Reading Roundup (XVII) - Newsflash: Nerds Read Blogs, Telerate's WebStation, Niche Blog Authors Can't Make a Dime

Articles I've recently read with my comments in italics, and other miscellany:

50 Million Americans Visited Blogs During the First Quarter 2005
["Of 400 of the largest blogs observed, segmented by eight (non-exclusive) categories, political blogs were the most popular, followed by 'hipster' lifestyle blogs, tech blogs and blogs authored by women." Political nerds, gadget nerds, nerdy nerds, and lady nerds. "Compared to the average Internet user, blog readers are significantly more likely to live in wealthier households, be younger and connect to the Web on high-speed connections." i.e., blog readers tend to be spoiled (nerdy) rich kids.]

This morning I went to talk with the folks at Telerate (I guess I should say Reuters now) to see about getting a feed at home. They apparently have three products: Telerate (which costs about $1000 a month), Telerate Asia (about $500 a month), and WebStation (about $375 a month). The first two require dedicated lines, which may be a pain to set up, but the last one, WebStation, is an internet-based product that was pretty nice. It was first launched in April 2002 and they're now up to version 3.1 (I think it started at 2.0).

The interface has tabbed sheets (unlimited) that you can set up any way you want (drag-and-drop customization). It has real-time DDE to Excel (which is essential for me). Their data universe is impressive, basically every market in every country is covered (specifically, 4.5 million instruments and 200 exchanges worldwide). I was pretty pleased after fooling with it for an hour or so at their office. WebStation is slick and not that expensive considering what you get. There's not much choice among the high end: just Bloomberg, Telerate, and Thomson (ILX Systems).

I'm not sure if I believe in the idea that focused, niche blogs will kill off the mass media. The main problem is that the person writing the niche blog has to get paid. Poverty level wages are around $3000 a month (OK, I have my own definition of poverty), which would mean $100 a day in ad revenue. To make at least $100 consistently a day in ad revenue I think you'd need tens of thousands of visitors a day. How many blogs, even the best niche blogs, are getting that kind of traffic?

Remembering Great Bear Markets: British Pound, 1981-1986

I thought it would be fun to feature some of my favorite historical charts every week. Having enjoyed a constantly rising Pound during the two years we lived in London (timing is everything), it's sobering to think about the 1981-1986 period.

British Pound, Weekly Chart, 1981-1986