Back in the distopia that modern historians refer to as 2008, I went through my Bar Mitzvah. I had finally been initiated into my people’s definition of adulthood at the wizened age of 13 (lol). I received numerous gifts that day,including shares in the company Electronic Arts from my Grandma

I was very much into what was happening in the gaming industry back then (I still am to some extent). and I suppose the best way to get me interested in business was to find where it would overlap with my other passions. At the time, EA seemed like a fairly well-managed, reliable video game publisher.

Boy did that change.

Me after learning of EA’s standing with consumers

On April 4th last year, EA was named The Consumerist‘s “Worst Company in America”. It wasn’t just last year either. There’s been a growing rage from the hardcore gaming community towards EA that started in 2008. It was only recently that EA;s price per share got anywhere reasonably close to the 2008 share price. So naturally I sold my shares ASAP.

So what did I learn from this? Well that there’s a whole bunch of things you need to look at when deciding to buy stocks, such as price, company growth, etc. But one of the most important things is to find out how the company stands in the eyes of the public.