StockTwits 2.0

As announced by Howard Lindzon on his blog, the latest version of StockTwits is out there and ready to be pounded on. It adds a host of new features, such as portfolio tracking, which represents a huge improvement in functionality over the last release. And as usage has risen and feedback has been provided, Soren Macbeth has a rich product development pipeline that reflects his closeness to the customer and a the discipline of a rapid release cycle. Mashable wrote a terrific piece on the new release and Fred Wilson wrote an insightful post as well. Here is part of a comment I posted on Fred’s blog:

soren and howard have struck a chord with those who value real-time
insight and commentary in a focused domain, specifically stocks. and
the lightweight approach they’ve taken just highlights the power of
delivering vertical value to a horizontal community, where both
constituencies share a common passion: the desire to consume and share
real-time information.

I think what StockTwits represents is pretty profound. Is it about “wisdom of crowds?” Sort of. Finding the “expert?” Maybe. Keeping a finger on the pulse of a like-minded community? Sure. Tracking sentiment relative to my portfolio holdings? Absolutely. It is really all those things and more, but at its essence it helps the person interested in stocks to socialize their ideas and assist others with this process. Is this financial tidbit interesting and relevant? Do you think they’ll hit their quarter if they lose this contract? I am watching this stock because the selling is overdone; keep an eye on it.

Some of this is valuable simply because it forces you to put your thoughts down in a “public” forum. This can help clarify one’s thinking around an idea or a theme. It can also be helpful because of the feedback generated from other StockTwitters. You need news to help provide a measure of context and a baseline for sentiment. But news is flat. It doesn’t talk back. It fails to dynamically challenge your thinking. Members of the StockTwits community get news, but want much, much more out of their efforts. And they want it NOW. Real time. Real insights. Real people.

Thanks to all those who are actively using the $ sign and engaging with StockTwits. While we’ve already come a long way, the best is yet to come.