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AGORACOM Launches Wicked iPhone App For Small Cap Stocks and Investors

Posted by AGORACOM at 2:39 PM on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Good afternoon to you all.  I am very proud to announce the launch of the AGORACOM iPhone App – and it is wicked!  First, as you can see from the screen shot above, our development team did a great job of creating an elegant and functional interface.

Second and most importantly, it provides small cap investors with powerful information in the palm of their hands.  No matter where you are, you are never out of touch with the small-cap world thanks to the following amazing features:

  • Headlines – The best small-cap headlines of the day are posted every morning and as they happen throughout the day.  We even break it down by industry, including the best news out of the Chinese small and mid-cap space.
  • Videos – AGORACOM Small Cap Videos have been watched over 300,000 times and are now available right on your iPhone. Why do small-cap investors love our videos?  Every morning we produce AGORACOM Small Cap TV, AGORACOM Small Cap Gold and Resources TV and Chinese Small-Cap TV to provide investors with a daily, fast-paced cutting edge show delivering the best small-cap news of the day.
  • Blogs and Tweets – We share some pretty powerful information via our multiple blogs and twitter accounts, so for those of you that follow us, you aren’t skipping a beat.  For those of you that haven’t caught on to blogs and tweets yet, the information is nicely and conveniently compiled in the palm of your hand.
  • AGORACOM Mobile – Feel the need to read and/or post to your favourite HUBS on AGORACOM.  Click on AGORACOM Mobile and go straight to the log-in page to get you started.  For those of you that aren’t AGORACOM members, you can surf anonymously, or log-in using your Facebook account (more about that in another announcement)

Overall, we’re really happy with the first version of our app and you can expect us to keep adding new features over the coming months and years.

WHY MOBILE? …. WHY AN IPHONE APP? …. WHERE TO?

In case you are asking yourself about the importance of mobile and, specifically, an iPhone app, look for answers no further than our announcement earlier this year that Mobile Devices Drive 16,000 Visits To AGORACOM in August.  The iPhone accounted for 75% of all mobile visits (yeah, that surprised us too)

Also, people now spend as much time on mobiles as reading on newspapers and magazines. We’re extremely confident that mobile is going to dwarf newspapers and magazines going forward for the simple reason that your phone gives you information as it happens, not the day after.

Moreover, look for a Blackberry App (to compliment our existing Blackberry content partnership) and Android app to follow in Q1 2011.  Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of 4 AGORACOM Members, (Cylinder and AlsoFromSudbury) we won’t be developing a Palm App … we calculated it would be cheaper to simply buy each one of them an iPhone 🙂

In the meantime, please download our iPhone App and provide us with your feedback, as well as, feature requests for our next upgrade.

Do you want your small-cap company to be featured on the AGORACOM iPhone App? Need to create your mobile / online / social media IR strategy?  Contact me to discuss your needs and how we can solve them.

Regards,
George

Posted in AGORACOM Mobile, AGORACOM News And Events, All Recent Posts, Web 2.0, 3.0, ... | 3 Comments »

According To 60 Minutes, Each US State Is A Fiscal Banana Republic

Posted by AGORACOM at 9:57 AM on Monday, December 20th, 2010

Good morning to you all.  The fiscal crisis at the US Federal level is well-documented but – outside of the most astute readers amongst small-cap investors – many are unaware of the depths of financial despair faced by almost every US State.

Don’t feel left out any longer, we’ve got the following 60 Minutes clip that you need to watch over hot cocoa in these next few days.  After watching it, you may have to crank that up to Eggnog.

Most importantly, make sure you take these facts into consideration when planning your finances in 2011 and beyond.  Further money printing is going to have an impact on the US financial scene, the price of gold, etc.

Hat-tip to Eric Jackson Via Twitter

Regards,
George

Posted in All Recent Posts, Gold $2,000, Inflation / Deflation, Silver $30, US Economy | Comments Off on According To 60 Minutes, Each US State Is A Fiscal Banana Republic

AGORACOM Small-Cap Videos Break 300,000 Views, Dominate Search Engine Results

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:57 AM on Friday, December 10th, 2010

Good morning to you all.  I’m very proud to announce that views of AGORACOM videos have surpassed 300,000 since we first began broadcasting daily shows, client interviews and other great small-cap video content.  This is great news for clients and the entire small-cap industry because it proves up yet another effective, efficient and low-cost way to communicate with current shareholders and potential investors.  See my comments below on why connecting with shareholders via video is critical.

AGORACOM Videos are broadcast on more channels than we can count but here are just a few of them:

What is even more encouraging is the fact that video views are accelerating for the following reasons:

  • We’ve added on more shows.  We’ve grown from AGORACOM Small Cap TV to AGORACOM Small Cap Gold and Resources TV and Chinese Small Cap TV
  • Each show has become it’s own stand alone channel on sites such as YouTube, BlipTV, Yahoo Video and other sites.
  • We’ve made our daily shows timely and relevant by releasing them between 9:30 – 9:45 AM EST every morning right after the open.  This consistency creates the kind of reliability investors like.
  • Our daily videos provide great value to small-cap investors.  How? We filter the hundreds of small-cap press releases issued every morning and report on the best 1-5 of the day.
  • We’ve integrated all the videos into our social media streams on Twitter, Facebook, StockTwits and other avenues
  • We’ve made our videos extremely search engine friendly by adding accurate descriptions and customized info for every show.

DOMINATING SEARCH FOR “SMALL CAP VIDEOS”

As a result of our hard and meticulous work, search engines are starting to reward us for our efforts, which only leads to more exposure amongst small-cap investors.  For example:

  1. Google Video – We hold all top 10 spots for searches of “small-cap resource stocks“
  2. YouTube – We dominate the entire first page for searches of  “Chinese small cap stocks“
  3. Google Video – We hold 4 of the top 10 spots for searches of “small-cap videos“
  4. Google Video – We hold 6 of the top 10 spots for searches of “small-cap gold stocks“
  5. YouTube – We hold the top 10 spots for searches of “small-cap resource stocks“

INCORPORATING SKYPE INTERVIEWS WITH SMALL-CAP CEO’S

We are so focused on the importance and relevance of video to the small-cap industry, that we’ve recently begun incorporating Skype Video interviews into our programming.  Again, the premise is to get small-cap companies and investors connecting with each other immediately after the release of material news.  Expect to see this grow significantly in 2011.

WHY IS VIDEO SO IMPORTANT TO SMALL-CAP COMPANIES?

One of the greatest problems faced by small-cap companies, even the really good ones, is the lack of connection with investors beyond issuing press releases.  As a result, investors have no loyalty to you if business simmers down for a while because they’ve been trained to only react to good news.  As we all know, that simply isn’t possible for most small-cap companies.  All of you go through slow and dry periods for various reasons.  Even when business is going well, you often have to wait on the next big sales contract, drill result, etc.  God help you if the wait is longer than expected.

As such, connecting with investors creates a personal relationship that buys you the time to execute your plan.  Video is an excellent connector because it allows you to communicate as openly as possible without actually standing in front of shareholders.  Investors love video because watching facial expressions and body language is the next best thing to strapping you into a lie detector.  It also makes shareholders far more likely to share what you have to say because video beats boring text.

If you’re a small-cap company and don’t have an online video strategy yet, I suggest you start thinking about one.  Alternatively, call us and we’ll take care of it.

Regards,
George

Posted in AGORACOM News And Events, AGORACOM Small-Cap TV, AGORACOM Traffic | 10 Comments »

Copper, Platinum, Palladium Futures

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:30 AM on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

CHARTS UPDATE: EVERY MINUTE

Welcome to the AGORACOM Copper, Platinum, Palladium Prices Page. We created this page to give members a convenient way of viewing price action without having to leave the site.   As you can see, we’ve amalgamated charts from FinViz.com, a great site that we recommend you visit.

We’re also happy to provide:

ONCE YOU ARE DONE REVIEWING PRICES …..

You may want to discover these great junior resource companies with great Copper Projects. Yes, they are clients, so assume we are horribly conflicted.  Now go take a look at their projects and partnerships … you won’t regret it.

In addition, you will also want to have a look at presentations from our previous AGORACOM Online Gold & Commodities Conference (December 3rd and 4th, 2009). Keynote speakers included Peter Grandich, Paul Kedrosky, Barry Ritholtz, Eric Coffin and Gregor Macdonald!

Posted in Commodities & Indexes | 1 Comment »

Test

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:58 AM on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Posted in All Recent Posts | Comments Off on Test

AGORACOM Launches Small Cap Investor Blog For Best Member Posts

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:38 AM on Monday, November 29th, 2010

Good morning to you all. I’m happy to announce that we have launched our Small-Cap Investors Blog to celebrate, highlight and share the amazing information posted by AGORACOM members within HUBS. AGORACOM has grown into the best online small-cap community on the basis of quality over quantity by combining:

  • An Amazing Reputation System – Members Get Promoted Through A Combination Of Activity and Rankings By Fellow Members
  • UGC (User Generated Content) – Members Post Photos, Videos, Presentations, Analysis
  • An Amazing Wiki-Style System – Promoted Members Can Edit Information, Delete Offending Posts, Ban Offending Members

OUR MEMBERS DESERVE TO BE ROCK STARS

As a result, our members are simply generating amazing content that far surpasses what is typically found at other small-cap communities and needs to be shared with the rest of the world. How are we going to do this? Glad you asked. Great member posts are going to proliferate in the following streams:

  1. AGORACOM Front Page – Check Out The Widget Now Appearing At AGORACOM.com
  2. AGORACOM News Flash – Daily Breaking News Posted On Every AGORACOM Page
  3. Twitter – We’ll Be Launching A Twitter Account That Publishes Every Post
  4. Facebook – We’ll Be Including Every Blog Post Within AGORACOM Facebook
  5. iPhone – Our iPhone App Launch Is Imminent and Our Members Blog Is Already Included!

Regards,
George

Posted in AGORACOM Members, AGORACOM News And Events, All Recent Posts, Small Cap Community Buzz | Comments Off on AGORACOM Launches Small Cap Investor Blog For Best Member Posts

Michael Jordan – The Highlight Reel Begins At Preparation (Video)

Posted by AGORACOM at 7:04 PM on Sunday, November 28th, 2010

“Failure gave me strength.  My pain was my motivation” – Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan pulls back the veil in this video to teach us that greatness has more to do with preparation than DNA.  Watch and learn.

If you like these kinds of motivational pieces, click on the “life” category at the bottom to see my previous posts.

Regards,
George

Posted in All Recent Posts, Life | Comments Off on Michael Jordan – The Highlight Reel Begins At Preparation (Video)

Paul Kondakos Stepping Down From AGORACOM

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:38 AM on Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Good morning to you all.  With mixed emotions, I am writing to advise that Paul Kondakos is stepping down from AGORACOM on November 30th after 10 years of dedication to the creation of the best small-cap community on the web.

I founded AGORACOM 13 years ago and turned it into a great little business that benefited from the rise of Web 1.0.  In 2000, it became clear to me that AGORACOM had the potential to become something great – but I would need someone great to help me get there.  The first and only person I turned to was Paul.  We had already known each other for 10 years up to that point and worked side-by-side building a powerful Hellenic Students Association at York University in the early 90’s.  I counted him as one of my best friends – and it didn’t hurt that he had earned himself an MBA and law degree in the mid-90’s.

The next 10 years saw us work side-by-side creating “AGORACOM 2.0”.   We knew we had an uphill battle competing with incumbent finance sites already well ahead of us in the space – but didn’t count on being hobbled by the dot-com burst, Enron, Worldcom, 9/11 and the ensuing invasion of Iraq.  Suffice it to say, new business was hard to come by.

Nonetheless, we worked hard and through the night on too many occasions to count.  We prevailed and AGORACOM grew to achieve success from a member satisfaction, traffic, business and recognition point of view. It was a great and remarkable ride.

I said mixed emotions at the outset because – as AGORACOM now embarks on its next stage of growth and development – it will be hard to imagine not having Paul around.  He’s wicked smart and his skill sets are a perfect complement to mine.  You can’t just replace that.

On the other hand, I’ve always known that Paul doesn’t / can’t stand still.  10 years in one place (other than his family) is probably at his outer limits, so his resignation doesn’t come as a surprise. He is an entrepreneur and craves the challenge of new business.  As such, I am happy for him and know that I don’t have to wish him luck in achieving his next success.

Regards,
George

Posted in AGORACOM News And Events, All Recent Posts | 1 Comment »

Loving How Skype Video Is Being Used To Replace “Via Satellite” Interviews

Posted by AGORACOM at 2:18 AM on Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Latest Jim Rogers interview regarding Ireland financial mess is informative for investors – but provides me with even greater validation for AGORACOM Via Satellite.

If you’re a small-cap CEO, grab yourself a webcam and a Skype account as we step on the accelerator with this one .

Regards,
George

Posted in AGORACOM Via Satellite, Small-Cap CEO Lessons, Web 2.0, 3.0, ... | Comments Off on Loving How Skype Video Is Being Used To Replace “Via Satellite” Interviews

873,000 Investors, 50 Million Page Views On AGORACOM Year To Date

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:02 AM on Friday, November 19th, 2010

Good evening to you all. As most of you know, I like to share AGORACOM traffic data on a regular basis and today is no exception.  I was a little distracted for the quarter ended September 30th and with things getting back to normal around here, it was a good time to report on our traffic.

I’m pleased to report that the number of visitors (873,000) visits (5,820,000) and page views (50,000,000) to AGORACOM remain very strong despite a couple of extraordinary matters this year compared to last year, which I will discuss further below.

Please find enclosed a Google Analytics shot of our traffic year to date (January 1, 2010 – Nov 17, 2010)

The continued strength in our traffic can be attributed to the following reasons.

1. Social Media

We have really turned on our social media efforts in 2010, which have resulted in:

SOCIAL MEDIA IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT TRAFFIC

Furthermore, we’ve worked hard at cross-promoting our social media channels AND providing a variety of content on each. If you’re a small-cap company that is simply creating Twitter and Facebook accounts to post press releases, you are simply wasting your time (Beware Of ….  The Rise Of Social Media IR “Experts” a.k.a Pretenders)

Cross-promote and differentiate so that investors have options to consume what is most important to them.  If you can’t do this internally, call me.

2. Cross-Promoting Great Content

We recently introduced a “News Flash” feature that allows us to provide investors in every corner of AGORACOM with breaking/important news as it happens (both small-cap specific or macro-market related). As a result, investors that may be focused on a particular HUB or group of HUBS on AGORACOM no longer feel as if they are missing important news.

Click-through analysis shows these are a big hit with AGORACOM visitors and a good reason to both keep returning to the site and consuming our content.

3. Great Platform

Small-Cap Investors continue to flock to AGORACOM thanks to what we believe is the best small-cap community platform on the web. By providing Wiki and UGC tools to our members, we’ve put significant control into their hands and that has benefited the entire community. From adding/editing/updating content, to self-policing their own HUBS, members have created a small-cap community that is more informative and cleaner than any other small-cap site on the web. It isn’t perfect – but it is as close to perfect as you can get using today’s technology.

DECREASE IN PAGE VIEWS

On the flip side, we have seen a decrease in page views over the same period last year that can probably be attributed to two items. First, one of our busier HUBS was Freewest Resources which was acquired by Cliff’s Natural Resources in Q4 2009 after a long and bitter battle with Noront Resources, which also happens to be a very busy HUB on AGORACOM.  As such, with Freewest being taken over, we haven’t had the benefit of page views for one of the prominent players within the Ring Of Fire, nor have we had the benefit of the debate between two very busy HUBS.

Second, as a result of our OSC matter, several of our high-profile client HUBS have been put on hold, leading to page view losses there as well.

Nonetheless, 873,000 visitors and 50,000,000 page views is pretty good for a slow year.

CONCLUSION

Going forward, we’ll be adding further fuel to the fire via the following exciting initiatives:

* Our upcoming mobile push in November, including the launch of our iPhone App and of course our Blackberry partnership

* An expanded content push (Holding our cards close to our chest)

* A greater social media push (Look for Facebook and Twitter integration announcements)

Thanks to our great clients and members for continuing to make AGORACOM the best community platform within the small-cap industry.

Regards,
George

Posted in AGORACOM News And Events, AGORACOM Traffic, All Recent Posts, Online Investor Relations, Web 2.0, 3.0, ... | Comments Off on 873,000 Investors, 50 Million Page Views On AGORACOM Year To Date

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