Mr. Silvers and All;
I found this out there in SI land and thought you all might like it.
Jerard P
#4190 on the "Lizard King's Trading Swamp" thread, under "Short-Term Traders."
From: Mark M. Schulz Wednesday, Jan 28 1998 5:29PM EST
...By the way, here are a few pointers about False Prophets of the Internet....
In the investment world, there are so many ways to pick up ideas on a stock to
purchase. You can spend hundreds of dollars a year on newsletters. You can listen to
the confident words of a broker. You can read investment magazines. Unfortunately,
many times, by the time you get the information on a stock from a newsletter, broker,
or magazine, many other investors have already taken up their positions and may be
selling to you as you buy.
In my opinion, stay away from brokers, investment magazines, and newsletters. All
these agencies, like the vacuum cleaners salesman, have a vested interest in having you
buy the stocks they recommend. You would do much better by getting your initial
picks from real friends on the internet in such investment bulletin board sights as Silicon
Investor or Motley Fool on American Online. Warning: Be Careful who you choose as
your friends. Make sure they are really your friends!!! There are many false prophets
and hypsters on investment bulletin board sites. You will need to test these people to
see if they are hypsters or false prophets.
How can I know if someone on an investment site is a false prophet or not? Here are
some signs.
1.A false prophet is very knowledgeable about the stock he follows and is always
bullish.
2.A false prophet frequents only one thread on an investment bulletin board, or may
follow a group of stocks from a certain sector...(example, desert dirts on Silicon)
3.A false prophet will sometimes encourage you to take possession of your shares, to
stop the Market Maker who is supposedly shorting the stock.
4. A false prophet tries to play the Market Maker as an evil force who wants you to
sell your shares to him at a lower price.
5. A False prophet encourages you to hang in there as your losses mount.
6. A False prophet is receiving payment from the gods of the company, or has a large
position at a low price in that particular security...
7. A False prophet has a following of people who praise him for his expertise. Many
times one or two followers that frequent the same thread are personal servants of the
False prophet. He gives them insider information, so that they can take up their
positions before press releases occur.
8. A False prophet talks of future stock prices that are unrealistic. The prophet quotes
prices of $20.00, $50.00 or $100.00 a share. He loves to play on your emotion of
greed.
9. A False prophet has a group of Followers that are blindly loyal. Before they know
it, the false prophet has dumped his shares while they are buying, and he then offers
them up as a sacrifice....They are left holding an empty bag.
10. A False prophet suddenly disappears from a thread, and moves on to another
stock, either under a new alias, or by the same title.
How do I find a true prophet, or a real friend, who is not interested in himself or just
promoting a particular stock?
1.A true prophet frequents many different threads on a particular investment bulletin
board.
2.A true prophet can be both negative and positive on a stock.
3.A true prophet is retired or has another full-time job
4.A true prophet shows a humble spirit, and is always trying to help out others.
5.A true prophet is right 60% of the time on his picks and wrong 40% of the time. |
