Why Do Markets Move? |

This entry is part 7 of 58 in the series Social Strategies

The economy has disrupted traditional economics and is fueling the need to change business strategies and methods. Most importantly the foundation of how we view markets must change.

Social media is adding fuel to the fire of market movements based on the influence of a new market. The market created and moderated by the people.

Previously a post attempted to cover the relevant and relative issues of “How Do Markets Move?“. However even if we understand “how” not understanding “why” does not help put current market conditions into perspective.

If markets are moving we need to understand why, what and how they are moving. We can be behind, follow or ahead of the market. The choice is ours.

So Why Do Markets Move?

Markets are influenced by opinions. Today everyone has been empowered by the web to express their opinion about anything and anyone. Google’s real time search now displays opinions in real time based on whatever topical or person search criteria we seek from the “universal library”. Good, bad and indifferent opinions used to influence us via old media models and limited channel distribution. Today that model has been disrupted by the empowered masses whose opinion now influences markets more than the markets influence the masses.

Omar Hague writes: Why Controversy Won’t Power Next-Gen News ” One of the new competencies the news media is going to have manage is opinion arbitrage. In an era of media production devolved to the masses, everyone can finally express their opinion. So publishers will have to learn to, to put it crudely, buy opinion low and sell it high.”

“To play the opinion arb game, news publishers have to stop seeking simply the most controversial opinions. They’re abundant: every talking head can churn one out, and faux “news” of every kind is already chock full of ‘em shrieking at one another. Instead, successful opinion arbitrageurs must seek the most informed opinions, gooey with expertise, thick with real value for readers.”

Those opinions are worth the most — and they’re what readers will pay for.

“Controversy, in contrast, is worth a great deal only in terms of low-value readers. Your average radical libertarian Ayn Rand-worshipping global warming denialist isn’t exactly a high-value reader — just like your average patchouli-sniffing communistic hippie isn’t, either. Both are unlikely to pay for new information, because both think they know it all already. It’s the market in the middle that’s worth the most; they have the highest propensity to consume new stuff: “new”s.”

“Opinion arbitrage is really the game of setting the terms of a better, more meaningful debate — one that imparts readers with deep, enduring knowledge. That’s what the Financial Times and the Economist, among a select group of others, have excelled at — and it’s what’s powering them to the top of a moribund industry.”

Knowledge Will Create New Markets and Move Old Ones

Social technology is fueling meaningful topical debate amongst peers. These debates impart new knowledge and learning initiated by the crowds. You can see the intent of these conversations are relevant to learning how, what, where, when and why people seek information. The flow and organization of information is becoming more powerful on a daily basis.

Google’s real time search and Twitter list are but just two examples of how information is being aggregated into intentional context which makes finding information more relevant to the market. Vetting the information is still a time consuming task but technology will advance and enable us to find new knowledge in less time. As Omar suggest content in context is what provides readers with deep, enduring knowledge that is relevant and relative to advancements that create new markets and transform old one.

Why do markets move? They move because people use knowledge to create new markets and transform old ones.

About Jay:
Jay Deragon’s professional career includes providing strategic management consulting services to Fortune 500 companies as well as local small businesses. He has consulted with numerous industries spanning over 25 years of professional experience globally. His current professional endeavors are all centric to the disruptive nature of the social web. He writes at Relationship Economy and provides social media strategic services to businesses large and small. Jay Deragon is an avid student of the emerging landscape of all things social and the subsequent impact on business dynamics. Since 2004 Mr. Deragon has been actively studying, sharing and learning how business as unusual is changing business methods, models and relationships. Life is a journey and the experiences along the way provides learning that furthers the experiences if we know how and what to learn. for more info go here http://www.relationship-economy.com/?page_id=2

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