I learned something when I got an e-mail last night from the Webby Awards people, announcing the list of Webby recipients (which did NOT, repeat NOT, include your humble blogger, but I’M REALLY OK WITH THAT, REALLY I AM).

The thing I didn’t know is that all the Webby acceptance speeches have to be five words or fewer. I never realized this because I don’t pay a lot of attention to the Webbys. Which appears to be mutual. Your humble blogger still humbly awaits his first nomination. Gonna be a long, long, long wait, I think.

Anyway. All kinds of brilliant, creative, funny people (again, by definition, not me, but I’m OK with it) win Webbys and get to say things like this:

“Me, me, me, me, me.”
- Stephen Colbert (Webby Person of the Year)

“Mr. DJ, can you play another song?”
- David Byrne (Webby Lifetime Achievement)

“Now we know we can.”
- will. i. am (Webby Artist of the Year)

“Five words is not enough.”
- Lorne Michaels (Webby Film & Video Lifetime Achievement)

“Keyboards are full of germs.”
- Michel Gondry (Webby Film & Video Person of the Year)

All of which gave me a chuckle and got me thinking. What if they start a new Webby category that neatly defines my niche, i.e., financial-market blog, large-nosed author? I need to get my five words ready!

If that unlikely day comes to pass, if my years of lonely blogging somehow pay off, if the Webby people someday deign to acknowledge my existence, if they one day bestow that chrome Slinky trophy upon my shaking hands, here is what I would say:

There must be some mistake.

I learned something when I got an e-mail last night from the Webby Awards people, announcing the list of Webby recipients (which did NOT, repeat NOT, include your humble blogger, but I’M REALLY OK WITH THAT, REALLY I AM).

The thing I didn’t know is that all the Webby acceptance speeches have to be five words or fewer. I never realized this because I don’t pay a lot of attention to the Webbys. Which appears to be mutual. Your humble blogger still humbly awaits his first nomination. Gonna be a long, long, long wait, I think.

Anyway. All kinds of brilliant, creative, funny people (again, by definition, not me, but I’m OK with it) win Webbys and get to say things like this:

“Me, me, me, me, me.”
- Stephen Colbert (Webby Person of the Year)

“Mr. DJ, can you play another song?”
- David Byrne (Webby Lifetime Achievement)

“Now we know we can.”
- will. i. am (Webby Artist of the Year)

“Five words is not enough.”
- Lorne Michaels (Webby Film & Video Lifetime Achievement)

“Keyboards are full of germs.”
- Michel Gondry (Webby Film & Video Person of the Year)

All of which gave me a chuckle and got me thinking. What if they start a new Webby category that neatly defines my niche, i.e., financial-market blog, large-nosed author? I need to get my five words ready!

If that unlikely day comes to pass, if my years of lonely blogging somehow pay off, if the Webby people someday deign to acknowledge my existence, if they one day bestow that chrome Slinky trophy upon my shaking hands, here is what I would say:

There must be some mistake.

Apologies for multiple XBRL-related posts in one day, but your no-longer-quite-so-humble blogger was honored to be invited on the SEC’s conference call this afternoon with a dozen bloggers about interactive data reporting, ahead of Monday’s expected action by the Commission on this more-accessible type of financial disclosure.

Am jammed at the moment and will write more about this later, but for the moment just wanted to tell you that Chairman Christopher Cox joined the end of the call. He talked about how the reporting language would make it easier for investors to sift, compare and analyze data from companies, and that it will also make easier the exchange of financial information globally in addition to domestically. He said, “It’s going to be so breathtakingly different from what people even in recent years have been used to, that it’s sometimes hard to get people to focus on the big change that’s in store.”

If no one else has blogged about this yet, then I have one word to add:

Scoop!

Cox used to be the first SEC chairman to write into a blog (Jonathan Schwartz’s); he’s now also the first to participate in a teleconference with bloggers, which also was the first the SEC has ever conducted.

Glad they had the call; I learned a lot; will share more later. Smart move on their part, too, to have the chairman join the call. He’s walking the talk. Or, for a call, is it talking the talk? Anyway, he’s obviously committed to this worthy initiative.

Apologies for multiple XBRL-related posts in one day, but your no-longer-quite-so-humble blogger was honored to be invited on the SEC’s conference call this afternoon with a dozen bloggers about interactive data reporting, ahead of Monday’s expected action by the Commission on this more-accessible type of financial disclosure.

Am jammed at the moment and will write more about this later, but for the moment just wanted to tell you that Chairman Christopher Cox joined the end of the call. He talked about how the reporting language would make it easier for investors to sift, compare and analyze data from companies, and that it will also make easier the exchange of financial information globally in addition to domestically. He said, “It’s going to be so breathtakingly different from what people even in recent years have been used to, that it’s sometimes hard to get people to focus on the big change that’s in store.”

If no one else has blogged about this yet, then I have one word to add:

Scoop!

Cox used to be the first SEC chairman to write into a blog (Jonathan Schwartz’s); he’s now also the first to participate in a teleconference with bloggers, which also was the first the SEC has ever conducted.

Glad they had the call; I learned a lot; will share more later. Smart move on their part, too, to have the chairman join the call. He’s walking the talk. Or, for a call, is it talking the talk? Anyway, he’s obviously committed to this worthy initiative.

I’ve ranted here now and again about how public companies should join the move to report their financial disclosures in an interactive data format (known as XBRL, or eXtensible Business Reporting Language) to make the information easier for investors to search and analyze online. More to come on that shortly: on Monday, the SEC is scheduled to decide on its plans for any requirements and timeline for public companies to file their financial statements in the format.

Disclosure: NYSE Euronext has been filing its own financial statements in XBRL, as a participant in the SEC’s pilot program on interactive reporting.

If you thought I was all geeky-excited about this, I think my enthusiasm pales compares to that of Cate Long of the ShopYield blog, whose post on the subject brings to mind that Meg Ryan scene from “When Harry Met Sally.” You know the one. Excerpt:

CFO.com is reporting that the SEC will vote on Monday whether to require public companies to make their financial statement filings in XBRL …

To the Commissioners … YES … YES … YES …

Although it’s often hard to communicate the benefits of data standardization it is so powerful… one can point to the use of hyper text markup language in the development of the Internet… who would have guessed the information hurricane that was unleashed…

Poor CFOs and IT folks will groan … one more mandate for their overworked departments… it’s true it will be more work… but the markets and public will benefit … for decades to come … YES … YES … YES …

Okaaaayyyy. Come on, Cate, tell us how you really feel! : )

Back here on the ground, I’m taking next week off — or at least I’m supposed to, though the working world sometimes gets in the way — so posting here will be at least lighter than usual. Be good and be well, my friends. A little shot of trivia before I go:

Today in NYSE History
18 April 1980 — The NYSE’s first female specialist, Amy W. Newkirk, is admitted to membership.

I continue to be blown away by that. Happy that it ever happened, completely ashamed that it didn’t happen until 1980, 17 years after Muriel Siebert became the first woman member in 1967, which in itself was way, way too long in coming. Clubs become better places for opening their doors.

I’ve ranted here now and again about how public companies should join the move to report their financial disclosures in an interactive data format (known as XBRL, or eXtensible Business Reporting Language) to make the information easier for investors to search and analyze online. More to come on that shortly: on Monday, the SEC is scheduled to decide on its plans for any requirements and timeline for public companies to file their financial statements in the format.

Disclosure: NYSE Euronext has been filing its own financial statements in XBRL, as a participant in the SEC’s pilot program on interactive reporting.

If you thought I was all geeky-excited about this, I think my enthusiasm pales compares to that of Cate Long of the ShopYield blog, whose post on the subject brings to mind that Meg Ryan scene from “When Harry Met Sally.” You know the one. Excerpt:

CFO.com is reporting that the SEC will vote on Monday whether to require public companies to make their financial statement filings in XBRL …

To the Commissioners … YES … YES … YES …

Although it’s often hard to communicate the benefits of data standardization it is so powerful… one can point to the use of hyper text markup language in the development of the Internet… who would have guessed the information hurricane that was unleashed…

Poor CFOs and IT folks will groan … one more mandate for their overworked departments… it’s true it will be more work… but the markets and public will benefit … for decades to come … YES … YES … YES …

Okaaaayyyy. Come on, Cate, tell us how you really feel! : )

Back here on the ground, I’m taking next week off — or at least I’m supposed to, though the working world sometimes gets in the way — so posting here will be at least lighter than usual. Be good and be well, my friends. A little shot of trivia before I go:

Today in NYSE History
18 April 1980 — The NYSE’s first female specialist, Amy W. Newkirk, is admitted to membership.

I continue to be blown away by that. Happy that it ever happened, completely ashamed that it didn’t happen until 1980, 17 years after Muriel Siebert became the first woman member in 1967, which in itself was way, way too long in coming. Clubs become better places for opening their doors.

Our CEO Duncan Niederauer was just interviewed on PBS’s Nightly Business Report. Sorry for the lack of notice; I knew it was coming but got the date wrong.

NBR co-anchor blogged about the interview here. She says: “The word ‘authentic’ has been overused lately. But it’s about the best word I can come up with to describe the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange who I interviewed for the first time today.” Excerpt:

Niederauer talks and acts like a stock trader. His style is breezy and friendly. Minutes after I shook his hand, we were already talking about his years at Goldman Sachs, his three kids, and why he’s a fan of the Cleveland Indians (His mother is from Brooklyn and doesn’t like the Yankees, forcing him to pick any other team to root for. He was attracted to the underdog Indians.) He’s starkly different from Thain, who is reserved and formal. I found it revealing that Niederauer chose not move into the grand office that Thain occupied — with a combination of antique English furniture and a stock ticker — preferring a more modest space down the hall.

Before and during the interview, Niederauer spoke candidly and directly. It’s refreshing to talk to a CEO who’s unscripted and unrehearsed. He says what he thinks. He even told me that he got in trouble recently for being too candid. At a gathering in Washington DC on the same day that the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by three-quarters of a percent, Niederauer commented that a half percent cut would have done the job. Well, his off the cuff remark was widely quoted, and he was criticized. His comments were considered inappropriate because he is not an economist. Niederauer told me he’s more careful about what he says now. I just hope he won’t get too careful. It will be a shame if he becomes predictable and programmed like so many American CEOs.

I think I can speak for many who work with Duncan when I say: Predictable and programmed? Rest easy, Susie, not much chance of that happening.

Hey, but Cleveland? I mean, Cleveland? After the Joba playoff game last year, that one bugs this ol’ Yankee fan. Oh well. Guess you have to respect anyone in New York who roots for the Indians and admits it.

Will add to this post a link to the interview when NBR puts one up, which I understand will be around 9ish tonight.

Our CEO Duncan Niederauer was just interviewed on PBS’s Nightly Business Report. Sorry for the lack of notice; I knew it was coming but got the date wrong.

NBR co-anchor blogged about the interview here. She says: “The word ‘authentic’ has been overused lately. But it’s about the best word I can come up with to describe the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange who I interviewed for the first time today.” Excerpt:

Niederauer talks and acts like a stock trader. His style is breezy and friendly. Minutes after I shook his hand, we were already talking about his years at Goldman Sachs, his three kids, and why he’s a fan of the Cleveland Indians (His mother is from Brooklyn and doesn’t like the Yankees, forcing him to pick any other team to root for. He was attracted to the underdog Indians.) He’s starkly different from Thain, who is reserved and formal. I found it revealing that Niederauer chose not move into the grand office that Thain occupied — with a combination of antique English furniture and a stock ticker — preferring a more modest space down the hall.

Before and during the interview, Niederauer spoke candidly and directly. It’s refreshing to talk to a CEO who’s unscripted and unrehearsed. He says what he thinks. He even told me that he got in trouble recently for being too candid. At a gathering in Washington DC on the same day that the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by three-quarters of a percent, Niederauer commented that a half percent cut would have done the job. Well, his off the cuff remark was widely quoted, and he was criticized. His comments were considered inappropriate because he is not an economist. Niederauer told me he’s more careful about what he says now. I just hope he won’t get too careful. It will be a shame if he becomes predictable and programmed like so many American CEOs.

I think I can speak for many who work with Duncan when I say: Predictable and programmed? Rest easy, Susie, not much chance of that happening.

Hey, but Cleveland? I mean, Cleveland? After the Joba playoff game last year, that one bugs this ol’ Yankee fan. Oh well. Guess you have to respect anyone in New York who roots for the Indians and admits it.

Will add to this post a link to the interview when NBR puts one up, which I understand will be around 9ish tonight.

Last year at about this time, Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks, came here to ring the NYSE Closing Bell to mark Autism Awareness Month. Prior to that, my only familiarity with autism was through living next door to a family with an autistic child. I had no idea how widespread this neurological disorder was until I had the honor of meeting Bob and walking him around the trading floor. I remember being surprised at how many members and others on our trading floor — literally, dozens — went out of their way to talk with Bob and share how autism had touched their lives and those of friends and family members. Bob was completely engaged with them, validating their experiences, providing tips on resources, and encouraging them to hang in and keep working.

Bob was back today with his co-founder, his wife Suzanne, to promote the same cause, but now the U.S. has officially declared April 2 World Autism Awareness Day. Among those joining him was my boss, Duncan Niederauer; his wife Alison, who is joining the Autism Speaks board; and their son Liam, 10, who has autism.

Check out this CNBC interview with the group. Chief, you’re good on TV, but you’ve got nothing on your kid.

The Wrights have 25 countries around the world involved today with awareness events, and have moved this cause forward in ways beyond measure. Duncan committed to marking this day every year at NYSE; I can’t wait to see the progress by 2009.

This post has nothing to do with markets; it’s just something I found weird.

Despite the best efforts of my SFTCs (spam-filtering techie colleagues), the Exchanges blog gets a good deal of spam through the comment box. You, gentle reader, never see it here because I cull it out from the comments I publish. The other day, while separating this chaff from the wheat as I was waiting to not be picked to serve on a jury, I was struck by a unique feature of these blog spams.

Blog spams hawk many of the same things that get spammed through e-mail: prescription drugs, porn, penny stocks, etc. But blog spam has something that e-mail spam doesn’t: the introductory compliment.

Virtually every blog spam begins with a comment about how wonderful the blog is, or what a terrific post that was, etc. I guess the fake kudo is an attempt to evade the filters by taking on the guise of a real comment.

Here’s a sample of the spams that came into Exchanges one day last week. Each comment is followed by the pseudonym of the very kind commenter, and the product they were selling. Note, I have not cleaned up any of the grammar or spelling.

The site’s very professional! Keep up the good work! — Odysseus (free web hosting)

Fantastic work! — Alan Mjyml (foreign-exchange trading software)

Here is intresting people… Lets talk! — Themestoclis (porn)

Wow, super site here! — Jana (foreign-exchange trading software)

This is a cool site! Thanks and wish you better luck! Brilliant but simple idea. — Loukianos (free web hosting)

This is one of the best sites I have ever found. Thanks!!! Very nice and informal. I enjoy being here. — Zaharias (porn)

Really great site with alot of good information!! Keep up the good work!!!! — Spyros (free web hosting)

Hi! Guys how you manage to make such perfect sites? Good fellows! — Arion (free web hosting)

This is one of the best sites I have ever found. Thanks!!! Very nice and informal. I enjoy being here. (porn)

Tnx for you job! It has very much helped me! — Liamsmubmar (online music)

Your site is the best one! — Alan Bnrch (foreign-exchange trading software)

Thanks for the welcome I spent 2 hours to find information you have on this site!! — Sheaffica (online prescription drugs)

hi… just droppin’ by your site… it’s really cute… nice work! — Athones (porn)

Ah, if only they really meant it.

Hey, do any other bloggers out there get this stuff?