Gary,
EXCELLENT write up.
I, for one believe, that investor relations in the future will start becoming more involved in the chat sites for the main reason to keep the investors informed. Most Investor Relations are discovering the telephone is not where investor go today but instead head straight to their favorite chat site.
This is something I beleive will be compeletely true within the next 1-2 years. And I am working on building the right "structure" for this.
I also think that more and more brokers, whether they admit it or not, are turning to the boards. They can gather incredible insights into the perception of a security. As long as the topic is focused and "fact-based", then by engaging in a discussion with people, one can quickly figure out "who's buying what and when"
That is what I think is most important. I think message boards have and always will have a signifcant advantage over the NEWS, becasue if you follow the boards, you can figure out every move by the company before it happens. And this is because you have so many heads exchanging info, that somebody is going to nail it.
Great article.
FM
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