Communication is clearly the life blood of any trading organisation, you only have to ask anyone in the city to realise this. They need to have their finger on the pulse and their ear to the ground in order to get a lead or a jump on the market before everyone else. This information tends to come from a great deal of sources, including mediums such as press releases, business statements, cable news channels and many more. These mediums have served traders well previously but they are always on the lookout for more convenient and pioneering methods for getting and giving information. Twitter is something that has been used by the masses for a few years now and according to the National Australia Bank (NAB) has recently caught the eye of traders who are using it to get info from the horse’s mouth.

Twitter is a micro-blog tool that works by people uploading ‘tweets’ which are of 160 characters or less. What this means is that posts have to be to the point and not include small talk, which according to Trevor Keen of the City Trading Union in NY “is exactly the kind of information traders want”. Users within a certain niche, such as the Beacon sector, can follow other Twitter members who they want to receive updates from, and can themselves be followed. There is very little that is still local when it comes to city trading these days and often businesses and individuals need to stay connected to lots of other people around the world, who may be working in different time zone. Twitter provides a central platform for people within different niches or medias to communicate instantly and en masse, allowing them to remain up to speed with latest news and events.

There have been some groups that have frowned upon the use of Twitter as they say it has potential to be a portal for insider trading as messages can be sent privately. Although supporters such as this multicore cables business are quick to point out that this was always possible via email and the real power comes from the ability to alert hundreds of thousands of people publically, which of course can be monitored for underhanded dealings if necessary

Technorati Tags: communication, finance, social, trading, Twitter

Top Tweeting Tips

These days it seems that you can't escape stories about the latest social networking phenomenon, Twitter.  With all the hype and celebrity endorsements, lots of people are asking “how do I use Twitter?”.   

There are plenty of sites out there that will tell you how to use Twitter, but not so many to warn you of the pitfalls.  If you take a moment to learn from this list of DOs and DON'Ts then you'll be Twittering away with the best of them.

DO watch what you say.  Unless your updates are protected, anyone can see what you are Tweeting.  Bear in mind the story of the girl who Tweeted her way out of a job because a hiring manager read her thoughts on the position she interviewed for.

DON'T confuse Twitter for a chat client.No one wants to see their screen full of irrelevant Tweets from a conversation they're forced to eavesdrop on.

DO make sure that you retweet other people.  This can be a good way to build up a following of likeminded Twitterers.

DON'T constantly self promote.Okay, we get it - you have stuff to sell.  Twitter isn't one way traffic - interact!

DO follow people back, but….

DON'T be offended if not everyone follows you back.Users with tens of thousands of followers are unlikely to see your Tweet through the hundreds of other tweets anyway.

DO try to be funny, entertaining, informative and creative with your tweets.

DON’T auto-DM.  This is the Twitter equivalent of spam and a faceless “hi – thanks for the follow” is impersonal and off-putting.

DO use it to ask other people for help.When you have a reasonable following you’ll find it easy to find answers to your questions quickly.

DON’T twit if your message is likely to go over the 140 character limitation.  Spreading a message over multiple tweets is just going to confuse and irritate your followers.

These handy hints should be enough to start you off.  If you are likely to spend a significant proportion of your online time on Twitter then there are plenty of guides on the net telling you how to use Twitter effectively.

Technorati Tags: blogging, Internet, New Media, Social Media, Twitter