As the dust settles on the GME short-squeeze of January 2021, the question remains: is r/WallStreetBets here to stay? This report considers the history and influence of online communities within investment management, as well as the alternative data vendors that keep a watchful eye over them. We also ask, what next?

TLDR; this report discusses the various sources of investor social sentiment from the early 2000s, through to the present day. The section covering Reddit and relevant datasets is under ‘2020 and beyond’.

THE DOT.COM ERA

One of the earliest studies on investor social sentiment was published in 1999 by