In my last Lowdown post I asked readers to help us identify some people in our massive industry photo archives that I did not have names for. As I expected, our readers came through like champs! To start the first of what I expect will be many identification quests, I posted the shot of the two lovely ladies in the photo below that was taken at the 2008 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York conference and asked anyone who knew them to send me their names. The story quickly

took a spooky twist that makes me believe ESP is real. 

A couple of hours after posting the photo a random thought went through my mind - "If there is anyone I don't know Laura Schmidt will know them." Now Laura, who produces the Domain Roundtable conference, certainly knows a lot of people, but the same can be said for others who have been in the business for awhile. So I wondered why Laura's name specifically popped into my head. A short time later I was back at my computer and there was a note waiting from, you guessed it - Laura! As I told her - cue the Twilight Zone music! And sure enough she had the answer too - identifying Paolo Antik and Debbie Santoyo. 

Paolo Antik (left) and Debbie Santoyo

In addition to names, Laura had the back story for me. Paola had worked for Yahoo and then TrafficZ but has since left the industry (don't worry she will be back - no one can get this business out of their blood for long!). Debbie is also a Yahooite and the two of them had gone to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York to represent the company. First case closed!

Publishing some of those photos I need IDs for also gives me a chance to introduce you to some industry people you may not have known before either and it puts some fresh faces in DN Journal alongside the old standbys we have all come to know so well. 

(Posted July 29, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100729.htm

Over the years I have taken thousands upon thousands of photos of domainers at industry events around the world, including domain investors, company representatives, speakers, etc. While I try to get to know as many people as I possibly can, I noticed in going through our massive photo archive recently that we have hundreds of photos of people whose names I don't have on file. I would like to change that. I have always been a big believer in trying to put a name with a face when industry people come up in the news. I think that photos add a dimension that help all of us get to know each other better and in a small industry like ours where personal relationships can be invaluable, that is especially important. 

To see if this will fly, let's try some test runs over the next 30 days. I'll post a photo along with when and where it was taken. If you can ID the person (or persons) send me an email - again, editor at dnjournal.com. If it is YOU in the picture by all means let us know! When we get a 

verified ID I'll publish it in a follow-up Lowdown post along with the name of the first person to come up with the correct identification. It could be fun on a lot of levels, not the least of which will be introducing you to some new people that haven't been featured in our pages before. 

As any publisher will tell you, nothing gets people's attention quicker than a pretty face (fortunately in our business the pretty faces are accompanied by a lot of brain power too!). So, let's start with the photo at right. These two lovely ladies were photographed at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York conference in September 2008. Who are they?

Who are they?

(Posted July 27, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100727.htm

Two weeks ago we told you about the Domaining III conference coming up at the Hotel Sorolla Palace in Valencia, Spain September 23-25, 2010. This is the third annual edition 

of Spain's biggest domain conference, an event started in 2008 by Inverdom CEO Dietmar Stefitz. At that time we told you that Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher would be one of the keynote speakers. Today we learned that two more industry leaders, Michael Castello and David Castello (of Castello Cities Internet Network Inc.) will fill the other keynote slot (Michael and David were profiled in one of our most popular Cover Stories ever in December 2006). In addition to their keynote address the Castello Brothers will conduct a seminar, "Domain Names & The Power of Branding." 

Michael and David Castello (above) will join Tim Schumacher as keynote speakers 
at Domaining III in Valencia, Spain September 23-25. 

You can learn more about the Domaining III conference and register at the show's website (the site can be viewed in Spanish, English or German - click on the flag icons to switch languages).  

(Posted July 26, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100726.htm

The newly re-launched .CO extension just opened for general registration Tuesday but before most new .CO domain owners even had time to change their nameservers new websites, forum and Facebook threads popped up offering newly registered .CO domain for sale. the highest 

profile sales site among them is Flipping.co by virtue of the fact it was launched by Francois Carrillo. Francois is the force behind a series of popular industry websites including news aggregation service Domaining.com, appraisal site Valuate.com and all extension discount sales site BargainDomains.com to name just a few.  

Carrillo's value proposition for Flipping.co includes free listings for anywhere from 15 days to 6 months and a sales commission of just 7% (escrow fee included). With other busy sites like Domaining.com in his network Carillo has the advantage of being able to drive traffic to .CO listings on his site.

Just how much of an aftermarket there is for .CO domains at this very early stage remains to be seen. The registry itself has said this is an extension for developers rather than those hoping for a quick profit by selling newly acquired domains. .CO has a higher registration cost (typically $25-$30) than .com so that puts added pressure on sellers to turn domains over quickly before they start getting eaten up by renewal fees that are almost four times higher than .com. That being the case, Flipping.co appears to be well positioned because quick flips are going to be more important for .CO domain owners  than most others.

One other note today, Great Britain's Jilo Media, headed by James Iles, has launched a new website at DomainersWorld.org, a resource that Iles describes as "a guide to the best registrars, blogs, development services and drop catchers, as voted for by site users."

(Posted July 23, 2011) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100723.htm 

Things supposedly slow down in the summer but that certainly won't be the case for the domain conference circuit next month. In fact August will end up being the busiest show month ever with no less than five major conferences scheduled between the U.S. and Europe. The calendar is actually even more jam-packed than it looks at first glance because the five events will be shoehorned into a period of just two weeks in the latter half of the month!

There will also be extensive networking opportunities and for those who want to combine pleasure with business, the conference schedule also includes a full day of beach activities in Sopot. More information about the show is available here.

On August 31, three days after MeetDomainers Manchester ends, Sedo will welcome invited guests to their U.S. home base in Boston for a SedoPro Forum event - the first of several meetings on a SedoPro World Tour. If past SedoPro events (the most recent having been held in Key West, Florida last October) are any indication, the Boston meeting (a two-day event ending Sept. 1) will be a real treat.

There will also be plenty of show activity in September and October but we will save that for another day. However, for those who really like to plan ahead, I have to add that Domain Roundtable announced on their Twitter feed last night that they will be returning to the conference fray March 1-4, 2011 at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. No other details were released but a conference site is up and details will be posted there when they become available. 

Domain Roundtable is staged by Thought Convergence (parent company of TrafficZ). Their last show was held in Washington, D.C. in June 2009. Several weeks back Thought Convergence CEO Ammar Kubba told me the company had decided to give Domain Roundtable this year off while they considered how they wanted to position the conference going forward. 

At that time Ammar told me the idea was to go upscale and make it a truly memorable event that would stand out from the pack (when we spoke, show producer Laura Schmidt was 

already out scouting locations around the world). The spectacular 2011 venue shows they are going full steam ahead with their new vision for Domain Roundtable.

(Posted July 22, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100722.htm 

The .CO extension opened for public registration this afternoon (at 2pm U.S. Eastern time) and the re-launched TLD (officially the country code for Colombia, but now available to anyone worldwide) got off to a blazing start. In the months leading up to the start of general 

registration 39,000 .CO domains had been taken during the Sunrise and Land Rush periods, however within 30 minutes of today's open registration launch, the total number of .CO domains taken had soared past the 100,000 mark and they were still going strong as of this writing.

The extension also got a major boost when it was announced that Overstock had purchased the rights to O.CO from the registry for a whopping $350,000. While that is a very nice chunk of change, the registry should receive even more value from having a USA Today Internet 50 Index company putting a high profile .CO domain into everyday use. Corporate adoption and promotion is the real key to success for any extension that wants to achieve widespread public recognition.

While no registry has the resources to make their extension a household name on their own, the .CO Registry has done a phenomenal job of putting .CO on the radar of everyone in the domain business, as well as a significant number of people in the business world at large. Their marketing team, led by registry CEO Juan Diego Calle and Director of Marketing Lori Anne Wardi has been working around the clock for the past few months to keep .CO at the center of industry conversation. With many new extensions expected to launch in the years ahead, I think you'll see a lot of new registry operators use their playbook in an effort to break through the TLD clutter. 

.CO certainly got Overstock's attention. Their Chairman and CEO Patrick Byrne said "In the new era of the Internet, where short and memorable web addresses are critical for capturing the attention of mobile and socially connected Internet users, our O.CO web address will help to reinforce our brand and expand our business among these audiences." By the way, for the very interesting back story on the Overstock - .CO connection, check out Michael Berkens' account of how it germinated at a cocktail party during the recent ICANN meeting in Brussels (with Michael himself playing an important role). 

(Posted July 20, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100720.htm 

The general public can start registering  .CO domains at everyday prices starting Tuesday (July 20) at 11 registrars that have been selected to offer the newly re-launched extension. Each registrar will set their own retail price but it look like most will fall in the $25-$30 range. 

.CO is officially Colombia's country code but that nation decided to open the TLD for global use, allowing individual registrants to take advantage of the fact that "co" is a popular abbreviation for a number of terms, with "company" being the one I think of first.  

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference co-founder Rick Schwartz is reporting another big generic domain sale - Punchbowl.com - a name he sent to Punchbowl Software Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Though this sale was subject to an NDA, knowing Rick it is unlikely he let the name go for less than six figures (he rarely lets any name go for less than that).  

(Posted July 19, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100719.htm 

Skip Hoagland's ever expanding Domains New Media network has expanded yet again with the launch of Shooting.com and CarClassifieds.com. Hoagland, who was profiled in our July 2008 Cover Story, has one of the world's best portfolio's of .com geo and generic keyword 

J.J. Reynal
Patagonia Publishing Company S.A.

Juan Pablo. Reynal
Patagonia Publishing Company S.A.

The Reynals set up Shooting.com as a social and interactive online network devoted to hunters in U.S. and around the world. Visitors can post their own photos, videos, stories and hunting knowledge on the site and participate in Shooting.com's specialized forums. 

Hoagland has also become a major player in the Classified Ad space and owns dozens of product and geo-targeted classifed as domain names. To get CarClassifieds.com developed he joined forces with Tony French, the President & Co-Founder of Automotive Internet Media, a premier integrated media and lead distribution company.

With the weakening (and even demise) of many of the country’s newspapers over the past few years - and over a billion dollar decline in traditional classified ad revenue - CarClassifieds.com expects to help fill the void with an online automotive classified site that lists millions of new and used vehicle for sale.  

French pointed out the many advantages the web provides over fading traditional classified platforms.  “When many people think of classified advertising, they usually think of text-only running down a narrow column in the newspaper, generally with no pictures,” French said. “With online classifieds, you’re not limited by the boundaries of print.”  

Tony French, President
Automotive Internet Media

"CarClassifieds.com provides the vehicle price, descriptions and options, multiple photos, seller’s contact information, optional vehicle videos and more. Consumers can get an appraisal on their trade-in, communicate with sellers, shop for insurance and save money on financing - all in one place without leaving their home.” 

Hoagland noted, “My philosophy has always been to team up with the right partners. I was very impressed by what AIM had accomplished in such a short time, but what is important to me is their understanding of the automotive industry and their expertise in SEO – a powerful combination.” 

General registration of .CO domains will begin on Tuesday (July 20). From that point on anyone can register a .CO domain at lower everyday prices that will be set by the various registrars whom the .CO Registry has authorized to offer the extension.

(Posted July 16, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100716.htm 

The venerable .ORG registry is celebrating its 25th anniversary this week. It was on July 10, 1985 that the first .ORG domain name was registered. That was Mitre.org, a domain claimed by the MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government.

The .ORG registry has been operated by the Public Interest Registry (PIR) since 2003 with partner Afilias providing registry and DNS services that ensure the reliability and security of the popular extension. Since PIR took over the .ORG contract from the original registry operator, Verisign, seven years ago, the number of .ORG domains registered had jumped by close to 300%, a testament to the extension's key role in the domain name system. 

(Posted July 15, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100715.htm 

Domain conferences continue to spread around the globe and another international event - one you may not have heard about before - is coming up at the Hotel Sorolla Palace in Valencia, Spain September 23-25, 2010. Domaining III (this site can be viewed in Spanish, English or German - click on the flag icons to switch languages), will be the third edition of an event started in 2008 by Dietmar Stefitz, CEO of Inverdom (Spanish language site/English site). 

Last year's show attracted 90 domain professionals who owned a cumulative total of approximately 200,000 domain names. Stefitz said he expects growing local interest in domains to draw a record crowd for the event this time out. He has already confirmed Sedo co-founder and CEO Tim Schumacher as one of the keynote speakers for Domaining III.

Stefitz said, "Domaining III is the leading industry event in Spain, attracting the country's most important domain name investors and online entrepreneurs. With top domainers from across Europe also cominng in, we are sure this event will be a win win for all attendees."

Stefitz  said the conference agenda will cover the latest market trends through seminars, workshops and networking. "Additionally, important issues like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the potential of new country code top level domain name extensions (ccTLDs) or the potential conflicts in terms of intellectual property will be discussed," Stefitz added. 

(Posted July 13, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100713.htm 

As most of you know by now, the latest international ICANN was held in Brussels, Belgium June 20-25. A lot has been written about about the various policy issues discussed there (new gTLDs were among the hot topics) but the event wasn't limited to dry banter about technical matters and Internet governance. Directi's LogicBoxes and Skenzo units saw to that by hosting an invitational Brussels Beerfest on the night of June 22nd at the Delirium Cafe. 

This was not just any old beer tasting event. If you are a beer aficionado you probably know that the Delirium has been cited by the Guinness Books of World Records for having the largest variety of beer commercially available at any one place on earth - more than 2,000 types in all! To give you another metric that puts it into perspective - the beer menu is 3" thick! We, or course, sought out pictures to put you inside the event. 

Directi Co-Founder Bhavin Turakhia 
was on hand to welcome guests.

Directi made sure guests knew they had 
arrived at the right place  by stationing 
staffers outside the Delirium Cafe.

The servers had to be the 
most popular guys in the place!

After a long day of ICANN meetings guests 
had a chance to get better acquainted.

Above: Just a small section of the sumptuous buffet that assured guests 
would find the perfect food to go along with their beer choices.

Above and below: The Delirium Cafe proved to be 
the perfect venue for socializing with friends old and new.

Above: Judi Berkens (wife of TheDomains.com blogger Michael Berkens) 
visits with good friend Gregg McNair of PPX International. 

Directi's Vishal Manjalani (left) catching up with friends at the company's Brussels Beerfest.

If you really love your beer and want to see who else had a chance to sample some of the 2,000 brews, Directi has posted 173 photos from the event on their Flickr page for your enjoyment. 

2,000 beers. That sounds like it could be just enough to have one for each of the unlimited number of new gTLDs ICANN's hopes to roll out over the next two or three years.

(Posted July 12, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100712.htm 

Since returning from vacation Tuesday I've been playing catch up while simultaneously putting out a new double length domain sales report and working on our next Cover Story that will be out the first of the week. As the week progressed there were several interesting industry developments that I wanted to pass along to you before getting back to work on the Cover Story.  

First, the .CO registry announced that, due to high demand, their Land Rush period that had been scheduled to end Tuesday (July 13) has been extended to Friday, July 16. Land Rush is a period when the most desired domains are made available at premium prices before general public registration begins (open public registration of .CO domains will begin July 20th). 

The .CO registry says 26,000 premium .CO domain names have already been registered with many being taken by top global brands and Fortune 500 companies. Nicolai 

Bezsonoff, the chief operating officer of .CO Internet, said " July 16th will be the last opportunity for corporations, major brands, start-ups and individuals to secure their desired domains early."  On July 20, all unclaimed domains will be added to the general pool and released on a first-come, first-served basis.

From this point (barring a settlement of some kind) Verisign could try to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, otherwise it will be tried by the District Court. So, it will still be awhile before the final chapter is written in this saga.

(Posted July 10, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100710.htm 

After running four annual gatherings (the most recent being held last October in Key West, Florida) the SedoPro Forum is switching to a new "World Tour" format that will begin next month with a get together in Boston, the home base for Sedo's North American operations. That meeting, to be held August 31 & September 1, will be the first in a series of events that will be staged worldwide. 

A Sedo spokesperson said the company hopes this new "World Tour" approach will accommodate a more diverse group of clients, who aren't always able to attend a single annual SedoPro event due to the location or timing. 

With the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Dublin conference (August  

24-26) occurring right before the newly announced SedoPro event in Boston, a number of domainers may choose to go directly from Ireland to Boston to enjoy some more Celtic pride. Sedo said guests will be given a taste of local culture and entertainment the Massachusetts metropolis. 

The Boston conference will kick off a series of events  that will take place in seven different cities on four continents throughout the upcoming year. Other locations are to include Seoul, Korea; Tuscany, Italy; London, Cologne, Germany and two other yet to be named locations in Australia and South America. Sedo said a new SedoPro event website, with full event details, will be up some time next week and will include information regarding discounted reserved room blocks. The events will be spaced out so guests can attend one or all of the events worldwide.

The SedoPro Partner Forum is a different animal than the mainstream domain conferences like T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and Domainfest Global. Where those shows cover a broad range of industry issues and trends and attract registrants of all kinds, SedoPro Forums are special corporate events that are staged primarily to thank top clients and business associates for their support.  

(Posted July 7, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100707.htm 

My wife Diana and I just returned from a delightful summer vacation that, for the first time I can remember, took me beyond the long reach of the Internet over the entire 4th of July weekend. Before completely escaping the clutches of the web, we started the trip last Wednesday (June 30) in Asheville, North Carolina, a popular destination in the mountains that grace the scenic western edge of the state. We went to Asheville because we had always wanted to see the famous Biltmore Mansion, the largest private residence ever built in America. 

The Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina 
(that's Diana sitting on the edge of the fountain in the foreground)

The 175,000 square foot home, featuring 250 rooms - including 40 bathrooms - was built on a stunning 8,000 acre estate by George Washington Vanderbilt over a six-year period from 1889-1895. It is still owned by his descendants today but the house and its fabulous gardens have been open to the public since 1930 and the estate attracts more than one million visitors annually. The house is even more spectacular inside but photos are not permitted indoors so unfortunately I can't share those sights with you. If you ever get the chance to go see it for yourself, do it - I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

We spent a couple of days in Asheville, then rented a car and drove a little over two hours south to historic Abbeville, South Carolina (the first meeting to consider seceding from the Union was held there in 1860 and five years later, Confederate President Jefferson Davis met in Abbeville with his top generals to decide whether or no to continue fighting the Civil War. The decision to surrender was made and later executed by General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox).

Abbeville's rich history and lovely Victorian homes (we stayed in one - a charming B&B called the Hearthside Manor) were not the reason we went to Abbeville though. Our oldest daughter and her husband had bought a lakefront vacation home on Lake Secession, about 15 miles northwest of Abbeville, a little over a year ago and invited us to come see it and spend the 4th of July weekend with them and their friends. They live across the state in Charleston and have been driving the four hours to Abbeville almost every weekend since they bought the place. I don't like to drive around the block and couldn't understand why anyone would make that kind of trip so often. Now I know.

We had no Internet access at the lake and cellphones worked only occasionally, leaving me disconnected from the outside world for the first time since I entered the domain business. I am usually busy every waking minute so spending every hour of every day just enjoying the scenery and talking with family and new friends made time feel as if it had slowed to a crawl. Though we were away less than a week, it felt like I had a month-long break from the normal routine.

The people who have homes at the lake have formed close friendships and spend a lot of time together. On the evening of the 4th, we joined about 30 people (including kids, parents and grandparents), at neighbor Chris Brown's  house for a big cookout. Brown owns a popular local grocery store (Corley's Market in Greenwood, SC) and he knows how to do a cookout right. As darkness fell, we all set up chairs along the house's shoreline to watch the annual fireworks display the city stages at the lake.

Tuesday it was time to pack up and reluctantly return to the real world. I love the domain business and living in Florida, but the Carolinas have an environment that is hard to top. There are a lot of great places to visit or live there and even more great people  - Southern Hospitality is not just a slogan there, it's the way people live and treat the people they meet. They made this one of our most memorable and enjoyable vacations ever.

Now it's time to get back to work. There is a busy week ahead. I expect to publish a double-length weekly domain sales report tomorrow evening and in the next Lowdown post I'll recap some of the things that are currently happening in the domain business. By the first of the week we will also have a new Cover Story out (a profile of one of Canada's top domain investor/developers) and a new monthly newsletter is also in the works. So, though I've been AWOL the past week, you'll see a lot of me in the days ahead!

(Posted July 6, 2010) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100706.htm