How could Wall Street Oasis serve you better?
Faster page load and posting speed
11% (45 votes)
More financial Wall Street news / content
11% (48 votes)
More humorous Wall Street content
18% (75 votes)
Better layout / design (please share specifics)
6% (27 votes)
New features (please share)
1% (5 votes)
Improved search functionality
15% (64 votes)
More interview guides / publications
11% (48 votes)
More jobs in the job board
15% (66 votes)
Discounts on other services (Resume Review, GMAT prep, etc.)
6% (24 votes)
Other, please share.
6% (25 votes)
Total votes: 427
Comments
Users
by CompBankerI believe the thing that would improve WSO the most is more active users! While features are nice, the main reason people come and revisit the site is to read the new posts. The more users there are making posts, the more content there is for me to read.
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CompBanker
hmmm
by WallStreetOasis.comI believe the thing that would improve WSO the most is more active users! While features are nice, the main reason people come and revisit the site is to read the new posts. The more users there are making posts, the more content there is for me to read.
good point. Well we do get between 30-60 new users every day. Many of these users never become active and others are here just to learn, ask one question, etc. There are probably a core of ~500 or so users that make up the majority of discussions in any given month...even though we have 1,000s of registered users and hundreds of thousands of visitors every month.
any suggestions on how we could get more active users?
thanks!
Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Patrick, Honestly, I don't
by CompBankerPatrick,
Honestly, I don't have the magic answer for you. I would say that maybe you should consider focusing your efforts on incentivizing the users you do have to post instead of trying to bring new users onboard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CompBanker
I have a few suggestions for
by Banker88I have a few suggestions for the site:
1) A FAQ section including:
-What is investment banking, S&T, etc.
-Common abbreviations
-General rules on how to break in
-Typical paths of an IB analyst
-etc....
---> this can be a section where we contribute full posts to help out new users, similar to M&I's blog. I know there is currently a FAQ section, but I couldn't access it for some reason so I don't know what's there.
2) Firm descriptions - for people to look up basic info on GS, MS, boutiques, etc. Could include recent deals, league tables, and important info to know about each firm. I'm sure many people would use this section to prepare for interviews, and there would be fewer posts such as "Miller Buckfire - anyone heard of em?" Also, users can post comments on what they think of each firm, though this will likely turn into a Piper Jaffray joke section.
3) Anonymous Reviews - As a section of firm descriptions, perhaps the function to post anonymous reviews for people who work there, know people, to give an inside perspective of the company without revealing your identity. This could include salary levels and reviews (similar to glassdoor.com).
4) Clothing Reviews - where people can post reviews and promotions (perhaps anonymously) about clothing, suits, watches they have bought, with the ability to upload user images. Perhaps you can use this to link to retailers and boost revenue for the site.
5) Previews of WSO guides (i.e. 5 sample pages) so people know what they're getting. Also bundling guides - like selling the technical and behavioral guide together for $30 or whatever.
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replies
by WallStreetOasis.comI have a few suggestions for the site:
1) A FAQ section including:
-What is investment banking, S&T, etc.
-Common abbreviations
-General rules on how to break in
-Typical paths of an IB analyst
-etc....
---> this can be a section where we contribute full posts to help out new users, similar to M&I's blog. I know there is currently a FAQ section, but I couldn't access it for some reason so I don't know what's there.
Please see here: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/faq (under the About menu)...we could improve this by making it a wiki of sorts...but I think it hits on almost all of the most basic questions / abbreviations.
2) Firm descriptions - for people to look up basic info on GS, MS, boutiques, etc. Could include recent deals, league tables, and important info to know about each firm. I'm sure many people would use this section to prepare for interviews, and there would be fewer posts such as "Miller Buckfire - anyone heard of em?" Also, users can post comments on what they think of each firm, though this will likely turn into a Piper Jaffray joke section.
Would love to do this it is just super time consuming / intense.
3) Anonymous Reviews - As a section of firm descriptions, perhaps the function to post anonymous reviews for people who work there, know people, to give an inside perspective of the company without revealing your identity. This could include salary levels and reviews (similar to glassdoor.com).
I have thought about creating specific "company pages" but I feel this is really what the forums are for (and tags). The primary issue here is really just building them. It would be a huge task...something we would definitely consider going forward but hard to do right now with tight cash flow and time.
4) Clothing Reviews - where people can post reviews and promotions (perhaps anonymously) about clothing, suits, watches they have bought, with the ability to upload user images. Perhaps you can use this to link to retailers and boost revenue for the site.
We are actually in the process of writing a Fashion Guide to Wall Street.
5) Previews of WSO guides (i.e. 5 sample pages) so people know what they're getting. Also bundling guides - like selling the technical and behavioral guide together for $30 or whatever.
[/quote]
Just instituted a 110% money-back guarantee, and we could definitely provide some short samples, but bundling is tough because there are different co-authors across different guides.
Thanks for all the suggestions...will definitely try to take some of them.
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A minor but annoying problem
by Mayor QuimbyA minor but annoying problem that I'd love to see fixed: Stop requiring subjects for replies! There's no need for it, and it's annoying to quote someone, hit Post, and then have to go back and put in a subject just so it can go through.
good point
by WallStreetOasis.comA minor but annoying problem that I'd love to see fixed: Stop requiring subjects for replies! There's no need for it, and it's annoying to quote someone, hit Post, and then have to go back and put in a subject just so it can go through.
good call -- will look into it.
FYI, we are also trying to get a new Search module installed that will kick ass. Check it out here: http://acquia.com/products-services/acquia-search
will probably try the free 30 day trial to see how much it will cost us (how big our index is)....but could give us some nice flexibility in search we haven't had to date (ie by user, by date, etc.)
We are also about to launch a massive campaign to get many more jjobs into our job board.
Thanks for all the feedback.
-Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
done
by WallStreetOasis.comA minor but annoying problem that I'd love to see fixed: Stop requiring subjects for replies! There's no need for it, and it's annoying to quote someone, hit Post, and then have to go back and put in a subject just so it can go through.
done - got it so it puts in the comment subject automatically. thanks for the feedback.
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WallStreetOasis.com
by CaptKA minor but annoying problem that I'd love to see fixed: Stop requiring subjects for replies! There's no need for it, and it's annoying to quote someone, hit Post, and then have to go back and put in a subject just so it can go through.
done - got it so it puts in the comment subject automatically. thanks for the feedback.
This so minor, but was such an annoyance. Awesome fix, thanks Patrick.
I think this poll is kind of proof you can't please everyone - there's really no runaway winner. I would agree with CompBanker - incentivizing people to post quality content (which you've started to do with the silver bananas) is a good step.
Still though, the "reward" is simply a banana number next to a pseudonymous username on an internet forum. Perhaps a way to somehow translate the bananas into a real reward?
Another suggestion - I think you could really supercharge the site by somehow allowing or aiding the linkage of usernames to real people. Yes, I know this flies in the face of the very anonymity I and so many others demand here. However, hear me out. Many of us have built real reputations on the site, and I would probably be interested in professionally networking with some other reputable members that I trust. Because really, I am not so concerned with maintaining my anonymity from someone like CompBanker for example, but I AM concerned with making sure there is no discernible link between "captk" and my real name in Google indexable hypertext that my HR department or potential employers could find.
If somehow you could allow users to privately and reciprocally disclose their identities to each other in order to enable some real-life networking, that could allow us to leverage our reputations on this board in real life (and actually achieve your other goal of getting people to post more quality content, as a strong reputation on WSO would become valuable in real life).
Thoughts?
- Capt K
"Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
captk wrote: Another
by drexelalum11Another suggestion - I think you could really supercharge the site by somehow allowing or aiding the linkage of usernames to real people. Yes, I know this flies in the face of the very anonymity I and so many others demand here. However, hear me out. Many of us have built real reputations on the site, and I would probably be interested in professionally networking with some other reputable members that I trust. Because really, I am not so concerned with maintaining my anonymity from someone like CompBanker for example, but I AM concerned with making sure there is no discernible link between "captk" and my real name in Google indexable hypertext that my HR department or potential employers could find.
If somehow you could allow users to privately and reciprocally disclose their identities to each other in order to enable some real-life networking, that could allow us to leverage our reputations on this board in real life (and actually achieve your other goal of getting people to post more quality content, as a strong reputation on WSO would become valuable in real life).
Thoughts?
Just use PMs - there are several users I know in real life via that method.
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captk wrote: This so minor,
by WallStreetOasis.comThis so minor, but was such an annoyance. Awesome fix, thanks Patrick.
I think this poll is kind of proof you can't please everyone - there's really no runaway winner. I would agree with CompBanker - incentivizing people to post quality content (which you've started to do with the silver bananas) is a good step.
Still though, the "reward" is simply a banana number next to a pseudonymous username on an internet forum. Perhaps a way to somehow translate the bananas into a real reward?
captk, thanks for the great suggestion. While I don't think we will be able to please everyone all of the time, we can certainly keep improving. Personally, I was surprised to see that so many people clicked on "Faster page load and posting speed" because since last month the site has been nothing but lightning fast for me.
It was also interesting to see that more people would like more jobs (our next major initiative) and more people want an improved search functionality -- next month we will be trying a 30 day trial with Acquia Search which would could give some awesome flexibility (user, dates, relevance / keywords) but hopefully wont cost a fortune to host since our index is large (Google Custom search is free but doesnt have any cool filtering)...the test will reveal how much additional cost this will be per month.
In terms of the user identities -- I know of many people that have met offline after meeting online at WSO. I personally have met many of the users on here in person and many of them have helped me grow the business. I think the best way to go about this networking is through private messages on here. while it would be fairly easy to allow users to add more private and professional information to their profile, I'm not sure how many people would use that and could achieve the same result through an introduction over PM. were you thinking giving users the ability to contact you and get your personal info for a fee (like LinkedIn?)?
I'm willing to consider anything, I just don't want to keep spending thousands in web development for features that are not central to the site's goals which is to educate and entertain Wall Street professionals / hopefuls.
in terms of converting the Silver Bananas to a real reward, I've definitely thought of doing this, or using WSO Credits as a currency for the site (instead of Silver Bananas which I want to users to keep forever as a sign of their contributions -- WSO Credits they spend)...where the WSO Credits could be used to get discounts on guides, get access to premium job listings, get a WSO t-shirt, etc. These are all things we are working on.
Will keep you updated,
Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Very minor annoyance but
by Mayor QuimbyVery minor annoyance but probably an easy fix: On a thread with over 50 replies that goes onto a second page (like this one: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/err-fired-after-day-1-of-new-hf-jo...), you need to scroll all the way down to click the link to the next page. Can you just add the page number links to the top of the post as well?
Thanks for being so receptive to feedback.
Patrick, You linked the FAQ
by DontMakeMeShortYouPatrick,
You linked the FAQ and I clicked on it of curiosity, but like banker88 I couldn't access it. I'm told that I need a username and password to see the page even though I'm already logged in. I try logging in again and am sent back to the same page.
Mayor Quimby wrote: Very
by DontMakeMeShortYouVery minor annoyance but probably an easy fix: On a thread with over 50 replies that goes onto a second page (like this one: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/err-fired-after-day-1-of-new-hf-jo...), you need to scroll all the way down to click the link to the next page. Can you just add the page number links to the top of the post as well?
Thanks for being so receptive to feedback.
Another thing that's annoying about the multi-page threads is that you can never see which posts are new. You click on the thread and are sent to the first page. Once you move on to the second, even if there are new posts, none of them have the "new" tag.
DontMakeMeShortYou
by WallStreetOasis.comPatrick,
You linked the FAQ and I clicked on it of curiosity, but like banker88 I couldn't access it. I'm told that I need a username and password to see the page even though I'm already logged in. I try logging in again and am sent back to the same page.
sorry guys - it was a permission issue. should be fixed now.
thanks,
Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
DontMakeMeShortYou
by CompBankerVery minor annoyance but probably an easy fix: On a thread with over 50 replies that goes onto a second page (like this one: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/err-fired-after-day-1-of-new-hf-jo...), you need to scroll all the way down to click the link to the next page. Can you just add the page number links to the top of the post as well?
Thanks for being so receptive to feedback.
Another thing that's annoying about the multi-page threads is that you can never see which posts are new. You click on the thread and are sent to the first page. Once you move on to the second, even if there are new posts, none of them have the "new" tag.
I know these two issues have been raised numerous times over the past couple of years. While I imagine the 1st one is easily addressed, I believe Patrick has encountered some difficulty attempting to fix #2. What I do is I just count the number of read/unread posts before clicking on the original thread link, then I know where I need to start reading from. It isn't perfect, but it is a decent workaround for me.
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CompBanker
Search never worked for me
by FunctionSearch never worked for me for some reason. Also, a mobile portal for browsing the forums on a blackberry would be awesome. Lastly, maybe a stripped down version that doesn't catch attention if browsing at work?
Hate to revive a dormant
by Anthony .Hate to revive a dormant post, but any chance on an IPhone application? I would LOVE that. Great site!
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Mobile site should be up and
by WallStreetOasis.comMobile site should be up and running...not sure if your phone will pick it up automatically but it's m.wallstreetoasis.com
It still is not staying in the mobile theme within the threads so kind of messed up now but we're working on it.
If you want a stripped down version, you can see the m.wso.com...pretty basic (again, has some issues still).
New Search module should be up by the end of the day tomorrow (hopefully).
-Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Mobile version of the site is
by WallStreetOasis.comMobile version of the site is functional at m.wallstreetoasis.com
You can get there directly or once you get to WSO on your mobile device just click on the "Mobile" link in the primary navigation bar.
Comments Welcome,
Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Mobile looks great Patrick.
by trade4sizeMobile looks great Patrick. Very impressed.
As far as what I would like to see for the site it comes down to connecting with other people, in my case traders. I am a bit surprised that once I really got into working how much my posting dropped but I think the biggest reason for that is that I had no reason to come to the site to see the same posts over and over. Im at the point now where I need to work on myself and cant really give advice to others. So the short answer is to bring more traders and other professionals on board.
"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
Hey why'd you get rid of the
by Banker88Hey why'd you get rid of the preview post buttpn? I used it sometimes to see if links or formatting worked properly.
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Banker88, When I added links
by CompBankerBanker88,
When I added links to my signature, the preview button went away. It may be the result of your signature.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CompBanker
Quote: In terms of converting
by logimechIn terms of converting the Silver Bananas to a real reward, I've definitely thought of doing this, or using WSO Credits as a currency for the site (instead of Silver Bananas which I want to users to keep forever as a sign of their contributions -- WSO Credits they spend)...where the WSO Credits could be used to get discounts on guides, get access to premium job listings, get a WSO t-shirt, etc. These are all things we are working on.
Having some experience in this domain, I would add that the focus of such incentives should be inclusive of (if not targeted to) attracting/keeping the professionals on this forum. Those are the primary content providers, and [as they say] content is king.
Premium job listings sounds on the mark, WSO t-shirt and discounts on guides doesn't. (In my opinion.)
There's no lack of questions, and the incentive for prospective IB Analysts is inherent in the information.
I'm sure you've heard this
by logimechI'm sure you've heard this one before, but I wouldn't mind a change in the layout/display of the silver banana / monkey shit on the side.
After logging taking the time to remember my password and log on to make a contributory post, I was greeted by pieces of shit on the right side of the screen. This is the first time I've logged on since that change, and my initial reaction was not a good one. I don't like looking at shit, even if it's cartoon shit.
So here's a suggestion: don't force your logged-in viewers to look at shit.
If anything, to encourage more active forum users, force non-logged in users to look at shit, and remove when they log in.
logimech wrote: I'm sure
by WallStreetOasis.comI'm sure you've heard this one before, but I wouldn't mind a change in the layout/display of the silver banana / monkey shit on the side.
After logging taking the time to remember my password and log on to make a contributory post, I was greeted by pieces of shit on the right side of the screen. This is the first time I've logged on since that change, and my initial reaction was not a good one. I don't like looking at shit, even if it's cartoon shit.
So here's a suggestion: don't force your logged-in viewers to look at shit.
If anything, to encourage more active forum users, force non-logged in users to look at shit, and remove when they log in.
actually, that is the first time I've heard that before. I didn't know cartoon shit could be taken so seriously...the reason it shows up for logged in users is because they are the ones with the ability to throw the shit should they consider a post worthy of shit (or a silver banana). The fact that they see it when logged in on each comment is only a reminder that they can tag any post they wish (as long as they have WSO credits) with shit if it is not "contributory."
Thanks,
Patrick
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I'm sure this has been
by ringtailedlemurI'm sure this has been suggested before, but having a "Subscribe" function for threads would be huge.
The best way I've seen it done is:
1. Every time you reply to a thread, you are automatically subscribed (this is a preference though, and could be disabled). There's also a button to subscribe to threads that you don't reply to.
2. Whenever there's a reply to a thread you're subscribed to, you get an email with the reply. You don't receive additional emails until you view the thread again.
3. There's a "Control Panel" page, where you can view all of the threads you're subscribed to with unread posts.
I know for me, this feature would bring me back to WSJ all the time -- I get really invested in threads that I participate in, but I don't check the forums that often because there are so many junky posts to sift through. Let me know if I can clarify any aspects of this.
ringtailedlemur wrote: I'm
by WallStreetOasis.comI'm sure this has been suggested before, but having a "Subscribe" function for threads would be huge.
The best way I've seen it done is:
1. Every time you reply to a thread, you are automatically subscribed (this is a preference though, and could be disabled). There's also a button to subscribe to threads that you don't reply to.
2. Whenever there's a reply to a thread you're subscribed to, you get an email with the reply. You don't receive additional emails until you view the thread again.
3. There's a "Control Panel" page, where you can view all of the threads you're subscribed to with unread posts.
I know for me, this feature would bring me back to WSJ all the time -- I get really invested in threads that I participate in, but I don't check the forums that often because there are so many junky posts to sift through. Let me know if I can clarify any aspects of this.
E-mail notify has been turned on...please let me know if there are any bugs here that you find. thanks.
-Patrick
Financial Modeling Training
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Woah... awesome! I'll let
by ringtailedlemurWoah... awesome! I'll let you know if I see any kinks.
ringtailedlemur
by WallStreetOasis.comWoah... awesome! I'll let you know if I see any kinks.
see...i listen. ;-)
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WSO, turning this on is fine,
by CompBankerWSO, turning this on is fine, but the default should definitely be unclicked. Otherwise I forget to click and all of a sudden it's a blast full of spam should the thread be popular.
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CompBanker
CompBanker wrote: WSO,
by drexelalum11WSO, turning this on is fine, but the default should definitely be unclicked. Otherwise I forget to click and all of a sudden it's a blast full of spam should the thread be popular.
Yep, definitely agree, turning it off by default would be much better.
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Even though it's my first
by GiebelkreuzbatemanEven though it's my first post, I already have a suggestion: What about an international section for non-Americans? Or more generally, how about getting more non-Americans to post here? Even as it is now, this forum is much more helpful for me, than any others I know of, but it would be even more so, if it had a stronger European perspective.
There is some information on the forums, how it is for Americans to work in London or HK, but I have not seen a lot about Europeans who want to work in London for example.
There are pretty much the same banks in London, but the recruiting process is slightly different than in the States. So while this forum is still very helpful for Europeans who want to work in London, it would be even more helpful, if there were more Europeans on the forum, who would know what the target universities are in Europe or how a European MBA would help you.
I think you should change it
by Gekko21I think you should change it so that when we receive an email that someone else has posted on a thread that we posted on we actually see the text and don't have to keep hitting the link to open another window. Seeing the text would tell us if it was worth responding to without having to check all the posts.
"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
I agree with Gekko! The
by ringtailedlemurI agree with Gekko! The formatting + usefulness of the emails is rather gnarly right now.
Start a chatting feature.
by The ShitStart a chatting feature.
A print feature would be
by BluestoneA print feature would be great.
Being able to print a full topic with or without comments.
Maybe it already exists, haven't found it
drexelalum11
by WallStreetOasis.comWSO, turning this on is fine, but the default should definitely be unclicked. Otherwise I forget to click and all of a sudden it's a blast full of spam should the thread be popular.
Yep, definitely agree, turning it off by default would be much better.
This is done.
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I think I posted this
by Banker88I think I posted this already, but we shouldn't have to scroll all the way to the bottom of a post to click to go to the next page. If you could put the page numbers / next button at the top of the thread, that would be more convenient. Also perhaps a function to sort the thread by most recent on top, and to be able to view all posts on one page.
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Thanks! I have been lurking
by mobius2005Thanks! I have been lurking here for a couple of days now and have been overwhelmed by all the Acronyms. I have been looking for an FAQ in vein. It would help if FAQ is made into a main link or semi obvious in the header. FAQ would also benefit from FAQ about how to use the site. It's very confusing for a new member. For example, how do I vote for a post? Do I award a silver banana? What is a silver banana?
Sorry if this is all somewhere on the site. It's just not very easily visible.
Patrick wrote: sorry guys -
by mobius2005sorry guys - it was a permission issue. should be fixed now.
Same thing with 2009 compensation database link that shows up when you search for "Database"