Amazon just crushed earnings

Don't forget about Facebook!

Interesting that all the "unproductive" stocks are thriving in this mess of an economy.

I questioned Amazon, until I went to visit my wife's relatives in NYC.

I thought I bought a bunch of crap on Amazon (maybe one delivery/week), but they were getting two packages delivered per day from them. If you think about it, there is not a Walmart or Target in Manhattan (still might be a crappy Kmart on 14 street), but those are millions of people buying daily staples from Amazon. Combine that with the other metro areas, and that's a huge market.

This thread started me thinking becuase I had intended to sleep in this morning, but instead woke up at 5AM, so after I did some busy work, I had time to think. And I also looked at my YTD unrealized and realized p&l. Which is good this year, and reflects what it always has, the realized gains are all in sectors/commodities/companies that show up year after year after year. Even the unrealized gains, or what I have as buy and forget reflect the same investing concepts that I either have experience in, or I think I understand enough to be comfortable with.

Prejudices, preconceived notions, fear of the unknown, unwillingness to learn and contempt prior to investigation. How does this impact what I invest in? While I think I'm open to new and upcoming opportunities. But the fact is, I must not be, becuase my portfolio doesn't reflect this with respect to technology and social media.

I'm 49. A lot of technology has transpired after I got out of college. I automated my business early, and updated often. I had a mobile phone when they cost big dollars, and they were big sized. I moved to upload/download with our vendors early, and we had email, and an internal server very early. Since have switched to internal and the cloud.

So do I embrace technology or not? Does this impact my portfolio?

Yes and no, and it is entirely based on my life experience, and consequently, not objective when it comes to buying any sort of equity or debt of a tech or social media company.

Unless BRK (which I'll dump at some point) owns some tech company, or some mutual fund does, I don't think I own any. I sold puts on Radio Shack. I shorted Blackberry, and then went long. I day traded some tech stocks during the Chinese "crisis." But that's it. When I was still somewhat trading, I kept shorting Salesforce (I think that's what it was) and it kept going up, and I took some losses. Got pissed, and mostly swore off all of these types of companies. Furthering my prejudices, and furthering my inability to consider buying a solid growth company in this sector, or sectors.

I'm not sure I'm making a point, but I sort of understand FB. I understand BBRY. I've thought through Amazon due to this thread, and I think I understand the appeal better.

But with respect to Twitter, and LinkedIn, I just don't get it, and to me it still seems like a pure play on advertising, which is really a retail thing, and I've always avoided retail. I actually hate (prejudice) LinkedIn and I guess I can't ever envision myself buying it as an investment.

So maybe what I'm trying to say is that I never buy companies or industries I don't understand, but this has potentially cost me opportunity over the years. But not buying what I don't understand has also served me very well.

But here's the rub, I maintain I have a balanced portfolio. And when I say portfolio, I'm talking about assets classes, not just a stock portfolio. But do I really? Maybe not 100%. And if I don't, why is that?

Certainly a wall of text, but I'm guessing people on here about my age might also be hesitant to place money in something due to age and life experience that is largely a mysterious, and sometimes scary sector.

In my case due to ignorance, and apparently an unwillingness to learn.