For those of you who are new to my blog, I’ve been working on a book (due out this summer with Wiley) which will discuss personal finance and recognize the contributions of financial bloggers to cyberspace. It’s a big project which has consumed many evenings and weekends but is certainly worth the effort. I finally reached the 100 page mark in my manuscript last week which pushes me roughly 40% towards the finish line. I’ve been trying to include as many interesting blogs as possible, although this has been made more difficult by the explosion of financial blogs in 2006.
Ravi over at Phatinvestor certainly makes searching for blogs easier than ever by placing them into categories. I reference this site on a regular basis to find updates on blogs which I enjoy reading. A conversation about financial blogging would not be complete without mention of David Jackson at the Seeking Alpha Network. Dave is a pioneer and has gotten pretty big in the past year, thanks to a significant distribution deal with Yahoo Finance. Dave deserves his success. His team runs an absolutely incredible resource. I reference Seeking Alpha along with Etfinvestor not only in my book, but in my practice as well.
I had a friendly meeting with Nevin Adams recently, editor over at Plan Sponsor magazine. Plan Sponsor recently put out a magazine called Plan Adviser which had a launch party at Django in New York City. Nevin also writes Plan Sponsor Perspectives, a blog which I enjoy reading.
In terms of personal finance, it’s hard to stray from the Money Blog Network. This site combines the work of six talented bloggers conveniently on one streaming page. It actually reminds me of Seeking Alpha in some of its earlier days. I wonder what the future holds for these guys. Hopefully one day I can sit down and ask them questions about the future of PF blogging. That being said, I do like to click my way around individual blogs as well to get a feel for each writer’s purpose in the blogosphere. I find myself returning often to JLP over at allthingsfinancialblog and FMF at FreeMoneyFinance.
Stock market bloggers are in a world of their own. There are many more stock market blogs than there are personal finance, economics, or business blogs. My current reading list includes John Bethel, Ed Alcidi, Justin Walters, and Ed Kwong
I’ve noticed that housing bloggers tend to be particularly friendly. It’s quite a phenomenon. If you’ve contacted webmasters before, you might notice that the response is totally mixed. Some enjoy e-mailing back and forth, linking, sharing opinions, or even chatting on the phone. Others like to be left alone. The latter scenario is logical considering the internet is a place where one is able to communicate and share opinions in an anonymous setting. I’ve had nice dialogues with Keith Brand, John McLeod, and Anesia Springborn, all of which write excellent blogs.
As friendly as housing bloggers may be, I’ve found that economic bloggers tend to be that much more stuffy. Without elaborating on this, let’s just say that economists have tough skin, even in the blogosphere. However, they write some of the most informative and thought-provoking blogs in cyberspace.
I’d also like to give a special shout to Ben Sakhai, a good friend and skilled day trader, and my two brothers over at the Penn Group. They have made this blog possible.
Thanks to all!
Russell Bailyn
Wealth Management
Premier Financial Advisors
14 East 60th St. #402
New York, NY 10022
212-752-4343 *31
Securities and certain investment advisory services offered through: FIrst Allied Securities, Inc., a registered Broker/Dealer. Member: NASD & SIPC. Premier Financial Advisors, Inc. is a Registered Investment Advisor. First Allied Securities & Premier Financial Advisors are not affiliated entities.