Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 02/16/11

By: messany

National television cameras from CNBC descended on Valparaiso, Indiana Wednesday for an exclusive interview with Indiana Grain Company CEO Thomas Grisafi.

CNBC was on hand to profile how Grisafi, a veteran commodities trader, utilizes social media during the course of an average electronic trading session. Grisafi has been featured in international media as a result of his elaborate home-based digital trading floor located in the basement of his Valparaiso home.

Thomas Grisafi, a member of the CME, CBOT, MGEX, NYMEX, COMEX, employs staff to filter valuable news and information made available through Twitter, the microblogging platform that now boasts some 200 million users generating 65 million tweets a day.

Grisafi demonstrated how he absorbs data through social media during a regular trading day, while buying and selling futures contracts on CTS trading software.

CNBC asked Grisafi about the inherent advantages and disadvantages that accompany Twitter's usage by financial professionals, as well as the widening adoption of social media within the US farming community.

The Indiana Grain Company founder has previously been recognized in the Wall Street Journal, Crain's, and Forbes magazine for his successful deployment of Twitter in contemporary electronic trading. A frequent contributor to social media panels sponsored by the CME Group, Grisafi believes Twitter has rapidly hastened the fossilization of tradition media for traders.

"Traders benefit from the use of Twitter in both micro and macro applications," Grisafi admits. "Traders can hone in on particular markets and geographic locations, gaining valuable information in real time. Simultaneously, you're looking at emerging trends and conditions that collectively impact the entire ag industry."

Segments featuring Thomas Grisafi's insights and commentary will begin airing on CNBC in early March.