There are two basic methods of trading and that is on the exchange floor and electronically. Trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange is the most common image that most people have on how the market works. You can see hundreds of people shouting and gesturing to one another, talking on phones, watching monitors, and entering data into terminals when the market is open. There is also another way of trading and that is electronically. The NYSE only handles a small percentage of its volume electronically, while NASDAQ does all their trading electronically. This kind of trading uses vast computer networks to match buyers and sellers, rather than human brokers. What do you prefer?