In my opinion, it’s a very promising site that could add a ton of value to both the consumers and the professionals.  When Yelp first launched in 2004, I knew it had a lot of potential for the consumers and the businesses.  A few years later, I can’t imagine now going to the restaurants without reviewing them on Yelp first.

I see a similar value to be offered by Investimonials.  However, like many review sites, it’s faced with the “chicken-and-egg” challenge.  Without the users adding reviews, the site offers no value.  However, without the site adding value, the users aren’t encouraged to participate.  It’s definitely a daunting challenge for the founders of Investimonials.com.

It’s been a few months since the launch, and I’m looking at its progress.  Unfortunately, the site hasn’t progressed as fast as I had expected.  Most of the product reviews only boast 1-3 reviews, which usually doesn’t help determine the true value very accurately.  However, I do think the site still has a  lot more potential to grow for the following reasons:

1. The founder of Investimonials.com is Timothy Sykes, the penny stocker who manages a successful business leveraging his blog.  He is a businessman, and he knows how to market.  At a minimal, he has a ton of advantage over someone new with minimal experience in the industry.
2. The site offers great ways to encourage user participation.  By adding additional reviews, users can earn IV bucks that can be turned in for real products.  Although many of the physical products are products sold by the founder Tim, some of the membership prizes are attractive.  (see below)  The Kirk Report especially is a very valuable membership in my opinion.
3. The guys at Investimonials added immediate value to the users by listing over 3,000 financial products before the launch.  That’s definitely a lot of work, but this is truly what it takes to make a site like this successful.  To overcome the initial “chicken-and-egg” stage, the site has to have initial value.  The team knows this.
4. Well built platform – I can tell Tim put a good amount of investment into building this site.  This is no pre-bought web template.  Although still pretty basic, the site offers good features that require a reasonable amount of development work.

Bottom line, it’s too early for us to get much value out of the site.  However, I do believe this site has a ton of potential for usability down the road.  Let’s come back in a year and see where it stands.

Now investors like us can choose to put money in their trades and simply watch your investments grow.  You know exactly what they’re trading, how they’re performing, and what their trading strategies are.  Furthermore, you can choose to opt out anytime you wish.  The cost? Less than 1.5% management fee on average and a few cents a share for brokerage fee (Interactive Brokers).

kaChing already has over 2 million dollars invested in it as a SEC RIA (Registered Investment Advisor).

There’s an array of investors waiting for your investment.  Some are amateurs, and some are RIA professionals.   So whether you’re looking to be the next Genius or want to perform better following these Geniuses, give it a shot.

Features Offered:

Public Groups

Desktop users are able to create or join individual groups that are topic specific, some examples include groups centered on a specific trading style or focus. Group members are able to send private messages directly to the group or to multiple groups that don’t appear in the rest of the stream.

Customizable Streams

Desktop users may block people from their stream; this gives members full control over stream customization.

RSS Streams

Desktop users can create a stream from an RSS feed. Simply copy and paste the RSS url from any site and receive the updates right in StockTwits Desktop.

Multiple Tabs and Moveable Streams

Stocktwits Desktop offers users the ability to customize their layout. Streams can be moved around and ordered with a simple drag and drop.

StockTwits TV

Stay tuned to all your favorite StockTwits TV shows with the built in video player. Watch Alphatrends, UpsideTrader, Investing with Options, and all of our programming live, while you read Real-time messages from the StockTwits community. Users will find the full schedule of programming it listed right in the application.

Web Browser

StockTwits Desktop has a built in web browser, so users can click links and view pages without ever having to leave the application! If you prefer to open the link in your own browser, we’ve provided a button for that, as well. We’ve also provided a button to simplify sharing links.

If you haven’t tried the application, definitely give it try.  They’ve really done a good job asking themselves “what are we missing in our trading lives?” and addressed them beautifully.  Great design, great interface, great features, and above all, great community.  Whether you’re a day trader or a long-term trader, there’s something you can get out of this application.

You can also check this page out for more detailed video instructions on “How To”s.
http://desktop.stocktwits.com/help

When an user signs up, he/she can start posting comments on any topics with his/her personal sentiment, up or down.  If you think AAPL is going up in price, vote bullish and comment on it.  Simple as that.

The site also incorporates Twitter nicely so that you can intergrate your Tweets with NeatlySaid.com.  Hell just use this site to express your sentiment and Tweet on StockTwits at the same time adding your “$$”.  The result of all this?  You get a daily look at sentiments like this:

Overall, I like the concept and the site design.  I think the site would do well if it can overcome challenges like marketing and credibility.  At this point, I would be very hesistant to rely on the data presented at NeatlySaid, but if they can build a reputation as a credible source, the idea is viable.  I am monitoring this site to see how it does in the next few years.

As described by the site:

Dr. Van K Tharp, armed with a Ph.D. in psychology and several losing experiences in the market, realized that perhaps the poor results that he’d been getting in the markets had more to do with him than the markets themselves. So in 1982 the quest began for how he could become a better trader. He conducted in-depth research to determine the qualities that great traders and investors had, and his research uncovered ten distinct areas that were important to investment/trading success.

These studies led to the creation of a 176 question test called the Investment Psychology Inventory Profile based around these ten areas, and after testing thousands of traders over many years, it has proven to be a great indicator of success in the markets.

The Tharp Trader Test is a mini version of this extensive test that is designed to provide a snapshot of the various types of traders that Dr. Tharp has identified. Each of the types has its own temperament, personality, perception and interpretation that ultimately affect how the market is approached and traded. Some have a distinct set of core qualities that are great for trading, whereas others may find trading more of a challenge. There is no right or wrong trader type; it is merely an identifier of possible patterns that could enhance or block success in your trading, relationships and all areas of your life.

This is not a test to determine what type of trading you should be doing, or what time frame or markets you should be trading. Nor does it discuss the methods, techniques or systems that suit your trader type. All of these things are an individual choice based on your own objectives and lifestyles, which may differ greatly based on your age, location and circumstances. The test will, however, address how you most likely gather, store, comprehend and act on information about the markets. It will also provide you with details of commonly observed strengths and challenges of each type and subsequent solutions.

With only 35 questions, the Tharp Trader Test is not an exact science and some people may find that their answers place them on a borderline between two different types of traders. Because this is the mini-test, if you become really stuck, go back and re-do the test with the opposite answer and see if your trader type changes at all. If so, then read the solutions for both trader types and determine which traits resonate with you the most. This will enable you to deal with the strengths and challenges that most adequately represent your situation. Then you can work toward becoming the best trader or investor that you can be.

Here’s my result:

Innovative Trader

Your goal is probably to understand the world, constantly absorbing new information that comes your way. You then process all of this through your intuition to quickly size up what is going on around you. This can be an excellent quality for traders and investors if you get the right information. Otherwise your decisions and conclusions may tend to be flawed. And this could be costly for you as a trader.

You are probably quite quick in your thinking, stimulating and alert. You are an ingenious innovator. In addition, you are probably quite outspoken. You are also probably good at reading other people. However, your ability to express yourself with others and read others is not required as a trader.

Nevertheless, you have two of the three qualities that I would expect to see in great traders. As a result, you are also adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. This is a great quality that you have that will help you in developing sound trading systems.

You enjoy being both an inventor and a business owner, therefore the idea of developing your own trading system and doing your own thing probably appeals to you. However, you are a big picture person and do not always follow through on existing ideas.

Your biggest weakness is that you get bored by routine and are likely to find new ways of doing things. After pursuing trading and learning the craft, you may keep looking for creative alternatives trying to make things better or more effective. It is important to realize that good trading tends to be quite boring, so you must find ways to overcome this tendency and accept trading for what it is.

Trading Strengths

1. You can quickly determine if a new style of trading or system will fit well with your personality and you get very excited about it.
2. You can rapidly evaluate when something is working for you.
3. You like the challenge of sorting out market conditions and seeing where you fit and can be competitive in the markets.

Trading Challenges

1. You want external confirmation for everything and have a strong need for a mentor.
2. Despite your normal attention to detail and rational thought processes, you may find your self making emotional decisions when under stress; with dramatic consequences.
3. You may experience profound negative self talk if you bend your rules. Self inflicted emotional scars from negative trading may be damaging psychologically.
4. You may be tempted to abandon systems prematurely that are performing well but which are going through a string of losses.

Over 180 interviews.  60+ hrs of recordings.  Hundreds of investors.  Variety of investment styles.  Playable in Windows Media, Real Player, and Mp3 Stream.  What?! You can download the full mp3 onto your computer too?  Wait…AND there’s a full transcript available for the avid readers who prefers reading over listening???  Yes. That’s right.  This is what Tim Bourquin at TraderInterviews.com brings to the table.

Here’s a sneak peak at a taste of what you’ll be getting at Trader Interviews.  It requires a vast amount of effort to pull off what Tim does, and it shows in the quality of his interviews.  Good questions, good investors, good interviews.

[wpaudio url="http://www.my10000dollars.com/2009-08-20_Premium_Developing-Your-Trader-Intuition-with-Chart-Reading.mp3"]

So who exactly is Karl Denninger?  Well his credentials are pretty extensive:

Author of “The Market Ticker”

Former CEO of MCSNet

Operator of TickerForum.com

Full Time Trader since 1998

Seeking Alpha Certified

Recipient of 2008 Reed Irvine Accuracy In Media Award

Now, I’m not recommending his site because of his credentials, but rather because of the work he produces on The Market Ticker.  His articles are some of the most data packed contents on the web.  You can go to the major financial media like CNBC.com and read an article.  Then you can visit Karl’s site and read exactly why CNBC’s article is flawed in many ways.  What’s important here is that he backs up his statements with well researched facts, not anecdotal theories, and that’s what I enjoy the most.  His writing and self-presentation skills aren’t ordinary.

On the flip side, I must warn you with one notion.  Karl is a bit conspicuous when it comes to the current state of the US.  He is a bit angry at how things are handled during this financial crisis, and it clearly shows in his works.   People often refer to Nouriel Roubini as Dr. Doom, who successfully ‘predicted’ this crisis.  Well, Karl is no exception.  When it comes to envisinoning something ugly for America in the near future, look no further, Karl is your guy.  If you’re one of the many who are looking to confirm your theory that the market is recovering from last year’s damage, be prepared to be shut down by The Market Ticker.  On the other hand, if you reside on the other side, convinced that America is headed for some world of hurt, The Market Ticker is your best friend.

They’re changing the game. Whether its StockTwits, Covestor and kaChing and their ingenious community exposing hundreds of skilled investors who would have never been found otherwise, or Seeking Alpha and its self-inflating pool of experts, these sites have built an influence that did not exist 5 years ago.

Now there’s one question people in these communities ask: “Who Are They?”

You go through “Top Data Junkies” on StockTwits, scope out the most profitable investors on Covestor, or look for the users with the highest kaChing IQ and you start to get a feel for their reputation, their performance, and their potential.  Yet, it doesn’t answer all of your questions on who they are and where they came from.  This was the issue I had when I first started getting involved with these sites.  And it’s not just these user contributed sites, but also the various bloggers out there are very influential.  How many blogs do you read wishing you can ask more personal questions to the authors?

BTS aims to close this gap through an interview.  Check it out.