FT Opens Chatroom For Money Men

Stock market professionals can now debate the latest economic issues in FT.com’s Long Room online.

Taking its name from a real-world drinking hole in the City, the Long Room is a virtual space where members can post comments and lead topic threads.

It acts as a user-generated accompaniment to the Alphaville blog, which has seen its traffic soar in the wake of the global credit crisis.



According to Journalism.co.uk, the Long Room came about after the FT realised this growing Alphaville community was using third-party sites to debate issues raised by its posts.

Membership to the Long Room is free but not universal as the site is aimed at “professional market participants who understand the complexities of the financial instruments discussed”.

Wannabe members have to submit some details in order to earn an invitation to join the debate, and managing director Rob Grimshaw summed it up as “a little bit clubby”.

He also revealed that plans are afoot to launch a mobile version of the Long Room in the future.