The future of Abnormal Returns

abnormalreturns
January 5th, 2009

In an earlier post we discussed the nature of this blog. In that post we teased a further discussion on the future of Abnormal Returns. With the New Year we are thinking about how to move the blog forward. While Abnormal Returns is a labor of love, it is also a considerable time commitment. As we see it, there are a few ways we see the blog evolving.

In that spirit we have added a poll (our first!) to solicit the opinions of our readership. As an incentive to participate we are also having a book giveaway. We encourage every one who participates to e-mail us with “Poll” in the subject header. At the end of the week a randomly selected reader will receive a copy of Mohamed El-Erian’s book “When Markets Collide.”* If you want to include any additional comments please feel free to include them in the body of the e-mail or leave a comment.

A quick recap of the poll options below with some pros and cons. First, we could self-host the site and make a conscious effort to add advertising to the site. This is clearly more work, and some have wondered what this might do to our editorial independence. Second, we could push harder for more donations. We receive a steady, but small stream of donations currently. However, we have not yet tried a ‘telethon-type’ push. This might admittedly be difficult in the current environment. Third, we could try to find a larger, mainstream media partner who could host the site with some sort of revenue sharing agreement. This would require giving up some measure of control. Fourth, we could create a “premium service” that would require a subscription. We have some ideas here, but none that are as of yet worthy of public scrutiny. And lastly, we could leave things just the way they are. While possible in the short run, this is a long-term non-starter.

Of course we could very well be missing some other more attractive option. So we are open to any (and all) serious proposals on how we can take this blog to the next level. Thanks in advance to every one who participates. We always enjoy hearing from our readership.

[polldaddy poll=1248913]

*We will e-mail the winner with the details. In addition, your e-mail address will be used only for the purpose of this book giveaway. We will delete them at the conclusion of the giveaway.