Investment World is A Changing

Disclaimer: OK so this post is not about TRI's. I do have other interests!

On a daily basis I read my favorite TRI blogs like Loping LouBob , Nancy Toby, fellow melanoma patient Holly at TRI and Be Happy, and of course I can't forget Bolder In Bolder! I even try to comment on as many as I have time. To keep up with everybody I now subscribe to NewsGator Online so I get updated when you write a new post. I read some fun blogs like Dooce, Durteemartini, and Tales From the Tube. I also read mountain biking blogs like Fat Cyclists.

Lately I have been reading blogs that relate to my industry, investments. More particular VC's...Venture capitalist or Venture capital Firms. On my NewsGator feed is Brad Feld of Mobius Venture Capital, Inc; Venture Blog by David Hornick and Andrew Anker of August Capital; and Jeremy Levine of Bessemer Venture Partners. I have learned from my reading that the VC's are on the cutting edge of how the investment world is changing.

This is now the world of the new media and you are a part of it. Yes, you who I mentioned above that write blogs that I read and yes you who read blogs that I write are a part of the new media. Jim Cramer was humping his show or book but humping something appearing on the Imus in the Morning Show on MSNBC and streamed online at msnbc.com. Don Imus, only interested in himself, asked about a stock he has personal interest in, CBS (ticker: CBS). Since his show is owned by CBS and he has a large CBS holding as a part of his salary Imus wanted to know if he was going to make more money. Jim Cramer said, loosely translated, CBS is trading at $23 something and in 10 years it will be trading at $23 something. CBS is the old media and is not doing anything to be a part of the new media. That was a month ago. Today CBS is at $24 something.

So I found it interesting that in today's Wall Street Journal, yes I still read print media all though I don't buy the paper I get a sample copy, on page B3 of the Media & Marketing section there was an article about two VC firms, Bessemer Venture Partners and Insight Venture Partners buying a 50% interest in IAG Research. IAG is not a Wall Street research firm but a research firm that is a major player in media research. IAG's clients list includes GM and American Express. It seems the VC's are interested in the new media and commercials on new media i.e. blogs, online video, mobile devices and web ads.

So what? That's the change. The change from the old media to the new media. Now I'm not talking about over priced Google. No I'm talking about the new media companies we use on a daily basis. Gone are the days of the print media, circulation is down. Gone are the days of the evening nightly news, viewership is down. Gone are the days of commercial revenue from TV, with TiVo no one watches commercials except during the super bowl and then only because someone else is in the bathroom.

So what are we holding in our portfolios new or old? To make money for our investors are we doing them a disservice by holding positions in companies that like CBS will not really grow in the next 10 years? New or old seems to be an age old question. I kinda like the new prospects for greater returns.