Thread by @Alex__Salomon

Yesterday, I read a good rant from @JohnTraderYork on the current state of Fintwit ... A lot of it resonated and I wanted to chime in.
This is almost like a blog post, but since I don't write a blog, I'll make it a #fintwit #thread ... and we'll see where it all goes

I have been trading individually since 1995... At first, it was $2000 in an IRA. I put it all in $MSFT. I thought I would add. I did once. Then, it was always too expensive, and I kept on waiting. Of course, I wish I hadn't. My 1995-1997 $4000 total contributions are up nicely

But in the grand scheme of things, it's not "investing".
My first real #fintwit community was @YahooFinance boards. Talk about baby steps!!
My first real "investing group" was @Minyanville with @todd_harrison ... it's a sore topic for him, but lots of thankfulness for us.

Then came the GFC and @Twitter and actually, really, #fintwit ... the pioneers I followed here were @andrewnyquist & his excellent @seeitmarket (thanks again for the opportunity) and @UdallTechStrat ... Sean still does top work & newsletter, too.

We are talking 2010-2011 and #fintwit could actually be a place of hope vs. the end of the world (I miss @GriffinMcgee ) and there were NO newsletter / sub services then. None. The real pioneer was @RedDogT3 when he absorbed #MV and he's been top notch since.

But even then, even @RedDogT3 wouldn't post set ups. Back then, trade set ups, ideas, albeit limited to 140 characters, were mostly clean of any commercial endeavours. They were bears (who got mauled for years on) &bulls (who partied for years on) but nothing commercial about it.

The beauty of these times (thanks to @howardlindzon for the $ticker idea?) where a mix of freaking out about the world ending and a vast optimism of doing better.
With the end of @Minyanville, I joined another service, very "hippie", headed by @JouleCIO (congrats on fund!!).

@JouleCIO was fun and very "innocent"... some of the sessions where all based on payment to charities. Talk about teaching for the greater good. You'd follow Quint for the day, in exchange of paying for a charity setting up food & water in poor countries.

@greenjaytrading (gone now... don't know where) was the best I could follow at the time. He too would exchange set ups and wins for charitable contributions. All on @twitter. No subs. No service. If you made money off his setups, you'd contribute to a charity (of one's choice!).

And then ... then it happened... The shift wasn't noticeable. It was very much a #froginboilingwater effect, but the good accounts disappeared ... and the really generous ones got trolled. The next best thing I could find was @Estimize with @LDrogen and that was not #fintwit!

I couldn't tell you what happened next... because I lost track and interest. Just like @JohnTraderYork mentioned, it became difficult to find out the good accounts from the good accounts just good enough to grab subscribers, to the bad accounts (thanks @Guruleaks1 !!).

And so, indeed, the original #fintwit now dreamt by @JohnTraderYork has shifted. It's not totally gone, but it's absolutely spammed by crap. It's extremely difficult to find the good ones from the crappy ones.

Which begs the question, why does an individual trader / investor need @Minyanville or @RedDogT3 or @MacroOps or @Layuptrades or @seeitmarket or @UdallTechStrat ??? Well, as far as I am selfishly concerned, it's to open my horizon to different trades. More ideas.

I see COMPLETE VALUE in such services as a big portion to red team my set ups. To add tickers I would never find. To find help and support in an otherwise lonely lifestyle. To expand. To mooch, too. In a good way. Also, to give back. I really try.

I used to post my trades real time on @twitter but then, it became unbearable with trolling. I really don't mind sharing with @Layuptrades ... and helping. Almost all the time. So, you can say, a service ... a good service ... removes a big part of the negavity. And that's A++.

To wrap up this long thread, I want to point out that #fintwit still offers some awesome input. @RedDogT3 does it everyday. @JMVala_Trades too. Of course, @DaveL452 @nextSignals @JohnTraderYork @DoubleWideCap @Barton_options @theycallmetex @ChrisDMacro and honestly, many more.

The challenging portion is to go through 100's of handles to find a few good ones. Basically, it's the same as picking stocks. You have to read through many 10Ks and 10Qs to find what you're looking for. The early days of easy set ups are gone.

I'll finish with this: I genuinely believe #fintwit adds value. I genuinely believe some peeps share amazing, actionable information on here. What @JohnTraderYork is looking for, exists. Yet indeed, it's 10% of the profiles and subs and BS services. But it's out there!! 🍀🍀🍀

@JohnTraderYork @threadreaderapp please unroll. Merci beaucoup.