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sites are independent,<br />
supervised by voluntary moderators<br />
and sponsored by various big names in FX, while others<br />
are run by brokers and lead members towards a specific<br />
way of trading. MoneyTec and FX V-room are both<br />
independently run FX networking websites.<br />
Branded <strong>com</strong>munities<br />
However, sponsored <strong>com</strong>munities in FX are beginning<br />
to appear, which are taking the lead from futures and<br />
equities-based sites like Motley Fool, states Hayel Abu-<br />
Hamdan, head of business development at MIG<br />
BANK. “Engaging in a <strong>com</strong>munity is a dialogue,<br />
where much of the content is not actually created by<br />
the <strong>com</strong>munity sponsor. The traditional banking<br />
model struggles with the ceding of control that<br />
successful <strong>com</strong>munities demand.<br />
“However there is no denying the growing popularity<br />
of <strong>com</strong>munities like Facebook, LinkedIn and eBay,<br />
and to stay out of <strong>com</strong>munities is arguably a riskier<br />
option than engaging with them,” continues Abu-<br />
Hamdan, who adds that a branded <strong>com</strong>munity may<br />
be the way to go for many looking at the value of a<br />
retail FX networking site, rather than an<br />
independently-run system.<br />
Kyle Cottrell<br />
“Retail FX traders can learn more from the social<br />
networking format, from other people’s mistakes,<br />
successes and different trading styles...”<br />
>>><br />
“Any branded <strong>com</strong>munity will need to be overseen by<br />
a <strong>com</strong>pany man, and their role will be to stimulate<br />
debate and monitor for negative sentiment and<br />
engage to resolve such sentiment. The value to the<br />
<strong>com</strong>pany of a successful <strong>com</strong>munity is the customer<br />
lock in that this creates because once a customer has<br />
created a network in LinkedIn, it be<strong>com</strong>es hard for<br />
them to move to Plaxo,” he concludes.<br />
Currensee’s Lemont notes: “The forums, such as<br />
<strong>Forex</strong> Factory and FX Street, provide information and<br />
education, but it’s difficult for a trader to know who<br />
to trust. Currensee provides transparency; traders can<br />
see the real trades, performance and strategies of other<br />
traders, connect with traders with similar trade<br />
strategies and learn new ideas through collaboration.<br />
Traders want to understand what makes one trader<br />
more successful than another. This learning can only<br />
be discovered through collaboration via real trades<br />
and performance data,” says Lemont.<br />
Take it to the broker<br />
Lemont says in order to join Currensee, members create<br />
an account that links directly to their brokerage<br />
account. Currensee creates a secure connection to the<br />
broker, so that trades are recorded as they happen and<br />
are shared with the member’s trading friends in real<br />
time. Members can also elect to share their performance<br />
creating reliable transparency in the <strong>com</strong>munity.<br />
Most financial social networks that exist today are in<br />
the forum or discussion board space, or outside of the<br />
january 2010 e-FOREX | 123
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