Financial Genius

Readers,

A common thread among companies in the market right now is an overly optimistic outlook on the second quarter. Many companies saw plenty of luck late last year and early this year, and it seems they’re counting on that luck to continue. My recommendation is to keep a calm eye on these companies, because more likely than not, they are going to fall short of their projections and we’ll see plenty of good buying opportunity in the second quarter.

Take-Two interactive is back on the watch list for just this reason. Their second-quarter projections are looking a bit inflated, and their stock price shot up by more than ten percent over the last few days as a result of excitement in the market. Mark my words, now is a good time to start a slow sell-off. I’ll get back into TTWO more heavily next quarter.

On another note, a brighter leaf for eDoorways seems to be turning. While their platform continues to lack a great deal of usability, the web site is starting to look a great deal more inviting. In their beta 2.0 version published early this week, which if you ask me is actually still of “alpha” quality, it looks like they finally hired the right design team. Now all they need are a few more solid programmers and a few strong additions to their concept that’ll keep people on and coming back to their website.

When I logged into eDoorways Beta 2.0 a couple of days ago, no one was online to chat with me about any of the questions that I wanted answers to for topics ranging from gardening to how to get my website online. It threw the “power key” terminology at me in a way that was unintuitive after searching for a question that the system didn’t have any suggestions for. If I were new to the concept of eDoorways, I’d be clueless and confused.

If no one is online, EDWY has only created a forum. If the system can’t help me answer my question, there’s no reason to use it. If nothing else is keeping me thinking about this website, I’m going to log off, and I’m not coming back. The system does not feel like it’s alive.

In all, I’d say eDoorways is making progress, but they’ve still got a long way to go, and right now probably isn’t the best time to be dumping money into getting swarms of users and service providers to log into the system. The website isn’t ready to keep them there.

~A

Readers,

Taken from my very own list of companies in development, and mentioned for the fiftieth time in this blog, eDoorways has launched what they are calling their “SOLVE” doorway. This is the first of a line of doorways that will introduce buckets of functionality to their new web-based consumer-problem-solving gateway. With “SOLVE” comes the beginning of eDoorways.

This morning, I saw a press release pop on the wire for eDoorways. One paragraph in it stated, “…was also impressed with the performance of eDoorways CEO Gary Kimmons. ‘Gary Kimmons hit the stage in Austin last week, channeling Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, to launch a new online tool developed by Kimmons’ company, eDoorways Corp.,’ stated Calnan. ‘Looking like someone dying to tell a long-held secret, he revealed to the audience of about 165 the company’s product called `SOLVE`.’”

It’s too bad they had to let the cat out of the bag by posting a terrible video of the introduction of eDoorways to edoorways.com. In the video, Gary Kimmons doesn’t present eDoorways as if he’s channeling Steve Jobs, he presents as though he needs years of private tutoring from one of Jobs’ assistants. Gary appeared apprehensive, unenthusiastic, and lame. Mr. Jobs rarely appears less than laid back, genuine, proud, and enthusiastic about what he’s presenting to the world.

The video continues, ad nauseam, with one person after another piling onto the stage. Gary was not introduced and then given the stage, he was sharing it with the master of ceremonies. Ask Jobs if he’d be interested in that arrangement; I bet I’ve got an answer for ya’. That wasn’t the end, though.

As Gary drudgingly led the audience through the presentation of an unfinished product, yet another “expert” piled onto the stage. No one ever had the stage, and it started looking as though the MC’s only job was to do her best to bedazzle every terrible tussle that escaped Gary’s mouth. Oh, and Gary; you really need to learn how to smile, dude.

Unfinished product; how could I not elaborate. Even before Gary could explain what Web 3.0 is, eDoorways has been sporting a Web 3.0 capable product. Sadly, no Web 3.0 capability made a debut on October 1st. Once again, you go ahead and ask Jobs if he’d ever present an unfinished product to the world and expect them to gasp in awe.

Instead, the video started with a demo of what’s known to the Internet community as “chat” technology. Now “chat” technology is pretty high-tech, so I don’t expect you readers to catch on immediately, but I’ll explain it for you. This “chat” technology allows you to communicate with a person, or vendor, who is on the other end of the “chat”. Almost as though they’re in a “chat room”, if you will.

What eDoorways does is provide these specialized “chat rooms” where vendors and consumers can meet and talk about the consumer’s needs, and each room can be found by this phenomenal invention called the “Power Key”. Power keys are really where the heart of eDoorways lies. A power key is this search term that can be purchased by vendors looking to get in on the other end of this chat with a consumer. So, if a consumer types the word “vacuum” into their search query, eDoorways shows that consumer a list of vacuum dealers that are currently available to answer their questions.

Here’s the best part, though. The chat rooms will provide vendors and service providers with opportunities to sell their useful products or services after providing the consumer with the “best possible advice”. How innovative is that!

Please. Should I jump now or after you try to tell me how eDoorways is better than Google just one more time. Nothing that’s been presented thus far is new or innovative, and frankly, once the Web 3.0 bits are added in, all it’s going to do is enhance search on the search terms that eDoorways is selling.

What’s that? Oh, right. Sorry, Gary — “Power Keys”. Search terms are a thing of the past, because that’s what Google uses. Good lord.

I’m not impressed, and I don’t think the world’s impressed. I think a good number of small businesses are being suckered into a clunker. Let’s not forget that eDoorways’ target audience is made up of small businesses without an existing web presence. They don’t have a web presence, because they don’t know how to get one. They don’t know much about the Internet at all, in fact. So lucky for Gary, he’s got plenty of suckers to help line his pockets.

What’s worse is that the design of eDoorways has not improved. If it had, Gary and the rest of his team might actually have a usable product. Sadly, it looks like they contracted out to my trucker friend, without a single design-oriented bone in his body, who whipped up a few splotches while making a wide turn or two.

So, what are we left with: a CEO looking to get rich quick or a group of individuals who actually think they’re being innovative and channeling Steve Jobs? Whatever it is, it’s making for one hell of a bucking bronco when it comes down to daily share price. One could flip eDoorways shares a few times a day, assuming one is in compliance with the SEC’s new rules on day trading and the volume stays high.

Shares may make it to ten cents or even a dollar, and they’ll likely be turbulent for a while, but what shareholders should recognize is that what eDoorways is attempting to do here is not far outside the realm of what the world already has. It’s not likely that this offering will last, I don’t see eDoorways on the top ten websites family and friends should visit, and eDoorways is being led by a boob who needs a slightly tougher grip on reality, the Internet, and the fact that the nineties was nearly a decade ago.

If eDoorways keeps staking claims that Google doesn’t provide Web 3.0 functionality, they’re gonna find themselves in a whole heap o’ trouble. Readers, Google is pioneering Web 3.0, and they’re still on the top of the ball game. They also happen to do a very good job of keeping things simple — something Gary still struggles with; especially when he’s trying to define his company for investors.

So, in all, eDoorways is no longer looking like it’s a good position to go long in the market even though short gains may still be in order. While they may make it past Christmas, or even through next year, they will never make it to the big time with what they presented on October 1st.

Let’s trash this holding and move onto the next one folks.

~A

Dear Readers,

Development is exciting, and it’s something all companies must undergo in order to exist. The nature of the development may be physical, technological, virtual, spiritual, ideological, or monetary. It is these developments that excite human beings, and excited human beings often offer their vote in direct response.

A vote may be positive, negative, or neutral. In the stock market, votes of excitement, fear, confidence, or a lack of confidence help make bulls and bears of positions. Because developments cause excitement, it would stand to reason that an investor savvy in predicting development is a wealthy investor indeed.

Currently, my portfolio is full of companies on the brink of development. eDoorways, Camelot Entertainment, and Cord Blood America are only a few. Recently, Cord Blood America (CBAI) built what may reasonably be the largest cryogenic research and storage facility in the world. The building will also act as their world headquarters.

eDoorways launches their online service platform tomorrow, and Camelot Entertainment has opened two offices — one in Europe, and one in the United States — in preparation for tons of upcoming film projects that they are scheduling as I write. These developments are exciting, and all three positions have been wildly active over the past month. For some, it feels as though these are now opportunities that have passed. For me, however, it was obvious long ago that these developments are only the beginning of a slew of opportunities to come.

Camelot Entertainment will release several hit titles in their massive barrage of developments. At the upcoming film festival, they’ll strike some connections that will take them, and their investors, far and wide. For eDoorways, their Austin, Texas launch will be followed by several modular releases that will add to their portfolio of service offerings, and their service offerings will go nationwide in the visible future. Cord Blood America will educate and expand on their and the world’s knowledge of cryogenics and stem cells.

These are all extremely exciting developments that are slated to occur in the foreseeable future. For anyone to say that these are opportunities long gone is a shortsighted opinion. As a savvy investor, it is often necessary to look at a larger picture and take the road bumps with a grain of salt. For businesses without development, business as usual is business of the past, and unfortunately for them, I look only to the future.

~A