Twitter was the social networking phenomenon of 2009, and though the buzz has died down, it can still be a great tool for precious-metals investors—or anyone else. Like any other tool, it’s all about how you use it.
Some people immediately scoff at the mention of Twitter, but that’s their loss. You can choose to follow Ashton Kutcher and Brittney Spears (the two most followed tweeters on Twitter), or you can use the site as a time-saving news aggregator. By following some or all of the tweeters listed below, you can not only stay abreast of gold- and silver-related news, you can also get some fresh new investing ideas, 100% free of charge.
1. gold_tracker
Followers: 4,839. Tweets: 8,710.
The top hard-money tweeter on Twitter isn’t an offline celebrity and he doesn’t represent a larger media organ or investment company—he’s just a guy named Hal. But Hal, who’s also an avid disc golfer, tirelessly tracks the prices of gold and silver throughout each trading day and posts links to market-commentary articles, too. His perspective is very skeptical towards the government’s “official numbers,” and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned.
2. silver_bullion
Followers: 2,571. Tweets: 909.
The silver_bullion Twitter account is focused on showing why silver is a superior investment to gold. This tweeter takes it for granted that you know you should be in precious metals, and makes the case for silver—a case most Silver Monthly readers agree with. The account also tweets links to silver-related news and commentary from around the Internet and links to eBay auctions and other sites where you can find deals on silver coins.
3. silvermonthly
Followers: 955. Tweets: 85.
Of course I’m a bit biased, but the Silver Monthly Twitter account is one you most definitely should follow. Not only does the administrator post links to new articles and blog posts at Silver Monthly, but also news stories and market commentary from around the ‘Net.
4. silverguru22
Followers: 319. Tweets: 133.
World-famous silver investor David Morgan operates this account, which, despite its limited number of followers and tweets, is ranked the #1 most influential Twitter account on the topic of silver by the Twitter aggregator WeFollow. Here, Morgan tweets links to his free online “webinars” as well as audio commentaries and other articles.
5. APMEX
Followers: 1,319. Tweets: 766.
APMEX is probably the best source to buy gold and silver online—at least as long as you’re not planning on spending several thousand dollars. That’s why the firm’s Twitter account is so great: by following APMEX, you can be alerted to their special, limited-edition sales before non-followers. For example, APMEX tweeted a link to its year-end inventory reduction sale (the IRS taxes inventory as if it were earnings) early on December 24, long before the email advertisements went out.
6. currencynews
Followers: 19,939. Tweets: 8,130.
currencynews isn’t a “hard-money” tweeter at all, but the links it posts to news and commentary about the world’s fiat currencies are well worth reading—even if they need to be taken with a grain of government salt sometimes. The real value of gold and silver are best measured against other commodities, not paper money, but since we don’t typically buy our gold or silver coins with crude oil or pork bellies, staying abreast of the forex market is important for every gold and silver investor.
7. CommoditiesNews
Followers: 978. Tweets: 11,300.
CommoditiesNews is a tireless and largely thankless tweeter—just 978 followers with 11,300 posts. That’s by far the highest number of tweets per follower for any of the tweeters on this list. Nevertheless, CommoditiesNews is definitely worth following—why others don’t seem to think so beats me. Perhaps it’s because the account’s operator is too busy posting great links to really market himself. As stated above, it’s important for gold and silver investors to follow the commodities markets, as the relationship between commodities and precious metals reveal their real price better than fiat money. And of course, gold and silver are commodities themselves, and CommoditiesNews posts to articles about the gold and silver futures markets, as well as gold and silver stocks, too.
8. myztryk
Followers: 2,069. Tweets: 1,792.
Like #1 tweeter gold_tracker, the #8 tweeter on our list is “just a guy.” Mike Parkin, who tweets as myztryk, describes himself simply as a “hard currency advocate.” The links he posts are most often to hard-money commentary pieces, but he also tweets messages from people looking to buy or silver precious metals and related items.
9. PeterSchiff
Followers: 1,788. Tweets: 188.
Peter Schiff was always the token bear they let on CNBC and Fox News business shows during the “irrational exuberance” of the 2003-2007 bull market in stocks and housing. The Keynesian talking heads literally laughed at him when he predicted the financial crisis of 2008, but nobody’s laughing now. Next to Ron Paul, Schiff is the most visible proponent of Austrian economics, and he posts links to his videos and commentary, as well as articles written by others. The only problem with the PeterSchiff account is that Schiff has decided to run for office in Connecticut, and thus some of his political posts clog up the otherwise worthy investment content.
10. Judgenap and shellyroche
Followers: 7,639 / 16,316. Tweets: 69 / 2,501.
If you are interested in the more purely political side of things, then you’re probably a fan of Judge Andrew Napolitano. He hosts Freedom Watch on Fox News, though unfortunately, the show is only “aired” online. But frequently, “Judge Nap,” who has authored such books as Nation of Sheep and The Constitution in Exile, fills in for the decidedly less pro-hard money Glenn Beck. His assistant Shelly Roche is a lot more active on Twitter, though, and through her you can tweet questions to the judge.
11. AustrianEcon
Followers: 5,108. Tweets: 4,504.
You don’t have to understand economics in order to make money investing in precious metals, but it doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure. An understanding of and appreciation for Austrian economics can help give you the confidence that what you’re doing is right, even when the market goes against you in the short term. This Twitter account posts links to the Austrian Economics blog, which in turn often links to the Mises Institute and other Austrian economics sites.
12. thesilverbar
Followers: 391. Tweets: 2,796.
One way to get followers on Twitter is to post a photo of an attractive female as your profile pic. With that in mind, it’s surprising that thesilverbar doesn’t have more followers. Whether or not the image belongs to the individual doing the actual tweeting is irrelevant, of course, but the links he/she posts are excellent. In addition to precious-metals news, thesilverbar also posts links to personal finance articles, and he/she tweets inspirational quotes as an added bonus.
13. DailyFXTeam
Followers: 1,403. Tweets: 7,114.
Another good tweeter that keeps tabs on the relationship between the world’s fiat currencies, and indirectly, how they relate to gold and silver. Unlike most Twitter accounts, DailyFXTeam is virtually all commentary (no links), and posts dozens of tweets each day.
14. DillonGage
Followers: 609. Tweets: 585.
DillonGage is similar to DailyFXTeam, only their tweets are focused strictly on precious metals, rather than fiat currencies. DillonGage posts multiple updates every day tracking the spot prices of gold and silver, and is affiliated with the Dillon Gage Group.
15. tomesnyder
Followers: 182. Tweets: 1,635.
Tom Snyder says he’s a “defender of the faith and liberty.” He posts links to a wide variety of articles from a libertarian and libertarian-conservative perspective, including plenty of stuff on gold, silver, and fiat money.
16. goldsilvertrnds
Followers: 737. Tweets: 410.
goldsilvertrnds tweets forecasts and predictions for various commodity items, most notably gold and silver. Its predictions are useful for day- and swing-traders.
17. Goldline
Followers: 778. Tweets: 187.
Goldline follows the spot price of gold throughout the trading day, and also posts links to interesting articles. Its most recent tweet, as of the Christmas weekend, linked to an article predicting gold at $5,000 an ounce
18. Silvernews
Followers: 265. Tweets: 40.
Silvernews provides independent and objective news for silver traders. The only problem is that it does so infrequently. As of Christmas weekend, its most recent three posts were made on December 21, December 15, and December 9. Then again, quality is more important than quantity, and that’s why you should follow Silvernews.
19. BullionBulls
Followers: 642. Tweets: 262.
BullionBulls provides macroeconomic commentary and analysis with extreme skepticism for the “official story.” Recent tweets disparage the validity of U.S. housing numbers and the FDIC’s ability to insure savers.
20. wolfeblog
Followers: 1,178. Tweets: 2,349.
Here’s something completely different: wolfeblog is the Twitter account for the blog of the same name, which has its focus on “survivalism.” As Wolfe explains it, his blog is for you if you’re interested in “learning how to do things yourself, getting off the grid, and back to the land.” Wolfe describes himself as a libertarian, ham radio operator, and homesteader. If these things interest you, as they do many silver investors, be sure to check him out.
21. FirePips
Followers: 1,137. Tweets: 252.
One more forex tweeter for good measure: FirePips is a 27-year-old, full-time forex trader who shares his experiences (and free forex signals) via Twitter.
22. myinfo4u
Followers: 3,546. Tweets: 341.
myinfo4u seeks to “expose the truth” in housing, politics, the economy, peak oil and “our corrupt central banking system.” He also posts links to a variety of money-making opportunities (some legit, others “get-rich-quick” schemes), and inspiring stories about people making do in the down economy.
23. buymetals
Followers: 3,658. Tweets: 9,047.
buymetals posts tweets to great deals on coins and bullion from all over the Internet. Although the account is affiliated with a copper seller (World Market Copper), buymetals posts links to gold and silver coins, too, and does not merely shill for its own copper-coin sales. There are several links posted to non-World Market sites, but the World Market deals are pretty good on their own—good enough for over 3,600 people to be following buymetals.
24. silverbullnews
Followers: 218. Tweets: 1,123.
silverbullnews has posted some outstanding links and other tweets, as well as hard-money-influenced political commentary. If this list had been composed two months earlier, silverbullnews would have been one of the top-ranked tweeters. Unfortunately, the account hasn’t been updated since November 11. It’s still worth checking out, though, and hopefully it will come back.
25. BarterGoldRamth
Followers: 1,516. Tweets: 2,560.
This Twitter account is operated by Terry Sachetti and affiliated with the Barter Gold and Silver blog. That’s a great site, and at first glance, BarterGoldRamth looks like a great tweeter to follow… But Sachetti mostly reposts the same articles over and over again. The articles are all outstanding and worth reading, which still allows BarterGoldRamth to make the cut—barely. Over 1,500 Twitter users are following BarterGoldRamth, probably in the hopes that Sachetti will post some new content. It might be worth following him for a while to see if he does.