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ICANN
has issued a preliminary
report on their September 25 board
meeting at which pending contract renewals for the .org,
.info and .biz registries were discussed. Public
comment on those contracts was almost unanimously
opposed to the agreements which would leave the door open
for unlimited price hikes in domain registrations and
renewals. The report says "The Board discussed a sense of
the board that additional information was required for the
Board to fully consider the agreements, and the Board
specifically expressed a desire to see communications from
each of the registries responding to the public comments that
had been received during the public comment period. The Board
agreed that if they received the responses before October
10th, that they would discuss the pending agreements again
during their next scheduled board meeting on 18 October
2006."
Posted Sept. 29, 2006
Meanwhile
opposition also continues
to a pending new agreement for Verisign to operate the .com
registry. Yesterday one of the world's largest
registrars, Network Solutions (ironically a company
once owned by Verisign), called on the National Security
Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) to review
the proposed .com agreement between ICANN and VeriSign.
Network Solutions asked
NSTAC, which provides advice to the President
on communications issues related to national security and
emergency preparedness, "to immediately assess the
critical security concerns that the .com registry proposal
poses for the Internet." The Network Solution statement
added "The .com proposal is pending before the U.S.
Department of Commerce for review. ICANN’s Board of
Directors in February narrowly approved the agreement, which
includes automatic renewal terms and up to $1.3
billion in cumulative, guaranteed price increases that
would not have to be directed toward security improvements or
otherwise justified. The proposal fails to provide a
minimal level of ICANN oversight and security risk
mitigation, omitting contractually enforceable requirements
for security reporting, testing, monitoring and risk
analysis."
Posted Sept. 29, 2006
New
figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau
show that 2nd quarter spending on online advertising in the U.S.
jumped 37% from last year's number. Spending for the
quarter this year hit $7.9 billion. In individual
categories, display advertising lost some ground to search,
with display's share of the market dropping from 34% to 31%
(search attracts 40% of online ad spending). Standard &
Poor’s analyst Scott Kessler told the Financial
Times that advertisers are shifting some money to
online classified ads, referrals and lead generation. The FT
article also has more details on the spending slowdown Yahoo!
reported in certain categories last week.
Posted Sept. 26, 2006
In
another sign of the times, The
NewYork Times Company
posted disappointing August earnings results late last
week, with overall ad revenue falling 3.8% from the
same month last year. While the company's print divisions
languished, there was one bright spot...you guessed
it...online revenues. Internet revenue jumped 17.3%
above August 2005. The previous summer months were even better
with July web revenues up 27.5% compared to last
year, June rising 23% and May climbing 27%. The
Times and Business Week both published prominent
articles about click fraud this past week and while that is
certainly an issue of concern, you have to wonder how much of
the motivation behind such articles is related to print media
bashing of a new medium that is literally eating their lunch.
Advertisers have also been shortchanged by print media through
inflated circulation numbers and on TV where viewers zip past expensive commercials on their digital video
recorders. There is no doubt that outright fraud needs to be
stopped in every medium, but in today's imperfect world there
is still nothing that beats online when it comes to
being able to track return on your advertising dollar.
Posted Sept. 25, 2006
The
new .mobi
extension opens for public registration Tuesday
morning (Sept. 26) when the two-week land rush period
begin at 10am U.S. Eastern time. Some of the biggest names in
the wireless and internet industries are sponsoring,
supporting and developing applications for .mobi, including Ericsson,
Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, T-Mobile and Vodafone,
but it remains to be seen how warmly the extension, meant for
sites tailored for use on cellphones and mobile devices, will
be received by domain registrants.
Posted Sept. 23, 2006
Local
search continues to enjoy rapid expansion. A new
report from Borrell Associates predicts that local
search advertising expenditures will hit $1.8 billion
next year and that total spending on geo-targeted online
advertising will soar 32% in the next year to $7.7
billion. This is obviously good news for owners of geo
domains and it could also help country code domains, like .us,
that are local by nature. Bob Heyman has more on what
is happening in local search (including capsule reviews of
several new local oriented websites) in a column he wrote for MediaPost.com
today (free
subscription required to read).
Posted Sept. 22, 2006
We've
commented frequently on the migration of
advertising dollars from old line media to the web.
Advertisers are chasing readers and viewers who have moved
from newspapers, radio and TV to the Internet. The encouraging
thing for domain owners (whose PPC revenues are provided by
advertisers) is that the flood of ad money is just starting
to wash over the web. This was confirmed again yesterday when
Ken Lowe, the President and CEO of E.W. Scripps Co.
(one of America's top newspaper chains), told an audience at Cincinnati's
Xavier University, ""Right now, eyeballs are
shifting to the web faster than dollars." Of course, the
dollars will catch up with the eyeballs that are now focused
squarely on the Internet. Scripps is a newspaper company that
is transforming itself into a modern Internet content company.
Lowe told the Cincinnati
Enquirer that revenue from the company's Internet
sites, from comparison shopping to broadband shows on how to
remodel your bathroom, now accounts for 13% of Scripps'
total revenue - and will be even more once the effectiveness
of Internet advertising is demonstrated to advertisers who
haven't yet made the move.
Posted Sept. 21, 2006
ICANN
was under the microscope during a U.S.
Congressional hearing today and the organization also
learned it will likely be reigned in by the U.S.
Department of Commerce, the government body that oversees
the California-based group that makes domain name policy. Commerce
assistant secretary John Kneur said the DOC
plans to renew a memorandum of understanding with ICANN,
"but it will likely add provisions designed to address
complaints that the group is sometimes too secret and makes
decisions that don't reflect the Internet community at large,"
Kneur said. ICANN has come under blistering criticism
in the past month for proposing new contracts for the .org,
.info and .biz registries that would allow them
to charge any price they wish for domain registrations
and renewals. There is more on that in our September
newsletter. During the Congressional hearing
today, Christine
Jones, general counsel for GoDaddy.com Inc., said
ICANN should be given a roadmap "to regain the confidence
of the community it serves." She also echoed complaints
that ICANN's recent decision to extend a contract with VeriSign
Inc. to manage .com and .net names came
without enough input from the Internet community. More details
on the Commerce decision and Congressional hearing can be
found in articles at Yahoo
and MacWorld.
Posted Sept. 20, 2006
Some
major domains and large portfolios
have changed
hands recently but unfortunately price information was not
released on some of the larger deals. For example, InterSearch
Group announced the acquisition of Banks.com,
a domain that fits in nicely with their financial services
portfolio that already includes IRS.com. InterSearch
Chairman and CEO Dan O’Donnell said “We expect
Banks.com will appeal to our advertising partners in such
areas as mortgages, refinancing, credit cards, loans and other
premium search terms." Also today, Oversee.net
announced it has acquired 10 domain portfolios over the last two months.
Oversee CEO Lawrence Ng said, “Oversee has accelerated its program to purchase domain portfolios. Because of our history in this space, domainers know we understand the dynamics of the industry and can quickly evaluate their portfolios.
DomainSponsor is uniquely qualified to understand and exploit the value of domains, due to its proprietary technology and superior monetization expertise.”
Posted Sept. 20, 2006
Podcasting
domains should benefit from the rapid growth in
that technology. In a new article at Online Media Daily (free
subscription required to read), author Murgesh Navar
talks about Finding
the Money in Podcasting. Navar says ad
revenues for podcasters are expected to jump anywhere from 15-30%
this year. The technology is especially hot with young people
(a demographic advertisers always seek out). According to Arbitron
11% of Americans say they have listened to a podcast
and more than half of those are under age 35. Major
radio companies like Clear Channel are starting to
offer podcast versions of their radio programs to take
advantage of the new distribution channel that allows the
audience to listen whenever and wherever they want. As
mainstream broadcasters adopt podcasting, they are expected to
bring their existing advertisers with them which will further
increase recognition and adoption of the new medium.
Posted Sept. 19, 2006
ICANN
has posted the minutes
from their Sept. 7 board meeting at which members were given a
summary of the overwhelming opposition to new contract
agreements with the .org, .info and .biz
registries (see details in earlier posts below) that had been
posted on ICANN's public
comment boards. No action was taken on the
contracts. Instead, the minutes say "the board directed
staff to post the summary of the public comments for review by
the public...the board agreed to discuss these agreements
further at its next meeting." In the meantime, contract
opponents are continuing to sign an online
petition asking the U.S. Congress to intervene at BadForBusiness.org.
Posted Sept. 15, 2006
The
future of ICANN and Internet governance will
be looked at by the U.S. Senate Commerce,
Science, and Transportation Trade, Tourism, and Economic
Development Subcommittee during
hearings scheduled to start at 10am Wednesday, Sept. 20
on Capitol Hill. Congress is currently being petitioned
by domain registrants who are vehemently opposed to proposed
new contracts for the .org, .info and .biz
registries that would allow them to charge any price they
wanted for domain registrations and renewals. Many critics say
ICANN is violating it's Agreement of Understanding with
the U.S. Department of Commerce by failing to negotiate
reasonable prices for services rendered in the proposed
contracts with registries that have been given a monopoly over
these global TLDs by ICANN. We have more on this in our September
newsletter.
Posted Sept. 13, 2006
A
new article published by the American Chamber of
Commerce in Egypt has some interesting background on
rising interest in International Domain Names (IDNs)
and the possibility of a fully Arabic language domain
system emerging soon. In the wide-ranging article
written by Rashad Mahmood, you need to scroll down to
the section with the heading "The Final Domain" for
his take on IDNs and other comments he gathered from current
IDN investors.
Posted Sept. 12, 2006
ICANN
has released the staff summary from their Sept. 7 board
meeting in which widely opposed new contracts for the .org,
.info and .biz registries were discussed. The summary
details the wide range of objections posted against the
contracts during a 30-day public comment period that ended
August 28. The board was told that a "majority"
opposed approval of the contracts which is technically true,
but the board would have been given a much truer picture of
the depth of opposition if they had been told that sentiment
against the proposals was virtually unanimous with more
than 1,000 unique posters against approval and less than 5 in
favor. In one important line it was noted that "Staff
reported during the Board meeting that negotiations with the
registries are already underway regarding clarification of the
issues surrounding differential pricing." Differential
pricing is not prohibited in the proposed contracts which
means the registries could charge different prices for
different domains (as well as charging any amount they wished
for any domain renewal or registration).
Posted Sept. 11, 2006
A
number of major registrars and domain industry
organizations have signed and sent ICANN a letter
asking the organization to put off action on proposed new .org,
.info and .biz registry contracts that have
raised a firestorm of protest from domain registrants. The
letter, signed by GoDaddy, DirectI, Network
Solutions, Tucows and Register.com, among
others, notes "Under the ICANN bylaws, the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) has
primary responsibility for developing gTLD policy. In recognition of this fact, the GNSO earlier in 2006 launched a policy development process to identify consensus policy for existing gTLD contracts. That PDP, called
PDP 06, is progressing, with recommendations scheduled to be issued by the end of 2006."
Signatories to the letter want ICANN to wait until those recommendations
are delivered before making any contract decisions.
Posted Sept. 10, 2006
With
local advertisers migrating to the web (see item
below), the plight of newspapers seems to get worse daily. The
Boston Herald is slashing an average of six pages
from its daily edition to save money according to a report in
the Boston
Business Journal. The Herald's editorial director Kenneth
Chandler said the move was prompted by business realities
and competition from the Internet. "We've tried to cut in
a way that isn't too obvious to readers," Chandler said.
Posted Sept. 9, 2006
A
new report from research firm Borell
Associates Inc. predicts that local online
advertising will soar 32% to $7.7 billion in
2007. Almost a fourth of that amount will go to the fastest
growing category, paid local search. The lion's share will
still go to local banners and listings which are expected to increase
18% percent to $5.6 billion. The numbers show
that the global web is quickly going local and attracting ad
dollars that used to go exclusively to traditional media
outlets that serve limited geographic areas, such as local
newspapers, radio and TV.
Posted Sept. 8, 2006
We
understand that ICANN will not make a decision
today on the controversial proposed new contracts for the .org,
.info and .biz registries (see multiple items below
for more background on the issues involved). The overwhelming
public opposition to the contracts was to be discussed at the
board meeting with a decision to come at a later date. Minutes
from the meeting should be posted on the web within the next
few days. We will let you know when that happens.
Posted Sept. 7, 2006
The
.US registry, in partnership with Vendare Media,
has quietly rolled out a local information network based on zip
codes, that includes every single American zip code in the
.us extension. Check any zip code, for example, the one
for our Tampa, Florida office, 33625.us,
and you will see what they have started doing. More local
content will be added to the sites and the registry expects
the network to dramatically increase .us recognition. The
registry had reserved all 5-number domains from the beginning,
so they owned the complete set when the deal was struck with
Vendare to handle the development. Marchex.com
has built a similar network with .com and .net
domains but does not have the complete set of zip codes in one
extension, so it will be interesting to see how the
competition between the two networks plays out.
Posted Sept. 6, 2006
Adam
Chibib has joined Internet REIT (iREIT.com)
as its new Chief Financial Officer. Chibib was most
recently CFO of TippingPoint Technologies, where he
helped grow company revenues from $5.7 million to $33.3
million in one year. Chibib was also the chief negotiator
in the 2005 sale of TippingPoint to 3Com Corporation
for approximately $430 million. Chibib has over fifteen
years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, general
management, investor relations, finance and accounting, deal
structuring and leadership in both public and private
high-tech firms. He was awarded the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002. iREIT CEO Bob
Martin said, “iREIT is at a point in our development
where we will benefit immensely from the experience, financial
discipline and relationships that Adam brings to the
company.”
Posted Sept. 6, 2006
ICANN
has moved the date of their special board
meeting to consider the widely vilified new contract
proposals for .org., .info and .biz registries
up from Sept. 13 to Thursday, Sept. 7. The proposals,
which for the first time would allow the registries to charge
anything they wanted to for domain registrations and renewals
(even different prices for different domains), were almost universally
condemned during the 30-day public comment period that
ended August 28. Now we will see if ICANN pays any attention
to Internet users, or ignores the public outcry and hands the
keys to the store over to the registries they are supposed to
regulate. In the meantime, we urge you to sign the online
petition asking the U.S. Congress to intervene at BadForBusiness.org.
Americans can also make their voice heard by going to Congress.org
where you can enter
your zip code in the box in the upper left corner to bring up
direct email links to your Congressmen. This will allow you to
quickly lodge
protests directly with them.
Posted Sept. 5, 2006
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