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The Lowdown
November 2011 Archive
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Here's the The Lowdown from DN Journal,
updated daily
to fill you in on the latest buzz going around the domain name industry. 

The Lowdown is compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson.

Aftermarket.com Celebrates 1st Anniversary With Big Domain Sale Topping the Half-Million Dollar Mark  

Last year at this time Thought Convergence, Inc. was busy launching their new domain sales platform at Aftermarket.com. With a 1st anniversary to celebrate, the company came up with the best possible way to mark the occasion by booking a blockbuster domain sale

In an advance press release that we received late last night, Aftermarket.com announced they brokered a big deal for Order.com that successfully closed last week. While the exact sale price was not disclosed, the company said the figure, if made public, would rank the sale at #6 on our current Year to Date Top 100 Domain Sales Chart. That would place the price above the $525,000 paid for 11.com last month and below the $700,000 apiece paid for VU.com earlier this month and RunningShoes.com last April. 

Aftermarket.com's Senior Domain Broker, Omar Kubba, led the effort to find a qualified buyer for previous Order.com owner Shai Neubauer. He succeeded by successfully closing a deal with new owner Delivery.com, LLC. Kubba said, “The new owner of Order.com had the savvy and foresight to purchase an asset that will not only appreciate over time, but one that will also add tremendous value to their already-successful business. They understood that there’s only one Order.com in the world, and now they own it.”

Omar Kubba
Senior Domain Broker, Aftermarket.com

As you would expect, Mr. Neubauer was also very happy with the outcome. He said, "Aftermarket.com was the only company able to open the door to appropriate and qualified end users. Omar Kubba worked harder than anyone else and really went the extra mile to get the absolute best offer on my domain. His knowledge, persistence, and connections really made the difference."

The Aftermarket.com release said its brokerage division was formed specifically to cater to premium domain assets - domain names and websites that typically require a high level of hands-on involvement and personal attention due to the premium price tags and sophisticated clientele.

(Posted Nov. 29, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111129.htm

Jodi Chamberlain to Join Dietmar Stefitz in Producing the Domaining 2012 Conference Next Spring in Spain

After producing Spain's biggest domain conference for for the past three years, Inverdom.com CEO Dietmar Stefitz has decided to aim even higher for the fourth edition of his show next spring. With plans to stage Europe's leading conference, Stefitz has brought well 

known industry executive and conference producer Jodi Chamberlain on board to help run the Domaining 2012 event that will be held April 26-28, 2012 at the Hotel Sorolla Palace in Valencia, Spain

Ms. Chamberlain, President of DualEagle.com, is familiar with the territory after previously producing T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences in Europe. Meanwhile Stefitz has compiled an admirable track record with his shows in Spain. His last event in Valencia featured the Castello Brothers and Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher as keynote speakers and attracted 120 attendees from 20 different countries. 

 

Dietmar Stefitz and Jodi Chamberlain 
will produce the Domaining 2012 conference
 in Valencia, Spain April 26-28

Valencia, a historic port city on the Mediterranean Sea, is Spain's 3rd largest city with a population of over 800,000. About 2.3 million people live in the Valencia metropolitan area. In addition to its fabulous monuments, Valencia known as the birthplace of paella, a world famous staple of Spanish cuisine.  

Stefitz said the 2012 show there will focus on the imminent arrival of new Top Level Domains, including city TLD's like .paris, .berlin and .madrid that he believes will create exciting new business opportunities. New extensions that have already arrived on the scene, like .xxx and .co, will also be covered.

You can also expect a good mix of networking opportunities and workshops devoted to everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to intellectual property issues to be highlights of the event. More information can be found at DomainingEurope.com or you can call (404) 519-0500 (U.S. phone number) for details, including sponsorship opportunities.

(Posted Nov. 11, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111128.htm

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is one of America's biggest national holidays - Thanksgiving Day - a day we pause to give thanks for the blessings in our lives. Just about everything will be shut down in the U.S. today while people get together for Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. Like many Americans, Diana and I will be traveling to join other family members for this special day.

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day and look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow!

(Posted Nov. 23, 2011) 

The Domain Family Loses a Well-Known Friend But His Loving Spirit Will Live On 

I just got back from four days in Ohio spent visiting my mother who will be enjoying her 92nd Thanksgiving Day on Thursday. While focused on spending as much time as possible with her I didn't go online much during the trip. When I did turn on the laptop for a quick email check before heading to the airport for the trip home Monday morning a saddening message was waiting for me. 

My wife sent a note to let me know that our friends Michael and Judi Berkens had lost their beloved 13-year-old Yorkie Bandit who passed away over the weekend. Knowing how Michael and Judi felt about their personable pup I knew their hearts were broken. 

Bandit was their constant companion - just about anywhere you saw Michael and Judi, even if it was thousands of miles from their South Florida home, you almost certainly saw Bandit too. 

At T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences, Bandit became as familiar to veteran attendees as anyone on two legs (and a lot more popular than many of them)! That fact is evidenced by the condolence messages (numbering in triple digits

Michael and Judi Berkens with their beloved Yorkie 
Bandit
who passed away over the weekend

that have been left on Michael's blog post about Bandit's passing and on his Facebook page. 

Everyone stopped to say hi to Bandit and he always responded to the attention with affection. It is appropriate that his loving nature will live on in a new Bandit Berkens Goodwill Ambassador Award that will be presented at future T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences. Acting on a suggestion by industry veteran and life long animal lover Donna Mahony, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Co-Founder Rick Schwartz announced the award on his blog Monday.

Michael and Judi will have a memorial service for Bandit on Wednesday, November 30 at the Broward Pet Cemetery (11455 BW 8th Street in Plantation, Florida) where Bandit will be laid to rest. The service will begin at 12:30pm and will be open to anyone who would like to attend.

It will obviously take Michael and Judi some time to adjust to life without Bandit at their side and unfortunately no words can erase their current grief. The closest I can come is to repeat an observation my wife, Diana, made to me. She recalled that as Bandit got older and suffered more of the illnesses that come with age, Michael and Judi spared no effort or expense to ease his pain. As much as they loved him, Bandit gave that love back and there is no doubt he would not want Michael or Judi to be in pain now. As time begins to heal the wound, nothing would make Bandit happier than to know they are happy and enjoying life again. 

(Posted Nov. 22, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111122.htm

Michael Berkens Offers Insight on His $450,000 Meet.me Sale & Other Hot Topics in New DomainHoldings Newsletter

DomainHoldings.com recently began publishing a free newsletter that has been providing a lot of interesting tips and information for domain investor/developers. Their latest edition that I received today includes an interview with Michael Berkens, author of popular blog TheDomains.com and one of the three partners who just stunned the industry by selling Meet.me for an astounding $450,000

Michael Berkens

Berkens, Rick Schwartz and Ammar Kubba paid  less than $6,000 for Meet.me three years ago. In his interview with DomainHoldings Michael talked about why he thought the trio were able to make such a phenomenal return on their investment with that domain.

"Domain names are, at the end of the day, all about branding," Berkens said. " To get high sale prices you have to be patient." Even so, Berkens admitted the Meet.me sale was extraordinary, noting, " You can’t really expect to buy a domain for $5,000 and sell it for 100X more in a short period of time."

Berkens added, "I invest for the long term. I’m not a flipper. Especially with new extensions you have to give the extension time to mature and for end-users to use domain names in the extension to sites. I would say you have to give an extension years to mature."

Berkens said that .ME is starting to mature for that very reason. ".ME has certainly gotten the attention of the venture capital guys who have put millions behind .ME sites, so that extension has seemed to prove its value and demand, especially for verbs that make call-to-action type of domains. Having said that I think the pool of great .ME domains is limited. I’m not big on keyword.me domains like the ones we saw sell recently at Sedo (like RealEstate.me for $8,050)."

In the wide ranging interview with DomainHoldings Berkens also talked about ICANN's plans to launch an unlimited number of new TLDs next year, whether more people are selling their names because of the decline in PPC revenues, what he thinks about mini-sites and other topics. 

As most of you know, DomainHoldings is a new domain development, SEO and monetization company that was co-founded by Advertising.com co-founder John Ferber (who was featured on ABC-TV's Secret Millionaire last spring), domain industry pioneer Chad Folkening and Erik Simons.

(Posted Nov. 17, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111117.htm

Amazon Fires Up Tablet Sales But What Does Another App Platform Mean for Domain Names and Websites?

With Amazon's release of their new Kindle Fire model Monday, tablets are again the talk of the town and for the first time, that talk isn't being entirely dominated by Apple's groundbreaking iPad (though early reviewers agree the far less expensive Fire is no iPad killer). While the jockeying for position among hardware makers is always interesting to follow, I find it even more illuminating to learn how people are using their tablets (of any kind) once they get them. As Internet real estate investors and developers, that side of the equation will have the biggest impact on us.

A new article from the Center for Media Research sheds a lot of light on that topic with its breakdown of a detailed study of tablet users conducted by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, in collaboration with The Economist Group. The study found that 11% of U.S. adults now own a tablet computer of some kind and that 77% of those tablet owners use their tablets every day, spending an average of 90 minutes daily on their devices. 

 

Amazon's Kindle Fire
joined the tablet wars this week

While you hear a lot of talk about apps threatening the future of domain names, one of the most interesting statistics is the study is that the most popular use of tablet computers, cited by 67% of the respondents, is general browsing of the web - not app use. Sending and receiving email (another domain based activity) is second most popular at 54%. The third most popular use for tablets is reading daily news and for that activity browsers crush apps almost 2 to 1 with 40% of respondents saying they use their tablets to browse to their favorite news websites vs. 21% who say they access news via apps.  

Rounding out the favorite uses of tablet computers are Social Networking (39%), Gaming (30%), Reading Books (17%) and watching Movies and Videos (13%). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tablets and smartphones are wonderful advances in technology that let us take the Internet and our favorite entertainment with us wherever we go, but just as the new Amazon Fire is not an iPad killer, neither are apps about to  kill domain names and websites.  Certainly apps occupy a good bit of time that might otherwise have been spent on websites, but at the same time the mobile devices apps run on vastly expand the reach of websites assuring they will remain central to the way people access their news, information and entertainment. 

Image: nokhoog_buchachon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the ever expanding universe of technology and internet users, apps, domains, websites, tablets and phones have all been big winners with traditional media continuing to bear the negative brunt of changing habits. 

(Posted Nov. 15, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111115.htm

Time to Climb: Deadline Looming For Domainers Who Want to Take on Mount Kilimanjaro in 2012 

For the third straight year adventurous people with good hearts from the domain industry will take part in a climb of Africa's majestic Mount Kilimanjaro in an effort to raise funds and awareness for The Water School (an organization that has been embraced by many in our 

industry who have been impressed with the non-profit group's clean water solutions that are saving countless lives around the globe).  If you are up for the challenge, you could among those scaling the 19,340-foot mountain next spring. 

Water Climb 2012 will take place March 25 through April 5 but the 

 

registration deadline is coming up December 1 - less than three weeks from now! Space is limited and is being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Past climbers have returned with treasured memories, incredible stories and the knowledge that they are part of something that changes lives.

You can see an excellent video posted by a previous climber, Julia Rhodes here. Julia gives you a look at both Water School projects in Nairobi, Kenya (the starting point for the adventure) as well as the climb up the mountain itself. 

Overall, climb team members spend two days in Nairobi before heading to Tanzania for the six days it takes for the climb and descent from the mountain. An optional 3-day/2-night safari at the Masai Mara Game Reserve can be organized for climbers at an additional cost. For more information on that, visit Eco Adventures, the official tour company of Water School.  

Each climber will have a page on the Water Climb 2012 site where sponsors can support their efforts by helping them meet their individual $5,895 fundraising goals - $1 for each meter that Kilimanjaro rises into the sky. 

The cost for each climber to participate is an estimated $2,950 (based on 2011 prices - the exact total cost will be confirmed closer to the climb dates). The fee does not include the cost of airfare from wherever you live to Nairobi, but does include all of the following:

  • All airport Transfers

  • One-way airfare from Nairobi to Moshi

  • Group transport to and from Moshi to base camp

  • Visits to Water School project sites (transportation & lunch)

  • Kilimanjaro National Park fees

  • Professional guides, porters and cooks

  • Tents

  • All meals on the mountain

  • 2 night stay at 4-star hotel in Nairobi

  • 2 night stay at hotel in Moshi (before & after climb)

You can download a complete Water Climb 2012 information package here (.pdf file). If climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is on your bucket list, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do it with a great group of like-minded people while simultaneously raising funds for a wonderful cause that will save lives.  

(Posted Nov. 11, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111111.htm

Is It Too Late to Make Money in the Domain Business? Ask the Guys Who Just Sold Meet.me for $450,000 

One of the questions I am most frequently asked is whether or not it is too late to make money in the domain business? Obviously, I thought the answer was "no, it's not too late" when I entered the field in 2002 (a time when a lot of others were getting out).  Over the past decade my answer has always remained the same. Despite the amazing number of twists and turns we've see in this industry over the years there is no business I would rather be in than this one right now.

The opportunities may not be in the same places they were ten years ago but there are still endless ways to make money with domains - in fact I would say there are considerably more ways to do it now than there were when I came in. The latest case in point came today from three well-known industry veterans who branched out from their .com roots to make a killing with the sale of a single .me domain they co-owned.

Three years ago Rick Schwartz, Michael Berkens and Ammar Kubba pooled their resources to invest in a handful of high quality one-word .me domains, including Meet.me - a name they paid $5,890 for. They just sold it for the astounding sum of $450,000

Clockwise from top left: Michael Berkens
Rick Schwartz and Ammar Kubba

Berkens provided the details on his blog today and noted how gratifying it was to prove (once again) that the success he, Schwartz and Kubba have had (and continue to have) is due to far more than being among the "lucky" ones who got into the game early. They continue to make money from the new opportunities that crop up with every turn in the domain road. That's the mark of successful serial entrepreneurs - not people who lucked out by simply being in the right place at the right time on one occasion a long time ago. 

In fact, luck has very little to do with it. It takes a  lot of hard work - often years spent gaining the kind of experience that allows you to recognize opportunities that others miss. But if you are willing to put in the work, do the research and take the calculated risks that all entrepreneurs have to take - you can make it in this field too and I continue to believe your odds are better here than just about anywhere else in today's economy.   

One other note today, Kevin Murphy has an important story at DomainIncite.com that shouldn't be overlooked as it could portend of some trouble ahead for ICANN's widely publicized new gTLD program that is scheduled to ramp up in 2012. Kevin's article is about CRIDO, an imposing new group that includes some of the world's largest corporations who are all bent on stopping the ICANN plan in its tracks. At this late stage of the game that will be a tall order but the firepower this group could bring to bear shouldn't be under-estimated by anyone who has an interest (favorable or unfavorable) in the rollout of an unlimited number of new gTLDs.

(Posted Nov. 10, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111110.htm

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone Tabbed to Deliver Keynote Speech at DOMAINfest Global 2012 

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone will deliver the keynote speech at the 2012 DOMAINfest Global conference coming up January 30 - February 2 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, California

Stone became an Internet entrepreneur in 1999 and went on to work for Google. In 2006 he co-founded Twitter, Inc., the real-time, one-to-many network that has changed the way many people communicate.

Stone has been named one of the Most Influential People in The World by TIME Magazine, Entrepreneur of the Decade by Inc Magazine, and one of Vanity Fair’s Top Ten Most Influential People of the Information Age.

Stone will continue DOMAINfest’s tradition of featuring keynote speakers known for their entrepreneurial success, innovative business strategies and inspirational stories. Past keynoters have included Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy, Ben Mezrich, author of Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer.  

Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone 
will keynote at DOMAINfest Global 2012
(photo courtesy of Joi)

 
DOMAINfest Global, which is produced by DomainSponsor, the domain traffic monetization division of Oversee.net, will feature a world class group of additional speakers and panelists. In a format change for 2012, all speakers and panelists will be asked to present a brief, hard-hitting slideshow. 

Here is a preliminary list of the Workshops and Panels currently planned:

•  Workshop: Everything You Need to Know about New TLDs

•  Workshop: Analyzing Keywords to Find Revenue Opportunities

•  Workshop: Domain Valuation Techniques for Buying and Selling

•  Panel: Advanced PPC Best Practices and Campaign Management Tools

•  Panel:  Mobile and Local Opportunities For Publishers and Advertisers

•  Panel: Affiliate Lead Generation Best Practices

•  Panel: SEO Tips and Best Practices for 2012


•  Presentation: Landing Page Optimization Best Practices and Conversion Tools

You can see full agenda details here: http://domainfest.com/agenda.  

Attendees can save $100 by registering online for $1,195 before December 31, 2011.  Registration includes sessions, exhibit hall access, evening networking parties and all meals throughout the three day conference. DOMAINfest has also arranged for discounted hotel room rates at the Fairmont Miramar.  For reservation details, visit  http://domainfest.com/hotel.  

(Posted Nov. 9, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111109.htm

$18,000 in Cash Prizes Now Up For Grabs in 2011 .Info Awards Competition + .XXX Landrush Gets Underway 

The 5th Annual .Info Awards competition is now underway with more prize money than ever before ready to be distributed to the top three finishers in the contest to determine who has developed the best .info websites. $10,000 will go to the winner, with the runner-up collecting $5,000 and the 3rd place finisher banking $3,000

Submissions opened Monday (November 7) and will  remain open through  Thursday, November 24 (the deadline in 11:59pm UTC on that date). To enter, just visit http://www.info-award.info, register for an account and complete the short entry form (detailed contest rules and conditions can be found here).

A panel of website design and media experts will review submitted sites and cut the field to the ten best .info websites based on:

 

  • Presentation of content
  • Functionality of the site
  • Design
  • Usability
  • Originality 

Beginning December 5, 2011 and continuing through December 13, the decision on the three cash award winners will be turned over to the the public who will be able to vote for their favorites among the ten finalists. The winners will be announced shortly after the public voting concludes. The 5th annual awards contest coincides with the 10th Anniversary of the .info extension, a TLD that now contains 8 million registered domains. 

In news from another TLD, Landrush for the new .xxx extension opened today and will continue for 17 days before closing on November 25, 2011. Landrush is the second of the three-part .xxx launch process that started with Sunrise and culminates with the launch of General Availability on December 6th

Landrush is a limited time opportunity for those who

want to secure, a specific .xxx domain for an additional fee above the basic registration cost. At the end of the Landrush period, domain names with only one application will be awarded directly to the applicant. Domain names with two or more applications will proceed to a closed mini-auction between the respective applicants where the highest bidder wins.

(Posted Nov. 8, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111108.htm

Left of the Dot Media is Back in the News With the Appointment of Two Domain Industry Veterans to Their Board

Left of the Dot Media Inc., fresh off a nice geodomain deal with Oahu.com last month, is back in the news  this week with word that they have added two domain industry veterans, Xavier Buck and Slavik Viner to their Board of Directors. 

Buck is the Founder, Executive Director, and CEO of the DCL Group, which is the umbrella organization of EuroDNS, voipGATE and the Datacenter Luxembourg. His current Directorships also include AsiaDNS, DomainTools and eBrandServices. In 2008 Buck co-founded Domain Invest SA, a company which owns over 100,000 premium domains and has the support of several high profile investment firms.
 
Viner has been involved in many areas of the domain industry since the 1990’s and is widely regarded as one of its most successful investor/developers. 

Xavier Buck (left) and Slavik Viner
New board members at Left of the Dot Media Inc. 

Left of the Dot Co-Founder Chris Jensen said, “Left of the Dot has been incredibly well supported by the domainer community and we are thrilled that two such influential and well respected individuals have agreed to become part of our team. The experience and practical advice that Xavier and Slavik bring to the table makes us a better company and this is already helping to shape our strategic objectives for 2012.” 

Left of the Dot provides an alternative to domain parking by leasing sub-domains of premium domain names like Villa.com, Importers.com and HomeStaging.com. The company said sites built on these highly targeted marketing names substantially increase traffic, search engine relevance  and inherent value to the overall site, resulting in sustainable income for its clients.

(Posted Nov. 4, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111104.htm

Sedo Spots Some Interesting Sales Trends in Their Latest Quarterly Domain Market Study  

In our latest newsletter that went out to opt-in subscribers Monday, I broke down the 3Q-2011 domain sales data that was reported to us in the most recently concluded quarter. In the newsletter I noted that Sedo (who has been sharing their sales data with us since we 

started doing weekly domain sales reports back in 2003) publishes an excellent quarterly Domain Market Study with a more extensive breakdown of sales made on their popular aftermarket platform. We track only sales of $2,000 and up for .coms and $1,000 or more for other TLDs, while Sedo's publication includes the entire range of sales that go through their service.  

Their latest Domain Market Study (.pdf file) covering 3Q-2011 just came out Wednesday and, as always, it is packed with interesting information. In the latest quarter Sedo logged over 9,700 sales totaling more than $19 million - an average of $1,974 per sale. .Com domains 

 

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

continued to be the most frequently sold, with notable sales including Grid.com for $275,000 and Republic.com for $200,000. Even though the previous quarter (2Q-2011) featured the $2.5 million sale of Gambling.com - Sedo’s third-highest sale ever—sales volume remained relatively consistent in 3Q-2011 compared to the previous quarters this year.

The report said the most notable trends Sedo saw in 3Q-2011 included a growth in Buy It Now sales and improving results for .info domains. As noted above, the .com extension 

continued to be the most popular at Sedo during 3Q-2011, accounting for 49% of all sales. However, the .de extension (Germany's country code) has grown 3% and now has 21% of Sedo's market share. The .net extension had a 6% share to remain the second most frequently sold gTLD while Great Britain's .co.uk was the second highest ccTLD with a 7% market share. 

Although traditionally the strongest median sales prices have been for .com, .net and .org domains, Sedo said that in 3Q-2011, .info came in third with a median price of $519, beating out .org for the first time. 

A lot of people are wondering how ICANN's impending rollout of an unlimited number of new gTLDs starting in 2012 will be received by the domain aftermarket. Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher commented on that in the new study, saying “While the introduction of the new gTLDs is no doubt an exciting prospect, a decade of Sedo’s market trend data shows that, even with the addition of new domain extensions, .com retains its position at the top. However, the strength of .info sales and a larger market share for .de names this quarter, proves that newer TLDs or country-specific ones are a solid investment for domain portfolio holders.”

Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher

(Posted Nov. 3, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111103.htm

Impressive Protrada Platform Attracts $3 Million Investment in Parent Company Winged Media

Winged Media, a rapidly growing domain technology and monetization company with offices in Australia and the U.S., has secured a $3 million investment form the Carnegie Innovation Fund, LP (Carnegie Fund). 

 

The Carnegie Fund is supported by the Australian Government through the Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) program, an initiative that provides venture capital to innovative companies at seed, start-up or early expansion stage. This is the first investment by the Carnegie Fund in the technology sector.

Winged Media's offerings include a number of internet products and services focused on digital media, online advertising, domain assets and online publishing, but the company has recently become especially well known for the innovative new Protrada platform that I wrote about in July.  

In fact the new money the Carnegie Fund invested will be used primarily in the further development of the Protrada platform that is currently operating in beta mode.  Protrada says it is the world’s first aggregator of major domain auction houses - one   

that provides members with the data and tools to buy, build and sell domains automatically from within the platform. Protrada currently manages more than 150,000 domains. 

Troy Rushton
Winged Media Founder & CEO

Winged Media CEO and Founder Troy Rushton said, "Winged Media has developed the IP and tools to make domaining easy for both the expert and the first time investor. We understand the strategies it takes to secure a domain, how to create traffic and monetize that site in the shortest possible time frame.”  

Rushton added, “We are delighted with the investment from the Carnegie Fund and how this will further help us roll out the Protrada platform. Together we believe we can push the boundaries of the technology and entrepreneurial capabilities of the team, showcasing Winged Media’s IP in an easy-to-use domain trading service."

M.H. Carnegie & Co. Principal Mark Carnegie noted, “Domaining has increased its momentum throughout 2011, with activity levels outperforming the NASDAQ during key periods. With the introduction of the Winged Media IP into the domain trading experience,

we believe that the sector will continue to develop and be acknowledged as an emerging asset class. We are excited about our investment with Winged Media."

The Winged Media/Protrada team's visibility has increased dramatically over the past year. They had a strong presence at the 2011 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference that concluded at Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida two weeks ago with both Rushton and Business Development Manager Louise Munck there to fill fellow attendees in on the company's offerings. 

Winged Media Business Development Manager Louise Munck chatting with Name Media's 
Marketplace General Manager & Senior VP Jason Miner at the 2011 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference. 

Louise told me that she and her Winged Media/Protrada colleagues will also be at the DOMAINfest Global conference that will kick off the 2012 show season in late January in Santa Monica, California, a city that also happens to be home to Winged Media's U.S. office. 

(Posted Nov. 2, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111102.htm

.XXX Sunrise Ends - ICM Registry Pleased With Results and Looking Forward to Next Week's Land Rush 

The ICM Registry announced today that more than 80,000 applications for new .xxx domain names were received in the Sunrise period that ended Monday. Sunrise, meant to allow trademark and brand holders an opportunity to apply for their corresponding .XXX domain names before the Land Rush, was originally supposed to end Friday (Oct. 28, 2011) but the registry said it was extended for three days due to heavy 

demand. ICM reported that 78,938 trademarked and/or pre-owned names were submitted, while 1,524 other names were allocated as part of their Founders Program

ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley said, "We couldn’t be happier about the success of the Sunrise period. There is always a risk with a new TLD that you may build it and nobody will come. We are thrilled that over 80,000 applications came!  In fact, the .XXX Sunrise period results far exceeds those of any other new sTLD, including .mobi, .asia and even that of .co that re-launched last year with a significant marketing campaign. We look forward with great anticipation to Land Rush, opening next week and General Availability on December 6, 2011 which is when the fun really starts.” 

Land Rush, which opens on Tuesday, November 8th, is a restricted 17-day period set aside for members of the adult Sponsored Community who want to secure premium .XXX domain names. They will have a chance to either buy them outright or (in cases of multiple applicants for the same name) to participate in a closed mini-auction where they can bid for them.  

Stuart Lawley
ICM Registry CEO

Unlike General Availability, Land Rush is not conducted on a first come, first served basis, so anyone applying for an available domain name will have a chance to get it. At the end of the Land Rush period, domain names with only one application will be simply awarded, while those with two or more applications will go to the winner of the auction between the respective applicants.

(Posted Nov. 1, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111101.htm


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