People & Companies in the News: Bill Sweetman, David Castello & Bree, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas, Hilco IP Auctions, Afternic & Directi

As we head into the 3-day Memorial Day holiday weekend in the U.S. I wanted to pass along some news and information from several fronts that came in over the past couple of days.

Let's start with congratulations to former Tucows VP Bill Sweetman who is venturing out on his own with the founding of Name Ninja, a boutique domain name consulting firm. Sweetman thinks the timing is right, noting "With the massive expansion of the Internet namespace due to the upcoming rollout of hundreds of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), the global demand for expert domain name advice and strategy is going to explode.”

Sweetman said the new firm will help companies acquire, manage, protect, and profit from their domain names. Name Ninja is offering a suite of 

Bill Sweetman
NameNinja.com Founder

consulting services to three types of clients: startups, entrepreneurs and marketers; individual and corporate domain name owners; and new gTLD registries and operators. 

The Toronto-based firm will focus on domain name acquisition (buyer broker), domain name rescue, domain name protection, corporate domain name strategy, and domain name portfolio management. Name Ninja will also assist new gTLD registries and operators with distribution, marketing, and secondary market services. 

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Domainers Rally Around Relief Efforts for Oklahoma Tornado Victims With Charity Domain Auction

I've always been proud to be part of the domain community and never more so than when I see domainers step up to help others in need - something I've seen over and over through the years. Today is such a day. DomainBoardroom.com Founder Donna Mahony has organized an effort supported by her forum members, Escrow.com and our friend Elliot Silver at ElliotsBlog.com to run a three-day charity domain auction with 100% of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross’ s Oklahoma City chapter that is helping victims of this week's disastrous tornado there.

The auction, being conducted on ElliotsBlog.com, is already underway and will continue until 5pm (U.S. Eastern Daylight Time) on Friday, May 24. In addition to domain names, Domain Boardroom members have donated gift certificates and services that are also being auctioned off in this fund raising effort. Escrow.com is handling the escrow procedure for these transactions at no cost to either party.

For details on how the auction works, what is in each of the 18 lots being offered and to place bids - visit this page at ElliotsBlog.com before the auction ends Friday afternoon. You can come away with a great domain name, gift certificate or service AND the knowledge that you are coming to the aid of a lot of people who are in desperate need of a helping hand right now.

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DomainAdvisors.com Rebrands Under a Cool New Name - Introducing Igloo.com!

We all love domains but the industry veterans behind DomainAdvisors.com decided that when it comes to standing out in a crowd, having "domain" in the company name (as dozens of others do) may have finally gotten to the point of being too much of a good thing.  That's why they have taken the bold move of rebranding the business as Igloo.com, effective immediately.  

Ms. Holcomb added, "The name change to Igloo.com is being supported by a new logo and website that will offer additional features over time. This is an exciting time for our company. We look forward to building on the Igloo brand and to continued growth and client successes.”

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T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas Through the Years - A Look Back at the 5 Previous Shows That Set the Stage for Next Week's Return to the Entertainment Capital of the World

When the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference returns to Las Vegas next week for a show that will run May 29 - June 1 at the Bellagio Hotel, it will be the sixth time the pioneering domain conference has been held in the city acclaimed as The Entertainment Capital of the World. However, it will also be the first time T.R.A.F.F.I.C. co-founders Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu has staged a show in Las Vegas in five years (and over three years since Rick Latona produced the last T.R.A.F.F.I.C. show there under a special licensing agreement). 

T.R.A.F.F.I.C.'s long relationship with Las Vegas started in May 2005 when the just the second event in the long running series was held at the Venetian Hotel, seven months after the very first T.R.A.F.F.I.C. show in Delray Beach, Florida. 

That initial Las Vegas show, which saw a 75% jump in attendance over the 2004 debut show in Florida, was also the only T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference in the U.S. that I have ever missed. It happened to fall on the same week my daughter was graduating from high school (since then she has graduated from both college and medical school, so a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then)!

(L to R): T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Co-Founder Howard Neu, "Elvis", Darren Cleveland and "Marilyn Monroe" at the 1st T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas conference in May 2005.

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. would return to Las Vegas for the next three years in a row, continuing to use the beautiful Venetian Hotel as its base. The primary benefit of going to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is the opportunity to network face to face with the top people in the domain industry. Schwartz and Neu understood that and speed networking was a centerpiece of their May 2006 conference in Las Vegas. 

Attendees at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas conference in 2006 took advantage of every networking opportunity. This speed networking event was a big hit and remains a conference fixture today.

T.R.A.F.F.I.C.'s live domain auction continued to grow at the May 2006 Las Vegas show with $2.1 million in sales (a record at the time - but a mark that would be surpassed many times in later years as the industry entered a boom period - largely stoked by T.R.A.F.F.I.C. itself). That year's auction also produced was was the highest .net sale ever reported up to that time - Sex.net at $450,000. 

When T.R.A.F.F.I.C. returned to Las Vegas in March 2007 for its next show there, I was stunned when I walked into the Venetian ballroom on opening day and saw the biggest crowd ever at a domain conference up to that time - over 600 attendees. That's when I knew this industry had "arrived".  That was also reflected in a new auction sales record of $4.3 million, doubling what had been rung up the previous year. 

Part of the then record-breaking crowd at the 2007 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas conference.

T.R.A.F.F.I.C's four-year run in Las Vegas (all at the Venetian Hotel) concluded with the February 2008 show - the last one produced there by co-founders Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu. It was another successful show, but Schwartz and Neu decided it was time to send the show to new locations around the world (that fall the first international T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference was held in Australia). 

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Co-Founders Rick Schwartz (seated) and Howard Neu at the 
2008 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas conference - the last one they personally produced. 

As all T.R.A.F.F.I.C. shows do, the 2008 Las Vegas conference attracted all of the industry's leading figures. In the photo below, my wife Diana visits with legendary domainer and long time friend Frank Schilling of InternetTraffic.com.

While the 2008 show was the last one Rick and Howard ran in Las Vegas, they still attended the January 2010 show that Rick Latona staged at the Hard Rock Hotel there (under a licensing agreement). If gave Schwartz and Neu a rare opportunity to enjoy a T.R.A.F.F.I.C. show with their families as spectators - a welcome respite after years of hard work.

That week I spent a night out in Las Vegas with Howard Neu, his wife Barbara and son Ray. One of our stops happened to be at the Paris Hotel Cafe directly across the street from the Bellagio Hotel. While having dinner on the outdoor patio there I snapped the photo below of Howard and Barbara with the Bellagio in the background. At the time none of us new that over three years later, when they decided to run a show in Las Vegas again, it would be at the Bellagio where we had gone to see the world famous dancing fountains (the best free show in Vegas).

For more on why Schwartz and Neu decided to take T.R.A.F.F.I.C. back to Las Vegas after a long absence, see our show preview interview with the conference co-founders in our May Newsletter. I will, of course, be at next week's conference to cover it for you and I hope to see many of you there in person. It's not too late to register if you want to make it to the big event. 

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Email.biz Booming After Star-Studded Launch Party in India - Founder Coming to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas + Directi Launches .IN.NET & SEOBlog.com Makes Debut

Lots of ground to cover today!  Back in December I told you about .BIZ baron Anshul Goyal and the new email service he was developing at Email.biz. This is a big time effort and Goyal made that clear at the official Email.biz launch party last month in New Delhi, India where he was accompanied by the service's new brand ambassador, Bollywood film star and supermodel Yaana Gupta. You can see the full press release about the Email.biz launch here (.pdf file).

Registered users of Email.biz can choose from over 20,000 premium domains (including one and two letter domains) to create an email address incorporating their name, company’s name or their nickname. Users can also 

Bollywood film star & Email.biz brand ambassador Yaana Gupta and Email.biz founder Anshul Goyal at the company's April 28 launch party in New Delhi, India.

check mail from all of their accounts at other services from within their Email.biz account, making it a one stop solution. 

If you are going to next week's T.R.A.F.F.I.C conference in Las Vegas, you can get more details about the rapidly growing service directly from Anshul who will be flying in from India for the conference. 

	Speaking of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas, show founder Rick Schwartz announced this morning that the show is responding to requests for a one-day pass to specific days at the event that runs May 29-June 1 at the Bellagio Hotel.  To meet those requests, Schwartz created two additional pass options: Pass #1 includes the Wednesday Night Opening Cocktail party PLUS all Thursday events, including Breakfast, Lunch, Seminars,
Auction, Party and the Best Networking in the Industry. The cost for that is $1395. Pass #2 includes the Thursday Night Water School Party plus all Friday events, including Breakfast, Networking Lunch, Seminars and After Party. Cost for that is $895 including the $50 donation to the Water School on your behalf. Schwartz noted, "Personally I don't encourage one day passes because you are truly not getting the total benefit of what we do, but I do understand some schedules these days are very tight so we are making this accommodation for the show. " Elsewhere, the Directi Group, India’s largest supplier of domain names, has launched a new internet addressing domain, .IN.NET. The new privately operated, Indian focused address will offer shorter, more memorable names that are otherwise hard to find in .com, .net or .in.  Directi Group Founder and CEO Bhavin Turakhia said, "Our aim is to make name scarcity a non-issue and offer all Indians a short, memorable name at a very affordable price.”   .IN.NET will launch with a 42-day Landrush & TM Claims service starting June 18, 2013, where customers can pre-register for generic, premium names and brand names can block their domain names to prevent cybersquatting. Open registrations on a first-come, first-served basis will start August 1, 2013. In other launch news, Michael Cyger, who runs the popular DomainSherpa.com video blog, is branching out with a new information service for the search engine optimization industry that debuted today at  SEOBlog.com (a news aggregation service similar to what Domaining.com offers in the domain industry). Cyger said, "The purpose of SEOBlog.com is to aggregate the best thought leadership from search engine optimization professionals. Yes, people can create a Twitter feed of their favorite blogs or receive emails from them all, but getting the best blogs in one place is how we're adding value. SEOBlog.com saves members time, our most precious resource." "All blogs are curated, reviewed and approved by an SEOBlog.com editor," Cyger added. "We also provide access to the best blogs in a variety of ways: * Summary format on the website SEOBlog.com * The most popular stories, as determined by readers, emailed daily. * All headlines via twitter.com/seoblog and facebook.com/seoblogcom With Michael you can be sure you will find a professional and informative service at SEOBlog.com. Michael Cyger SEOBlog.com Founder

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Two Reasons Nashville.com's David Castello is Doing a Happy Dance 

Domain industry veterans are all familiar with the Castello Brothers (David and Michael) and the portfolio of premier properties held by their company Castello Cities Internet Network. Those include generic gems like Whisky.com and Bullion.com and geodomain powerhouses like PalmSprings.com, Acapulco.com and Nashville.com.

Most of you also know that David (a life long musician) moved to Nashville a couple of years ago to manage the career of upcoming rock star bree and play drums in her trio. While there David has also been spending a lot of his time working with DevDigital.com to take the Nashville.com website to another level.

It looks like that effort is paying off in a big way. Today Nashville.com announced record breaking traffic gains at the site. In addition to passing well established local rivals NashvilleScene.com and VisitMusicCity.com in Alexa's rankings, Nashville.com is now ranking higher than major city sites like NewYork.com, SanFrancisco.com and Chicago.com.

The DevDigital team that built and manages Nashville.com includes strategists, project managers, programmers, marketing pros, agency veterans, and designers who have 500 projects under their belts. They took on Nashville.com last November and had the revamped new site up in December with a steady string of traffic gains since then with no end to the upward trend in site.

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Companies in the News:  NameMedia's BuyDomains.com, Sedo & Hilco IP Auctions

NameMedia's popular domain aftermarket platform, BuyDomains.com, has been given a stylish new makeover that debuted today. A company spokesman told us the new site was designed to provide a clean, simplified, and improved user experience for domain buyers.

Dan Vescuso said, "We've enhanced our search capabilities, and our new filtering interface makes refining your search results quick and easy. The new site design is optimized for mobile and tablet users as well, so you can find and buy domains easily on-the-go.  Additionally, the shopping cart process has been simplified, getting buyers their domains faster."

With an eye on end users, the new site also does a good job of explaining the value of a good domain to any enterprise - an emphasis that can only help sellers who list on the BuyDomains platform.

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Live Domain Auction Pioneer T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Keeps the Tradition Alive With Upcoming May 30 Sale in Las Vegas - Current Catalog Was Released Today 

Live domain auctions have been a fixture at  T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences ever since the pioneering event staged the first one ever at its second Florida show back in October 2005. That inaugural auction yielded impressive results for a debut event too with Consulting.com going for $180,000 and a three-name package that included Bachelor.com, Bachelor.net and Bachelor.org selling for $125,000. 

Another live auction will be an integral part of the 24th conference in the popular T.R.A.F.F.I.C. series that will run May 29 to June 1, 2013 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Auction day will be Thursday, May 30 with the sale scheduled from 2pm-4pm (local time). 

Today, conference show co-founder Rick Schwartz released the current list of domains that are scheduled to go on the block (there will likely be several additions between now auction day - you can see the most current full list by checking the auction section of the Schedule page at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. website).

A scene from the last T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 
Live Domain Auction (October 2012 in 
Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Florida).

The current auction list includes 3DMovie.com, AFQ.com, Bouquet.com, LawnMowing.com and Thriller.com to name just a few. To spice things up, the mix also includes several non .com domains including JAX.net, ConsolidateDebt.org, 777.me, Artist.us (with Artists.us), Silly.tv and Time.travel.

Schwartz said that more than 50% of the list has NO RESERVE and will sell to the highest bidder. He added that you can bid in person, by text, by email or by phone.

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Stop the Presses! Change of Plans for the Big Water Night Party at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas

On Monday I told you about Water Night - a special fundraising party benefiting The Water School that was going to get underway at 9pm on the opening night (May 29) of the 2013 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas conference that runs May 29 - June 1 at the Bellagio Hotel.  A minimum $50 donation was required for the event that was going to follow T.R.A.F.F.I.C.'s official opening night Cocktail Party. 

There has now been a change in plans. Water Night has joined forces with T.R.A.F.F.I.C to make it an official show event and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is going to pay the $50 charge for every T.R.A.F.F.I.C. registrant who wants to go to the Water Night event (and that should be ALL of them)! As part of that change, the party - now dubbed the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. WaterNight Vegas Charity Party sponsored by NameCheap -  is being shifted to Thursday night, May 30 with the same running time (9pm to 1am) and the same location - the PBR Rock Bar - just across the street from the Bellagio. It is important to note that all T.R.A.F.F.I.C. attendees still MUST sign up for WaterNight at www.WaterNight.org as everyone has to be on the separate guest list to attend. In addition to covering the minimum admission cost (you can donate more to this worthy cause to help them reach their $20,000 goal), T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will
pay for the food and NameCheap will cover the cost of the open bar and entertainment to make sure every dollar goes to The Water School.

Non-domain industry guests are also welcome with a minimum donation amount, while all domain industry guests must be paid T.R.A.F.F.I.C. attendees and wear their badges to the event.

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How the 2nd Annual Domain Boardroom Funfest Wound Up Getting Bobbled - And Why That's a Good Thing!

Today I got a Funfest picture I have been waiting a long time to see. Shortly after last year's inaugural "un-conference" ended,  DBR Founder Donna Mahony (one of the most thoughtful people you will meet in this or any other business) told me she wanted to do something special at the 2013 Funfest to honor one of the forum's most helpful and beloved members - Bob Olea (Bob, a commercial airline pilot, was the subject of our July 2012 Cover Story).

Donna came up with the idea of secretly having Bobbleheads.com founder Warren Royal (who was also featured in a DN Journal Cover Story in December 2008) create a custom Bob Olea bobblehead doll. Warren came through with flying colors and Donna was able to present the surprised and delighted domain investor with Warren's creation over the weekend at Dana Point. 

DomainBoardroom Founder Donna Mahony with DBR member Bob Olea and his 
new bobblehead doll at the DBR Funfest this past weekend in Dana Point, California. 

As you can see in the close up photo on the right, Warren Royal, the Michelangelo of the bobblehead world, didn't miss a trick in designing the Bob Olea bobblehad. It's all there (including the airplane!) with every hair in place, not only on Bob's head but on his trademark mustache as well! The piece required a special  runway-sized base to accommodate the mini 747 and that's there too, along with the ever present broad  smile Bob is most known for (you can see some fascinating photos from the entire design process here). I've always said that the domain industry has some of the most creative people I've ever met in any business. Another example was provided on behalf of a DBR member who wasn't able to make it to Funfest but whose always welcome presence was made known none the less.
Bob Olea and Kevin Allen honored Canada's Shaun Pilfold by producing and presenting Funfest guests with a stash of custom labeled Pilfold's P.O.S. Pilsner beer - a brew that immediately became the official beverage of the 2013 DBR Funfest.

I mentioned to Donna that a lot of people from our industry could have made it BIG on Madison Avenue, but I'm glad they wound up in this business instead. She summed up the overall vibe from this year's Funfest by noting, "it's just a rare group of competitors who end the gathering with hugs instead of handshakes." When someone asks you what is so special about this business - that's as good an answer as you could ever give.

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Transactions at Escrow.com Pass the $1.5 BILLION Mark - More Than Half From Domains and Websites

Even so, with their supporters including Go Daddy, Flippa.com and dozens of top domain brokers, our industry has more than held its own as a driving force in Escrow.com's ascent to ever increasing heights. 

With CyberSource's 2013 Online Fraud Report estimating that consumers lost $3.5 billion due to online fraud in 2012 (up $800 million from from just two years earlier) it's little wonder that so many people have turned to the pioneering escrow services provider to ensure their transactions are safe.

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T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas Update: Last Week for Current Registration and Hotel Rates  + Water Night Fundraiser to Follow Opening Night Party                     

In a letter to the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. mailing list today Schwartz announced the show's rights to a block of discounted rooms at the Belllagio ends this week and the hotel is already 90% booked for conference week. You may (or may not) be still be able to get a room at the Bellagio next week but it will cost you more. So will show registration. Schwartz said this is the final week before the rate rises by $200 to the $1,995 rate that will also be charged at the door. 

A scene from the February 2013  Water Night event in Los Angeles.	I will, of course, be in Las Vegas to cover the show and hope to see you there as well. In a related note, representatives from The Water School have scheduled a special Water Night Fundraising Party that will get underway shortly after T.R.A.F.F.I.C.'s big Opening Night Cocktail Party concludes Wednesday night, May 29. The T.R.A.F.F.I.C. event will wrap up at the Bellagio around 8:30pm, then attendees can move over to the PBR Rock Bar (located on the same block inside the Planet Hollywood
Hotel) for a party that is scheduled to run from 9pm - 1am. A minimum $50 donation is required for admittance to that event (and many go beyond that).
With sponsor NameCheap.com picking up the massive bar tab - 100% of the proceeds make it to The Water School. You can get your tickets here and it is a good idea to get them in advance. The first Water Night party held during Webfest Global in Los Angeles in February drew a wall to wall crowd for an event that raised $40,000 for the The Water School.

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Companies in the News: .ME Registry, Hilco IP Auctions, Afternic & NameJet

All businesses, large or small, existing or start-up, are eligible to apply. .ME Registry CEO Predrag Lesic said, “The goal of the Premium Domain Program is to assign the very best premium domains to the best content. We are not interested in just selling the domain; we think the quality of service provided has a far better value for our company and for the end users. That’s the main criteria we’ll be looking for in our Premium Domain Program applicants.”

.ME, who started the Premium Domain Program in 2008, believes (and I think correctly so) - that the long term success of the extension depends on people being able to find useful sites on .ME domains - thereby increasing recognition, trust and registrations in the TLD. While they could get more cash in the short term by selling those premium names off, the payoff will be infinitely larger if people start seeing and using more .ME domains in their daily life. 

If you are someone whose preference (and resources) lean toward just buying high quality domains outright you may be more interested in an upcoming IP auction that will run May 20-22, 2013 with domains (and related IP assets) including Bargain.com, BrandEquity.com, ETM.com, VirtualMall.com and others going on the block.  The auction is being run by Hilco Streambank, an advisory firm specializing in the valuation and marketing of brands, trademarks and other intangible assets. They were hired by several well-known corporations to sell off these domain assets.

The domain names and related intellectual property including trademarks, customer lists and vanity phone numbers will be sold in separate lots in an auction on Hilco’s internet auction platform. Interested parties can visit the HilcoIPAuctions.com website for more details.

Elsewhere, two of the domain industry's most popular auction platforms, Afternic.com and NameJet.com, have announced a new partnership under which Afternic’s portfolio of premium domains with Buy it Now prices will be offered to NameJet customers. Eligible Afternic domains can be immediately transferred to NameJet customers.  NameJet’s General Manager Matt Overman said, "We are committed to providing our expanding customer base with more choices and the best user experience for acquiring premium domains, and Afternic was a natural choice.”

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