Right Out of the Gate - Who I Follow on StockTwits & Twitter

I recently received a question on Twitter asking about any suggestions I had on how to get started with trading. I felt that a blog post would be a more appropriate format to answer this question because it would allow me to elaborate on who I follow and why I follow who I do as, as well as allowing me to provide some personal experiences.

I think before you just start hitting the "Follow" button, though, you ought to do something a little bit more introspective. You first need to define who you are as a trader. I know this can seem all but impossible to do especially when you're first getting started. I understand. It was the same way when I first started. And no one is saying you have to commit yourself to any particular trading strategy this minute, but try to have some type of understanding of your trading personality, risk tolerance, and time commitment (the amount of screen time you're able to dedicate each day). You then have to determine what type of trading product(s) best reflects you. Trading products include equities, options, fixed-income, futures, forex (currencies), and automated trading. Each of these particular products have their separate nuances (for example, index vs equity options, direction-based option strategies or income-based option strategies, etc.). I would venture out and say most people first land on equities because they're probably the most familiar, and some then test out other trading vehicles. I would suggest that you don't attempt to be the so-called "Jack of all trades, master of none" especially when you're first beginning. Experiment with different products but don't jump around too much at first to the point where you never give yourself the chance to fully appreciate a certain trading vehicle.

Once you've landed on a trading product, you then need to determine what type of trading style you're going to employ. You must make sure that this style is congruent with your time horizon as a market participant as well as your overall risk parameters. If you have a very short-term time horizon, then trading intraday or swing trading probably better reflects this time frame. If you have a very long-term time horizon, perhaps using some type of trend-following, technically-based strategy would be best for you. There are just tons of different types of trading styles, from growth investing to value investing to trend-following to momentum trading to swing trading and even scalping. I know this may seem overwhelming, but, again, understand this: no one is expecting you to fully commit yourself to a specific product or trading style tomorrow. In fact, you shouldn't do this. Take the necessary time to learn and develop yourself as a trader/investor. It's different for everyone, but I would say give yourself at least 12 to 18 months to get over the learning-curve. This isn't to say a year into your education you're going to be handed the holy-grail of trading by this omniscient being from the heavens. There is no pinnacle in trading. It's a never-ending journey. Fortunately, though, social media such StockTwits & Twitter can help shorten this learning-curve if used correctly.

Ok, so once you have completed this introspective exercise, you can then begin to click that forever-alluring "Follow" button. What I've done below is listed some people I follow on StockTwits and Twitter and why. This list isn't meant to be exhaustive; if you like, you can simply follow who I follow, but that's up to you. Also, if you're going to follow someone on Twitter, I'd recommend following them on StockTwits as well, and vice versa. I don't intend to speak for anyone or their strategy. I'm simply offering my opinion on who I follow and who I'd recommend for a newer trader to follow. Each person has their individual trading strategy and time frame, but I feel the list below is a good representation of who I listen to on a daily basis. In no particular order, here you go:

• T3Live.com - the educational arm of T3 Trading Group. Notable contributors include @RedDogT3Live @SperlsT3Live @LazT3Live @Levayco_t3live @MikeLeeT3Live @RichAt3live @DarsieT3Live. Plenty of educational content here for different strategies and time frames, including daily market analysis videos before and after the close. This is where I first started. 

• Brett Steenbarger @steenbab - one of the most prolific bloggers in the trading community via his renowned TraderFeed blog. From trading psychology to market structure analysis, @steenbab is a must-follow for any market participant. 

• Brian Shannon @alphatrends - Just yes. Follow. Pure and simple. He was one of the first people I followed when I started. He uses "unbiased technical analysis" and lives by the self-proclaimed mantra that "Only price pays." His number one concern is risk management and playing defense when it comes to the stock market. Click the Follow button right now. 

• Jon Boorman @JBoorman - a magnificent trend follower. The simplicity with which he trades is a thing of beauty. Completely transparent with his trading performance. Tweets out what he's watching regularly. He focuses on price and blocks out the noise. A gem. 

• Joe Fahmy @jfahmy - combines growth and catalysts along with the price action. I don't think there's been a post of his I haven't retweeted. I absolutely love when he does his Weekend Video segments, providing some insight into what he sees in the market and how he's approaching things. Another must-follow. 

• David Blair @crosshairtrader - systemically follows the price action in the market and individual stocks through his self-developed process. He's constantly tweeting out charts that he's watching or that have triggered a proprietary trading signal. Embodies the need for simplicity in trading. 

• SMB Capital - hands down, some of the best short-term traders I know. They're a proprietary trading firm in NYC. Their trading blog is one of the most valuable places to gain insight into how a professional trader thinks and acts (I've actually contributed to their blog as well: http://www.smbtraining.com/blog/author/jhuska). Even if you're not a short-term trader, their philosophy of elite performance is applicable to any developing trader. SMB contributors (and co-founders) include @sspencer_smb @MikeBellafiore. 

• Jerry Khachoyan a.k.a. The Armo Trader @TheArmoTrader  - A day trader who focuses on what's moving and in play. He's always on top of breaking news and economic data. I've traded with Armo before, and in my experience he's one of the nicest guys and equally as good of a trader. Also a big NBA buff. 

• Ben C. Banks @BenCBanks - a fellow teenage trader like myself. Describes himself as an equity momentum trader. An inspirational story of a young investor navigating the market. 

• J.C. Parets @allstarcharts - a pure chartist. Focuses on what price is telling him, develops good risk/reward setups that make sense to him. Simple enough right. Also a big Miami Sports fan.

I hope this blog post serves as a good starting point for newer traders. If you have any further questions or comments, please just let me know in the comments section below. You can also follow me on StockTwits and Twitter.