Ask any city trader, such as a hedge fund manager or invest banker and they will tell you that communication plays a massive role in their job. They need to be one step ahead of the game in many respects and be tightly connected to the latest news. 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. However, because the world of finance often moves faster than a speeding bullet, traders need to get the latest information from a wide variety of sources, and they need it now. The social media platform Twitter is now a tool that is being used by many traders to keep up with business knowledge according to the National Australia Bank (NAB).
Twitter, which is known as a micro-blogging site, allows users to update their profiles with posts of a maximum 160 characters. This keeps the ‘tweets’ short and concise, “which is what traders like” says Henry Allan of the London Lite Trading Group. Users within a certain niche, such as the alpha wire 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 allows groups of people from various sectors such as the media, banking and business to alert each other of the latest updates or discuss predicted market trends.
Some people have voiced concerns that Twitter could be used as a platform for insider trading as messages can be sent out privately to people using the site. Although supporters such as this cable ties 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