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Stephen
Webb
IAmDomainNames.com
at Domain Roundtable - August 2007
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recent domain conferences,
including Domain
Roundtable in Seattle, T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
East in Hollywood, Florida and last
week's GeoDomain
Expo in San Francisco, to promote his
sales site, IAmDomainNames.com.
The
conventional wisdom has been that sticking random
prefixes on keywords is a non starter (it has been tried
many times in the past with little or no success, other
than the ubiquitous "e" prefix). It's too
early to say whether or not Webb will beat the odds but
at least he's not getting shut out. Yesterday his
company, We Are, LLC announced they had sold WeAreSanDiego.com
to the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper
who will use the name for their existing entertainment
guide. |
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Webb had previously struck
a leasing deal with the operators of the Seattle
Space Needle for another one of his names, IAmSeattle.com.
Webb
explained how it all started, saying "I was looking
for a domain name for my business located in Charleston.
I wanted to give the impression of ownership so I typed
in IamCharleston.com and it was available;
so was IamSeattle.com, WeAreSantaMonica.com,
WeAreWomen.com, WeAreComputers.com and WeAreMusic.com.
Now 13,000 domain names later we launched a new
business. It has opened up a new generation of .com
names for individuals and companies that have been shut
out of the market place. Our domain names imply
ownership and controlling the lion's share of your
market. What is easier to remember than a sentence
beginning with I am or We are?
How many times a day do we say these words?"
Well, I am
not sure how many times I say it (oops, there's one!) -
but it will be interesting to see if Webb's expensive
bet pays off in the long run. He knows he's going
against the grain but says "the criticism is water
off a duck's back." We do know that domain prices
keep going higher and .com options keep getting slimmer,
but is that trend enough to make previously unprofitable
naming strategies work now? Sooner or later, Webb's
enterprise will provide the answer to that question.
(Posted Nov.
28, 2007) |
