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The
Lowdown
December
2010 Archive |
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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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Employee
Misuse of Moniker WhoIs Privacy Data Victimizes a
Customer But Something Good Should Come From the Breach
Earlier today
both
Rick
Schwartz and Michael
Berkens wrote about an
unfortunate incident at Moniker.com
in which a customer of the popular registrar was
victimized by a Moniker employee who accessed confidential
personal identification data for a WhoIs
Privacy protected domain registered by the
customer, then used it against that customer by
sending the information to his employer.
|
I
was made privy to the details of this
incident a few days ago when the
customer (a longtime friend with a
spotless reputation) told me what
happened in an off the record
conversation. No names have been
released thus far because it has been
his wish to give Moniker a chance to
resolve the problem and make changes
aimed at preventing similar
incidents in the future. |
|
Moniker's
first public comment on the issue came today
when Schwartz and Berkens received a brief
statement from the company shortly after
Schwartz published his post (the statement apparently did
not go out to all media outlets as I never
received it). According to their posts the
statement from Mason Cole, the VP for
Community & Industry Relations for Moniker
parent Oversee.net said: "Moniker
has learned that one of its employees violated
company policy by distributing customer data
for a single domain name registration. The
employee has been placed on administrative
leave while the company further reviews the
matter." "Only
one employee and one customer registration were
involved. However, unauthorized data
access of any kind, no matter how large or
small, is an issue taken very seriously by
Moniker and by its parent company, Oversee.net,
and is being addressed directly.” While
the customer understandably feels violated and
angry about the information being sent to his employer, it is
admirable that he is also focused on seeing
changes made that will help prevent such
incidents from harming any customer in the
future.
|
|
Upon
hearing his account the biggest
surprise to me was that this kind pf
private information was so easily
accessible to multiple registrar
employees who have no need to see such
sensitive data. I would have thought
that only a very limited number
of high level personnel could get
to this information which can normally
be released only through legal means
such as a UDRP filing on law enforcement
request.
When
you pay an extra fee for WhoIs Privacy
you have a right to expect that the
registrar is going |
to
take extra measures to insure
that data stays private. For a
quality registrar like Moniker that has
built their brand on security,
this has to be a major embarrassment.
However it should also serve as a
welcome wake up call to tighten
security and limit the circle that
has access to private information. That
goes for every registrar that
offers WhoIs Privacy services. |
The
ironic thing about this incident, based on
the parts of the account that I can share, is
that the employee in question attempted to harm
someone who actually had the employee's best
interests at heart. The customer registered
a number of domains that included an industry
figure's name followed by the word
"Sucks", including names of his own
friends and relatives. He said it was his
intention to keep those domains out of
the hands of others who would use them to attack
those people (a common defensive registration
technique among corporations today). When
the employee learned that someone registered
their name followed by "Sucks", the
employee then bypassed WhoIs Privacy protection
to find out who it was. Had the employee stopped
there no one would have been the wiser. However,
suffering from an inexplicable lapse of
judgment, the employee sent an email to the
customer's boss to complain about the
registrant. It is probably now safe to assume
that the registrant will not be sending the name
on to the employee as he originally intended.
|
(Posted Dec.
31, 2010)
To refer others
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|
Domain
Roundtable Returns to the Conference Wars in a
Spectacular New Setting + Our Latest Cover Story
Profiles .CO's Dynamic Young CEO Juan Diego Calle
Domain
Roundtable 2011
is
open for business. Thought
Convergence (the parent company of TrafficZ,
Aftermarket.com
and DomainTools)
will stage the event at the Atlantis Resort
on Paradise Island in the Bahamas
March 1-4, 2011. Registration
just opened with an early bird price of $695
that is good through January 11. The
price will start rising after that, finally
hitting $995 for on-site registration
during show week.
The
organizers are providing an extra incentive
for registering early. The first 100 that
sign up will be treated to a free excursion
on Tuesday, March 1. You can choose from
among five options including an Atlantis Behind the Scenes Aquarium Tour,
a Catamaran Snorkel & Sail Adventure, Cigar and Rum Tasting, Deep Sea Fishing
or a Nassau Shopping Shuttle.
The
show's preliminary
agenda has also been posted. Things
will get underway with a Tuesday evening (March
1) Welcome Reception. The Wednesday
(March 2)
|
|
schedule
will include a keynote speaker that will
be announced soon. An Aftermarket.com
Live Domain Auction will highlight the final
afternoon (Thursday, March 3). That night the
show closes with a big Bahamian Junkanoo
Festival. Guests will then be departing
throughout the day Friday, March 4. By
the way, if you want to submit
a domain for the March 3 live
auction, the deadline for doing so is January
21.
This
will be the first Domain Roundtable conference
since June
2009 when the event was held in Washington,
D.C. The show was held annually from
2005-2009 but amidst an explosion of domain
conferences around the world in 2010, the
organizers decided to take a year off to decide
where they wanted to position the conference in
what has become a dramatically expanded market.
They decided to take it upscale and the
five-star Atlantis resort will certainly provide
the spectacular setting they wanted for
their return to the conference scene.
Juan
Diego Calle
CEO, .CO Internet S.A.S. |
One other
note today. We have just published our
latest Cover
Story, a profile of the
.CO Registry's dynamic young CEO Juan
Diego Calle. .CO has made a big
splash since the Colombian ccTLD was
re-launched and made available for
worldwide registration last summer. Just
five months after .CO began accepting
general public registrations, more
than 600,000 .CO domains had already
been registered. While the .CO
saga has now been widely told, there is
a closely related and equally compelling
story that you haven't heard yet
- the story of the man behind
.CO's re-birth.
Calle was
born into a highly entrepreneurial
family in Bogota, Colombia where
his father founded one of the country's
biggest wine and beer distribution
companies. Unfortunately, by the time
Juan was 15 years old, the
security situation in Colombia had
deteriorated to such an extent that his
parents feared for the safety of
their three children. They decided to
send Juan, his brother and his sister to
the |
United
States while they stayed behind to
keep the family business going. This is
the remarkable entrepreneurial success
story of how things have gone for
Juan Calle since then. You can read all
about it here: The Juan Diego Calle Story: How the .CO CEO is Turning a Seldom Used ccTLD Into a Booming Global Brand. |
|
(Posted Dec.
30, 2010)
To refer others
to the
post above only you
can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101230.htm
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Sad
News: Veteran T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Videographer Roy Crogan
Passed Away Christmas Eve
If
you have ever been to a T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
conference
you
have probably seen Ft. Lauderdale based
videographer Roy Crogan manning a camera
at the rear of the conference room. I was
|
saddened
to get a note from Danny Pryor today
letting me know that Roy had passed away Christmas
Eve at the age of 73. Pryor (VP of the Rodan
Media Group) credits Roy for
introducing him to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. co-founders Rick
Schwartz and Howard Neu in 2006 and
they in turn hired Pryor to do their web design
work. Pryor said, "I will be forever
grateful to Roy for the role he played in my
life and career."
Roy
and another popular videographer for his
company, Kay Johnson, were fixtures at
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. for years. Howard Neu told me he
first met Roy
|
Roy
Crogan behind his video camera at
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Silicon Valley 2009 |
and
Kay when the Neu family needed to put together a
high school basketball video that would showcase
their son Ray's skills for college
recruiters (Ray would go on to play college ball
at Florida Atlantic).
(Left
to right): Ray Neu, Roy Crogan
and Kay Johnson
(photos courtesy of Barbara Neu) |
They
found Kay Johnson and were so impressed
with how nice and accommodating she was
that they decided to to hire her and Roy
to document T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences.
"Roy did such a great job that we
made him our permanent
videographer and "historian"
for T.R.A.F.F.I.C.," Neu
said.
Neu's
partner Rick Schwartz added, "Roy
was just a mild mannered Videographer
and Photographer that was top notch
in everything he did. He will be dearly
missed and I really hope we all
learn that every moment we have is a precious
moment. Life is short and I think we
are seeing that more and more.
|
Roy
Crogan is survived by wife Margaret and
son Scott as well as a granddaughter. Our
condolences to the family and Roy's many
friends.
|
(Posted Dec.
28, 2010)
To refer others
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can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101228.htm
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|
The
Frager Fracture: Freak Accident Confines Blogger to Bed
But His Fingers Are Still Flying
Marketing
maven Owen Frager
has
always known how to get attention. His
provocative headlines draw a steady flow
of readers to his blog - The
Frager Factor - so last
Tuesday
|
(Dec.
21) when I read a note he posted on Facebook
saying that he was in the emergency room
after getting run over by a pack of stampeding
dogs, I didn't know what to think! Was this
some kind of off-the-wall metaphor meant to
attract more eyeballs or had Owen actually been
mowed down by a band of marauding mutts?
Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter -
Frager's fracture was no figment of his immeasurable
imagination.
While
taking one of his customary walks through a
nearby dog park Frager said he stopped to check
email on his phone. While his back was turned
and his attention diverted to his messages, a
pack of more than a dozen dogs running full
speed ahead plowed into Frager from behind and
sent him airborne. When he crash landed
the concrete cracked a bone in his foot,
sending him to the hospital where he wound up
being fitted with a cast, a walker and an order
to avoid driving for the next six
weeks.
|
Owen
Frager
TheFragerFactor.com |
There
could be some more bad news ahead. Doctors are
determining whether or not it will take surgery
to repair the damage. Frager expects to get a
final verdict on that Wednesday. In the meantime
he is laid up at home in bed but not completely
incapacitated. In fact with a little more time
of his hands than he would like, he is churning
out articles at a furious pace.
Frager
is currently midway through a 20-part series
called Domaining's Most Fascinating People.
Each part is a profile of a domain investor or
developer who has been especially proficient at
combining their domain assets with masterful
marketing. The latest
installment published Sunday
featured Bobbleheads.com
owner Warren Royal. Scroll down to the
bottom of that story and you will find hot links
to the other profiles from the series that are
now online (including Barbara Dillman Neu,
Teen Domainer, Ryan Colby, Patrick
Ruddell, Mike Sullivan & Fusible,
Jeff Gabriel, Rob Grant and Rob
Monster). You will also find a list of the
ten people who will be profiled in the second
half of the series. I'm sure that those who are
enjoying his current prodigious output are
thankful that Frager's foot absorbed the brunt
of his unfortunate fall, leaving his fingers
intact to soldier on.
Morgan
Linton
|
There is
another blog series - this one a two-parter
published by Morgan Linton over
the Christmas weekend - that I really
enjoyed reading. It started Christmas
Eve when Linton wrote about 22 Domainers
That Changed My Life.
After giving that topic some further
thought, Linton followed up with a second
part Sunday that featured 8
more capsule tributes to people who have
helped him along the way.
Like Morgan
I have always been impressed by how
helpful so many industry veterans are to
new people who enter the business with a
positive attitude and a sincere desire
to learn. You won't find anyone with
more positive energy than Morgan, so I
am not surprised that he has been welcomed
with open arms by so many others. In
turn, he just as generously has passed
along what he has learned to others who
read his blog or watch the highly
informative video interviews he has
produced. |
After
watching people come and go in this
business for the past eight years, it is
the ones who have qualities like
Morgan's (and dozens of people he
commented on) that have consistently
risen to the top. Learning by
example is a tried and true route to
success and in his new articles Morgan
has put the spotlight on a number of
people that I think we could all do well
to emulate. |
|
(Posted Dec.
27, 2010)
To refer others
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can use this URL:
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|
Christmas
Eve - A Very Special Night at Our House
When
I was a kid
our
family always opened their Christmas presents on
Christmas Eve. I was really surprised
when I grew up and found out that most people
did it on Christmas morning! I'm not sure why my
parents chose to always have us open presents on
Christmas Eve, but I
|
suspect
it was because - with four boys in the house who
couldn't wait to tear open the packages - we
would have had them up by the crack of dawn
if they did it on Christmas Day. My dad worked
the night shift so that idea would have been a non-starter
with him!
When
Diana and I started our own family I
agreed to follow the traditional Christmas Day
gift opening routine that she was used to - with
one concession. We let our daughter Brittany
open one package of her choice on
Christmas Eve then the rest the following
morning. Brittany has always liked that
tradition, as well as another we started when
she was a child - going to a midnight
Christmas Eve candle lighting service at
our church. We'll be leaving for that event in a
couple of hours.
Spending
Christmas Eve at that service
|
Our
daughter Brittany gets
into the Christmas spirit. |
helps
us remember what this special holiday is really
about and that is important to each of us. I
also really like that we are still doing it together
after all of these years. Brittany is now 24 and
in her second year of medical school, but she is
home on Christmas break and will be with us as
she always has been.
Tomorrow
the crowd at our house will grow six-fold with 19
friends and relatives here to celebrate Christmas
- a time when the old adage - the more the
merrier - really rings true for us. It
will culminate a wonderful weekend and I am
hopeful that whatever your faith may be you
and your family are enjoying an especially
memorable and meaningful holiday season as
well.
|
(Posted
Dec. 24,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101224.htm
|
|
Chef
Patrick Tells Us About His $175,000 Purchase of
ScienceFiction.com and What Is In Store for the Generic
Gem
Patrick
Ruddell,
better known to many in the domain business by
his blogging nom de plume, Chef
Patrick, or by the role he added
last April as a domain broker for Moniker.com
or as the guy who promoted the first domain
conference on a cruise ship, October's DN
Cruise, has added still another
claim to fame. Today Patrick revealed that
he and a small group of partners had
|
acquired
ScienceFiction.com
for $175,000 and that they have already
completed a soft launch of their website on the category
defining domain name.
|
|
Ruddell
acquired the name from DomainCapital.com,
a well-known finance company that had taken
control of the property when the previous owner
failed to keep up with the payments on it.
DomainCapital will continue to hold title to the
domain until Ruddell's group completes their
escrow payments for the generic gem.
Patrick
Ruddell
Founder & CEO, ScienceFiction.com |
Ruddell and
his team is determined to recoup their
investment, and then some, by making
ScienceFiction.com the world's premier
website in a pop culture category that is
famous for its wildly fanatical followers.
Patrick told me, "Our plans are
simple - to create kick ass unique
content and provide a lot of it every
day. As of right now we have three
writers and plans to add more. Luckily,
because of my time constraints, one of my
partners, Dirk Van Tilborg, is our
Editor in Chief. He has a degree in
journalism and English and has been
writing for over 20 years. Plus Dirk's a
big sci-fi geek so that always
helps!"
This
page at ScienceFiction.com has
more details on the various partners and
staff members who are running the new
website.
Ruddell is
confident in the project's future because
he understands full well how many doors
are opened by owning a domain
that |
defines an
entire category like this. "ScienceFiction.com
has given me instant credibility in
the sci-fi community," Ruddell said.
"I have been able to call several
executives in the business and get
right through."
Some say they
favor the term "SciFi" over
"Science Fiction" but Ruddell is
not one of them. "Science Fiction is
preferred over "Sci-Fi" in other
countries. It is Americans that tend to abbreviate
names. With "Science Fiction" I
get more searches globally and
locally sci-fi and science fiction receive
the same amount," Ruddell
said.
While
ScienceFiction.com already has a nice,
clean look, Ruddell said you haven't seen
anything yet. "We have plans to do
more with graphic design and layout. For
now though it was important to get the new
site out, start building content and start
interacting with our audience. They
will tell us what they want!."
Ruddell said.
Ruddell has
always been known for his promotional
skills and he immediately applied
those to the new site. "We are giving
away an XBOX 360 and a Kinect
with a game. We are giving away one for
every 1,000 Facebook "likes"
we receive via Facebook.com/ScienceFiction."
It is
remarkable to see what a great
domain can do for someone. Ruddell,
a former real estate investor, is a
relative newcomer to this space,
having jumped head first into the
domain industry |
in 2008
when the real estate market
collapsed. Now here he is, less
than two years later, at the helm
of ScienceFiction.com. To put that
into perspective, the entity that
has to settle for the second
best gTLD version of the
exact term - ScienceFiction.net
- is book selling giant Barnes
& Noble. When you can leap
frog that kind of competition in
the domain hierarchy through a
single purchase (albeit it an
expensive one) it boggles the
mind. |
Barnes
& Noble has the second
best gTLD
using the exact term "Science
Fiction" |
It is also waking
up a lot of people in mainstream
business who are coming to realize how a
great domain name could put them on the
map overnight. That why you've got
to love this business and the
potential it has as the web continues to
take over the world. |
|
(Posted
Dec. 23,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101223.htm
|
|
With
DOMAINfest Global 2011 Just Six Weeks Away Show
Organizers Release a Major Update on the Big Event
With
the 2011 DOMAINfest
Global
conference
just six weeks away, show organizers have
released an update on what is in store for the
big event at the Fairmount Miramar Hotel
in Santa Monica, California Feb. 1-3, 2011.
Over 600 domain professionals from approximately
30 countries are expected to attend DOMAINfest.
Details on the agenda
and a preliminary list of expert speakers
highlighted today's announcement.
|
|
Here is a bullet list of some
of the key
attractions for the upcoming show:
•
A keynote presentation by Bob Parsons,
visionary Founder & CEO of Go Daddy. An
acknowledged
marketing genius, he will discuss “Luck
& Perspective” where he will share
his story to inspire others to improve their
businesses and their lives.
Fairmount Miramar Hotel
The
site for
DOMAINfest Global 2011
|
•
A fireside chat with Ben Mezrich,
author of “The Accidental
Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook.”
His
discussion is even more topical now that
Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg
has been named Time Magazine’s
2010 Person of the Year.
•
The annual PITCHfest contest that
gives Internet entrepreneurs a chance to
get discovered.
•
Two live domain name auctions,
offering simultaneous online real-time
bidding, hosted by Moniker.com and SnapNames.com.
•
Panel discussions and interactive
workshops with leading experts.
•
Evening networking parties that
will carry on the DOMAINfest tradition of
providing unique, fun entertainment.
DOMAINfest
also released more information on some of
show's panel sessions and the
featured panelists: |
Acquiring
and Monetizing Traffic Using Local, Mobile, Social
and Video
– Expert panelists will discuss the latest
advertiser and publisher trends and techniques in
acquiring and monetizing local, mobile, social and
video traffic. Featured panelists will include:
-
Massimo
Burgio - an expert on international
search/social media marketing.
-
Richard
Jalichandra - President and CEO of Technorati
Media, the largest blog and social media
ad network.
-
Bruce
Crair - President and Chief Operating
Officer of Local.com.
-
Branden
Claisse - Vice President, Business
Development, Mojiva, Inc., a mobile
advertising firm that runs the Mojiva mobile
ad network and mOcean Mobile ad
platform.
Opportunities
in ccTLDs, IDNs and gTLDs
- This
session will help both new and advanced domain
investors learn how to weigh the opportunities
versus risks related to ccTLD, IDN and gTLD
domains. Paneilist will include:
Oversee.net CEO
& President Jeff
Kupietzky welcoming DOMAINfest
Global attendees to the 2011 show. |
-
Ken
Hansen - Senior Director, Business
Development for Neustar Inc.
(operator of the .US and
.BIZ registries).
-
Dr.Jörg
Schweiger - a full-time member of
the Executive Board and CTO of DENIC
eG, the central registry for
.de domains.
-
Daniel
Dryzek - Chief Executive Officer
and Founder of ddfund.eu, a
domain development fund. He is
co-organizer of MeetDomainers,
a successful event that has been held
in Poland & the UK.
-
Daniel
Eisenhut - International Business
Development Director at InterNetX.
The
Latest/Greatest SEO and SEM Tips
– Three highly respected panelists will
offer the latest tips and case studies for
maximizing the results from SEO and SEM
efforts. The speakers will include: |
-
Bruce
Clay - President of Bruce Clay, Inc.
Since 1996, he has been a recognized leader in
the Internet business consulting arena.
-
Danny
Sullivan - Editor-In-Chief of Search
Engine Land, a leading publication that
covers search marketing and search engine
news.
-
Andy
Atkins-Krueger - CEO of WebCertain
Group, an international web marketing
agency which brings together native speakers
from countries around the world to provide a
centralized hub for clients.
Internet
Vital Signs Presentation
-
Eli
Goodman, Search Evangelist for comScore,
will share statistical insights on user, keyword
and advertising category trends gathered from
comScore's Media Metrix suite of
products.
A
new feature added to this year’s agenda involves
interactive
workshops
that offer concrete, tactical advice that can be
taken home and applied immediately to improve the
monetization and value of Internet real estate
properties. Attendees are encouraged to bring
questions. Workshops and panelists will include:
Domain
Monetization Basics from Parking to CPL to CPA
- While
this session is targeted to beginners and
intermediates, advanced domain investors may also
learn from the expert panelists. Monetization
options will be discussed, including parking,
affiliate, lead generation, and
content/development models. Panelists will
include:
-
Frank
Schilling - one of the world’s
most respected domainers. He is the
Founder and Managing Director of Name
Administration, a Caribbean-based
company that owns hundreds of
thousands of high-quality, generic
.com domains.
-
Joerg
Schnermann - General Manager, DomainSponsor
Europe. He previously was Chief
Operating Officer of KeywordDomains.com.
-
Howard
Hoffman - founder and President of
PPC Income, Inc., the first
site to provide evaluations of the
major pay-per-click domain parking
services for domain owners.
Top
Ten Steps to Building a Winning Website
– This workshop offers advice on a
handful of critical steps related to
landing page design, optimizing content,
meta tags, on-site offers and forms,
user-generated content, and leveraging
social media. Featured panelists will
include: |
Frank Schilling will be a
featured
speaker at DOMAINfest Global 2011
|
Tips
and Strategies for Buying and Selling Domains
- For buyers, expert panelists will offer advice
on where to buy, how to do keyword research, and
what factors to consider when deciding on a fair
purchase price. For sellers, the panelists will
talk about pricing strategies, distribution
options, and the escrow and transfer process.
Panelists will include:
-
Kathy
Nielson - Director of Sales for Sedo
who is responsible for overall sales for Sedo
in the North American market including all
product lines.
-
Michael
H. Berkens - founder and CEO of Worldwide
Media, Inc., a domain asset investment
company holding a world-class portfolio of
over 75,000 premium domain names.
-
Larry
Fischer - a domain expert who specializes
in top-level generic domains. He has
participated in some of the largest domain
purchases to date, including Home.com,
Autoparts.com, Stocks.com, Gadgets.com, and
Nursing.com.
As
you can see, DOMAINfest Global is going to have a lot
to offer. If you haven't been to DOMAINfest Global
before and would like to read more about what the
conference entails, you might enjoy our review
of the 2010 DOMAINfest Global
conference held last January.
A
discounted registration rate of $1,195 for
DOMAINfest Global 2011 is available until December
31, 2010. To register, visit http://www.domainfest.com/DOMAINFESTGlobal2011/register.
|
|
(Posted
Dec. 21,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101221.htm
|
|
Instant
Transfer Partners Enom & Moniker Go Live at the
AfternicDLS + Rob Grant Gives Gift Baskets a Recession
Worthy Twist
In
October
the
AfternicDLS
announced that registrars Enom
and Moniker
would be joining the popular aftermarket sales platform
as "instant transfer" premium partners
by the end of the year. That happened today when
Enom and Moniker went live on the
AfternicDLS. They join Network Solutions,
Register.com, Name.com and several
others in a select group of registrars that can
now instantly deliver fixed price domains
(held by any of the
|
|
participating
registrars) that are listed for sale at the Premium
Promotion level on the AfternicDLS.
With
many buyers wanting to conclude sales on the
spot, instant transfer has proven to be a
feature that is giving sales a substantial
boost. Names listed at the Premium Promotion
level are listed for sale on over two dozen
partner sites (including GoDaddy Auctions),
greatly increasing exposure for those
listings.
Rob
Grant's Recession Gift Basket |
Elsewhere
today, you might recall that last
Christmas (scroll to bottom
of the page at that link) Rob
Grant got a lot of press
with his timely Recession
Wreaths website. The tongue
in cheek site offered wreaths decorated
with cut up credit cards and pink slips!
Well, this
Christmas Grant is at it again with a
new faux ecommerce platform at RecessionGiftBaskets.com!
Once again proving himself to be in step
with the times, Rob has come up with a
frugal line of Gift Baskets featuring
what the site trumpets as "the
very bottom of the food pyramid."
Grant, who
was a successful Madison Avenue
ad |
executive
before moving on to the greener pastures
of the domain business, has certainly
created some compelling copy to reel in
potential customers.
RecessionGiftBaskets.com proclaims
"our newest site has all the
thoughtful wisdom and holiday spirit
that comes with a financial collapse
and high unemployment!"
But wait,
it gets better: "Nothing says Happy
Holidays like a colorful assortment of
Spam, spray cheese, beef jerky, peanut
butter & a loaf of (expired date)
white bread...and perhaps a bottle of
Ripple or Thunderbird wine (ask for our
premium gift basket) to wash it all
down with. And for those of you with no
kitchens (or homes for that matter),
these gift baskets also include one set
of plastic knives and a paper cup &
napkin. Just ask for our special 'Foreclosure
Edition' Gift Basket (you don't need
an address to have these
delivered)!"
Rob's
gallows humor seems to be striking a
chord with recession weary consumers.
They do say that laughter is
the best medicine (and it is a heck
of lot cheaper than anti-depressant
drugs)! |
|
(Posted
Dec. 17,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101217.htm
|
|
Elliot
Silver and Jessica Bookstaff Doppelt Expand Their
Networks of Well Developed Domain Names
As
I have often expressed
I've
always thought that it was very smart to
develop one or more of your domain names on
topics you are passionate about. If you
do it well, the potential rewards can dwarf any
other form of monetization. Two friends who have
been going down that path for several years now,
Elliot Silver and Jessica Bookstaff
Doppelt, just added new developed sites to
their growing networks.
|
Elliot,
as almost all of you know, writes the popular Elliots
Blog, where he often details the
steps involved in developing his domains. Elliot
is a dog lover so he has wisely made dogs
one the categories he targets for development.
After success with DogWalker.com
he just acquired DogGroomers.com
and already has an attractive site up and
running.
|
|
In
his press
release about the new site Elliot
said, "It
is no secret that we lavish our dogs with love
and attention. We buy them holiday gifts, spoil
them with gourmet treats, organize play dates,
take trips to the dog park, and pamper them with
medicated baths, massages, and designer toys. As
a direct result, the pet care industry has
experienced growth while most sectors of
the economy have continued to stagnate. In 2010
alone, the American Pet Products Association estimates
that we will spend a total of $47.7 billion on
our pets, $3.45 billion of which will be
on pet services, including boarding and grooming."
You have a perfect
scenario right there. Elliot has developed a
domain on a topic he is passionate about and,
equally important, one that has real
commercial possibilities because it targets
a major market filled with advertisers
who want to promote their products and
services.
|
"When I
had the chance to purchase DogGroomers.com
a couple of months ago, I jumped at the
opportunity," Elliot said. "DogWalker.com
now gets around 7,000 visits a
month, has over 300 dog walkers and
dog walking services listed, and a great
deal of information for dog owners and
people interested in becoming dog walkers.
Likewise, I know that DogGroomers.com will
be able to help dog owners find local dog
groomers as it allows owners to find a
groomer or grooming service by city,
neighborhood, or zip code.
Once a local dog groomer is
located, a searcher can can contact the
groomer directly from the site. All
indications are that the pet products and
services industry will continue to
flourish in the years to come, and
DogGroomers.com is in the perfect
position to be a valuable resource for
millions of Americans and their canine
companions." |
Bandit,
the always well-groomed Yorkie
owned by Michael and Judi Berkens,
with two new friends he made at
the
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Miami conference in
October.
(Photo courtesy of Barbara Neu) |
Elliot also has developed geodomains like Burbank.com
and Lowell.com.
One of his compatriots in that category is
Jessica Boosktaff Doppelt who has successful
sites at PigeonForge.com,
Durango.com
and TheVirginIslands.com.
Jessica just added Sausalito.com
to her portfolio of vacation destinations.
Jessica
purchased
Sausalito.com from Fred Mercaldo
of Scottsdale.com
and Red Apple Domains of
Scottsdale, Arizona. Fred said,
“Our CitiesPlanet
project of developing 65 City.com
brands has taken all of my time and
attention, not allowing me to properly
focus on one of my favorite cities in
the country, Sausalito, California.
Since Jessica has been both a friend and
business associate of mine for years,
knowing that it is now under her control
and ownership makes me happy. Her
expertise in developing these boutique
destination geo portals is proven,
and Sausalito.com fits into her network
perfectly."
Jessica
added, "I’m thrilled to bring
Sausalito.com our expertise in promoting
this unique and popular vacation
destination online. Our success with
PigeonForge.com, Durango.com and
TheVirginIslands.com shows
|
Jessica
Bookstaff Doppelt
Sausalito.com
|
an
overwhelming and resounding interest in
Geo Domains as superior online
resources for vacation planning as
well as a valuable domain asset.
Sausalito.com has the name recognition
that is a natural choice for information
about Sausalito, CA and the surrounding San
Francisco Bay area.” |
Jessica, who has been active
in the Internet industry since 1998, said she
plans to add the features that are most popular
with other destination domains. The focus will
be on providing original and updated content to
bring new visitors to the site and keep them
coming back for more. “Blogs, social
media, eNewsletters and local
events are the most popular features in
addition to the directory of local businesses
that help visitors plan their vacation,"
Jessica said.
Barbara
Neu |
One other
note today. You may have noticed Barbara
Neu's name where we credited her as
the photographer on the picture of
Bandit earlier in this article. Barbara,
who is married to T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
Co-Founder Howard
Neu, is a terrific
photographer as well as the ultimate
hostess at every T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
conference. I have been privileged to
feature a number of her photos over the
years. On Wednesday she got the kind of
recognition she richly deserves when
Owen Frager published a post about
her on his Frager
Factor
blog.
The truth
in what Owen had to say about Barbara is
readily apparent to anyone who has ever met her or had a chance to see her work.
She has a phenomenal photographic "eye" and a unique ability to capture people's personalities
in her snapshots. She is a real artist and better yet, one of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met. I was
certainly delighted to see Owen's
tribute to her and what she means to
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and the industry at
large. |
|
(Posted
Dec. 16,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101216.htm
|
|
Five
Years in State Prison Awaits Convicted Domain Thief
Daniel Goncalves - Who Wants to Be Next?
The
best news
I have heard this week
has
to be word that a convicted domain thief
is going to jail for his crime.
26-year-old Daniel Goncalves will not be
doing his time in some minimum security lock up
either. After pleading guilty in a plea bargain
arrangement the New Jersey Division of
Criminal Justice will recommend that
Goncalves spend five years in state
prison and also pay hundreds of thousands
of dollars in restitution. Union County
Superior Court Judge Stuart L. Peim
scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 6,
2011. Had he not pled out, Goncalves might
have earned 15 years in the
slammer.
As
we told you in August
2009, Goncalves picked the wrong
people to steal from when he hijacked P2P.com
and
|
|
two
other domains from industry pioneer Marc
Ostrofsky and his partners Albert
and Lesli Angel. Albert Angel
happens to be a noted attorney and
former U.S. Justice Department
prosecutor. Oops! |
Albert
Angel |
These
were not the kind of people to let
anyone get away with stealing their
property. The Angels tracked the
thief for over a year and packaged an
enormous amount of data to help
prosecutors crack the case. Still,
despite Albert's law enforcement
background and Lesli's single-minded
devotion to gathering proof for the
authorities, seeing justice served did
not come easily. "There were times
I felt that people who have their hubcaps
stolen have more remedies than victims
of Internet domain theft!,"
Mrs. Angel said. "But I was determined
to bring this thief to justice,
and I am gratified by the outcome today.
Other victims of cybercrime should be on
alert that such theft will not
be tolerated in a world where
business is now conducted online.”
After
Goncalves hacked into the victim's GoDaddy
account to steal the domains, he sold
P2P.com to an unsuspecting buyer
on Ebay for over |
$111,000.
He probably thought he was home free
after that - instead he will go to jail
and become a footnote in Internet history
- the first person known to have
been convicted for a domain name theft.
I'm hopeful he will not be the last. |
One
other note today. Sedo is
hosting a free webinar
tomorrow (Wednesday, December
15, 2010) called
"Domain Names:
Strategic Insights for SEO."
The event will get underway at 2pm
U.S. Eastern Time. The
topics to be covered include:
|
|
-
How
domains can improve your
search engine rankings
-
Integrating
domains into your online
marketing strategy
-
Domain
acquisition strategies
-
Key
domain value indicators
-
Success
stories
If
you would like to sit in on the
webinar, you can register here:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/605791616 |
|
|
(Posted
Dec. 14,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101214.htm
|
|
While
I Was Away Visiting the Frozen North ICANN Kept New
gTLDs in Cold Storage
I
spent the four days
since
my last post on Thursday visiting my mother and
two brothers in the small central Ohio
town where I grew up. I have now lived in Florida
far longer than I did in Ohio and one thing I
was reminded of on this trip was that
Mid-December is not a good time for someone used
to sub-tropical weather to be in the
Midwest!
You
have probably read about (or if you live there,
experienced) the massive snowstorms that
have swept across the region the past few days.
I was lucky to get out
|
The
central Ohio house where I grew up. My parents
bought
it over 60 years ago in exchange for $500 and
a used car! |
Sunday
just ahead of the worst weather. When we were
boarding the plane, the snow was already blowing
in so hard it was going sideways. We had to
sit on the tarmac for half an hour while they
de-iced the wings, but once we were airborne it
was smooth sailing back to the Sunshine State
(which incidentally isn't so sunny right now
either - we are expecting sub-freezing
temperatures tonight in the Tampa Bay
area.)
Getting
to see some snow and experience cold weather again
does make it feel more like the Christmas
season though, as did getting to spend time with
family in the house I grew up in. The place is
over 100 years old now. My parents moved in over
60 years ago when they traded a used car and
$500 for the house (if today's home values
keep falling the way they are maybe we will
see those prices again)! They tell me it
wasn't much more than a cabin back then though. My
dad added the second story, the garage and all of
the left side of the house past the front door -
doing all of the work himself. He could
build anything. They say a lot of genetic
traits skip a generation which may explain
why I am more likely to hit my thumb than a nail
if get anywhere near a hammer. Thank goodness I
can operate a keyboard without hurting
myself (of course the night is still young)!
Page
Howe - when it comes to new
gTLDs - he has been there, done
that
(and never wants to do it again). |
Which
brings us back to the reason you are here
- domains! The big news while I was
away came out of the ICANN meeting
in Colombia. Actually it was a lack
of news, as ICANN, under fire from several
quarters, again decided to delay
making a final decision on when they will
begin introducing the unlimited number of new
gTLDs they want to crank out.
While
I personally see no need for any
new gTLDs at this time, I am starting to
feel a little sorry for the people that
have invested their money in businesses
that hope to provide services to operators
of new gTLD registries. I am not the least
bit surprised to see the interminable
delays that they are how sweating through
though.
I'll
never forget a talk that Page
Howe have at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
Down Under conference in Australia
in 2008. Page headed a group that tried to
get a .kids TLD a decade ago. He
told a harrowing tale of pouring
money into an endeavor that swallowed
money like a sinkhole |
while
the ICANN process inched along at a
snail's pace and in the end wound up bearing
no fruit for him as the
organization never acted on his
application. Howe said he would never
again be involved in any business that
depended on ICANN's approval. By now,
others must be starting to understand why. |
|
(Posted
Dec. 13,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101213.htm
|
|
DOMAINfest
Global 2011 Announces a Fantasy Domaining Contest &
Big Changes to the Show's PITCHfest Contest
There
are some interesting
new
developments with the 2011 DOMAINfest
Global conference coming up February
1-3 in Santa Monica, California. The
show organizer, Oversee's DomainSponsor.com,
has announced a new Fantasy
Domaining Contest with some
attractive prizes, as well as some key changes
to the PITCHfest Contest that debuted at
the last show in January 2010.
|
|
|
The
Fantasy Domaining Contest is similar to Fantasy
Football in terms of its format and
rules. Contestants “draft” their
initial roster from a master list of 1,000
domains, then put some in play, make
substitutions when desired and trade
domains with other contestants. Each
contestant will draft a portfolio of 35
domains from the master list. The goal
is to draft or trade for domains that are
believed to have produced the most PPC
revenue last year between December 1,
2009 and January 15, 2010. There is no
cost to sign up (only one entry per
person is allowed) and the rewards for
winning are substantial. |
|
The
winner will receive a free trip to
DOMAINfest Global 2011 that includes a travel
stipend of $1,000, plus four
nights at the hotel and free
admission to DFG 2011. The
winner will also receive a "Fantasy
Domaining Champion" trophy on
stage at DFG 2011, and the bragging rights
that go with the title. |
The
second place finisher will receive a free
DFG 2011 ticket and third place is worth 50%
off a DFG 2011 ticket. |
The
contest will end on January 15, 2011
and winners
will be notified on January 17, 2011.
For details and a full explanation of how
to play, including Official Contest
Rules, and to sign-up, visit http://www.domainfest.com/fantasy.
The contest is open only to residents of
the United States. |
|
Now
about those changes for this year’s PITCHfest
contest, an event designed to expose
attendees to new, innovative, online business,
service or technology ideas. First, presentations
will no longer be limited to business
models designed to improve revenue on parked
domains. Second, instead of allowing judges to ask
contestants a range of questions after each
five-minute presentation, the judges will remain
silent and the next contestant will be immediately
ushered onto the stage. This will ensure that the
quality and clarity of the five minutes on stage
is maximized, exposing the audience to as many
innovative ideas as possible.
Scene
from the PITCHfest Contest at the 2010
DOMAINfest Global conference last January.
The judges will rate each presentation in four
dimensions: Creativity, Viability,
Originality and Revenue Potential. Their combined
score will determine the winner. The winner
will receive a DOMAINfest Global 2010 PITCHfest
Innovator Trophy and be featured in a press
release. The audience will also be allowed to vote
for the People's Choice winner, using a
real-time text message voting system. The
People’s Choice winner will receive a People’s
Choice trophy and be featured in a press
release.
Peter Celeste, Senior Vice President and
General Manager of DomainSponsor, said "“PITCHfest
was a big hit last year and revealed some very
smart ideas. This year we’re extending the
boundaries of the contest to allow any new,
innovative online business, service or technology
ideas to be presented. Attendees at DOMAINfest are
Internet entrepreneurs who are always on the
lookout for new people to partner with or invest
in, so it makes sense to expand on what can be
‘pitched.’”
Individuals
interested in entering the PITCHfest competition
can find contest rules and an online submission
form at http://www.domainfest.com/PITCHfest.
The deadline for entry is January 14th, 2011.
On January 21st, up to ten finalists will be
selected and notified to start preparing their
five-minute presentations. The competition is open
only to residents of the United States.
By
the way, a discounted registratin rate of $1,195
for DOMAINfest Global 2011 is currently available.
That offer will expire December 31, 2010.
To register, visit http://www.domainfest.com/register.
|
(Posted
Dec. 9,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101209.htm
|
|
.Info
Report Says Extension Gaining Ground + .CO to Get Boost
in GoDaddy Super Bowl Commercial + Warren Royal's
Bobbleheads.com Gets Big
Plug on TV
Afilias,
the operator of the .INFO registry,
has released their 2010
.INFO Annual Report.
.INFO was the first
generic, unrestricted gTLD to be launched since .com
and in
the nine years since its debut in 2001, the
number of registered .INFO domains has grown to
nearly
|
6.8
million, making it the 4th largest
gTLD on the
Internet and the 7th largest extension
overall.
In
2010, the number of registered .INFO domains
jumped nearly 30% from the previous
year. North America remained the
top market for .INFO domains accounting for 58%
of registrations. Europe was next at 27%,
followed by the Asia Pacific region with 12%.
|
|
Roland
LaPlante, Senior Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer for Afilias, said, ".INFO
now represents 44% of the registration
market for new TLDs and is more than double
the size of any other new TLD ever launched. .INFO’s
success provides many lessons applicable to the
launches of new TLDs to come. Afilias has been
able to use our experiences with .INFO as a
foundation for supporting the successful approval,
launch and growth of more new TLDs than any other
registry services provider.”
|
The .CO
Registry also has something to
celebrate today. They hosted a party last
night in Cartegena, Colombia where
the 39th international ICANN meeting
is being held this week. At that party, a
video message from GoDaddy founder
Bob Parsons to .CO CEO Juan Calle
was screened and in that message Parsons
hinted that .CO would be featured in one
of GoDaddy's popular Super Bowl
commercials in February. Parsons
said an official announcement was coming
next week (Dec. 13th) but blogger Michael
Berkens, who was at the party, reported
shortly after it ended that it was clear
what Parsons was saying. Last year's TV
audience for the Super Bowl was over 95
million people so you can see why this
news is creating a lot of excitement in
the .CO camp. |
|
Warren
Royal, the founder of Bobbleheads.com,
who was featured in our December
2008 Cover
Story) also have some TV
exposure to celebrate. Warren
got a big plug from the CBS-TV
affiliate in Atlanta when
the hosts of their Morning Show
invited him to appear on the air.
They raved about his
company's custom-made bobblehead
dolls as the perfect Christmas
gift idea. The three co-hosts
were especially thrilled when
Warren presented them with new
bobbleheads of themselves. |
Warren
Royal (right) of Bobbleheads.com
during his
guest appearance on the CBS
Atlanta Morning Show |
Warren's
story is one of the best examples
you will ever find of the value
and power of a generic .com
domain. He bought Bobbleheads.com
for just $30,000 and has
since developed a thriving
business on the domain - a
business that was given an immeasurable
boost by being built on the
name that defines the entire product
category.
Initially
Warren sold dolls made by other
companies, then he expanded in
producing custom made dolls of his
own (he has even released two
bobbleheads dolls depicting domain
industry figures - Rick
Schwartz and Ron
Jackson, each of which
he retails for $19.95).
During his TV appearance Royal
said he could produce a custom
made doll of anyone for
as little as $89. The customer
just sends in a photo or two of
the person they want made into a
doll and Bobbleheads.com takes it
from there. Thanks to his TV
appearance you can bet his
Christmas business just got a big
boost.
Warren
was featured on two different
segments during the show. You can see a video
clip of his first segment here. The
second segment, which the reporter
closed by showing the Ron Jackson
bobblehead doll (thankfully
without sticking any pins in it!),
can be seen here. |
|
|
(Posted
Dec. 7,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101207.htm
|
|
DomainAdvertising.com
Issues Study Showing Impressive Results for Their
Graphics Rich Parking Platform + ICANN Meeting Opens
With New gTLD Plans Under Fire
DomainAdvertising.com
is a new kid
on
the domain parking block, having just
joined the PPC fray at the start of this
year. However, the new platform, a division of Mumbai,
India based powerhouse Directi,
launched with immediate credibility by bringing
former Fabulous.com COO Dan
Warner on board as their CEO.
Warner's
presence and DomainAdvertising's new approach
to parking (with attention grabbing graphics
rich landing pages focused on photos
rather than text) peaked the interest of many
domain investors who have grown tired of seeing
their parking revenue plunge over the past
couple of years.
I
have been hearing positive feedback from many
who have tried the platform and now have some hard
numbers put forth by Warner in a new case
study he assembled with the testing help of ParkLogic.com,
a monetization company headed by Michael
Gilmour, whose model involves moving
domains between a number of different PPC
providers to match each name with the provider
that generates the most revenue for that
particular domain.
|
Dan
Warner
CEO, DomainAdvertising.com |
At
Fabulous Warner was known for publishing detailed white
papers on a variety of industry topics, so he
made a point of noting that the case study
covering DomainAdvertising results is not
an academic paper. In this case he called the
format a general dialog with supporting numbers,
all of which are bundled into a tidy10-page Powerpoint
presentation.
Warner
also noted, "The study specifically
restricts traffic to English speaking
countries, excludes domains that are banned by
upstream providers, and only includes domains in
categories with our design system implemented."
With that in mind, the numbers he cites are quite
impressive. Some of the highlights include:
•
67%
of domains performed better on the Domain
Advertising system (compared to their previous
provider's system) under test conditions.
•
On
aggregate there was a 50% increase in
revenue for the domains tested
•
A
very consistent result was achieved across
all traffic volume ranges
•
There
was a 164% increase in revenue for the
67% of domains which were “won” by
Domain Advertising ("won" meaning the
domain performed better on the DA platform than it
had with its previous provider).
•
$96
RPM aggregate revenue was achieved on the 67%
of domains won by Domain Advertising (English
Speaking Countries)
Warner
said, "A
lot of domain owners said parking is dead.
When I came back into the industry a year ago I
would have agreed. Now I would say that
parking wasn’t dead it just needed a push
to get out of the rut it was in. The
DomainAdvertising designs are fantastic -
the revenue is better." Still Warner allowed,
"Domain Advertising won’t be the solution
for every domain. Properly managed
around two thirds of the time we will be the best
provider, but every domain needs to be managed on
a case by case basis.”
Warner attributes a lot of the the system's
success to human optimization applied to
the domains accepted into their system. That
approach has created one challenge for the
company. “We have been inundated with
domain portfolios hoping to trial our
system," Warner said. "We are managing
those requests as priorities dictate while
ensuring that the outcomes for each client are met
successfully. What we don’t want to do is
take on so many requests that clients become
dissatisfied with the speed that we can optimize
their domains. Our level of optimization takes real
work – it isn’t just a computer churning
out results”
|
Warner
is quick to credit ParkLogic for helping
DA move the ball down the field.
“ParkLogic did the hard yards with
us," Warner said. "Through early
development bugs, reporting glitches, and
design flaws – they stuck with us to
achieve the outcomes we have today.
For the work they have done with us they
deserve a great deal of credit.”
|
“What
I liked about testing with ParkLogic is
their innovative attitude,"
Warner added. "They worked
with us to squeeze out more revenue from
every domain. When we weren’t the best
provider they gave us feedback to improve
and made sure the clients still made the
most revenue possible while we
optimized. The result was an extraordinary
outcome for two thirds of the domains
tested." |
|
One other
note to day. ICANN's 39th
international meeting got
underway Sunday in Cartagena, Colombia
where it will continue through Friday
(Dec. 10). One of the most interesting
things that will come out of this meeting
will be how ICANN decides to proceed with
their plan to roll out an unlimited
number of new gTLDs. They
are being whipsawed between competing
interests with some adamantly opposed to
the plan and others in favor of it. |
|
As
Michael Berkens reported last
week, one especially powerful
voice - the U.S. Department of Commerce
(the government entity that allows ICANN
to function under a current agreement
between the two bodies) has come out against
going forward with a new gTLD rollout at
this time. Will ICANN ignore the
government and risk the consequences, or
further delay what seems to have become a
never ending process that no one seems to
be happy with? |
|
(Posted
Dec. 6,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101206.htm
|
|
Founder
Monte Cahn Parts Company With Moniker.com - Will Leave
the Oversee.net Unit December 31
Domain
industry pioneer Monte Cahn,
the
man who founded Moniker.com
and stayed on to lead the popular registrar
after it was sold to Oversee.net
in 2007, is leaving the company effective December
31, 2010 when his current contract
ends.
In
a prepared statement Oversee CEO and President Jeff
Kupietzky said, “Oversee appreciates all
of Monte’s contributions to the company and to
the industry. We respect his readiness to part
ways and look forward to working with him in new
capacities.” Cahn was instrumental in the
successful integration of the retail registrar
function into Oversee’s other operating
divisions, and continued his prominent role as an
industry leader and facilitator of domain name
sales through private and live domain name
auction events.
Cahn
said, "I want to express my sincere
gratitude to all those that have worked with me
at Moniker, SnapNames and Oversee and
|
Monte
Cahn
Moniker.com Founder |
helped
build an industry-leading brand and company. I
know that their successes as individuals and as
a company will continue for years to come. I
also want to express my thanks to our loyal
customers and business partners who believed in
and contributed to the domain name industry.
It has been a real pleasure serving the industry
for the past 15 years."
|
When
I entered the domain business Monte was already an
established industry leader which is why he
was the subject of one of our earliest Cover
Stories back in 2003 (The
Full Monte: Why an Industry Pioneer's One Stop
Shop Kept Expanding Long After the Bubble Burst).
Monte was instrumental
in the creation of live domain auctions and many
other innovations over the years. Just last month
his remarkable body of work was recognized when
domain owners and investors voted him into
T.R.A.F.F.I.C.'s Domain
Hall of Fame.
Cahn,
who is currently on his way to Colombia for
next week's ICANN meeting, did not comment
on his future plans but I have heard through the
grapevine that he may be joining a new domain
business venture. I hope that is the case as I
believe his talents are a major asset to
this industry.
|
(Posted
Dec. 3,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101203.htm
|
|
GoDaddy
Founder Bob Parsons to Deliver Keynote at DOMAINfest
Global + MO.com Interviews Ron Jackson
GoDaddy.com
Founder Bob Parsons
will deliver the keynote presentation at the DOMAINfest
Global conference coming up Feb.
1-3, 2011 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in
Santa Monica, California. Parsons, who
was the subject of one of our earliest Cover
Stories in September
2004, has built GoDaddy into the
world's largest web hosting provider as well as
the biggest domain name registrar.
Go
Daddy currently registers, renews or transfers
more than one domain name every second
of every day, manages more than 44
million domain names, runs one of the
world's largest domain name aftermarkets, serves
more than 8.5 million customers worldwide
and employs more than 2,800 people. His
is a remarkable success story, made even more
remarkable by the fact that this is the second
time he has built an extremely successful
company. He sold his previous venture, Parsons
Technology, to Intuit for $64
million and as impressive as that number is,
it just a fraction of GoDaddy's present worth.
|
Bob
Parsons
Go Daddy Founder & CEO |
|
Landing
Parsons, who is considered to be a marketing
genius, is a very nice coup for DOMAINfest
Global.
Oversee.net CEO and President
Jeff Kupietzky, whose company stages the
annual conferece, was understandably excited about
getting him. "We are thrilled to have Bob
Parsons at this year’s event," Kupietzky
said. “Our attendees are domain investors and
internet entrepreneurs who rely on DOMAINfest to
provide them access to visionary leaders and
internet marketing innovators.
As a leader and innovator, Bob is uniquely
positioned to not only speak to them about the
domain business, but also about the challenges
they face as entrepreneurs. He’s a perfect
fit for our audience. So we’re sure his stories
and perspective will inspire and motivate everyone
attending.”
|
One other
note today. I recently had the honor of
being interviewed by MO.com,
Brian Null's superb site about
upcoming companies and the entrepreneurs
who are building them. MO.com published
that interview
today.
Mike
Sullivan conducted the interview for
MO.com and did the excellent job people
have come to expect from the work he
publishes on his own site, Sully's
Blog. |
We
covered a lot of ground in this interview,
including how I found my way into the
domain business, why I started DN
Journal, how the industry has changed
in recent years and whether or not there
are still opportunities for newcomers in
this business. If you would like to check
it out, the full
interview is here.
As it
happens, MO.com founder Brian Null was the
subject on one of our most popular cover
stories, a piece published five years ago
called Going
for Broke: Why Brian Null’s Family Bet
the Farm On His Golf Domains.
Back then I certainly had no idea that
Brian would one day be turning the tables
on me, but it was certainly a pleasure. I
also appreciated the exposure to the
mainstream business world that Brian gave
both myself and the domain industry
through this interview. |
|
(Posted
Dec. 2,
2010) To refer others
to the
post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20101202.htm
|
|
|
If
you've been out of the loop lately, catch up in the Lowdown
Archive!
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Lowdown, so please email [email protected]
with any interesting information you might have. If possible,
include the source of your information so we can check it out (for
example a URL if you read it in a forum or on a site
elsewhere).
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