So I’ve started a blog - partly to practice writing, but also to act as a collection for my thoughts, things I find interesting, a bit of a repository of financial stuff I come across etc. http://thecmereport.wordpress.com/ I don’t want to make money from it of course, but figure it can’t hurt to use it to hone my writing/analytical skills. Anybody doing anything similar? Am I just wasting my time? Is it worthwhile to stick at it?
Bookmarked. And to answer your questions, I also did the same thing a while back though didn’t have time nor energy to maintain it at the moment. I see that you’re using wordpress.com - that’s a good platform to launch your blog, be sure to turn on “related articles” options on since this will enable readers of other blog to find yours.
thanks for the feedback and the tip.
Nice work. I like it. It’s a great idea so you can put to paper themes in your head. Helpful for trade ideas and having a big picture. Seems like you gotta have discipline, time and inclination to keep it sustained. Are you in college or working? Do you just upload charts from other websites there? How much time do you commit to it? I’ve never written a blog and wouldnt know where to begin. What’s the $ cost?
Subscribed. Yeah I’ve got one too, started a few months ago. Posting some interesting stuff on China later today. It’s primarily macro and economics stuff, and just whatever interests me that I am reading about the market. Hoping to expand the emerging markets section pretty dramatically over the next few months. http://natebyrd.blogspot.com/ Interesting that you just wrote about China’s property bubble, I’ve got a bunch on that too.
Muddahudda, I am indeed working, for PWM firm. I probably spend 30 minutes a day on the blog, maybe more if there is something I want to go into a bit of depth on. I do a fair bit of writing for the firm’s quarterly investment newsletter, plus fairly regular economic presentations, and I find that the blog is handy so far for keeping and commenting on all the various bits and pieces that come my way. Not only is it free (yup, $0), but it is really easy to post articles, you can even just email them to your blog and they will be automatically published. So it’s very easy to fit in around your work. The charts and stuff are easy - you just paste them into the body of your email and the technology does all the work for you. There are probably a bunch of copyright issues, but hell who’s going to notice one tiny blog among the mountains of crap on the web. I am finding it really handy for work though in straightening out my thoughts on various macro issues, as well as helping to remember a lot of trivial crap that clients just love to hear.
Dwight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Subscribed. > > Yeah I’ve got one too, started a few months ago. > Posting some interesting stuff on China later > today. It’s primarily macro and economics stuff, > and just whatever interests me that I am reading > about the market. Hoping to expand the emerging > markets section pretty dramatically over the next > few months. > > http://natebyrd.blogspot.com/ > > Interesting that you just wrote about China’s > property bubble, I’ve got a bunch on that too. I like your blog Dwight, some interesting stuff there. I’ll be sure to take a closer look.
newsuper Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Muddahudda, I am indeed working, for PWM firm. I > probably spend 30 minutes a day on the blog, maybe > more if there is something I want to go into a bit > of depth on. > > I do a fair bit of writing for the firm’s > quarterly investment newsletter, plus fairly > regular economic presentations, and I find that > the blog is handy so far for keeping and > commenting on all the various bits and pieces that > come my way. > > Not only is it free (yup, $0), but it is really > easy to post articles, you can even just email > them to your blog and they will be automatically > published. So it’s very easy to fit in around your > work. The charts and stuff are easy - you just > paste them into the body of your email and the > technology does all the work for you. There are > probably a bunch of copyright issues, but hell > who’s going to notice one tiny blog among the > mountains of crap on the web. > > I am finding it really handy for work though in > straightening out my thoughts on various macro > issues, as well as helping to remember a lot of > trivial crap that clients just love to hear. Exactly my thoughts. I also published the monthly newsletter for our firm and have to give clients the macro view quarterly. Normally the themes are put together by the CIO, who certainly knows his stuff. I am a wannabee in that regards. Certainly handy to corral your thoughts, good work. Will keep an eye on it.
^ Same to you. It’s tough to find quality commentary in the “mountains of crap on the web”. Like newsuper said, it’s all free, though I would estimate it takes more time personally. My impression is the “good” bloggers spend between 30 minutes to an hour on a blog about 3x a week or so. Any more posting than that and either quality suffers or you should be doing it full time as a job (and many people do). Best practice for graphics in my opinion is to produce them in your own style and cite the source (Calculated Risk style). I definitely sprinkle in some stuff directly from other websites though when I can’t find the source data. Typically as long as you credit the original author or news site with a link no one gets upset. Links increase traffic and Google’s “quality score” etc so everyone wins.
newsuper Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Anybody doing anything similar? Am I just wasting > my time? Is it worthwhile to stick at it? nice! - i can’t view it here at work (blasted hammer-sicle firm) but will check it out tonight i’m looking to do the same thing to keep my reading/writing up.
This is a great post and thanks for the tips! I also have a blog (which i have not updated in ages though) and agree that it’s a great way to show your ideas and writing. I actually was able to land my last job in part to my blog. when the interviewer questioned certain experience on my resume, stating that he’d interviewed dozens of ppl who had said that they had this experience but he had found that no one had actually done this in the real world, I invited him to pull up my blog on his computer right then and there, where I have samples of my work, and he did! He also said that he was really impressed with the technical skills involved in building it (hahah it’s just wordpress based), and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t design the template, just used a free one. You guys reminded me now to download the wordpress app for my android so i can get blogging again. THANKS! http://quantcandy.com/blog/
by the way, some great outcomes and careers have come out of blogging. Why not us? Books etc: CakeWreck http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ Sh!t My Dad Says: http://www.amazon.com/Sh-t-My-Dad-Says/dp/0061992704/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c This is Why You’re Fat, peopleofwalmart.com etc etc MidtownLunch.com - 'nuf said, creator Zach Brooks was able to quit his job and is now living the good life starting up local street food blogs, currently in LA Careers/shows/movie spinoffs - washingtonian.com, defaultrisk.com (creator Greg Gupta apparently started this blog, now is doing well at Fitch Ratings)
Plus, didn’t Joel Greenblatt find and seed Michael Burry via the latter’s blog?
that, or a message board. you are right!
I’m also starting to get back into it, and find that it’s a good way to document my thinking… http://portfoliomanagernotes.blogspot.com/
You can also put your blog site on your resume. It may not be looked into while in initial rounds, but may help in later round interviews. Mine is - http://sandeep-rastogi-fin.blogspot.com/
Getting Out Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m also starting to get back into it, and find > that it’s a good way to document my thinking… > > http://portfoliomanagernotes.blogspot.com/ GO, I just find that white text on a black background is too hard to read for extended periods, fwiw.
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Count me in the ranks! > > http://blackswansingularity.blogspot.com/ same for yours sub, I’m just not sure white/black is the way to go. Too hard on the eyes.
^ I agree. Tires you out to read it.