StockTwits pitches and catches $800K

All Things Digital reported yesterday that yet another company has launched using Twitter platfrom that Twitter will not make any money from.

Twitter’s executives and investors tend to roll their eyes when people ask them when they’re going to start, you know, generating revenue. Maybe that’s because there’s a really obvious answer: Start collecting money from the many companies that are using Twitter’s infrastructure and service to create their own businesses.

StockTwits, a Twitter-based bulletin board/chat room for individual investors, just raised more than $800K from a group of angels that includes a couple Canadian connections - Toronto-born investor Howard Lindzon and former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher turned investor Todd Stottlemyre.

The idea is fairly simple: Users toss off quick thoughts about trades, companies, markets, etc., using “$” or “$$” signs to identify their messages as StockTwits. The site compiles and sorts them, and will eventually start ranking users based on their following, track record, etc. The service is free, but will try to upsell users with premium products like research, etc.

In October, Lindzon refered to StockTwits as "the best idea I've ever had".