Communication is clearly the life blood of any trading organisation, you only have to ask anyone in the city to realise this. It is vital for them to have open channels of communication with others and be connected to the latest business information. This information tends to come from a great deal of sources, including mediums such as press releases, business statements, cable news channels and many more. However, because the world of finance often moves faster than a speeding bullet, traders need to get the latest information from a wide variety of sources, and they need it now. Twitter is something that has been used by the masses for a few years now and according to the National Australia Bank (NAB) has recently caught the eye of traders who are using it to get info from the horse’s mouth.

Twitter, which is known as a micro-blogging site, allows users to update their profiles with posts of a maximum 160 characters. What this means is that posts have to be to the point and not include small talk, which according to Trevor Keen of the City Trading Union in NY “is exactly the kind of information traders want”. Users within a certain niche, such as the alpha wire sector, can follow other Twitter members who they want to receive updates from, and can themselves be followed. There is very little that is still local when it comes to city trading these days and often businesses and individuals need to stay connected to lots of other people around the world, who may be working in different time zone. This is made possible via Twitter, which allows various information and media outlets to communicate and feed off each other, often supplying information as it develops and without bias.

Because there is a function that allows users to send and receive private messages via Twitter, some parties believe that it could possible used for insider trading. Although supporters such as this cable ties business are quick to point out that this was always possible via email and the real power comes from the ability to alert hundreds of thousands of people publically, which of course can be monitored for underhanded dealings if necessary