NASDAQ OMX Inc., the world’s largest exchange company, has launched an iPhone application that prominently incorporates content from StockTwits, a service that aggregates Twitter messages by traders and investors about stocks and other securities.
The move is another wake-up call to investor relations departments that they cannot ignore social media or dismiss its role in the investment information ecosystem. StockTwits messages are already included on a limited basis on Bloomberg, while Yahoo! Finance includes blog posts aggregated by Seeking Alpha.
While the NASDAQ QFolio application is currently available only to iPhone users, its launch may be a precursor to wider deployment of StockTwits messages on other NASDAQ Internet properties, including the popular Nasdaq.com site, which attracts 500,000 monthly visitors according to Quantcast.
Unique features likely to make app popular
As it stands, I expect NASDAQ’s app to quickly become popular because it includes features that other free iPhone apps do not, including real-time quotes and pre- and after-market data for all U.S.-listed stocks.
NASDAQ says the QFolio app “is designed for the average novice investor to the active trader.”
In reference to StockTwits, the exchange says in its description of the app: “Want to know what others are thinking about a stock? Read ideas from real investors in real time using the built-in StockTwits feature.”
The StockTwits messages are accessible in the app in main two ways:
1. Via a StockTwits button. This allows the user to view the full StockTwits stream or search for messages about a particular company.
StockTwits is prominent in the app. Touching the StockTwits Button opens the "All" commentary stream.
Users can also search for StockTwits discussion about any company.
2. From the company quotes. For each company, the app provides quote and chart information. By swiping the screen, users can also access the StockTwits stream for the company and pre- and after-market data, as shown in the screenshots below for HP.
The main company pages include real-time quote data and a chart. By swiping the screen horizontally, users go to the next screen, which is the StockTwits stream.
The StockTwits stream for HP, accessed by swiping the screen horizontally from the quote page.
At this point, StockTwits should be on the radar of every company with a U.S. stock market listing. As StockTwits grows, expect them to add more countries and secure agreements with other services and exchanges.
As I wrote recently, the free StockTwits Desktop software provides IR departments with powerful ways to monitor what is being said about them on StockTwits and a wide range of other services.
Dominic Jones (bio) created IR Web Report in 2001. He is a consultant to leading public companies and investor relations service providers worldwide. You can contact him via the contacts page.
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