to have 100 friend requests from teenage girls in Florida if they are trading the credit derivatives market, but they probably are interested in being able to share research," said Mr Glocer. Reuters has been quick to embrace online potential. Last year it posted one of its journalists to Second Life, where he reports on events within the virtual world. The company has sold advertising on the billboards outside its virtual headquarters within Second Life. "I would still put this strongly in the realm of experimentation but it's a nice controlled experiment that has probably paid for itself 10 times over in marketing," he said. Reuters reported yesterday an 8% decline in annual trading profits - to £308m - as it invested in its business. Revenues were £2.56bn, up 4.8% on an underlying basis. Reuters said revenues would increase at least 6% this year.
Why doesn't Reuters work on providing a real alternative to Bloomberg instead of wasting time with this financial Myspace nonsense? I don't think it would take much to turn Reuters real-time news into serious contender if they would improve some basic things.
umm...i'm a trader, and i liked a few songs from the arctic monkeys first cd. second wasn't as good, but not awful. i guess i can't mention them then. now stuck in my head: "when the sun goes down", arctic monkeys.
Well, really they need to improve coverage of economic releases. I can get the headlines of the report faster on MarketWatch than from Reuters real-time. That is sad. Also, whenever a story hits their wire you can probably guess it is about 5 minutes too late. They are often parroting what just happened in the market rather than giving you a first look at it. That would be good for starters.