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Introducing: The Zero Hedge Ombuds(wo)man
One daunting aspect of Zero Hedge is the simply explosive mass of content that the site distributes. On weekdays, and counting only the front page (and therefore only Senior Staff writings and an occasional guest post or two), Zero Hedge publishes between 25 and 35 primary articles per day usually ranging from 100 to over 4000 words each. Our contributors add another 5 to 15 pieces daily, depending on how much is going on in the world, or how much post-close drinking went on the day before. Unlike most finance sites, Zero Hedge also prints content on Saturday and Sunday, as well as market holidays. Last year, on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Zero Hedge was spitting out stories like an unemployed, single, Canadian atheist. Whatever conclusions you might (reasonably) draw about our social lives and sanity when reflecting on these facts, what you cannot but agree with is that Zero Hedge produces a metric asston of original content 365 days a year. (We can say that now that our one year anniversary has just passed).
You may or may not also be aware that no one at Zero Hedge draws a salary. Even members of the Senior Staff, which if you call "full time" 40 hours a week, each work about 2.2 "full time" jobs for Zero Hedge, get no paycheck. The vast majority of our revenues and donations go directly to infrastructure like utilities, internet, system administration, research and filing costs for FOIA, legal research and the like. What remains (if there is any, and many months there isn't) we generally retain in a modest reserve fund in case a server blows up (more and more likely the way you data hungry content gluttons stress our resources), we have to pay for some big legal filing or document production request, or a critical dataset seems worth buying one day. Again, you may draw a number of conclusions from this, including some not very flattering to us from a mental health perspective. If any of the Senior Staff once harbored illusions about being well (or even adequately) paid via their association with Zero Hedge (and actually I don't think anyone harbored such fantasies), they have long since been disabused thereof.
Yet, as of this writing, Zero Hedge is #90 on the Technorati "Top 100" blogs in the world http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/ in the immediate company of sites like Ubergizmo (which lists two founders, a Senior Associate Editor, an Associate Editor, two Contributing Editors, an International Team of five as well as a System Administrator among its staff- which we doubt consists entirely of volunteers), The Lede (A New York Times Blog- though they might be broke by now for all we know), the gorgeous design site, Inhabitat (with a founder, Managing Editor, six Senior Editors, a Business Development Manager, a Communications Manager, two News Editors, an Intern, a New York Editor, thirteen Contributing Writers and a News and Transportation Editor- an indeterminate number of whom command salaries), Autoblog (apparently an AOL affiliated blog- draw your own budget conclusions), EurekAlert (affiliated with the Association for the Advancement of Science which, in addition to a list of donors spanning 10 pages of 5 column, 8 point font, also named 12 donors who gave $100,000 or more in 2008), Funny or Die (backed by Mark Kvamme of Sequoia Capital, among others), The Campaign Spot (a National Review venture- we doubt they are hurting for cash), friend of Zero Hedge Felix Salmon (under the Reuters umbrella), Cato@Liberty (which is quite obviously well funded- though times are tough for anyone to the right of Chavez these days), and Danger Room (Wired Magazine's security technology nexus).
We also share this quartile of the Technorati top 100 with "one man band" (or nearly so) online publications like Political Wire (Taegan D. Goddard's space), Crooks and Liars (John Amato's digital real estate) and Legal Insurrection (Cornell Law Professor William A. Jacobson's legal tour de force), but these are few and far between when the blogosphere altitude gets this high and the digital air this thin.
At this level there are also online outlets that fall somewhere in the middle, like Powerline (run by attorney John Hinderaker et. al) that seem to represent a collaboration between professional colleagues whose full-time occupations might otherwise to limit them to an aggregate of four articles per day, or so. In any event, these online presences are generally run by individuals who seem to have reached a station in life such that their day job permits them a bit of serious daily blogging during the work week. (Certainly, this has the added effect of signaling their expertise to potential clients- an endeavor we fully support).
At the moment, Zero Hedge is also #3 in the Technorati Business section, trading slots in the top five places often with Felix Salmon, Mashable, Calculated Risk and TechCrunch. Usually not far off if not right next to or above us are Naked Capitalism, The Market Ticker, and The Baseline Scenario, Mish's, Business Insider and, of course and dear to my own heart not just because the front page still bears my by-line, Dealbreaker. Here, small, tightly run shops are more common, but well funded commercial sites with numerous paid writers and (often) venture or angel financing behind them (like Dealbreaker, and Business Insider) round out nearly half of the population.
All of this is a long way of saying, it is usually a lot of work and potentially a lot of capital to maintain this kind of infrastructure. Someone pointed out to us yesterday that Wikileaks (which primarily posts uploaded content, rather than creating much of its own) runs on a budget of $200,000 per year- before paying a cent in staff salary.
Still, don't think for a moment we are complaining.
At least among the all-volunteer Senior Staff, we absolutely love what we do, and for some of us it has become more than just an obsession, but a fixation bordering on unhealthy. (As I write the first draft of this post, 4:30 am ET approaches). Most of us hail from the annoyingly-high-paid finance world and the opportunity cost of Senior Staffing Zero Hedge 180% of full time is, therefore, significant. ("Sacrilege" in particular deserves mention here given that, in the face of the brutal battering you ceaselessly inflict on his overwhelmed severs even at 2am ET, I have no idea why he hasn't quit yet). Of course, I would be remiss not to mention our contributors here as well. (Thanks guys and gals!)
But, having waxed poetic on our greatness and accomplishments, it falls to us to admit that there is a Dark Side(tm) to employing a non-professional (read: unpaid) and skeleton crew. We miss quite a lot. Our tips@zh inbox sees about 200-300 emails per day, of which perhaps 15% are penis enlargement advertisements and 25% represent actionable, interesting material. Yesterday between 12:00am and 11:59pm we processed more than 1700 comments. No, that's not a typo. We are hosting over 225,000 comments in total today.
As you will quickly see, it is literally impossible for a newsroom as sparse as ours to cover such a beat. We miss quite a lot of interesting stories. Many reader tips are, if not ignored, simply lost in the static. More significantly, Zero Hedge employs no "Managing Editor."
Unfortunately, Zero Hedge, which was but a small online carve-out lost in a salty sea of Blogger.com foam only 10 months ago, has reached a point where the weight of subject matter we regularly manage requires a bit more care and attention than we have been able to give before now.
It is for this reason that Zero Hedge has retained our first Ombuds(wo)man.
It would not be waterboarding the matter in the least to suggest that Zero Hedge is a literal lightening rod for criticism. Nor would it be out of place to point out that, where it is dismissed, Zero Hedge tends to fall into the "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" bucket. True, we have hit a number of very thin nails on the head (national security exceptions to financial disclosures and AIG balance sheets come to mind). But, to the extent "extraordinary evidence" is the side of that balance sheet that readers (or non-reader critics) find lacking, we are underperforming in the marketplace. This will not do.
The sorts of small details that are likely to escape a writing staff with no formal editors in-house, quite obviously, escape us- as we have no formal editors in-house. Moreover, despite the fact that we maintain a dedicated abuse / legal team (with a dedicated inbox that we monitor pretty closely), most Zero Hedge criticism seems to find root in the pages of other blogs, whose authors do not appear to regard comment from us as a pre-requisite to unfettered publication. Often, we learn of some "cutting" rebuke somewhere in the blogosphere (or even the mainstream media) days or even weeks after its publication. In fact, it seems to be the rule that issues of citation, clerical or even significant factual errors on Zero Hedge play out in public before we ever hear of them. This month (as you may have noticed) has been no exception.
In keeping with tradition here at Zero Hedge, our Ombuds(wo)man is pseudonymous. In fact, his/her true identity is known only to two members of the Senior Staff. In keeping with our manifesto, we believe this will permit a certain savagery that might not be available to a named Zero Hedge critic. We can, however, credit him/her with the following sanitized biography:
- An annoying number of years in Big Law
- A fewer (but better) number in corporate finance
- Several past and present directorships including two with public firms
- Several tedious "scholarly" publications (mostly legal related)
- An intimidating hourly rate (when permitted to run undiscounted)
- A disconcerting affinity for H. L. Mencken
We are still astonished that we are paying so little. Jana spent two hours trying to determine if a decimal point had misprinted.
Though we may regret it, our new addition has unfettered access to the front page of Zero Hedge and can be expected to pen missives in the early morning hours when we are least likely to find them and strike them down. No one is immune, Senior Staff, Authors and Contributors alike.
As if all that were not enough, members of the public can complain (or rave?) directly to the Ombuds(wo)man via email at: ombudsman [at] zerohedge [dot] com
Of course, we will probably try to distract you immediately from this development by unveiling the massive site remake that is Zero Hedge 3.0 early next month. (Though, to our dismay, the site mock-ups appear to include a whole "Notes from the Ombuds(wo)man" section).
Meanwhile, there is plenty for us to do, and the population of our critics just increased by (at least) one.
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Thanks for being the Best economic site , a breath of fresh air . Like they said on Dragnet.... ' Just the facts ma'am.
The thing you guys have to be careful of now is not killing the golden goose. The creators of every successfull formula ultimately end up killing it by trying to milk it for every last dollar. Always keep in mind what has led to your success.
I dont think there is any special "formula", so to speak... ZeroHedge is doing what new firms used to to... Provide unfiltered news coverage.
Right now is a great example. CNBC is busy trying to spread propaganda of "now is a great buying opportunity", which ZH is focusing on the real news of Greece and the Sovereign insolvency issues. As long as they keep reporting the real news while the other news agencies try to keep spreading more propaganda, then ZH will continue to grow.
There are hundreds of truely great articles on this site, but this latest one effects us the most. Please, remember what Zero Hedge is all about. We read becaseu we want the news before it is news, and we want it raw (with a side of sarcasm). Don't ever change this. If you do, you will lose the most precious readers, you will open the door for new Zero Hedge, and you will lose the cachet that the Zero Hedge name has become. You know more than anybody, big business guys and CNBC twits drop ZeroHedge references into conversations just to look smart, even if they don't understand anything. ZH has an aura, don't lose it.
but, speaking of dollars, i tried to buy a t-shirt (black, x-large). all black gone, only white large left. resupply?
Happy Anniversary!
not to mention happy valentine's day. thank you for your excellent work.
congratulations on your first anniversary.
Thanks for being there. We need you.
I need you!
I could not manage without you...
I have always loved you.
-MobBarley
I can't believe you guys don't do more to drawn in donations. Many many people would easily donate some cash to well run campaigns, and not just a one time throw $10 at the site. If there was a strong plan, such that readers have a sense they are creating long term value, they will buy buy buy to retain a site like this operational.
You need a long term plan for a site like this. Even if it is a nonprofit business. I think you are well past people thinking you're doing it for the money.
If you want help with this I have skills in design and marketing, we can discuss.
Thanks for the comment. We have made a very direct and conscious decision NOT to beg for money, do funding drives or otherwise make donations a big part of the site's ambiance. We debated this quite a bit and felt that even sporadic pleas for funds were unseemly. Even our donation link is small, and subtle. It's enough that we have to burden you guys with three banners. Hence our almost apologetic description of the donation product:
No one on Senior Staff expects to get rich with Zero Hedge. That's not why we are here. (Good thing too). We love donations, and they permit us to really expand services, but they are not our purpose.
There are no free lunches. The honor system will prevail. After what we just witnessed perhaps we are building a future where fundamentals are the new norm.
Who likes to read 10K's? Honor will be the commodity to watch flourish later this year. Everything else is going into the toilet. Iran? Chavez? (insert Cartman exit line here) Oil looks like a broken toy.
Thank you.
Never stop this site.
If it ever comes to money, ask once and Im postive we will step up.
But what this site does goes so much further than money... whatever the fuck "money" means now (thats completely changed now, partly because of ZH, thanx!)
Consider a monthly "auto-donation" - maybe those who "subscribe" via the monthly donation get a free T-shirt.
Marla-Thanks everyone at ZH for an awesome site. Paypal does an autopay progam or a one time pay of course(I think nakedcapitalism does that).
Once a year SurvivalBlog does a 10 cent challenge (a day) which =36.50 a year. If Rawles can ask for $36.50 a year, which is paltry, I don't think anyone will die here to be asked that either
http://www.survivalblog.com/tencent.html
-and above all else, you need a snail mail address near the donation button for the tinfoil types that prefer to send concealed cash in the mail. You would be surprised how many people rather do that.
Marla, if you folks won't ask, you won't get. Lets face it, we are lost without direction. If people have to search for the donation button...Well lets face it, I drink a lot and things get real blurry real fast.
Also, why not do an annual auction? I used to make 40-50K for a local charity here doing it by myself a few hours a day for about a 3 week stretch (getting the donated items) then had the auction?
Many of us have the money, but we need direction. Faced between no ZH or a few bucks each a month, we will help.
Hey PAYPAL HATERS.
You also do not have to actually use Paypal. When the Donation Page takes you to Paypal there is an Option to just use a credit card next to signing in to use your Paypal account!!!! You can click on that instead to go to a secure server at Paypal to use your own CC. You do not have to have a Paypal account to use Paypal.
Hey PAYPAL HATERS.
You also do not have to actually use Paypal. When the Donation Page takes you to Paypal there is an Option to just use a credit card next to signing in to use your Paypal account!!!! You can click on that instead to go to a secure server at Paypal to use your own CC. You do not have to have a Paypal account to use Paypal.
i don't trust them, i don't want to get near them. they are corrupt.
market ticket, denninger's is almost nazi, very uncomfortable in that forum. but it has a plan and that is a start. different tiers of status, length of time posting, how often. it is not cheap. i don't like all the bells and whistles, ZH you are the new gonzo journalism. HST would be proud.
Feb 12, 2010 14:38 ESTFelix Salmon The marriage of Figaro and paywalls
Because of lack of trust in the system i would prefer to send a money order. Yes a snail mail address would be welcome.
I too would contribute.
Snail mail +1
I fear Paypal and the cookies on the ads
i just want to give green bucks, like haiti. we don't need more damn t-shirts littering the landscape.
marla i have long wanted to donate but can not come to use palpay. do you have any alternatives, straight cc's use. i am in for $100.00.
We debated this quite a bit and felt that even sporadic pleas for funds were unseemly.
Unseemly?? Why? PC?
I'm tired of the Rockefeller notion that good people in the truth business need to be impoverished in order to be viewed as credible, dragging five dead horses through four feet of snow, oh the horror of it all..how I admire.....
This is not your typical variety colored blog with inconsistent content and non related commercial content... "Hydro Seeds from Bolivia"this is one of the most comprehensive efforts on the spider highway.
Just for the hell of it,,if ZH has 9000 posters/contributors@$10.00 each well......That should buy replacement jugs for the cooler ya?
Don't be shy about it, I cling to the private contention that I'm getting my monies worth when I pay my ISP bill,,,believe me... Go for it..
My contribution for that $10.00 is on it's way...besides I need to cut back on my Grey Goose intake
I almost forgot....
It's been a good year!!!!
How about readers pay back ZH. If you like the article, *click* an ad. If you REALLY like the article, *click* 2 ads. It only takes a second of our time, and it will help ZH.
Biff
Let me start with a question. Do people exceed the speed limit when driving?
Sure they do, yet I could not reliably reconstrust a single example sufficiently to get a citation issued....after a while it all becomes a giant shitstorm of vague impressions, ya know?
There's a lesson here. While zerohedge does an extraordinary job of reporting details on an everyday basis, there's an overarching coherence that it (along with everyone else) lacks. What were those Money Market rule changes? Why should Friedman be in jail? Is commercial real estate about to implode? What the hell did Dick Fuld say before Lehmman collapsed? (I could do this all day).
That coherence void is, I think, the opportunity for zerohedge. Quarterly reports is just one example of something that could greatly boost revenues (either through direct sales or subscription). The most important things, with a little time perspective. Something that has a traceable theme as opposed to a collection of snapshots. Most of the work is already done, you just need someone to stitch it together.
In my opinion, that would sell better than hats...
Double Plus, Double Plus that for me.
And a glossary of terms that defines things that you guys talk about daily - your second language - as in the things that are NOT covered in your current glossary of terms. I'd buy that.
Or maybe you could just do an English translation/summation at the end of each post, available only to subscribers.
BTW - ZH is the only truthful media organization out there as far as I can tell. I've re-framed my life/lifestyle as a result of the understanding this site has delivered to me, and it has served me WELL.
I am sure you folks get lots of enjoyment from doing what you do - but you also need to understand that you are HELPING regular folks out in the provinces make better decisions, and therefore have better futures, as result of your efforts. We are eternally grateful to you. Your cosmic Karma is building daily. That's goodness.
Please keep going. We need you. We need it in clear language that we can understand (Ombudsman - are you paying attention? Lawyers can over complicate the $hit that we need broken down to us. We're products of free, public school edumacations.)
Keep it straight and to the point and do not edit the color commentary.
ZH TV Marla, take it to the masses!!!
The masses will soon be primed and ready for the
truth!
ZH TV... Now THERE is a brilliant business model!
Not sure whether Tyler or Marla would opt for matching his and hers paper bags to place on their heads, or perhaps marionettes? I'VE GOT IT! Paper bag hand puppets !!! AWESOME !!!
If this isn't on the verge of being rolled out in ZH 3.0, we may need to rethink the launch data and strategize accordingly.
All joking aside, Tyler, Marla & Co., thanks you for everything, and best of luck moving forwards.
Unscarred
With fast paced organ music as intro...
I'm not that easy to please......But that was funny...
Hey Marla. It's okay to get an auto-donation program going. This community is value-driven, and expects no free lunch. If such a program began to do more harm than good, you could cancel it, or we would stop donating. Simple as that.
nhsadika, I was thinking the same thing. While I appreciate Marla's response, maybe someone can come up with a creative solution to drive funds to ZH. Whether it be a guest post, or contributor post, or a legitimate drive ran through an external site (or none of these as it is 2am on Sat morning and my creativity has left the building) surely something can be done. Calling on someone with a creative neuron or two left to come up with something. Here is your first donor. No ideas, than I will just click on the small "dontate to zero hedge" button and hope others do the same.
you know, if you guys became a bank holding co you could belly up to and suckle from the scrummy delish taxpayer trough!! worth a shot, eh? ;)
srsyly tho, i remember when you were just a wee bloggy, complete w/ a certain cretin spamming up your boards. now you're an elegant, erudite, magnificent force to ne reckoned with. happy anniversary, darlings.
you know, if you guys became a bank holding co you could belly up to and suckle from the scrummy delish taxpayer trough!! worth a shot, eh? ;)
srsyly tho, i remember when you were just a wee bloggy, complete w/ a certain cretin spamming up your boards. now you're an elegant, erudite, magnificent force to ne reckoned with. happy anniversary, darlings.
lol - w/cetin *still* spamming up their boards.
little sucker gets points for tenacity...
RE: your post, marla, while you shouldn't have to beg, some of need reminding that it's been a while since we changed the oil...
I owe you guys a few too. Thanks for the good work.
Congratulations!
From my side of the screen you guys & gals of the non existent shrubbery have gone from taking just a few casual minutes of my time a week last summer to eclipsing all the other sites I used to read. You are devouring hours out of every day to keep up with all this news. It is good to hear how many comments you are fielding, I'll try to cut way back on that, 1/4 a million a day is madness!
(PS - donated $50, and bought a hat & t-shirt, should keep the servers running for all of 10 minutes!)
+1000 Thanks so much to all who run this site and those who contribute - both articles and comments, both supporting and contrarian.
Best of luck with your 'growing pains'!
Now if there was only a way to contribute without using Paypal... Guess I will have to just click on a few banners :)
In response to that there are a few viable options such as Propay.
Congratulations and my deepest thanks.I love this site and it's mission.
You are deeply appreciated.
Of course, truth has a particular power.....
Great job to all and keep it up!!!!
Congrats and thanks. I have read at least 90% of the articles posted on this site over the last 6 months and it's exhausting reading them, I can't imagine how difficult it is to research and write all of them. I know I speak for all of us frequent (read compulsive) visitors when I say thank you, your work is extremely appreciated. Keep up the great work.
+ 100
It only takes me 8 seconds to type and post one of my snarky, sarcastic and impulsive comments. I can't imagine the time required to create and contribute something truly factual and worthwhile.
Thanks and we do dearly appreciate your efforts at keeping us informed.
While you explain the nature of your operation how you function with only minimal funding and a skeleton crew, I am unable to reconcile what I see on my screen each day (multiple times per day) and the few resources working behind the scenes. It is truly amazing and a testament to your passion and enthusiasm for what you do and you should know that it is truly appreciated.
While I've received a terrific education from ZH the past year or so, I can still only understand perhaps 40-50% of the concepts discussed here.
Hopefully, a year from now, I can get to at least 60%.
Happy Anniversary and thank you again.
Thank you for all that you have done to expose what is happening daily in our world of obfuscation. You are my go to web site everyday, several times a day.
In not begging subliminal suggestion - well - suggests that it's time for some people to ponie up to keep - expand - traffic flowing.
It's our fault that you are scrambling to get union leadership to renegotiate upgrade labor. If we kept our mouths shut ZH could continue quietly down the righteous road. And we screwed it up. And we should consider not a bailout but perhaps a e-mini TARP. In other words we are going to need dry ice in the coming few weeks to understand and observe what economic fallout looks like. JiffyPop Time!
Respect is earned. Will take subliminal message to heart. Chin straps everyone. This Chinese New Year could be the most fascinating ever.
Happy Valentine's Day to "unemployed, single, Canadian atheist" whoever he/she is :)
Congratulations ZH on your anniversary! Thank you ZH for being a beacon of light in a dark night.
Just got off my butt and bought a hat.
Thanks to all y'all.
Another great example of leading by example. This site provides some of the most dynamic reporting and discussion anywhere. I look forward to seeing this addition to ZH in action. Thanks.
Congratulations and thanks for all the hard work. I feel at home philosophically at ZH and I very much enjoy being a part of it. I am amazed at your success and I appreciate your drive and dedication that is getting you to the top. May riches rain on you.
ROCK ON!
Zero Hedge is one of the few sources of verifiable information in an ever increasing world of propaganda tailored to suit the current regimes.
I'm gonna finally convert some of my remaining FRN's into some ZH swag instead of 9mm and Au... GOLD BITCHES!!!
PS: Ever think of having NWTM make some Zero Hedge Silver Coins for ya'll to sell?
Subliminal begging worked. You're welcome. Thanks for the sleepless nights and pseudo-education in international finance.
there *is* a certain masochism to keeping up with ZH, isn't there...
never thought of it that way... i probably need professional help.
Thank you Zero Hedge. A previously ill informed person coming to shool here daily.
Either dropping the "c" was intentional, or that was one of the more ironic events I've observed in a month...
;-)
+1
I am absolutely proud to claim ZH as the best website on the internet. I still haven't figured out if you guys are some kind of COINTELPRO outfit or what - it's too good to be true.
Thank you, in so many ways.
The quality & volume of Ed. work is mind boggling!!
The quality of blog comments is unsurpassed!
Great stuff ...
Y'all RULE. And I believe that you know it. Kudos.
Totally awesome! Welcome aboard ombuds(wo)man. I hope you enjoy the rather musing and often times redundant rants. We totally enjoy ourselves here, as freedom allows, thank god, for us to be ourselves, as much as we can be. As normal, we insomiac engrates who jam the servers, will be here all hours of the day and night. Hey! I'm not calling anyone out, just repeating the facts as only Marla can stand us. Learning SHOULD BE FUN!
Again, welcome and thank you ZH and crew for all you do! May all who lurk here be blessed and be a blessing. I feel it, don't you?
For me, visiting ZH is addictive.
I am so grateful for this oasis of focused conversation and learning.
Here, I have access to all the important discussions of the day, carried on by the most intelligent group of individuals who populate this premier financial and philosophical salon. Even the trolls have a touch of class.
Thank you.
I think it's time I bought a ZH t-shirt. Too bad I don't have a job...
Congratulations on such meteoric success in your first year. Though it hasn't yielded you and your team the cheddar to pour gallons of crystal over the asses of hoochies whilst flashing your grills, you fight the good fight and the unwashed masses are listening in greater and greater numbers.
You guys make a difference.
I've never been so hooked on an information source as ZH.
I hadn't donated until now, but will do so today.
>>>We can, however, credit him/her with the following sanitized biography:
- An annoying number of years in Big Law
- A fewer (but better) number in corporate finance
- Several past and present directorships including two with public firms
- Several tedious "scholarly" publications (mostly legal related)
- An intimidating hourly rate (when permitted to run undiscounted)
- A disconcerting affinity for H. L. Mencken<<<
From a voracious lurker who seldom posts...I think I'm in love...or is it bromance???...LOL.
nmewn
Don't trust in Technorati, its a scam like Snopes.com
They will pull you the instant you cross the line just like Whatreallyhappened.com was. Many good sides never get rank as some operator fudges whatever they don't like.
Your #1 with anyone awake and aware. Keep it up.
Still want to bang Marla.
My favorite source for information. Thanks
One year ago I sadly confess that I would turn on Squawk Box or Bloomberg first thing in the morning for 'the news'. Now I leave my TV off and head for Zero Hedge. I have even mastered the art of shaving before a computer terminal instead of a mirror!
Who's Jana?
Saw that too...
It's Ya-na (ph).
Thanks for all the great work!!!
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Winston Churchill
I just sent in my modest 3 digit contribution. I urge everyone else who can to do the same, or better (surely madhedgefundtrader can part with a few grand, mere lunch money to him). Congratulations on your anniversary, and keep up the ground-breaking work. Zero Hedge is a remarkable accomplishment, and it is one of a kind. No one else comes close (well, maybe Denninger on a fully-medicated day approximates the same level of righteous, but still fully rational, indignation).
i adore how that old fart express himself.
I donate $10 a month to FreeRepublic. Not much, but it's something. I'll start the same for Zero Hedge today.
Thank so much for everything you do. If you ever need help from a non-big law, non-finance, simple person let me know. I can at least shovel your walk or something.
Ombuds(wo)man -
"The truth is that neither sex, without some fertilization by the complementary characters of the other, is capable of the highest reaches of human endeavour. Man, without a saving touch of woman in him, is too doltish, too naive and romantic, too easily deluded and lulled to sleep by his imagination to be anything above a cavalryman, a theologian or a bank director."
In Defense of Women - H.L. Mencken Lest we forget from wench we come.
Remember to shave those pits Marla.
Would you really kick her out of bed if they were fuzzy? Your loss.
Thank you thank you.
What a difference you guys have made in a lot of sanities this past year.
Congratulations!
You know what would make it even better? Approve my account, so I don't have to be anonymous! A little help over here... that would be nice!
Thanks!
Thank you all for this site. Zero Hedge discusses finance at a higher level and in far greater detail than I had previously known, or, understood. Anything ZH can do to include a few sentences (here and there) in the educational realm for those not trained or experienced in the details of the credit markets, would be much appreciated.
I find the credit markets more and more interesting, as that's where the "adults" seem to trade in "the real world." Stocks and commodities are mostly fun and games for the fast money crowd. But I'm learning that if you know what's going on with the credit markets, particularly when they are deteriorating, you've got the best info.
Money? I just checked out the "donate" link and realized you take PayPal. That works for me. Trying to retain a low digital profile. You might generate some additional income stream by selling a greater variety of branded products, or, of products of interest to your readers. Maybe a newsletter that summarizes some of the significant weekly developments and the possible ramifications thereof?
Glad to know that I'm not the only addict. I don't have time to read nearly all of the information overload that fills this site, but what I do have time for is enlightening, educational and engrossing. Thanks ZH authors for your commitment to presenting your research and exposing the shenanigans that the MSM doesn't touch.
maybe robot trader could get some of his GF's to do a car wash?
Wow...I grew up hooked on Fight Club. That movie taught me so much about how the world works...even at 14. 10 years later the lesson continues every day..unabated. Will make first donation today. Thank you team.
happy anniversary, zh. keep up the great and often thankless work. thanks to you, my eyes have been opened and i'm now highly skeptical, cynical and generally ornery with respect to the crimes being committed around us and to us. i mean this in a good way. i may not like what's being posted here, but at least it has made me aware and given me the opportunity to be proactive instead of reactive. viva la zero hedge!
by the way, that video clip is a riot. lol
A big fat congrats and an even bigger thanks. I would be covered in tin foil without you people/alien beings.
would be?
thanks to ZH, i'm working on my third layer, thank you very much...
I hear Leo is going to donate a couple of solar panels to ZH. No more electric bill for you guys.
P.S. You are the best by far. I 'had' to read CR and Mish for years. Reading CR was like reading Pravda back in the old country. After reading Deflation Mish I would look at a stash of worthless rubles in my desk and spit on the monitor.
P.P.S. Marla please, please tell me you are a woman.
CCCP
I have not donated until now but will do so today.
I have wondered how much time was being volunteered to run this site and what could possibly be motivating you. Now I have a better idea.
When I read the news today, I keep thinking about the American Revolution and the courage that it took to risk everything and take on the most powerful empire on Earth. My personal sense is that are at the same moment today only 99% of the citizens don't realize what is coming and are still clinging to the illusion that all is well. Even a majority of the financially literate seem to be unconcerned with the issues that are truly at stake and interested solely in the trading implications - what impact will this Boston tea party have on tea or coffee future and how can I profit from this.
Anyway, my assumption has been that the staff of zero-hedge are individuals who have come to truly apprecaite what is at stake today, but who are also of the rare group of individual willing to take action and make a personal sacrifices today - rather than at some vague point in the future. Thank you.
It is also clear that the exposure of corruption and the battle against misinformation are key elements in the battle for a better society and that zero-hedge has been a major contributor to this battle. Thank you again. Hopefully, some day 10 years from now you can get the recognition you deserve.
Emitte lucem et veritatem
Thank you all.
ZH provides a great service-- couple of questions:
Have you considered not for profit status?
Are you employee owned?
What is the ownership structure at ZH?
Thanks--
do you work for the IRS?
CIA?
FBI?
NSA?
SEC?
if not, then BFD
Ha ha ha ha--yeah right and I am looking at you right thru your screen! Nasty underwear BTW.
If ZH is a not for profit then the contribution is deductible
--as to ownership, just interested whether the contributors of the sweat equity get a slice (I hope so as they are very good) or is the whole thing owned outright by a person or group of investors?
--I guess the title "Ombudsperson" in the Thread thru me off.
Transparency is a relative term, no doubt. Just ask the Greek government re their Deals with GS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/global/14debt.html?hp=&adxnnl...
Marla, you are correct. It is difficult to "ask" for money on a free site but those of us who appreciate and respect and always look for the truth will donate without asking. I could not access this site, in good conscious, with what you "ALL" do had I not contributed. And, I will continue to support all of you as long as you endure the pain of all you do for true benefit of this country and this planet.
Love my Zero hat.
The best to you and the entire staff and......Thank You
Great Job!
Stay the best!
hit, It actually made me feel very good when I donated. Very worthwhile site.
I'm a relatively new reader, and I've been really impressed with the content. Zerohedge is fun -- kid of like slashdot or fark for economics nerds.
Thanks!
This is an excellent and welcome addition to the ZH crew. It should also prove, yet again, the superiority of the Zero Hedge Way [ (TM)(C)(R) ha! ] vs. the methods of the old information sources who shall remain unnamed as they lose ever more relevancy for engaged and intelligent information consumers.
I can't claim to be one of the intelligent financial information consumers, but I still appreciate consuming the information ZH so voluminously provides. As a mere mortal, I have come to rely on not just the staff but also the many learned commenters/contributors for better grasping details and nuances. Even made some virtual friends who are priceless, too.
Thank you isn't enough to all here, but it's all I've got besides a constantly growing respect and admiration for how the site continues to evolve and improve given the constraints of physics on people and systems.
Give til it hurts for the continued prosperity of the site, in any way you can. That's how we can help!
Zh is my X-files and you Scully are HOT, Mulder is on it and the smoking man we dont see
I want to thank ZH for all the alerts and the "extraordinary" evidence that your site has given to the masses,the ones that are awake anyway. I applaud your efforts and like the idea of your moving in this direction however,
keep the grit, and the scrap in the street street fighter mentality. Do get all Ivy league on us here.
I defend ZH on other sites that I go on, and yes the "dry humping stock pumper dumper' crowd hates ZH. So do the GS and JPM fans as well.
That must mean you are good folks. Keep the salt of the earth attitude, stay intelligent, and keep your propensity to break your knuckles on somebody's skull when needed.
Your site is necessary.
The information you provide refutes what our government is actually doing.
Much of the research is way beyond me, but it is presented in a way I can get the gist of it.
ZH does not talk down to people (unless of course they are Bernake and Paulsen clones), then they get the ole red raspberry.
I am firmly convinced it I had not been told about ZH, and had not followed it, my portfolio and monetary worth would have been severly compromised, and I would have been operating on the goobermint's "information" which is totally misleading.
Your information has allowed me time to position my portfolio in such a way as to be totally protected and actually not lose money, and actually make some!!!
Keep it up. When this market tanks, you will be getting a donation from me! And I want to buy some of you a nice dinner.
THANK YOU ZH!!!!!!!!!!!
Marla,
You are the best! As you know, I was posting on Naked Capitalism for a while before moving on to ZH. While I am not always in agreement with the content, I welcome various viewpoints and marvel the volume and quality postings here. I think ZH is the future because people are fed up with traditional media outlets. Having said this, it is important to remain balanced and careful in prognosticating the financial system's ills and their ramifications to the global economy. People here need to be more open to all viewpoints, including bullish views or more tempered views.
As for making a business out of blogging, I have been toying with the idea. I put a lot of time and effort in my blog. There are tons of links, and information that is just at your finger tips. ZH does the same thing. I do this because I love financial markets, economic analysis and take the pension crisis very seriously. I'd rather make money on my own and continue blogging on the side. But given my health problems, I fear there will come a day where I will need my blog to survive financially. I still haven't figured out how I can make money blogging and remain totally unbiased in my comments.
I wish the staff at ZH all the best and many years of success. I promise to try to avoid the fleas here even though I just love yanking their chain!
IMPORTANT: DONATE MONEY TO ZERO HEDGE!!!
IMPORTANT: DONATE MONEY TO ZERO HEDGE!!!
Dude! You and I can agree on something!!!!
When they put out something, you feel like a little part of it after you have donated. It is a tiny bit "yours" too.
Us fleas love yanking your chain too Leo
Long Au
Long Ag
Long CH4
Short solars
Long ZH
HEY SLACKERS! Since Tyler, Marla and Co are too gracious to ask for donations I guess I should do it for them.
If you read ZeroHedge as much as the WSJ, Bloomberg, the Economist, or other financial sites... DONATE SOME CASH!
Think about the content you receive- it's like Cliff Notes for the world of finance.
a) "Daily Highlights" and "Front-running" are great information aggregators for the day's top business headlines.
b) Tyler also reads and summarizes numerous research from the big boys you wouldn't receive unless you have an account with them. (SocGen, UBS's Art Cashin, Morgan Stanley, BoA Harley Bassman, and even Goldman Squid's reports are frequently provided!)
c) Even if you don't trust Tyler's perspective the reports are usually provided for you to read the primary source yourself!
d) ZeroHedge also provides comedic relief and a witty sense of humor not seen elsewhere.
If this isn't comparable to a WSJ or Economist subscription (~$100) I don't know what is!
Happy Anniversary and keep up the great work!
great site, great comments. you really are doing an incredible service to the world. thank you
Rock on, ZH!
During a period of an apocalypse, people go through various stages, including denial, milling around gathering information, then using sometimes faulty reasoning to respond. Preparation and information will determine if you take the right steps or not. I think most here are past the denial stage, we are milling around and quite ready for the action phase. We will not be the ones losing our marbles, playing possum, or waiting for someone to point to the exits.
Since the rest of the media leaves us cold, I am sure the cortisol level in most the readership here is fairly high. Below the witty repartee, the sense of approaching doom grows for most of us. Outside the digital life, I try to maintain the flawed perspective that passes for normal, but that veneer is awful thin. My inclination is to sound the alarm gets the better of me...I am slowly but surely turning into the girl crying wolf that only she can see. Are we all wrong or the most awake people around? History will tell, in the meantime, I am glad there is a place I feel sane with some of the most erudite content in articles and comments around. How do you adequately thank all the people who collectively made a home out of electrons?
MsJ
Good observations. There is a lot of cortisol pumping through the ZH crowd, that is for sure.
Nice to see you post!
Congrats on your Anniversary! best content on the internet! and best commenters! :)
Ms. Marla if they ever take down the net could you please read to us on the ham radio freqs?
In other words...
DONATE BITCHES!
"Too many notes".
Amadeus freak . . .
Thank you, ZH.
You are my "go-to" source for data, information, and knowledge (cnbc and main-stream media are my "contrarians").
While commentators are a spirited group, and add value to your articles, the occasional profanity diminishes the quality of the dialectic; however, I appreciate them all...
Keep up the fine work!
Great. From a contributor perspective I think we already take a excessive amount of heat from readers. Guys like Leo K. and I get beat up constantly. And now there is going to be an ombudswoman? Swell idea. Things aren't depressing enough with most of Europe in the crapper and every fucking carry trade dead meat? And you want to beat me up with a lawyer ombudsperson? Where is that bottle of cyanide? If she says, "You are being too harsh with your critisism of the Mortgage Agencies", I am just going to puke.
I couldn't agree with you more over the money thing. WTF? ZH is probably getting views per hour that are (my guess) 20-30% of the view rate at CNBC. I happen to know that on a recent date I got more views than an entire two hour segment on FOX Biz. WTF??
These TV losers are getting big bucks. They are stars for christ's sake. These shows cost monster money, and have big sponsors. So what do blog writers get? Dick's hat band. WTF?
I post on my own blog, but very few come to my own site. That ZH lets me post my missives creates a real audience. But ZH does not pay a cent. You don't even get a fucking Tshirt or a hat. But it is fun.
On my blog I got 90k reads last year. I have the fucking google ads. How much did I get paid? 113 fucking dollars. Less than 50 cents an article. Call that an ego boost. PoS.
The blog world is a busted financial model. The Ad revenue/content thing is a fucking joke. The only one making money is google. I say we hit up the real fat cats in this. The guys who make the hardware and software and the broadband. Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Apple,Dell, the Telco's all of them.
In my plan "we" form some sort of industry group and appoint Marla as the chief negotiator. She takes a nice approach to the fat cats. She will deliver the message, "Either you pony up some big bucks or we will turn on you". These guys are not stupid, they know what the blogs have done to the likes of GS and C and Tim Geithner. They know that the blogs will uncover the "dark pool" equivalents in the high tech world. Show Balmer the treatment Blankfein got. They will fold like a cheap suit in the rain.
I am thinking we start off small. Say $2mm a month. Chump change. That gets spread around. Later we up the ante to 5mil a month. Much better than Dick's hat band.
Bruce, I am so with you...let's explore this idea with ZH! BTW, according to my stats, which are public, I had roughly 216,000 unique visitors and almost 300,000 page loads last year:
http://my9.statcounter.com/project/standard2/stats.php?granularity=yearly&project_id=3862160
Not bad for a blog on pensions!
You guys are pretty funny.
That is a nice way to put it. Leo is way funnier though.
Your idea will happen, once the rest of the world realizes they are f*#@'d! They will come to this site and ask for advice in response to your articles. You will say, "keep reading, keep learning". They will offer their respects, but due to the fact that there is about to be a line drawn, money is going to be hard to come by. I hope that ZH goes mainstream, but that will have to happen before the fall to produce any income.
If and when the grand fucking ever comes to pass, I believe there will be a still-significant number of citizens er victims who don't know what is happening or are in pure denial, and these people will definitely not be ones to ask for advice or pay respects. Instead they will be lashing out at anyone who doesn't seem to be sharing their fate.
I am an addict now. Without ZH I would be clueless. Thank you for all you do. You are great in in the real sense of the word.
To all of us that are highly-addicted to Zero Hedge, and can't believe that this content is available for free, remember you can help their bottom line by clicking on their advertisements. So why don't we dedicate today to clicking all the ads and checking out the sponsors to support ZH. I understand the massive amount of work that goes on, and before ZH I felt totally lost at sea trying to figure out the markets. I've learned more in 1 year of ZH than 14 years of trying to filter out the crap spewed by the MSM.
Also, occasionally comments are made about certain advertisers on ZH. ZH does not pick and choose who advertises. It is a generic business/finance type algorithm that pushes whatever advertisers have paid to be shown on financial websites.
Thank you Marla and TD and countless others. What you may be lacking in money you could be earning, you are racking up HUGE karma points. If there was anything you ever needed from a white-trash trailer-park hoosier in St. Louis, MO...I'm your guy.
Thanks
Biff Malibu
Your audience is world wide. For example I live in Kenya. I am totally addicted. As far as I am concerned, the establishment media is a waste of time. What you do is great in the real meaning of the word.
Thank you for a year of incredible service to the world
"We Are Fam-i-ly" as Ike and Tina used to sing. With all this love and admiration can only come success. Long live the family.
Long live the family. Like Ike and Tina?
Not too long ago I never questioned what money is, or how the media seek to manipulate my mind, or what it takes to remain free. I can't thank you enough for providing such a stimulating forum and access to the thoughts of some mighty fine people. I am a better person because of it.
Nonsense.
Zero Hedge = British crown, royal family, propaganda!
Use your head people, you are being manipulated.
so we should all be long the rally then??
are you for real, just being sarcastic, i don't get it.
god save the queen then.
This announcement is welcome. If every news site were as hard on itself as ZH appears to be on itself, the world would be a safer, saner, fiscally sounder place.
At least, I think so. That's because, despite following you almost since Day 1, I still understand less than half of what I read here. (I understand almost nothing about bonds, for example.) But journalism I know well and consume a ton of, and y'all execute as well as anyone I read and better than most.
Love ZH...and most people that are in here. You've built a pretty amazing community over the past year. Congrats.
P.S. That said...welcome to running a small business! Don't worry, some larger site or news org will buy you...and you will sell this and all of us out to Rupert or some other cocksucker!
Congratulations, incredible site!
I love ZH. Smart articles, brilliant and catastrophically funny commentary. I have giggled so hard I my wife wonders what is wrong with me.
Feel at home here.
Radio Zero is the hidden gem on this site. Thanks Marla
Marla:
Even with an ombuds(wo)man there has to be a lot of research, fact checking and grunt work that is going to be left undone.
There has to be a way to distribute some of these tasks to the portion of ZH's massive and erudite fan base who have the time and skills to help.
Obviously putting out a "we need help with x issue" APB would create a flood of emails, noise and antagonistic drivel which probably wouldn't save anyone any time.
But couldn't there be some sort of Wikipedia type "priest" system where certain, qualifying ZH readers would be able to receive task requests from a bulletin board and report back? I'm sure senior ZH staffers have a network of plugged-in friends and associates already whom they rely on for good info... but wouldn't consider burdening with requests to put together spreadsheets or run a bunch of screens on Factset.
ZH is already a huge breath of fresh air in the stale news media (especially financial news media) world. ZH, now that it has some momentum, may be in a position to revolutionize how news and topical content is produced as well.
Space Monkeys, ready to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Project Mayhem. The Demolitions committee...
Happy Anniversary! keep it real!
Hmm, Never thought of what it would be like now without ZeroHedge. Where would I go for the truth?
You guys better stick around.
:-)
Congratulations on your 1st year!
ZeroHedge is certifiably one of the very best financial sites there is!
Veni, Vidi, Vici . . . and you've certainly done that!
P.S. gonna donate to your site now.
I am fairly convinced that ZH is written and managed by aliens. The depth and breadth of your reporting, your insight, your information, your research, your deep understanding of the markets and your wit are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. This site is certainly not the handiwork of humans.
Accordingly, your frontal cortex must be so overwhelmingly large that it must surely stick out the sunroof when you travel by space-ship or car or however you transport yourself. How do you wear hats, and how do you fit through doors?
Over the past 6 months, ZH has become my favorite source for information. In fact, at cocktail parties, I routinely spew out the insights from this site and pass them off as my own. Within a few minutes, I’ve got a small crowd of people listening to me, marveling at me like I’m an oracle—some even suggest that I should run for a senate seat. It’s very empowering, and I think I’ve actually gotten a few chicks from it.
In all seriousness, thank you for your marvelous work. It's by far my favorite blog on the internet.
Marla, Tyler, Cornelius, Sacriledge, Travis, and all you wonderful people in the comments section (for which I oft read ZH as the main purpose, in order to guage public sentiment), my hats off to you all.
I must say this collapse is proceeding swimingly, and by my estimates it shall only be a few scant years before we've concentrated all the wealth into a few hands again as in making a fine tomato puree and then boiling it down to a thick paste. Sites such as yours remind me of a fine fragrance, say Rosemary or Tarragon, in a slowly basting beef slow cook. Just marvelous. I savor the flavor daily , the fine aroma of a chef's most delicate endeavors.
Love and deep artistic devotion,
Alan Greenspan
You wrinkled up old prick! Welcome to Armageddon.
We know who you really are... You wombat you:
http://www.ramdac.org/images/wombat_full.jpg
now that's friggin scary! ROTFL
Talk of the Nation host Neal Conan on NPR this week revealed: “That long-predicted moment when the Internet surpasses newspapers as readers' number one choice for news has arrived. TV is still number one overall, but audiences and ad revenues continue to dwindle there, as well.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123609984
Congratulations, Zero Hedge! You are one of the reasons the Internet is now readers’ number one choice for news. Not only that, you run in front of the Internet pack, delivering unmatched business and investment news, and analyses—when it happens. Your headlines are unparalleled in the communications business. By comparison, the WSJ and NYTimes websites are dinosaurs, yesterday’s news; and Bloomberg.com’s silly bullish roar is more often ignored…
A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
Little Jackie Paper is reading Zero Hedge.
Congratulations! HARD HITTING JOURNALISM, with a rye sense of humor, presented with the facts. You are the reason I check my phone at work every day! KEEP IT UP!!!
Gosh... has it really been over a year? I know I was one of the first following Zero Hedge (by blind luck I found the blog) and have followed it through the ups and the downs. I used to think to charge a fee would be wrong, but now I do believe that I was wrong and you guys should.
If up was down and down was up... :)
Great job
Excellent job to everyone at ZeroHedge, and congrats on a great first year.