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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. |
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2012
DNCruise Officially Scuttled But Organizer
Patrick Ruddell May Raise the Anchor Again Next
Year
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After
two well received
voyages
in 2010
and 2011,
DNCruise, the only domain conference held
on a cruise ship, will not leave port in 2012.
Organizer Patrick Ruddell (AKA Chef
Patrick) gave me the news today. Ruddell,
who co-owns ScienceFiction.com
(with Braden
Pollock) said the decision came was
based on one thing, or to be more precise, the lack
of one thing. "TIME!," Ruddell
exclaimed. "Zezura and I dedicate a lot of our time to
ScienceFiction.com - so much time that we do not feel comfortable stepping away from the website for
5 to 7 days." Ruddell
noted, "DNCruise 2010 and 2011 were both set in motion before ScienceFiction.com started
and took off to where it now receives over 500,000 monthly visitors.
Plus, it has been really difficult trying to figure out how we could top visiting
Grand Cayman and Frank Schilling
like we did last
year." "Still,
this was the toughest decision I have personally
have had to make since entering the domain
business," Ruddell said. "You know from being a guest on both
cruises that I take a lot of personal pride in the event and put all of my effort and emotion in it."
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Patrick
Ruddell
DNCruise Founder
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Ruddell
added that the decision was made even more
difficult when he realized the event had more
significance than he originally envisioned.
"The first cruise was all about
my brand," Ruddell said, " but after spending time with the guests and realizing that our event offered something others could not, the
second
year was solely for the
industry. Coming back for a third cruise in
2013 would be for that reason alone, doing what I can to help grow and encourage beginner to intermediate domainers to succeed."
A
scene from the opening night cocktail party
aboard the
Carnival Inspiration during DNCruise 2
in September 2011.
"Many life-long relationships were formed on both DNCruise 2010 and
2011," Ruddell said. "A week does not go by without an email asking
when will the next DNCruise be? So yes, this was
tough, and extremely difficult for me to say we will not be returning in 2012."
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Ruddell did
leave the door open for a return of
DNCruise in 2013 but at this
stage he did not want to guess what the
odds of sailing again might be. "I honestly
do not know right now,"
Ruddell said. " We are extremely busy with our
work and DNCruise takes a lot of time to organize and coordinate with so many guests. If we are able to make a 2013 event happen we would look around
June or July, during the summer months so domainers can take their families, or
sometime in October or November,
so it could run back-to-back with T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Ft.
Lauderdale. |
The
Carnival Imagination (docked in Nassau,
Bahamas during the 1st DNCruise
in October 2010. |
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With
a 2012 cruise now out of the
equation, Ruddell said he will focus on
continuing to build quality content
to drive more traffic to
ScienceFiction.com. He also
plans to re-enter the
field he specialized in before
he moved into the domain
business. " In addition to my web properties I have decided to get back into
physical real estate,"
Ruddell revealed. " I will be able to get back into doing what I do best,
flipping investment
properties. I am also currently in the process |
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The
Carnival Inspiration leaving
port in Tampa,
Florida at the start of DNCruise
2 in September 2011 |
of doing some minor renovations to my new office space in
Tampa, Florida. We should be moved in by mid-month,
also giving me space to accommodate ScienceFiction.com's growth."
While
I think it has been a good thing
for the previously over-crowded
domain conference schedule to
finally get scaled back to a
sustainable level, DNCruise will
be missed. With its unique
cruise ship format, it offered
something no one else did. That
has been the key for the
events that survived the
conference shakeout and are now
positioned for renewed growth.
DNCruise may not be back, but
I'm keeping my deck
shoes handy just in case! |
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(Posted May
8, 2012)
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