DailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance.comhttp://o.aolcdn.com/os/df/2013/img/2-dailyfinance_logo_m.pngDailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comen-usCopyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Skipping School: Eight Alternatives to Collegehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/19/skipping-school-eight-alternatives-to-college/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/19/skipping-school-eight-alternatives-to-college/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/19/skipping-school-eight-alternatives-to-college/#comments
When I was 19 I won some money in a chess tournament. Instead of using the money for my college tuition, I decided to drop out of college and buy a car. I bought a used 1982 Honda Accord. I drove it around for a few hours, since they let me drive it right out of the lot.

But when I saw my girlfriend and everyone else taking their classes, I got a little jealous. I returned the car, canceled the check, and entered my sophomore year of college. But I regret it now.

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Whenever I suggest that people shouldn't send their kids to college, a lot of very smart people invariably ask: "Well, what else should they do?" And this amazes me. I guess it is really hard to figure out what people of the ages 18 to 23 should do during the most vibrant, healthy years of their lives when they grow from being a child to an adult.

So I thought I would help out by coming up with a quick list:


Start a Business
There are many businesses a kid can start, particularly with the Internet. On another post I will list possible types of first businesses. But if you always focus on the maxim, "buy low and sell high," you'll start to generate ideas.

Many people say: "Well, not everyone can be an entrepreneur." It's amazing to me, also, how many times I've addressed this in writing, and yet people who've read the exact articles still come back to me and say: "Well, not everyone can be an entrepreneur."

First off, there's no law against being an entrepreneur. In fact, everyone can be an entrepreneur. So, what they really mean is: "Not everyone can be a successful entrepreneur." And, as far as I know, there's no law against failure either. When someone loses a tennis match or a chess game, how do they improve? They study their losses. As anyone who has mastered any field in life knows: Studying your losses is infinitely more valuable than studying your wins. I failed at my first three attempts at being an entrepreneur before I finally learned how to spell it, and I finally had a success (i.e., a company with profits that I was then able to sell).

Failure is a part of life. Better to learn it at 18 than at 23 or older when you've been coddled by ivory blankets and hypnotized into thinking success was yours for the taking. Get baptized in the river of failure as a youth so you can blossom in entrepreneurial blessings as an adult.

What do you learn when you are young and start a business (regardless of success or failure)?
  • you learn how to come up with ideas that will be accepted by others;
  • you begin to build your bullshit detector (something that definitely does not happen in college);
  • you learn how to sell your idea;
  • you learn how to build and execute on an idea;
  • you meet and socialize with other people in your field. They might not all be the same age but, let's face it, that's life as an adult. You just spent 18 years with kids your own age. Grow up!
  • you might learn how to delegate and manage people;
  • you learn how to eat what you kill -- a skill also not learned by college-goers.
Travel the World
Here's a basic assignment. Take $10,000 and get yourself to India. Check out a world completely different from your own. Do it for a year. You will meet other foreigners traveling. You will learn what poverty is. You will learn the value of how to stretch a dollar. You will often be in situations where you need to learn how to survive despite the odds being against you. If you're going to throw up, you might as well do it from dysentery than from drinking too much at a frat party. You will learn a little bit more about eastern religions as compared with the western religions you grew up with. You will learn you aren't the center of the universe.

Create Art
Spend a year learning how to paint. Or how to play a musical instrument. Or write five novels. Learn to discipline yourself to create. Creation doesn't happen from inspiration. It happens from perspiration, discipline, and passion. Creativity doesn't come from from God. It's a muscle that you need to learn to build. Why not build it while your brain is still creating new neurons at a breathtaking rate, rather than learning it when you are older (and for many people, too late).

Make People Laugh
This is the hardest of all. Spend a year learning how to do stand-up comedy in front of people. This will teach you how to write, how to communicate, how to sell yourself, how to deal with people who hate you, how to deal with the psychology of failure on a daily basis -- and, of course, how to make people laugh. All of these items will help you later in life much more than Philosophy 101. And, you might even get paid along the way.

Write a Book
Believe me, whatever book you write at the age of 18 is probably going to be no good. But do it anyway. Write a novel about what you are doing instead of going to college. You'll learn how to observe people. Writing is a meditation on life. You'll live each day, interpret it, write it. What a great education!

Work for a Charity
Plenty of charities do not require you to have a college degree. What is going to serve you better in life: studying French literature or spending a year delivering meals to senior citizens with Alzheimer's or curing malaria in Africa? I have an answer to this. You might have a different one. Which is why I'm listing eight alternatives here instead of just this one. And, by the way, if you do any of these items for one year, two years, ten, then maybe go to college? Why not? It's your life.

Master a Game
What's your favorite game? Ping pong? Chess? Poker? Learning how to master a game is incredibly hard.

I've written before about how to do it, but let's start with the basics:
  • study the history of the game;
  • study current experts on the game, videos, books, magazines, etc. Replay, or try to imitate in some way, the current masters of the game;
  • play a lot: with friends, in tournaments, at local clubs;
  • take lessons from someone who has already mastered the game. This helps you to avoid bad habits and gets someone to immediately criticize your current skills.
Mastering a game builds discipline, lets you socialize with other people of all ages and backgrounds but who have similar passions, and helps you to develop the instincts of a killer without having to kill anyone. Nice!

Master a Sport
Probably even better than mastering a game because it's the same as all of the above, but you also get in shape.

If anyone can think of any other alternatives, please list them in the comments. We only have the life we have lived. But as I write this post, I look at these alternatives with longing, I know that when I hit "Publish," I'm going to sit here quietly while the sun goes down, wondering "what if . . . ?"

Here are my related posts on why kids should not go to college. Don't Send Your Kids to College, 10 More Reasons to Not Send Your Kids to College, Living Life is Better than Dying in College, Advice I Want to Tell My Daughters. I am looking to expand this list from eight to 40, so will post again at JamesAltucher.com when I have the updated list. Additionally, I hope you follow me on Twitter, where I am happy to engage in discussion over this topic.

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]]>business start-upscollegeentrepreneurfeaturedvideonikhil hutheesingstand-up comedytravelJames AltucherSat, 19 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST10 Unusual Things You Probably Don't Know About Steve Jobshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/08/10-unusual-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-steve-jobs/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/08/10-unusual-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-steve-jobs/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/08/10-unusual-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-steve-jobs/#commentsFiled under:

I was standing right next to Steve Jobs in 1989 and it was the closest thing I ever felt to being gay. The guy was incredibly wealthy, good looking enough to get any girl, a nerd super-rockstar who had just convinced my school to buy a bunch of NeXT machines (which, btw, were in fact the best machines to program on at the time) and I just wanted to be him. I wanted to be him ever since I had the Apple II+ as a kid. Ever since I shoplifted Ultima II, Castle Wolfenstein, and half a dozen other games that my friends and I would then rip from each other and pretend to be sick so we could stay home and play all day.

I don't care about Apple's (AAPL) stock. (Well, I do think it will be the first trillion dollar company.) Or about his business successes. That's boring. The only thing that matters to me is how Steve Jobs became the greatest artist that ever lived. You only get to be an artist like that by turning everything in your life upside down, by making horrible, ugly, mistakes, by doing things so differently that people will never be able to figure you out. By failing, cheating, lying, having everyone hate you, and coming out the other side with a little bit more wisdom than the rest. So that said, here are the most unusual things that I didn't know about Steve Jobs.

10 Unusual Things About Steve Jobs

1) Nature versus Nurture. His sister is Mona Simpson but he didn't know it until he was an adult. Mona Simpson was one of my favorite novelists from the late 80s. Her first novel, Anywhere but Here, was about her relationship with her parents. Which, ironically, was Steve Jobs parents. But since Steve Jobs was adopted (see below) they didn't know they were brother-sister until the 90s when he tracked her down. Its proof (to an extent) of the nature versus nurture argument. Two kids, without knowing they were brother and sister, both having a unique sensibility of life on this planet to become among the best artists in the world in completely different endeavors. And, to me it was great that I was a fan of both without realizing (even before they realized) that they were related.

2) His father's name is Abdulfattah Jandali. If you had to ask me what Steve Job's father's name was I never in one zillion years would've guessed that and that Steve Jobs biologically was half Syrian Muslim. For some reason I thought he was Jewish. Maybe it's because I wanted to be him so I projected my own background onto him. His parents were two graduate students who I guess weren't sure if they were ready for a kid so put him up for adoption and then a few years later had another kid (see above). So I didn't know he was adopted.

The one requirement his biological parents had was that he be adopted by two college educated people. But the couple that adopted him lied at first and turned out not to be college educated (the mom was not a high school graduate) so the deal almost fell through until they promised to send Steve to college. A promise they couldn't keep (see below). So despite many layers of lies and promises broken, it all worked out in the end. People can save a lot of hassle by not having such high expectations and overly ambitious worries in the first place.

3) He made the game "Breakout." If there was one thing I loved almost as much as the games on the Apple II+ it was playing Breakout on my first-generation Atari (I can't remember, was that the Atari 2600?) And then breakout on every version of my Blackberry since 2000. If he had never done anything else in life and I had met him and he said, "I'm the guy who made Breakout", I would've said, "you are the greatest genius of the past 100 years." Funny how things turn out. He went on from Atari to form Apple. Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, went to form the greatest restaurant chain in the history of mankind: Chuck E. Cheese.

4) He denied paternity on his first child, claiming he was sterile. The other had to initially raise the kid using welfare checks. I have no judgment on this at all. Raising kids is hard. And when you have a kid you feel like this enormous energy and creativity you have for the world is going to get misdirected into a ... little baby (Jobs' parents must've felt that way as well. Like father, like son). Heck, originally wanted my first kid to be aborted. But people change, mature, grow up. Eventually Jobs became a good father. And that's what counts in the end. Much worse if it was the reverse. I didn't know this either: that the Lisa computer (the "Apple III") was named after this first child.

5) He's a pescetarian. In other words, he eats fish but no other meat. And he eats anything else a vegetarian eats (including eggs and dairy). Turns out if you compare pescetarians with regular meat-eaters they have a 34% less chance of dying of heart disease. And if you compare vegetarians with meat eaters, they only have a 20% less chance of dying of heart disease. I think from now on I'm going to be a pescetarian, just because Steve Jobs is one. Except when I'm in Argentina. In Argentina you have to eat steak. Ted Danson and Mary Tyler Moore consider themselves pescetarians. Somehow, even the world "pescetarian" seems like it was invented in California.

6) He doesn't give any money to charity. And when he became Apple's CEO he stopped all of its philanthropic programs. He said, "wait until we are profitable". Now Apple is profitable, and sitting on $40 billion in cash, and still no corporate philanthropy. I actually think Jobs is probably the most charitable guy on the planet. Rather than focus on which mosquitoes to kill in Africa (Bill Gates is already focusing on that), Jobs has put his energy into massively improving quality of life with all of his inventions.

People think that entrepreneurs have to some day "give back". This is not true. They already gave at the office. Look at the entire ipod/Mac/iphone/Disney ecosystem and ask how many lives have benefited directly (because they've been hired) or indirectly (because they use the products to improve their quality of life). As far as I know, Jobs has never even commented about his thoughts on charity. Good for him. As one CEO of a (currently) Fortune 10 company once told me when I had my hand out for a charitable website, "Screw charity!"

7) He lied to Steve Wozniak. When they made Breakout for Atari, Wozniak and Jobs were going to split the pay 50-50. Atari gave Jobs $5,000 to do the job. He told Wozniak he got $700 so Wozniak took home $350. Again, no judgment. Young people do things. Show me someone who says he's been honest from the day he was born and I'll show you a liar. Its by making mistakes, having fights, finding out where your real boundaries in life are, that allow you to truly know where the boundaries are.

8) He's a Zen Buddhist. He even thought about joining a monastery and becoming a monk. His guru, a Zen monk, married him and his wife. When I was going through some of my hardest times my only relief was sitting with a Zen group. Trying to quiet the mind to deal with the onrush of non-stop pain that was trying to invade there. The interesting thing about Jobs being a Zen Buddhist is that most people would think that serious Buddhism and being one of the wealthiest people in the world come into conflict with each other. Isn't Buddhism about non-attachment? Didn't Buddha himself leave his riches and family behind?

But the answer is "no". Its normal to pursue passions and outcomes, but just not to become overly attached to those outcomes. Being happy regardless of the outcome. A great story is the Zen master and his student walking by a river. A prostitute was there and needed to be carried over the river. The Zen master picked her up and carried her across the river and then put her down. Then the master and student kept walking. A few hours later the student was so agitated he finally had to ask, "Master, how could you touch and help that prostitute! That's against what we believe in!" And the Master said, "I left her by the river. Why are you still carrying her?"

9) He didn't go to college. I actually didn't know this initially. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are the famous college dropouts that I knew about. But apparently Steve Jobs went to Reed College for one semester and then dropped out. I guess you don't need college to program computers, make computers, build businesses, make movies, manage people, etc. (Of course, you can see all my other reasons on why Kids should not even consider going to college these days!)

10) Psychedelics. Steve Jobs used LSD at least once when he was younger. In fact, he said about the experience, it was "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life." Apple's slogan for many years was "Think Different". Maybe using a drug which tore him from the normal frame of reference taught him how to look at problems from such a unique perspective. I don't think LSD is for everyone, but when you combine it with the innate genius the man had, plus the many ups and downs that he experienced, plus the Zen Buddhism and all of the other things above, its quite possible it all adds up to the many inventions he's been able to produce.

Steve Jobs' story is filled with nuance and ambiguity. People study Steve Jobs by looking at his straightforward business successes. Yes, he started Apple in a garage. Yes, he started Pixar and almost went broke with it. Yes, he started and sold Next and he was fired as CEO of Apple, and blah blah blah. But none of that will ever explain the man behind the genius. None of that will explain all the products he invented that we use today. None of that will tell us about the iPad, Toy Story, the Mac Air, the Apple II+, etc. A man's successes can be truly understood only if we can count his tears. And unfortunately in the case of Steve Jobs, that is one task that's impossible.

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]]>10 unusual things10UnusualThingsCEOcheatingfeaturedvideolyingnikhil hutheesingpixarSteve Jobssteve jobs is syrianSteveJobsIsSyrianJames AltucherTue, 08 Mar 2011 12:42:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: How the Kardashians Made $65 Million Last Yearhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/18/daily-blogwatch-how-the-kardashians-made-65-million-last-year/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/18/daily-blogwatch-how-the-kardashians-made-65-million-last-year/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/18/daily-blogwatch-how-the-kardashians-made-65-million-last-year/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Among today's top stories for investors from around the Web:

Jeopardy superstar Ken Jennings on what it's like to play against IBM's (IBM) Watson.
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Google (GOOG) upgrades its home page to be more social.
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The death of the music industry.
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Confessions of an Apple (AAPL) store employee.
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How did Microsoft (MSFT) finally dominate Nokia (NOK)?
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How did the Kardashians make $65 million last year?
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My first serious blog post: Can a mutant douchebag change his life?
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You can follow me on Twitter.


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]]>IbmsWatsonJeopardyJeopardy ChallengeKardashiansJames AltucherFri, 18 Feb 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Google 2000 vs. Google 2011http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/10/daily-blogwatch-google-2000-vs-google-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/10/daily-blogwatch-google-2000-vs-google-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/10/daily-blogwatch-google-2000-vs-google-2011/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Five reasons Twitter is awesome.

Video: 24-year-old Steve Jobs prepping for his first TV appearance.

Google 2000 vs. Google 2011 (GOOG).

Twitter thinks it can be a $100 billion company.

Wow, are Nokia and Microsoft (NOK/MSFT) thinking partnership?

Great interview on some random forum about a guy whose company was bought by eBay (EBAY) for $75 million.

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Howard Lindzon (founder and CEO of Stocktwits) and I shoot pool, talk stocks, and talk life.

Tim Sykes picks the best business blogger of our generation.

The smartest machine on Earth.

Follow me on Twitter or buy my latest book: The WSJ Guide to Investing for the Apocalypse.

Or, come to the AOL panel discussion Friday morning at the Money Show in Orlando. I'll be there.


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]]>ColumnsinvestingTwitterJames AltucherThu, 10 Feb 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: The Four Reasons for Apple's Successhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/07/blogwatch-the-four-reasons-for-apples-success/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/07/blogwatch-the-four-reasons-for-apples-success/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/07/blogwatch-the-four-reasons-for-apples-success/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Now that I have a new book out, I figure I'd be completely honest and specific about the economics of writing a book from my personal experience -- including all advances, sales figures, etc. on my first four books and why I write them -- even though I almost always lose on them.
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"You've got Arianna!" Kara Swisher's take on the AOL (AOL)/Huffington Post deal.
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First ever images of the entire Sun.
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Apple's (AAPL) success comes from four investments made 10 years ago.
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Howard Stern, SiriusXM (SIRI), and Twitter.
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"You need never be lonely," says Google's (GOOG) Eric Schmidt describes the future of computing.
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Is Microsoft (MSFT) stealing Google's search results?
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Very nice analysis: How many days exactly did Bill Murray spend reliving the same day in Groundhog Day. I just watched this over the weekend with my kids.
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And, in other movie-related trivia: a flowchart on what job you would get if you were in the Star Wars universe.
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]]>AOLColumnsHuffington PostTwitterJames AltucherMon, 07 Feb 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: What If Apple Had Replaced Cisco in the Dow?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/14/blogwatch-what-if-apple-had-replaced-cisco-in-the-dow/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/14/blogwatch-what-if-apple-had-replaced-cisco-in-the-dow/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/14/blogwatch-what-if-apple-had-replaced-cisco-in-the-dow/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

The fabulous life of Microsoft (MSFT) cofounder Paul Allen
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I agree with this list: The top 20 most influential blogs in financial media.
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My thoughts on: What it feels like to be rich.
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Amazing statistic: What if Apple (AAPL) had gone into the Dow instead of Cisco (CSCO) when General Motors (GM) went bankrupt? Guess how much higher the Dow would be right now?
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I bet this academic research report was government funded. How to have sex on Mars.
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Uber-trader Joe Fahmy on how he lost 42 pounds last year.
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The Nvidia- (NVDA) Intel (INTC) deal is a win-win for everyone, including ARM Holdings (ARMH).
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10 amazing discoveries made by kids.
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I'm still going to try to post Blogwatch next week but it might be more sporadic. I'm heading to India. But you can follow me on Twitter for more updates throughout the day.

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]]>appleciscoColumnsdowGM bankruptcyIntelNvidia-Intel dealJames AltucherFri, 14 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Choosing Between Your BlackBerry and Your Wifehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/13/daily-blogwatch-choosing-between-your-blackberry-and-your-wife/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/13/daily-blogwatch-choosing-between-your-blackberry-and-your-wife/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/13/daily-blogwatch-choosing-between-your-blackberry-and-your-wife/#commentsFiled under: ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Goldman Sachs might be onto something here. Facebook could be the first company to be worth over a trillion!
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Although I doubt Facebook will beat my prediction of Apple (AAPL) hitting that goal first.
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Sad story about the mother of the kid who did the Columbine killings.
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Why I might die if I don't go to India next week.
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Sponsored Links
This could be a great idea: Buy the baby banks.
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Do you have to choose between your BlackBerry (RIM) and your wife?
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You might do better in online dating if you are less attractive. I would score huge then if true!
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What do 50 Cent, Carmen Electra, and Shaq have in common? They all love penny stocks.
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Minyanville gives more reasons why Dendreon (DNDN) keeps going up.



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]]>BlackBerryColumnsdendreonJames AltucherThu, 13 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Which Stocks Are Already Up 20% in 2011?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/12/daily-blogwatch-which-stocks-are-already-up-20-in-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/12/daily-blogwatch-which-stocks-are-already-up-20-in-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/12/daily-blogwatch-which-stocks-are-already-up-20-in-2011/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Thirty-four stocks that are already up 20% in 2011.
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The CEO of Chinese car maker BYD finally confesses why Warren Buffett invested in the company.
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I worked with Jim Cramer for six or seven years. Here are 10 things I learned while working with Jim Cramer.
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Mark Zuckerberg's dad writes an article about dentistry and computers. An interesting read.
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Great post by Crossing Wall Street on the S&P 500 and dividends
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Sponsored Links
Is trading your passion? A quiz.
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Is the market more likely to go up or down on a blizzard day?
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Fascinating. The rise in Facebook's valuation from 2004-2011.
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SiriusBuzz finds a back-door way to invest in SiriusXM (SIRI).

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]]>BlizzardbydColumnsfacebook valuationjim cramerSiriusXMsnowwarren buffettJames AltucherWed, 12 Jan 2011 08:45:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: 50 Cent's Investment Libraryhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/11/daily-blogwatch-50-cents-investment-library/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/11/daily-blogwatch-50-cents-investment-library/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/11/daily-blogwatch-50-cents-investment-library/#commentsFiled under: ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Now we're talking. Crumbs, which if you haven't tried it, is the best cupcake store in the world, is going public? What the heck!? Does that mean there is a cupcake bubble? You ever notice anytime anyone does anything now it's a "bubble"?
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Time to check out 50 Cent's investment library?
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Some analysts are trying to defend the for-profit education guys like Strayer Education (STRA) and Apollo Group (APOL) after Strayer's horrible results. But the reality is...
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Parents should not send their kids to college. It's too expensive. Why spend $200,000 to supposedly "teach your kids how to think," when all they do is go to parties or whatever?
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How I met the President of the United States or, another way I could put it is: How I got fired from my first writing gig, even though I was never hired.
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]]>50 centColumnsCrumbs bake shopcrumbs ipocupcake bubbleiposJames AltucherTue, 11 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Top 10 Greatest Trades of All Timehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/10/daily-blogwatch-top-10-greatest-trades-of-all-time/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/10/daily-blogwatch-top-10-greatest-trades-of-all-time/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/10/daily-blogwatch-top-10-greatest-trades-of-all-time/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

A lot of people like to throw around the phrase: "I'm an entrepreneur." But unless the majority of the items mentioned here resonate true for you, don't call yourself one.
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Steve's story: Google (GOOG) employee number 13. I can't actually read it. Can you read it and tell me if I should be jealous?
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Sponsored Links
If you could short Facebook, would you?
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The most useful invention ever: toilet paper.
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Barry Ritholtz has the top 10 greatest trades of all time.
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The one technique that works: How to steal and get rich -- 12 examples, plus the technique.
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Part 2 of Howard Lindzon's great interview with Mark Cuban.
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You might find this hard to believe, but the rising foreclosure situation could present five short-term benefits to the economy.

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]]>ColumnsJames AltucherMon, 10 Jan 2011 10:00:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: 10 Companies Expected to Be Most Profitable in 2011http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/07/blogwatch-10-companies-expected-to-be-most-profitable-in-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/07/blogwatch-10-companies-expected-to-be-most-profitable-in-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/07/blogwatch-10-companies-expected-to-be-most-profitable-in-2011/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

The real reason Facebook is worth $50 billion -- or, can also be titled, "Tales of a Fifth Grade Nothing."

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How to get out of the hole when you are down $2,000.
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The 10 crack commandments of the business world.

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The 10 companies expected to be the most profitable of 2011.

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Great article on Crossing Wall Street about the returns on Pink Sheet stocks.

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A look at gold from a very different perspective.

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Analysis of Crocs (CROX) from Michael Bigger.

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The lunch wars have begun. Long Heinz (HNZ), short Campbell's Soup (CPB)? Dragonfly Capital lays out the trade.

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Can what happened to MolyCorp (MCP) affect Rare Element (REE), Qiao Xing Universal (XING), and Avalon Rare Metals (AVL)?

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Could it be that there might be evidence for ESP?

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Sponsored Links
Can Quora survive its growing popularity?

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Top 10 Celebrity Twitter scandals.

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Wherein I learn that I must be broken down completely as a man in order to learn Spanish.

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Powerful, but tiny, post on how Isaac Asimov was able to write 400 books.

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Cody Willard's eight favorite financial bloggers.

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]]>Avalon Rare MetalsCampbell Soup CompanyColumnsCrocsESPfacebookfinancial bloggersgoldHJ Heinz CompanyMolyCorppink sheet stocksQiao XingRare ElementstwitterJames AltucherFri, 07 Jan 2011 09:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Why We Might Have 10% Unemployment Foreverhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/06/daily-blogwatch-why-we-might-have-10-unemployment-forever/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/06/daily-blogwatch-why-we-might-have-10-unemployment-forever/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/06/daily-blogwatch-why-we-might-have-10-unemployment-forever/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

53 things I learned from Stocktwits founder Howard Lindzon. No. 1: Make friends through violence.
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Quora is quickly overtaking twitter.
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It's quite possible we could have 10% unemployment forever.
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When CNBC calls me, I try to answer only in Spanish.
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Sponsored Links
Great interview with Mark Cuban.
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Felix Salmon on why Facebook won't go public.
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After the recent market book, what are all the current country market caps?
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Great picks: 12 semiconductor stocks that could really run in 2011.
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Molycorp disconnects from Earth in "The Chairman's" blog, which I highly recommend by the way.
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Is Larry Ellison buying a sports team?
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When will gold and silver go down?
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For more fun links throughout the day, follow me on twitter.

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]]>Columnsfacebook ipoMolycorpQuorasemiconductor stockstwitterunemploymentJames AltucherThu, 06 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: What Do You Do With Sex.com After Buying It for $13 Million?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/05/daily-blogwatch-what-do-you-do-with-sex-com-after-buying-it-for/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/05/daily-blogwatch-what-do-you-do-with-sex-com-after-buying-it-for/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/05/daily-blogwatch-what-do-you-do-with-sex-com-after-buying-it-for/#commentsFiled under: ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Turns out Goldman Sachs doesn't really value Facebook at $50 billion.
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So you just bought sex.com for $13 million. Now what?
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My story on how to succeed in L.A. without really trying.
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Credit Suisse's 18 best stock picks for 2011.
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Sponsored Links
Matt Busigin's must read article on what's going on in the economy right now. This article will be my bible for the next few months.
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Why do people like those Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books so much?
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Warren Buffett talks to Vanity Fair for 11 hours.
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I'm getting more addicted than ever.

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I'm really happy the camera was invented: Chiropractors beauty contest.

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]]>Columnssex.comstock picksstock picks for 2011Stocks to buywarren buffettJames AltucherWed, 05 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Is Facebook Worth $50 Billion?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/04/daily-blogwatch-is-facebook-worth-50-billion/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/04/daily-blogwatch-is-facebook-worth-50-billion/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/04/daily-blogwatch-is-facebook-worth-50-billion/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Some of the top stories for investors from around the Web:

Here's an excellent story dispelling five myths about China's communist party. It's important reading for any Chinese investors.
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My post on how to make your own viral video in five easy steps. I'm offering $1,000 for the best viral video someone can make for me.
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A list of 10 food stocks that could double in 2011.
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Sponsored Links
Seven must-read articles about creativity, including one about how Steve Jobs and Bob Dylan got their starts, Roger Ebert's pick for the only YouTube video worth an Oscar and more.
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Google (GOOG) is trying to buy companies differently from Yahoo (YHOO).
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Why is Facebook worth $50 billion?
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Five funny financial predictions for 2011.
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An article from Slate on "May-December" marriages, including statistics on whether or not a union like Hugh Hefner's with his latest playmate will succeed. Does enormous age difference even matter?
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Finally, an interesting demographic change: The people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate bridge are older, as a group, than those who committed similar suicides 30 years ago.


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]]>bob dylanchinaColumnscommunismCommunistcommunist chinacommunist partyCommunistsfacebookfinancial outlookRoger Ebertsteve jobsviral videoViral videosyoutubeYouTube videoyoutube videosJames AltucherTue, 04 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: The Bullish Case for 2011http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/03/daily-blogwatch-the-bullish-case-for-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/03/daily-blogwatch-the-bullish-case-for-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/03/daily-blogwatch-the-bullish-case-for-2011/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Some of the top stories for investors from around the Web:

The bullish case for the new year in 133 words.
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Buried treasures trading on the American Stock Exchange.
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Love the stock picks in Howard Lindzon's predictions for 2011.
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Why we desperately need a better Google (GOOG).
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Sponsored Links
AOL's (AOL) awkward billboard ad.
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Jim Cramer's top two Dow picks for 2011: Alcoa (AA) and Bank of America (BAC).
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Why I became a professional psychic for a day.
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My New Year's resolutions for 2011, including my desire to perform stand-up comedy by year's end.


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]]>AlcoaAOLColumnsgoogleJim Cramermining companiesJames AltucherMon, 03 Jan 2011 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Apple Expected to Launch Three New iPads in 2011http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/29/apple-new-ipads-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/29/apple-new-ipads-2011/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/29/apple-new-ipads-2011/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

The Daily Beast celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Microsoft (MSFT) Excel.
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How I learned to break dance, and then master the universe.
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The Wrongologist, Kathryn Schulz, gives her top 10 things that went wrong in 2010.
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Sponsored Links
Check your hands: long fingers linked to cancer risk.
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Apple (AAPL) prepares three new versions of the iPad for 2011.
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Doug Kass's 15 surprises for 2011.
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Great blast from the past. I wish I had applied for that job in 1994: a classified ad from Amazon (AMZN), pre-launch of their website.
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I didn't know that Galileo's greatest achievements came after he was 46 years old. Gives me hope.
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Applicable more than ever for the boom I think is coming in 2011: eight reasons not to day trade.




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]]>apple ipadColumnsdaytradingipadMicrosoft Excelnew iPadsJames AltucherWed, 29 Dec 2010 08:45:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Five Bullish and Bearish Charts for 2010http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/28/daily-blogwatch-five-bullish-and-bearish-charts-for-2010/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/28/daily-blogwatch-five-bullish-and-bearish-charts-for-2010/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/28/daily-blogwatch-five-bullish-and-bearish-charts-for-2010/#commentsSome of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Five bullish and bearish charts for 2011.
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Is Chinese the new language of the Internet?
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Online dating, Uri Geller the psychic, and how I met my wife.
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Sponsored Links
Will the demand for silver continue into 2011?
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Does the January Effect really work in the stock market?
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The Microcap Speculator has the macro call of the year: Buy Chinese microcaps. I believe this one.
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How I was talked into doing yoga, the video version. LuluLemon (LULU) might have gained a new customer.


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]]>January EffectlululemonsilveryogaJames AltucherTue, 28 Dec 2010 09:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: The Secret Story of Apple's Third Co-Founderhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/22/daily-blogwatch-the-secret-story-of-apples-third-co-founder/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/22/daily-blogwatch-the-secret-story-of-apples-third-co-founder/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/22/daily-blogwatch-the-secret-story-of-apples-third-co-founder/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

I had no idea Apple (AAPL) had a third co-founder.
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Prostitutes, junkies, and me at 3:00 AM.
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Interesting article about Scientology's "messiah."
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Sponsored Links
Is Google (GOOG) shopping around to buy an alternative to Groupon?
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New evidence that all life on Earth might, in fact, come from outer space via asteroids.
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Why did Tony Conrad sell about.me to AOL (AOL) so quickly?
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How investors can cash in right now on Facebook's $41 billion value.
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Some great stats you need to know for 2011 about the amount of sheer cash that corporate America has on the books.


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]]>about.meAOLColumnsfacebook valuescientologyJames AltucherWed, 22 Dec 2010 08:30:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Legal Blogs for Superheroes?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/21/daily-blogwatch-legal-blogs-for-superheroes/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/21/daily-blogwatch-legal-blogs-for-superheroes/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/21/daily-blogwatch-legal-blogs-for-superheroes/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Some of the best stories for investors from around the Web:

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings vs. Investor Whitney Tilson is great reading. Here, Hastings explains why Netflix stock (NFLX) is a good buy right now.
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Fascinating. Superheroes need a a legal blog to cope with some very tricky legal issues. Like, is Superman's heat vision protected by the second amendment.
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20 world records that were set in 2010.
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Internet ad revenues are now higher than newspaper revenues. Print is officially dead.
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Sponsored Links
Don't make any plans after May 2011.
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The Doom business is booming. Dr. Doom, himself, Nouriel Roubini, just bought a $5.5 million condo in New York City.
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Facebook stock trading at a 300 P/E ratio.
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Professor Bainbridge defends CNBC blogger John Carney on his quest to end insider trading laws -- and I agree.

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Is it bad that I originally wanted my first kid to be aborted? And other thoughts on fatherhood.
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]]>ColumnsFacebookNetflix CEOReed HastingsWhitney TilsonJames AltucherTue, 21 Dec 2010 09:15:00 ESTDaily Blogwatch: Mark Madoff, Oprah, Groupon and Morehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/20/daily-blogwatch-mark-madoff-oprah-groupon-and-more/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/20/daily-blogwatch-mark-madoff-oprah-groupon-and-more/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/20/daily-blogwatch-mark-madoff-oprah-groupon-and-more/#commentsFiled under:

Some of the top stories for investors from around the Web:

I'm Brian Stelter's biggest fan --here's a great article he wrote about Oprah.
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Bernie Madoff's reaction to his son's suicide.
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This pseudo-advice to a startup yoga magazine also sounds like it could be advice to Bloomberg's Businessweek.
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Sponsored Links
Read this to see that Groupon is a real business.
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Gold and silver could go ballistic by year end. I hope not.
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Here's a great "what if": What if McCain and Palin had won in 2008.
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Wherein I lived at the Chelsea Hotel after I built my first website and what happened next.
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The most depressing wedding vows story I've seen in the New York Times.

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]]>bernie madoffColumnsgrouponmark madoffoprahoprah winfreyOprahWinfreyNetworkJames AltucherMon, 20 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST