If the domain industry was the United Nations (and as a global business it does have some similarities), then Jothan Frakes would be the obvious choice for Secretary-General. There are very few people who have as much experience and as many contacts as Frakes does across all sectors of this industry. He is well-known and respected in the domain investment arena, the service provider community and in ICANN circles after years of being deeply involved in all three. 

The third leg of that stool is what makes Jothan especially well-suited to bridge the gaps between them. While domain owners and service providers know each other well and interact on a regular basis, there has always been some tension and even downright distrust between ICANN and domain investors whose objectives don't always mesh. Having spent so much time on both sides of the divide, Frakes has worked hard to create more harmony, or at least a better understanding between two communities that have often found themselves at odds.  But his efforts don't stop there. He has used his unique skill set to bring people together wherever he goes.

Jothan Frakes

With a background and skill set that have made him the ultimate domain diplomat, Frakes was one of the first people that Richard Lau called on to help him produce the new NamesCon conference that debuted in Las Vegas last January. Lau wanted the show to cross all of the usual boundaries, bringing people from ICANN, registries, registrars and domain investors together face to face and he knew Frakes was the person best equipped to help him do that. It also didn't hurt that Frakes's exceptionally rich resume included a stint as the original director of the Domain Roundtable conference when it began in Seattle. He has also played important roles in both the Domainfest and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences, again showing an ability to cross borders between rivals that would be closed to most others.

Because he has been around the business for so long and worked in so many parts of it, many of you - probably the majority of you - already know him. But for those who don't - and for those who don't know his full  story and how he developed into "a person who can deal with people in a sensitive and effective way" (that phrase being the dictionary definition of a diplomat) - this story is for you.

A Rose By Any Other Name

While me may define him as a diplomat, Frakes prefers a different term. "I am going to out myself in the first sentence as being proudly a nerd," Frakes proclaimed. "I would say I am a nerd about names, and have a real passion for our great industry of domain names. In fact, my family of origin story starts off with naming. My first name is an original mash-up name, sourced by two cool artist hippies in Santa Cruz, California who each felt strong vibes for two different names, Joshua and Ethan. They decided to mash the two names together and here I am!"

"I have to really thank my grandparents for pearls of wisdom that I have in my utility belt. They’re not still with us in body, but I carry the fond memories of them into everything I do."  

"I had hobbies, like computer games and collecting comic books and I figured out at an early age that I could afford these hobbies better if I had money – and I entered the workforce in the service industry like most people.  I leave off my pizza flipping, grocery clerking, and lawn mowing from my Linked In profile, but I earned my keep and worked hard."  

One of these early jobs paid off by helping Frakes develop a trait he is know for today. "I worked as a courtesy clerk in a neighborhood grocery store in my home town that was owned and operated by a Chinese family from Hong Kong," he recalled. "I learned a lot culturally from them, and also I honed listening skills without realizing it.  I am certain that this opportunity helped me to listen more closely to people and work with them to understand what they are saying.  My wife might disagree," Frakes smiled.

Computers Are a Boy's Best Friend

"I grew up with some cool people, in very blue collar circumstances, and I learned a lot from my humble beginnings," Frakes said. "I also have experienced life with something which in recent years has been labeled as Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a social disconnection on the Autism spectrum.  I have a propensity for order (though you’d never know if you saw my home office which looks like a borderline hoarder show special), so I have always understood numbers and computers better than people," Frakes said.  

"I started DJ-ing – mostly friends parties in high school and college, but later in clubs and raves.  That gets you out of your shell – to get a crowd moving."  

"Through the 70s and into the 80s I would work with Atari, Apple, Commodore, and IBM home computers, and was always involved in the (nerd alert) computer club from grades 5 onward until I graduated high school. I was in the gifted program through most of my school years, although I enjoyed the years I was not even more.  I did learn that who you surround yourself with certainly plays a significant role in how you are perceived and how and what you achieve," Frakes noted.  

"I was there only a short while," Frakes said. "I had always put a personal touch into the relationships with customers, and tried to make for a white glove valet type of experience – so I had built up a large portfolio of repeat customers at ComputerLand. One of which was a flooring company that I helped establish automation software and contracting databases for. They tracked me down to hire me due to the automation and personnel efficiency that I’d delivered from a few projects and trainings that I had done for them, so I left college for work and haven’t looked back."

"There was a massive seller’s market and housing boom at the time (this is circa 1986-89), and there was a lot of growth in the housing market, and the technology field at that time had been thriving also.  I had network engineering certifications, and could connect different servers and workstations at private companies, so there would be lots of business.  I could settle down, and make a decent run of it…and then it got really interesting."

On Tour with Stevie "B"

"In 1990 we all moved to Los Angeles from Florida, and we operated the next year’s tour from there.  When you’re in the ‘entourage’ there’s a lot to do in the white space of a job description… and idling isn’t something that keeps people around.  Using my experience with computers we automated the settlements and tour accounting, and we were using modems to communicate the results.  We began recording the next album, and we would rehearse in the artist’s home, across the street from where Rick Dees lived  (Dees was a famous L.A. disc jockey, who also had a hit novelty record with "Disco Duck")."

"The tour started, and artists like C&C Music Factory, The Cover Girls, Sweet Sensation, MC Hammer and Ice Cube.  Even Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice, and I could go on but won’t. I attended BMI / ASCAP functions, would get invited to star’s homes, the whole spiel.  Probably one of the stories which is my favorite was meeting Arthur Baker over a chili-dog lunch, and the many sushi dinners that Stevie B would treat the entourage to.  Stevie was always very good to everyone, and even though he had fame, he kept himself fairly humble with his circle," Frakes said.

"The business of music was a great experience – I think that it always has to do with who you surround yourself with – and I was blessed to be around some great people. It helped further pull me out of my shell.  Ultimately, the reality crept in where I noticed that mapping the continuity and pace of paychecks in music to the real world can be a big challenge. So, I left the music business in 1991 and left Toluca Lake to return to Silicon Valley and the technology industry. I have been in the technology field ever since." 

That would turn out to be the music world's loss and our gain, though there would be some other steps along the way before Frakes arrived at the domain industry's door.

The Long and Winding Road to Domains

"From 1994-95 I worked with Apple Computer on a project called eWorld, in Cupertino, but I was a huge Nirvana fan and was going to change the world if internet and music converged… so I decided to move to Seattle. When I arrived in Seattle, I found a job with the people who were operating the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees websites, along with some other clients. I worked with them on some of the largest, highest traffic websites, and the playoffs had all these teams involved that year.  For readers in the Santa Cruz mountains or Los Gatos area, I helped the Mountain Network News obtain MNN.net around this time." Frakes noted.

"Working with another company, I helped co-invent and patent a live customer service platform technology which Oracle now owns and operates called Instant Service. I later went on to work with some of the largest networking consulting firms in the Seattle area, whose founders established InterNap and Switch and Data.  I was in charge of DNS for Seattle Online and thousands of their customers as well as the oversight of email forwarding queues and writing custom forwarding handlers for a major ISP. At the same time,  with stories about Business.com and Alta-Vista.com selling for large numbers, the domain name business seemed ripe with opportunities," Frakes said.

"I met Paul Stahura (at Donuts now, but eNOM at the time), Paul Goldstone (CO.COM/DomainIt), Mark Jeftovic (EasyDNS), Colin Campbell (.CLUB – but at the time Tucows/Hostopia and Blue Genesis), and many of the early registrars through the .CC reseller program.  This was before there were really registrars as ICANN hadn’t really blorphed onto the scene yet (didn’t have a word to describe how its composition of initial board formed and began momentum towards what it is now, so I mashed blew and morphed together)!"

"In late 1998, this odd thing called ICANN emerged from the ether, and worked to split off the registry of .COM into multiple registrars.  We set up as a reseller under eNOM in 1999 and selling .COM, .NET, and .ORG domain names alongside .CC. We would have to pre-pay and keep funds active in that reseller account at eNOM, or our registration system would break."

"I still recall a day where we had one customer come through and register 1,000 .COM domain names.  We were selling at $12/year which was crazy low at the time, but I remember seeing these registrations of what looked like dictionary words, and saying out loud to a co-worker, “see what this asshole is doing right there?  That’s $12,000 flying past us, what a $(#*ing idiot!”  As it turns out, when you point one finger away from yourself, three are pointed at yourself, "Frakes laughed!. " I don’t doubt that the registrant of those names could have covered those renewals and any and all costs since by selling one or two of those names off.  The asshole was the guy in the mirror!"  

"While I was at VeriSign, I met Pat Kane at this time, who was a fantastic leader, and an EDS alumni who passed along many positive management practices that I still hold true to even today.  I worked with Chris Sheridan (now with eNom) as well, and he is a really vibrant and inspirational person.  He came up with a slogan that I tease him about, “The two N’s in ICANN stand for Non-stop Networking”.  While true, I always had thought that a conference that had less of the policy/governance matters happening would be a large catalyst for business and opportunity dialog.  Later in my career I acted on it, but I’ll get to that."

"With most acquisitions, the roll up is about leveraging existing systems and eliminating costs, so the VeriSign work had a horizon to it.  I was in a position to transition my and my teams’ responsibilities to an offshore service provider.  Typically this is something that crushes one’s will, but I made a choice to do it with my all and really make certain it was a quality transition. I stayed with VeriSign until 2004, overseeing those engineering teams in that transition.  

Life After Verisign

"Afterwards, I went to work with Name Intelligence and worked with Domain Tools. I also made my return to the ICANN circus at the Capetown meeting in South Africa in 2004 where I found the meeting had changed and evolved quite a bit.  At this event, I met Paul Twomey, who was the CEO of ICANN. The Luxembourg ICANN meeting was a place that I saw the phrase, “There are no strangers, only friends you’ve not yet met”, written on the wall of a restaurant.  I found this true and have always used it as a mantra."  

"I later met Ron Sheridan at this time, as well as Richard Lau, Ron Jackson, Andrew Allemann, Patrick Carleton, and I ran that conference for a couple of years, and then went to Oversee.net to start DomainFest in 2006."

"In 2007, the last Los Angeles ICANN meeting, I saw Vint Cerf again – this was his send-off as he concluded his term of service as chair of the board.  It was an almost surreal discussion because he had in his hand a Macbook, and was just on cloud 9 about being able to wirelessly video conference with his son in LA and his wife at home, who was broadcasting video of some work being done in their house for him to see.  “Back when we started, we were glad if it worked.  This is beyond our wildest imagination!”, he said."

"I think about that often, how a technology and innovation once given over to the world can bring you things like that type of leap in the span of just a few decades.  If our innovation with space were at that pace, we’d have stations and perhaps cities on the Moon or even Mars by now. DomainFest Global went on to become a big hit.  I met John Travolta at the second one, and I sat next to Rick Springfield on my flight back from the first one.  He actually knew a lot about domain names and was really interested in seeing a .music and some others," Frakes recalled.

New TLDs Have a Rocky Start But New Conference Helps Steady the Ship 

"I helped out again at the Munich TLD Conference called NewDomains.org, after all evaluation was finalized and results published and then during the winter break of 2014 I helped start a conference called NamesCon (Editor's note: an event that had a strong new gTLD focus). Now that I am no longer with the consulting firm, I am currently fully focused on NamesCon and making the 2015 conference an absolute success."

"We are going to do sessions that are new and fresh, and we’ve tightened the span of time between the conclusion of the Consumer Electronics Show and the start of NamesCon, including ‘on-ramp’ and ‘newcomer’ content on January 11 to help the fraction of 160,000+ CES attendees that will join us get up to speed faster for the balance of the week of amazing content and networking opportunities," Frakes said.

"We are working to get sessions from start-ups, to search to brand use of TLDs.  We have a lot of VC/Angel and Private Equity people coming to the event, as there is a big eye to the industry with recent IPOs and the growing number of publicly traded companies in our industry.  We are doing contests and panels, and are getting a bit more technical and advanced in some of the sessions like DNS / DNSSEC, and talking about new and growing frontiers in new technology and how that impacts or uses domain names.  We also have sessions around the industry associations like theDNA.org and Internet Commerce Association, and the I2C," Frakes said.

"he URL for the conference is http://namescon.vegas – and there’s going to be new content releases over the coming weeks and months that merit frequent visits, like audio content from the 2014 show, session and keynote announcements, and more!"

Building Bridges

The success of the first NamesCon conference again illustrated how Frakes's exceptionally varied background in the industry and understanding of  how each segment works - as well as what people within each segment think about people in the others - has made him a unique "go-between" who has been able to foster better relationships and understanding between, people, companies and organizations in every corner of the business. But, it takes more than experience alone to be effective in that kind of diplomatic capacity. It takes a special kind of personality to mediate disagreements and retain the respect of all of the parties involved, something Frakes has been able to do throughout his career. We asked Frakes about what it takes to be such an effective "bridge builder"?

"I have been to a lot of ICANN meetings.  They can be absolutely intimidating to attend for newcomers (although they have been doing a fantastic job of improving on that in recent years).  It often takes someone 3-4 meetings to get acclimated to understanding what to be participating in and what is most important and relevant to them or their needs. I stop and take the time to meet new people and try to get to know them and figure out how to best introduce them to the people they need to meet with, or just sit with them to go through the conference agenda and help them understand which of the many days and sessions are going to be the most important to them."

"This simple act of courtesy is something that I don’t expect anything in return for, and yet it often comes back to me.  And I meet really interesting people in the process who do amazing things from all over the world this way. The two-ears, one mouth thing, helps too.   Different people with different roles or responsibilities are going to have their own focuses and needs and wants. Part of the best way to grow is to grow others and they lift you," Frakes said.

"I also have an incredible ‘get rich slow’ scheme happening in the domain name industry.  I don’t pounce on the quick dollar – I focus on the long term relationships and growing and building trust.  I work hard to keep a good sense of ethics about me. Folks have learned over the course of 15+ years that I will listen to what they are trying to accomplish, and that I will make recommendations that help them achieve what they are after and that the recommendations are not self-serving, or that I am authentic about it being self-serving if it is."  

Crossing The Front Lines in the Conference Crusades

Perhaps the best example of Jothan's ability to move easily between potential rivals has been in the competitive domain conference space. As we've noted, he co-produces the NamesCon conference that (though it has a much different focus) competes to some degree with the pioneering T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference, yet Frakes also had a featured role on stage at this year's T.R.A.F.F.I.C. West conference in Las Vegas (where NamesCon was held in January and will be held again in January 2015).  Frakes made the cross pollination work to the benefit of both parties, making everyone happy in  the process.

"I know this sounds corny, but I am really passionate about the domain name industry.  I think that comes through in the conferences and why I keep at it," Frakes said. "I recall the first time we spoke was when the Domain Roundtable launched in May of 2005. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. was held in Las Vegas for the first time that year, and there was some friction over the two shows having competing dates."

"I did a lot of international speaking or coordination at Oversee.  I led a few workshops at ICANN meetings on the domain industry at the Marrakech and Sao Paolo ICANN meetings, and we did a conference in partnership with EuroDNS just prior to the Paris ICANN meeting. I also participated in DomainPulse which is a conference put on by .DE (Denic), .AT (Austria) and .CH/.LI (Switzerland). "

"Later, I helped a friend named Kieren McCarthy with launching the first couple of .NXT conferences for new gTLDs in San Francisco, moderating and content and what not.  The delays in the new TLD program really decimated that conference, unfortunately, as he had to cancel a couple of the later events that I had not been involved in.  Tough to recover from canceling dates like that."

"I also helped out with an event in Munich called NewDomains.org, moderating about 50% of the  sessions each of the shows.  Markus Eggensperger, Sebastian Ritze, Alex and Florian all did an exceptional conference around the new TLDs."

"I have aided with contents and conferences on every continent but Antarctica, with workshops in the Middle East and Africa, to Sessions in Asia, Europe, North and South America, and in Australia.  No matter where, I see bright and enthusiastic people who have discovered the world of domain names and what they can do," Frakes said.

The Birth of NamesCon and NamesCon vs. T.R.A.F.F.I.C.

"And then there is NamesCon," Frakes said. "Richard Lau reached out to me to talk about the Domain Roundtable conferences I had done in 2005 and 2006, and how the vibe and the energy of the sessions was good.  I have had the privilege of getting to know Richard through the years, and he’s always been clear and decisive and he supports the people around him by empowering them.  He was concerned about the magnificent silence from Oversee on DomainFest dates being announced – because it was getting well past the time anyone hoping to sponsor or even potentially attend could reasonably accomplish it even if announced. And then it never materialized."  

(Left to right) Joe Alagna, Jothan Frakes, Richard Lau and Yancy Naughton after Alagna, Frakes and Naughton allowed their heads to be shaved in a fundraising effort for the Water School held at the inaugural NamesCon conference in Las Vegas, January 2014.

"Richard has a role with the Water School charity, and had counted on doing a fundraiser at the DomainFest.  He had a plan B which was a gathering of domainers and industry folks that had been growing each year and gradually taking over the pool at different hotels during the Afiliate Summit in Las Vegas. ICANN is a free event, which attracts thousands of attendees – we had to charge something but wanted it low and subsidized by sponsors.  The value proposition would be that it would be the same people and business dialog that could be had at an ICANN meeting, minus the distraction of the governance/policy stuff."

"We discussed doing something but I insisted that we do so in a manner that would cause no disruption to the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference, and Richard had been in touch with Rick about involvement, and there was some agreement about proceeding. I appreciated that Richard had gone out of his way to that extent.  I doubt very highly that Elon Musk had discussions with the other auto manufacturers prior to launching Tesla, so this seemed like a respectful gesture."

"I had been working on a long term contract back and forth to Bangalore, India frequently over the past 2-2.5 years on a project that had been scheduled to have ended just before the Buenos Aires ICANN meeting, and was looking for a way to come back into the industry after a couple of years in zero contact with others. NamesCon timing was good, as it was to occur after my contract was scheduled to have ended."

"So now fast forward to the Las Vegas T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 2014.  I think T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is the absolute cornerstone of our industry.  It truly is.  People have energy about Rick and his opinions, because he asks inconvenient but necessary questions.  I have found that he’s often right about things when you roll the calendar forward, so I have found to enjoy his energy and learn from the wisdom in it.  Howard Neu and his wife Barbara are two very wonderful people who have done so much for the domain name Industry from the perspective of the platinum tier of domain name developers clear through to people who are just joining the industry now.  Howard operates a smooth sail, and Barbara is the heart of the conference."

(Left to right) T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Co-Founders Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu with Jothan Frakes, Barbara Neu and Ray Neu at dinner the night before the 2014 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. West conference got underway last May in Las Vegas.

"Jodi, Richard, and I are all in alignment on our respect for T.R.A.F.F.I.C.  In fact, NamesCon sponsored the Las Vegas T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and Jodi and James were there.  I attended in an individual capacity, as I happen to be a reasonably large portfolio holder."

"I mentioned that a friend of mine pulled me into .CC back in 1997 earlier.  In that business, I had the privilege of working with the founders of DotVegas Inc, and they’re very close friends of mine. The timing of their launch was perfect for the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference, and they wanted to do something special and respectful, because this is the 10 year anniversary year for T.R.A.F.F.I.C.  Seeing as how this was T.R.A.F.F.I.C. in VEGAS, and they are .VEGAS, it made immense sense for them to participate."

"It took a lot of effort and work behind the scenes to make things happen, but Oscar Goodman was gracious enough to do a book signing, and the Dot Vegas team and I scoured the local area to acquire copies of Oscar’s book for the attendees. I think it was an incredible value for the attendees, and people who didn’t attend missed out on some incredible networking opportunities with the people who came."

"NamesCon is really focused on the domain name industry – and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is about the platinum tier of success, profit, and character within the domain name industry.  Using a food analogy, If NamesCon were a popular comfort-food restaurant, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is that special restaurant you take your spouse on special occasions and end up sitting with A-list celebrities and star athletes. They are very distinct but complimentary events – both very valuable to this great industry of ours. I strongly recommend both NamesCon and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences, and trying some of the international conferences."

New gTLDs - The New Battlefield?

The new gTLDs have been a bigger and even more divisive battlefield with strongly held, often opposing, beliefs on all sides. Frakes has been following that program from the start. Here is his take on the new extensions and how people can be brought together on this front.  

"I think if you look at any industry that has experienced the evolution from a limited number of incumbent players such as the airlines industry, or if you look at media like radio, television, magazines, etc where stratification and competition are introduced, there is friction over the change, and people that benefit and lose on each side of the equation," Frakes noted.  

"Many people, because of the pace of adoption and awareness, will take a gradual path towards the adoption of new domain extensions, and .COM values will remain at their current levels or even grow. The indications of how the new TLDs have invigorated the .COM aftermarket have really reduced a lot of the fear-based initial concerns that long-held portfolio owners might have been experiencing."

"I reckon I am talking a lot about ‘emotional infrastructure’ as opposed to technical or financial infrastructure.  Mindshare and adoption of the new TLDs is the next frontier to conquer. Universal Acceptance is another key area.  I suppose that those who fought new TLDs with their every breath are now making it through the stages of grieving and coming to acceptance, but that is different."

"Universal Acceptance is how the new TLDs actually work in the wild.  In software, interoperability, search, browsers, etc.  When .info, .museum and .travel were introduced in the early 2000s there were all kinds of software and systems that had to get re-visited."

"I don’t see developers and the development community deeply engaged in the ICANN process.  I should be more clear about that, I don’t see people outside the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) in the development community deeply engaged in the ICANN process.  And conversely, while I see ICANN puts time and energy into the IETF, such as sponsoring the London IETF, the participation in the larger world of developers and developer conferences is sparse and minimal.  ICANN is really putting a good team of people in to Universal Acceptance, and there are groups like The Domain Name Association who have technical committees that are working to improve user experiences with new TLDs."

Frakes in the Future and Jothan's Life Offline

"Family is of course, first.  I have an amazing wife, Melissa, and four sons.  My youngest are twins who are on the autism spectrum, and this means extra investment of time and energy in the home life.  They are extremely smart for their ages, so they keep me challenged," Frakes said.

Jothan has plenty to keep him and wife Melissa busy at home too!

"I teach computers to children, and have for a long time.  There is so little known about autism – it is an ongoing learning curve.  Melissa participates as the co-president of the special (we like to say extraordinary) needs parent/teacher association so we meet so many inspiring parents."

"I am involved in an anonymous program that I refer to as ‘Friends of Lois’ (folks who are in it will know what I am referring to), and I spend time in group discussions there listening to people in a variety of families and situations.  I try to lend hope and a friendly ear or anecdote to aid people through the rough patches that life brings to us from time to time."

"I am a bedroom DJ, having the music bug from my time DJ-ing clubs and touring back in the day.  My oldest son is a musician when not keeping his grades up, so we enjoy music writing and producing."

"I spend a little time on investing in domains, and a lot of time on investing my attention to the kids.  Any parents can tell you, this is the best investment. We have a lot of Legos in the house, a lot of conference T-Shirts and a lot of patience," Frakes laughed