Agoracom Blog Home

Archive for the ‘Web 2.0, 3.0, ...’ Category

AGORACOM Announces Online Gold And Commodities Conference, December 3-4, 2009

Posted by AGORACOM at 3:30 PM on Friday, November 6th, 2009

Earlier today, we proudly announced the launch of our online conference initiative.  We’re starting off that initiative with a bang via our first ever official online conference – The AGORACOM Online Gold and Commodities Conference.  Given the price of gold, oil and other commodities, our timing could not be better.

PRESENTING COMPANIES

The conference will focus on emerging small and mid-cap resource companies who will present by invitation only and are required to have demonstrated excellence through a combination of one or more of the following:

  • Experienced management
  • Proven reserves via 43-101
  • Strong prospective projects via publicly announced drill results
  • Balance sheet strength
  • Imminent or actual production.

We are limiting the total number of presenting companies to 50.  Currently, over 25 companies have committed to the conference, leaving approximately 25 spots available.  Presenting companies will be active in industries that include precious metals, base metals, rare metals, oil & gas and clean energy technologies.

REASONS TO PRESENT

1.   A built in audience.  Last year, AGORACOM attracted over 1.3 million investors, 7.9 million visits and generated just under 100 million page views. (Full Story).

2.  AGORACOM content partners include GlobeInvestor, AOL, Yahoo Finance and every Blackberry device on the planet.  (Full Details).

3.  Conference presentations will be posted and tagged on the biggest finance and social media sites on the web.

4.  Present to a global audience, not a local audience.

5.  Our keynote speaker lineup is a killer.  See below.

6.  The price.  Contact Us. You will love it.

7.  Your investment.  No travel, hotels and other hard expenses.

8.  Your time.  No time away from work or home.

9.  Your online strategy.  You need an online strategy that extends beyond a basic web page. (Top 10 Reasons Online IR Will Surpass Traditional IR)

10.  Fill in the blank.  I am sure you have at least one great reason.

REASONS TO ATTEND

1.   Participate in a high-quality conference in which you get to watch presentations, interact with CEO’s / IRO’s and listen to great keynote speakers from home.

2.  That’s it ….

3.  … and it’s free  (Register here)

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

A conference is not complete without investors having an opportunity to hear the views of great keynote speakers.  I can tell you that I am simply blown away by the quality of our speakers and so proud they have elected to speak without any form of compensation.  They Our line-up of speakers already includes:

For complete bio’s and links to their work, please visit our keynote speakers page.

That’s all for now folks.  Look for a lot more information over the next 30 days.  Otherwise, save the date and see you there!

Take Me To The Conference Home Page

Regards,
George

AGORACOM Launches Online Conferences For Small-Cap And Mid-Cap Industry

Posted by AGORACOM at 2:19 PM on Friday, November 6th, 2009

Good afternoon to you all.   I am proud to announce that AGORACOM is once again pioneering the online small and mid-cap space by launching online investor conferences.  Moreover, we’re launching the initiative with the AGORACOM Online Gold and Commodities Conference on December 3rd and 4th. 

WHY ONLINE CONFERENCES?

The Logical Unstoppable Trend

The fact that the web delivers information faster, better, more conveniently and more cost-efficiently than traditional vehicles is clear to all of us.  For example, traditional powerhouse media companies (cable and print) that used to generate ridiculous revenues and profits have watched their businesses nearly evaporate over the last 24 months as consumers turn to the web for news, information and entertainment.  AGORACOM itself has caused a massive paradigm shift in Investor Relations by creating a 100% pure online investor relations firm.  Looking forward, you can bet the farm this shift to the web will continue unabated for any medium that is built on delivering information.

As such, it makes perfect sense to create online conferences that eliminate all hurdles to participation.  Now, both retail and institutional investors from anywhere in the world can fully participate by watching presentations and interacting with CEO’s / IRO’s.  Geography, time, travel and money are no longer an issue.  Public companies, on the other hand, can now present their stories to a global audience vs. a local audience – while saving tens of thousands of dollars in hard costs, time and energy.

Best of all, company presentations now have a shelf life that can be measured in months, not days by being hosted on the web.  Search engines will also make sure those presentations continue to reach targeted audiences long after the online conference is complete.

The Irrefutable Data – Retail Investors

Is all this just self-serving lip service?  First, consider the fact that AGORACOM attracted 1.31 million visitors, 7.9 million visits and generated 96 million page views last year.  Small and mid-cap investors are clearly getting their information online.

Second, an AGORACOM survey of investors revealed the following:

  • 59.4% of investors do not find conferences to be valuable and get all of their information from the web.
    • 62% of this group stated they get all of their information from the web, as their primary reason
    • 24% of this group stated they would not take time away from work or family as their primary reason
  • 52% of investors believe there will be fewer (but better) conferences.

In another AGORACOM survey in which over 1,000 investors participated, we found that 78.3% of research into new small-cap investments comes from the web.

The Irrefutable Data – Institutional Investors

An IR Magazine Think Tank of Canada’s 40 leading IRO’s recently met and concluded that Twitter and Blogs are now the primary information source for analysts and institutional investors.

Conclusion

The time has come for an online conference provider to service the needs of the small-cap and mid-cap industry.  AGORACOM is proud to pioneer it and we look forward to having all of you participate.

Regards,
George

Armada Data (ARD: TSXV) Reports Record October Results From CarCostCanada.com Division

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:29 AM on Thursday, November 5th, 2009

(ARD:TSX-V)

Great news from one of our most recent additions to the AGORACOM 100.  The Company’s flagship website CarCostCanada.com experienced the highest traffic, sales, revenue and profits of any October in the division’s history.  This is fresh off the heals of the company’s announcement last week about record Q1 results and an increasing dividend.

As always, assume I am horribly conflicted by the fact Armada is a client – but I love the fact that we have found a Web 2.0 company with real products, clients and revenues.  Web-based companies that can execute by delivering cost-efficiencies to both consumers and business stand an excellent chance of delivering shareholder values for years to come.

There are no guarantees that Armada (or any company) will do that but a combination of both record financial results and record online results is a great start and an even better reason to follow this company closely.

With respect to today’s press release, highlights include:

- CarCostCanada.com new membership sales up 85% versus Oct/08

- Google AdWords and Toronto Star campaigns continue to drive success

- Highest traffic, sales, revenues and profits of any October in division’s history

- Car companies recognizing quality of visitors and increase ad spend

Click on link below to read entire press release:

Nov. 4, 2009 - Armada Reports Record October Results From CarCostCanada Division

Link to Hub / Link to Profile / Link to Forum

Congratulations to Paul and the entire team.

Regards,
George


Armada Data Joins AGORACOM 100 With $2.15M In Revenues And 3 Consecutive Years of Profitability

Posted by AGORACOM at 4:22 PM on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

(ARD: TSX-V)

I am extremely proud to announce that Armada Data (ARD:TSXV) was added to the AGORACOM 100 today.  Why? Because Armada Data is one of the few web-based companies on the TSX Venture Exchange that is actually enjoying great commercial success.  The company has real products, customers, revenues and success.  For example, within a couple of hours of signing Armada Data, I learned that a couple of my employees and our attorney had successfully used their site www.carcostcanada.com to help determine dealer invoice prices on cars they were interested in buying over the past 12 months.  You should also know that 26 Canadian insurance companies use their services, including 8 of the 10 largest.

I’ve provided some highlights about the company that you need to know below.  As always, assume I am horribly conflicted by the fact ARD is an AGORACOM client and do your own due diligence.  The info below should give you a great running start.

DESCRIPTION

A profitable web-enabled Automobile Information Services Company providing accurate and real-time pricing data, to institutional and retail customers on a fee-for-service basis, through developing, owning and operating automotive related websites such as www.carcostcanada.com and providing information services to its clients.

CONNECTING CAR BUYERS AND DEALERS AT THE CHEAPEST PRICE

What does that mean in layman’s terms?  First, let’s talk about the side most of you can relate to – the Retail side.  Via www.carcostcanada.com the company provides consumers with an opportunity to determine dealer invoice pricing on up to 5 different vehicles.  In return, consumers pay $39.95 for a monthly subscription until they presumably decide on a vehicle.  Moreover, the site will actually direct you to dealers that are willing to sell you your precise vehicle for invoice + $500, so that eliminates the need to haggle with dealers. That is a HUGE benefit to consumers that need to save money, get their information quickly via the web and close a deal quickly without having to visit 3 different dealers for a few weekends.

The bonus? The dealer also pays Armada Data a referral fee for saving them the time and expense of having to acquire a new customer.  Anybody not see a service like this only growing in demand over time? Now you know why I love this company and why I believe it has real potential for long-term success.

STREAMLINING INSURANCE CLAIMS

26 Canadian insurance companies, including 8 of the top 10, use Armada Data’s claims outsourcing service that serves to streamline the claims adjustment process.  The company advises that insurance companies save over $1,000 per claim.  Assuming insurance companies will still like the idea of making money in the future, I am going to assume they will only increase using the service over time – unless a better competitor comes along.

THE NUMBERS

It all sounds impressive – and we’re all used to hearing great stories out of small-cap companies – so let’s check the numbers.  For the year ended May 31, 2009:

  • Overall revenue grew from $1,732,944 in 2008 to $2,157,900 or an increase of 24.5%
  • Declared it’s first dividend of ½ cent per share.  A dividend.  That is not a typo.
  • Reported it’s 3rd consecutive year of profitability with net income of $0.01 per share

Increasing top line, dividends and sustained profitability.  True, the numbers aren’t massive but they are very healthy.   More importantly ….

…. THE FUTURE

I like the company for two reasons.  First, it has a proven track record of execution and has reached commercial success given its widespread use on the retail side, as well as, a client role of pretty much every major insurance company in the country.  You just don’t get to this level unless you’ve proven to customers that your products work and are valuable.  If Armada Data can get through the due diligence process of the insurance industry, I am going to take that as all the evidence I need about their products.

Second, what is perhaps even more important is the fact that the trend is their friend.  More people are using the web than ever and we all know that is going to grow.  Yes, the total number of people using the web will technically saturate in a few years – but that is only where this story begins, not ends.  Why? Web use can currently best be described as “wide”.  That means a lot of people are using the web to mainly do the basics.  Surf, network, watch some videos, etc.

However, we are now in the process of web use beginning to go “deep”, meaning that mass group of people is going to incorporate the web further into their lives.  We won’t just research, we’ll be buying more.  We won’t just browse, we’ll be buying more.  We just won’t watch, we’ll be interacting more.  We are going way beyond the desktop and onto mobile.  Having dinner conversation and want to know about real estate prices in a certain area?  You’ll bring it up on the web.  Talking to your buddies about buying a car and need to figure out which one best suits your budget?  Build it and price it on  www.carcostcanada.com before your coffee is done .

CONCLUSION

This is just the way the world is going to go and companies like Armada Data have an opportunity to be the Kings of their space.  Remember, AGORACOM is a Web 2.0 company and look how far we’ve come in just a few short years.  Now think about where we will be in a few years.  There is no stopping the deep web, so you would be well advised to find some companies that will benefit from it.  I think Armada Data is well worth your consideration and I hope this post has provided you with a great starting point.

Armada Data Joins the “AGORACOM 100″ & Launches Online IR & Marketing Program

Link to Hub/ Link to Profile/ Link to Forum

Regards,
George

“Twitter and Blogs Have Taken Hold As Primary Sources Of Investment Information For Analysts And Institutional Investors”

Posted by AGORACOM at 9:31 AM on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Image coutesy of Engadget

Image coutesy of Engadget

If you’re a small to mid-cap CEO and still having doubts about the power of online investor relations, then you need not look any further than this quote which came from 40 IROs who gathered at the TMX Broadcast Centre recently in Toronto for the fifth annual IR Magazine Canada Think Tank.

One of the day’s most popular discussions was about social media, with evidence starting to show that Twitter and blogs have taken hold as
primary sources of investment information for analysts and institutional investors.
Think tank participants discussed how they’re using
social media technology for both internal and external audiences, and how they’re monitoring social networks for information about their
own company as well as their peers.

Yep, that is a light bulb going off in your head.  Analysts and Institutional Investors are primarily turning to the web for investment information.  Still want to ignore online investor relations?

This is officially the 50th post I have made under my Small-Cap CEO Lessons category, which now means you have 50 irrefutable reasons to conduct online investor relations.  In a nutshell, it is bigger, faster, more efficient, more cost effective, more effective and provides you with a far greater ROI than traditional investor relations.

Regards,
George

Intertainment (INT: TSXV) Subsidiary Closes on Purchase Of Dye & Durham Print and Graphic Asset

Posted by AGORACOM at 4:51 PM on Thursday, October 1st, 2009

AGORACOM client, Intertainment Media, has been making a lot of news lately.  Financing, strategic alliances, mobile, U.S. expansion and – today- a big acquisition by its fine commercial printing subsidiary.  The highlights are below.

As a client of AGORACOM, assume I am horribly conflicted about Intertainment and take a close look at the recent news + today’s news yourself.  I love gold and resources right now – but responsible investing means diversity and you all know how much I love Web 2.0.  Intertainment by far is Canada’s leading small-cap Web 2.0 company, which is why I’m starting to get really excited about the company’s future.

In the meantime, here are the highlights from today’s news, as well as, a link to the full release and other relevant links.

  • Intertainment closed on an agreement previously announced to acquire the print and graphic assets, print and graphics clients, programs and equipment of Dye & Durham, a division of The Cartwright Group Ltd., a leader in serving the legal, professional and business markets in Canada for 135 years.
  • Today’s Acquisition further establishes Magnum (a wholly owned subsidiary of Intertainment Media) as a leader in the graphics industry, building on the trusted service that it has provided clients for almost 25 years.
  • “This acquisition marks a major milestone in the development and growth of Intertainment’s divisional business strategy, integrating traditional businesses into co-operative online and conventional revenue models,” said David Lucatch, CEO of Intertainment Media Inc. “Both increased revenue and the added expertise of Al Monteath will enable Magnum to accelerate its online and on-demand graphics services business, increasing efficiencies and customer benefits, while dovetailing directly into other Intertainment platforms, including itiBiti, providing clients with both online and direct response business solutions.”

Intertainment Media Acquisition Update: Magnum Fine Commercial Printing Closes on Dye & Durham Print and Graphic Asset Purchase

Intertainment Media Inc. IR Hub

Intertainment Media Inc. Profile

Intertainment Media Inc. Discussion Forum

Regards,
George

AGORACOM Site Upgrades – June 23rd 2009

Posted by AGORACOM-Andreas at 11:00 AM on Monday, June 29th, 2009

Good morning to you all.  As you know, we made some significant changes to the site a few days ago.  These changes were implemented for three reasons:

  1. To give you faster access to the great content found on our blog, daily TV show and other content. Many of you limited your experience to specific company HUBS, so it was incumbent on us to give you one click access from those HUBS
  2. To help you make your user experience even better by providing you with a list of usability tips.
  3. To provide you with additional ways of consuming our content.  For example, following us on Twitter, watching our videos on YouTube, etc.

To this end, please find enclosed answers to the all important question …

What Changes Were Made To The Site?

  • All updates being pulled into Recent Updates Section on Hub’s Home Page

The Recent Updates Box is the box that allows members to quickly view important changes to the HUB.  In the past, we only listed big items such as press releases.  However, given the fact so many members contribute so much more great content (photos, link library, changes to management, etc.) we’ve now upgraded the box to incorporate ANY update made to a HUB.

What you don’t know is this is going to be a very important part of our mobile and Web 2.0 strategy over the next 2-3 months.  Specifically, the more active a group of investors within a HUB, the more information about their company that will be going out to the iPhone, Twitter and other channels that we are building.  More details will be released throughout the summer.

Conclusion – you now have even more ways to get the word out about your HUBS (client and free) and greater incentive to get active on AGORACOM.

recent-updates

  • New Algorithm for Vice President, President and Hub Leaders

With our New Upgrade. it is now a requirement that a member holds a minimum rating of 3.0 to attain the rank of Vice President, a minimum rating of 3.3 in order to attain the rank of President, and rating of at least 3.7 to attain the status of Hub Leader within AGORACOM.

We had to implement these changes to make sure the highest ranking members achieved their status from more than just activity points. The rating of fellow members is the ultimate differentiator.

The rank changes are mathematical and objective, and have been applied to AGORACOM retroactively, meaning some of you may have lost a rank. We look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions about your rank.

To this end, you can read the specifics about our rating and ranking system by visiting http://agoracom.com/help-center/ratings-and-ranks.

The Our sites page allows frequent visitors to our site as well as new ones to discover new ways to interact with the AGORACOM Community through other popular Web 2.0 media. Want to keep up with us on Facebook? Download our daily show into your iPod? Watch our videos on YouTube?

Visit the Our Sites page and connect with us through your secondary Social Media of choice.

our-sites

Additionally please find links to our other Investor Portals; EuroIR for our many visitors from Europe, and China Securities for those who are looking to invest in fast growing Chinese companies listed on North American exchanges.

For your convenience, we have added a page with brief video tutorials about how our site works. We hope this helps new members of AGORACOM familiarize themselves with our sites many functions and features.

Moreover, this should help current AGORACOM members  who may have gotten used to using just a few features of the site and will be happy to discover additional great tools to make their user experience even better.

  • Content at the bottom of messages for non-members (not logged in)

For those who visit AGORACOM to simply read material but don’t log in to post information, we have added the following content and hyperlinks at the bottom of each message. Now, you have a plethora of options to consumer our content through various web sites and social media tools.

find-us-here

  • AGORACOM Quick Tips box located at the top right hand navigation in all hubs

agoracom-quick-tips

The Quick Tips box offers members and visitors great insight about our sites features, content within our network,  or even some important albeit quick facts about the AGORACOM 100.  Quick tips rotate with every new page or refresh.

  • AGORACOM Daily TV Show box located at the top right hand navigation in all hubs

AGORACOM Small-Cap TV is a daily, fast-paced, edgy report that we broadcast daily at or before the open of trading. AGORACOM Small-Cap TV strictly reports on the best small cap and micro cap news of the day in 3-5 minutes. Many of you weren’t aware of this again due to the fact that many members confined their activities to particular HUBS.  Now, you have one-click access to it.

You can watch AGORACOM TV right from our home page . Or you can watch our show right as it airs at 9:30 by clicking the button in the image below.

watch-our-show

  • Reformatted Daily TV Show box on front page featuring the networks our show streams from

In addition to watching our show on our homepage, you can now enjoy our daily broadcasts on your favorite video site; or if you are a blogger, embed our shows into your content using any of the networks below our TV player.

tv-show

Once you use the site for a couple of hours, you’ll see the changes are actually quite small but important from a user experience point of view.

Message read and the Next Message Button

We understand that messages you browse through using the “Next” and/or “Previous” buttons in list view aren’t properly designated. While it is a minor inconvenience at the present time our site developers are still working on a solution. Please continue reporting any issues however minor they could be. If it’s a bug we would very much like to tackle it.

We would like to thank our members who have contacted us over the past few days addressing this issue. Your input has been very important to us.

Thanks again to everyone for their recommendations over the past 3 months and for your help over the past couple of days!

Regards,
George, Paul and The AGORACOM Team

Reverse Merger 2009 Presentation – Now Live!

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:44 AM on Friday, June 26th, 2009

rmc09_logo_500x49

AGORACOM was once again a proud sponsor of the Reverse Merger Conference held this year at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, June 11 & 12. I presented the Web / Online Investor Relations Speaker Workshop called, “Using Web 2.0 To Conduct Investor Relations and Gather Intelligence through Blogs, Twitter, iGoogle and RSS Feeds…But What Are They?”

The workshop was the initial step in teaching bankers, fund managers and public companies about the advantages of  incorporating social media into their intelligence gathering to cut through clutter, get the information they need and connect with the smartest people on the planet.

Despite the fact it was the last presentation before lunch, the room was pretty full and – more importantly – alive with audience participation.  In order to avoid the “he’s the internet guy and I could never do what he does” syndrome,  I brought industry stalwart and early Web 2.0 adopter David Feldman of the Reverse Merger & SPAC Blog.  David discussed his overwhelmingly positive blogging experience, which opened up the floor to some great questions from the audience.

I am happy to announce the presentation (audio and power point slides) has now been webcast for everyone to listen to and benefit from.  If you couldn’t make it to Las Vegas, or were at the Conference but need a refresher, here it is.  For your convenience, I have broken it down into 2 parts:

  • My presentation
  • The Q&A with David Feldman

You can watch the presentations below and then ask any questions by posting them to the comments section.  I hope you find the presentation and Q&A as valuable as the audience members at the Reverse Mergers Conference.

As promised, I will follow this up with 5-minute presentations on how to use Twitter, iGoogle and Blogging.  Look for them to begin in a few days.

PART 1 – MY PRESENTATION

PART 2 – THE Q&A WITH DAVID FELDMAN

PREVIOUS KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS

If you enjoyed these presentations and want to watch other keynote presentations I have made at DealFlow Media Conferences in the past 3 years, please have a look at the following:

PIPEs Conference 2008 – Best IR Practices During Market Turmoil

PIPEs Conference 2007 – How To Use The Web To Find New Investors And Turn Them Into An IR Machine

PIPEs Conference 2006 – E-Mail Is Dead. How To Conduct Great IR In A Web 2.0 World

Regards,
George

AGORACOM Content On The New GlobeInvestor Beta Site (Part 2)

Posted by AGORACOM - Mitch at 3:55 PM on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Last month we announced GlobeInvestor.com was undergoing a major site redesign.  Well, we’re happy to announce that more of our content found its way onto the pages of the new GlobeInvestor beta site!  This time, on a new section called  “Commodities”.

You can see our horizontal content brick as you scroll down the page.

I’ve also included an image of it below:

GlobeInvestor Commodities

GlobeInvestor Commodities

picture-31

Stay tuned!  Our content partnership with GlobeInvestor will be expanding even further and you can expect to see a few more changes in the next 30 days.  In fact, that’s where I am today!

We’ll update you as they go live.

SIGNIFICANCE TO THE SMALL-CAP INDUSTRY

As mentioned previously, this development is significant to both our clients and the small-cap industry in general.

Why?

GlobeInvestor.com and ReportOnBusiness.com are the online business and investing arm of the Globe & Mail, Canada’s national newspaper.  This is the Wall Street Journal of Canada.

It is where all investors, both retail and institutional, go to find investment ideas. How many investors? 3rd party traffic services say the number is approximately 950,000 unique visitors per month, though we’ve heard the number is bigger.

Add this all up and you have the small-cap industry coming out of the shadows and into the mainstream. The web now provides quality small-caps and mid-caps with a chance to finally be judged on meritocracy, while pushing scam stocks further into oblivion. This represents a major shift in market efficiency, which was once significantly out of balance by choosing to simply ignore all emerging companies.

Good news for investors. Good news for quality companies. Good news for content providers such as GlobeInvestor.com. Win-Win-Win.

Regards,
George


Small-Cap CEO Lesson: “Fast Beats Big” – Rupert Murdoch

Posted by AGORACOM at 4:04 AM on Sunday, June 21st, 2009

I was going to get all deep, philosophical and Web 2.0 on you – but its too early on a Sunday morning.  Besides, Rupert Murdoch sums it up pretty good below.  Remember, this is a “big” guy telling you that “fast” is better.  If I had to apply it to your investor relations, I would say:

  • Communicate Fast – Don’t rely on press releases. Start blogging, tweeting, etc.
  • React Fast – Listen to your investors today. This minute. Not at your AGM.
  • Respond Fast – Once you’ve listened, respond and engage.
  • Adopt Web 2.0 Fast – You can’t do all this via phone and e-mail. Think 1:Many, not 1:1.
  • Adopt Mobile Fast – No point in delaying the inevitable.

rupert-murdoch-view-on-world

Regards,
George