I had the Weather Channel on through much of the weekend following Hurricane Irene's destructive tear up the Eastern seaboard from North Carolina all the way to Maine. With the storm passing through major population centers like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, I knew that a lot of people from our industry were experiencing the storm first hand and was hoping they would escape personal injury or serious property damage. I've heard from a couple but it will be awhile before the storm's full toll trickles in (though experts agree the damage will run into the billions of dollars). 

Some are just now getting back 

Hurricane Irene (NASA Photo taken from space)

online after losing their electricity for nearly two days. Long time friend and fellow domain investor Richard Meyer, who lives near Baltimore, told me he electric went out Saturday night around 10pm and he didn't get it back until after 2pm today (Monday). Fortunately, Richard's property weathered the storm well and his biggest loss may be limited to the contents of his freezer. As more people get their power back, allowing them to get back online, I'm sure we will hear a lot more from friends and relatives in the affected areas.

Left of The Dot Media Inc. (LOTD) created a lot of buzz when the new domain monetization company introduced itself during a Test Track session at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference in 

Vancouver, Canada in June 2010. As we noted in our review of last year's show, "Left Of The Dot's business model revolves around monetizing sub-domains of generic keyword domains. For example, one of their clients is Beef.com. Left Of The Dot finds companies in the beef business (many of whom currently have poor websites or no websites at all) who will pay to use the Beef.com brand by having Left Of The Dot build a website for them on a subdomain such as Angus.Beef.com or Alberta.Beef.com." 

By rebuilding the site rather than junking it, LOTD also retained businesses that had signed up at the original site so they now have a community that has over 400,000 members, making Importers.com a a realistic, North America-centric alternative to online B2B behemoths Alibaba.com and TradeKey.com. Jensen noted, "those sites are valued at $10 billion and $2 billion respectively. The existing sites value their customers at between $50 and $120 each, which gives Importers.com an implied value of at least $17.5 million – not bad for a business that essentially came for free."

Jensen added, "International trade is now hugely dependent on web-based services and Importers.com was one of the first sites that allowed Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) to find international partners... After considerable consultation with SMBs the new Importers.com allows businesses to get online via Marketing 

Names (for example, HardWood.Importers.com), get found via search engines (hundreds of this domain’s existing Marketing Names rank in the Top 3 results on Google, Yahoo and Bing), find customers via trade leads and establish credibility via rigorous Trust Certification."

The conference run ends with a grand finale - the only T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference of the year - an industry extravaganza that will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Florida's Ft. Lauderdale Beach October 16-19. 

Today, show organizers Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu released details on the show's revamped live domain auction that will be held October 18 at 4pm (U.S. Eastern time). They are adopting a new domain submission and commission plan (detailed at the link above) that they believe will produce a much livelier event. 

One other note today, Sedo has added a new member to their management team. Thies Lindenthal, a veteran internet entrepreneur and researcher, will bring his scientific expertise (and a PhD in Real Estate) to the domain pricing field as Product Manager for Domain Pricing. Sedo recently partnered with Lindenthal to develop IDNX, the first standard price index for domain names that uses real estate valuation methodology to accurately assess the domain name market. IDNX will continue to be an independent project.

Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher said, “Thies's expertise and experience with online commerce, coupled with his scientific background in economic and real estate research, are the ideal combination to help grow Sedo’s domain pricing service into the industry leader.” Lindenthal added, “I am thrilled to combine my passions for the domain market and real estate research at Sedo. I look 

Thies Lindenthal
(Photo: courtesy of epri.eu)

forward to continuing work on IDNX, and to bringing my research to Sedo in order to develop transparent, industry-leading domain pricing services for the marketplace.”

If you are a regular reader you know that the domain industry, rallied by PPX International Chairman Gregg McNair, has been a big supporter of The Water School, a non-profit organization that has developed a cost effective water purification program that is saving lives in Africa and other developing nations around the world.

McNair has led groups of individual domainers to Africa for both fundraising events (like climbs of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2010 and 2011 that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars) and "Vision Trips" that let Water School supporters see the great work the organization is doing in person by visiting villages where The Water School system has been deployed. 

McNair will do it again October 29 - November 2, 2011 when he will lead an industry group on the next Vision Trip to Kenya. They will be visiting  the world renowned Maasai Mara Game Reserve while they are there as well as visit Water School project sites in the Nairobi area. 

If this sounds interesting to you, you should know that you can go on the trip too! Other than the round-trip airfare from wherever you

PPX Chairman Gregg McNair

are to Nairobi, one set price ($2,257 for individuals or $3,542 for double occupancy) will cover all other costs, including all hotel accommodations, meals, ground transportation, the safari at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve Park and round trip airfare between Nairobi and Mara.

The Water School program integrates health and sanitation education programs with the Solar Disinfection (SODIS) technique that effectively changes contaminated water to safe-drinking water. The science of SODIS has been proven with over 25 years of research from the science community. Clear plastic bottles are filled with contaminated water and placed in direct sunlight for one sunny day or 2 cloudy days. The UV rays of the sun effectively kill pathogenic microorganisms making the water safe for human consumption.

It is such a cost-effective solution that a  

$50 donation can provide safe drinking water for a family of five for life! That's what I call stretching a dollar and it is a key reason I am among the many in the domain business who are excited about what The Water School has been able to accomplish. 

One other note today - people seeking funding for domain related ventures are being invited to apply for a spot in the next edition of  T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Test Track - a session with potential investors that will be held on October 17, 2011, during the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Ft. Lauderdale Beach conference that will be running at the oceanfront Ritz Carlton Hotel October 16-19.

In an email to the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. mailing list, organizers wrote, "With a panel of well-known (and well-off) Investors, both in and out of the Domain Industry, this year's

presentations should meet with substantial success. Each Entrepreneur will have the opportunity to make a 10-minute pitch to the panel, and if the ideas and numbers work, deals will be made! Anyone who has a concept, preferably, but not necessarily developed, that requires financing to make it come to fruition, is entitled to make their pitch and try to hit a home run."

The invitation concluded, "If you believe that your project will qualify, send us a 50-word paragraph of your concept, the amount of funding that you are seeking, how the funding will be used, and the percentage of your business that you are willing to give to an investor to make it happen.   As there are only 5 pitches that can be made in the time allotted, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will determine which entrepreneurs have made the cut and will inform the participants on or before October 1, 2011. There is no form to fill out. Just tell us who you are and what you are looking for. Our decision as to who will be making their pitch to the Investors is final."

Digimedia Founder Scott Day is one of the domain industry's true pioneers. In another ground-breaking endeavor, this time a non-profit initiative, Day, along with Digimedia President Jay Chapman and  iThemes Media CEO Cory Miller, have co-founded The Div, a foundation designed to serve as a tech community hub dedicated to web-based innovation, creativity and training in their home state of Oklahoma (the name “Div” comes from the web programming term <div>, which is the starting point for a container of elements). 

The organization will officially open its 1,800-foot office in Edmonds, Oklahoma a week from Thursday (August 25) with Oklahoma Lt. Governor Todd Lamb and Edmonds Mayor Patrice Douglas among the dignitaries that will be on hand for the Grand Opening (the office, at 1712 S. Kelly Ave., is right around the corner from Digimedia headquarters). 

The opening day event will run from 11am-12:30pm and will include an introductory class, How to Build a Website is 20 Minutes, that is representative of the kind of training the foundation will provide to help the local workforce take full advantage of the opportunities the Internet presents. The Div plans to offer weekly and monthly workshops

Digimedia Founder Scott Day

and classes, co-working days to bring local web pros together and will also host web-related user groups.

Digimedia President Jay Chapman

iThemes Media CEO Cory Miller

Jay Chapman said, "The Div's objective is to pioneer a local (in Oklahoma, "local" means statewide) internet-technology territory by inspiring and training the next generation to realize and harness the web's innumerable opportunities. Hopefully the foundation will impact and help others in Oklahoma and beyond! Like any non-profit, the Div is always seeking other like-minded folks to climb aboard, participate and partner."

Cory Miller, who will serve as The Div's President, noted, "When I launched iThemes in my home three years ago, I never imagined it would grow to what it has today. Now with a workforce of more than 20 people and iThemes on solid financial footing and growing, we believe giving back to the community and helping aspiring web designers, developers and entrepreneurs build a better Oklahoma just seems like the most logical next step for us, and the right thing to do.” If you go to The Div website, you will find a video at the top right on the home page in which Miller talks more about why he, Day and Chapman created The Div.

I think it is a terrific idea and one that may well be copied in other locales around the U.S. and the world. I've always felt that for many the key to moving ahead in today's stagnant economy is to turn to the Internet where opportunities still abound. The Div will provide a place where Oklahomans can learn how to build a brighter future for themselves and their communities on the web. 

The hotbed for domaining in Florida is located along the Sunshine State's southeastern coast (stretching from Palm Beach down to Miami). As I've noted in the past, that area has one of the world's most active local domainer's groups in the South Florida Domainer's Group and many of the top companies and individual domain investors are located there. We, on the 

other hand, are located on the opposite side of the state in the Tampa Bay area that looks out on the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Atlantic Ocean. It isn't quite as busy on this coast but our side of the state has a lot going for it too - enough to attract some domain business friends to the area over this past weekend. Their visits give my wife Diana and I chance to spend a very enjoyable Saturday and Sunday seeing industry friends that we always enjoy being around. 

On Saturday we made the short hop over to Clearwater Beach to have dinner with Michael 

Florida's Gulf Coast has several beautiful cities 
including Sarasota (above), Clearwater and Naples.  

Castello (of Castello Cities Internet Network and Castello Brothers fame) and his wife Sheri who were spending some vacation time on the beach at the Sandpearl Resort. Michael and his brother David grew up on Florida's east coast (in Boynton Beach) and they come back to the state often to visit relatives on their side of the family. Sheri's mom Greta and her husband Ted also live in Florida but their home is in Panama City, in the panhandle. That's a long drive from Boynton, so Michael, Sheri and their kids, computer whiz Jonathan (who starts college near their Souhern California home in a few days) and Jessica (a talented 12-year-old who seems destined for an acting career), decided to meet Greta and Ted half way, bringing everyone together on Clearwater Beach for three days.  

On Sunday (August 14), while Michael and Sheri headed over to Florida's east coast to see more family members and friends, Diana and I drove south to Sarasota to hook up with T.R.A.F.F.I.C. co-founder Howard Neu and his wife Barbara. 

Howard and his partner Rick Schwartz will be holding their next T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference October 16-19, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton on Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Howard and Barbara are always scouting for potential future show locations and that is what brought them to Sarasota from their home near Ft. Lauderdale. Specifically, they came to town to tour the 

(Diana Jackson, Howard Neu and Barbara Neu in front of 
the Dolphin Fountain in Sarasota's Bayfront Park Sunday.

Sarasota Ritz Carlton with a select group of conference organizers that were invited to check out the spectacular hotel that sits on Sarasota Bay.  

Diana and I both lived in  Sarasota for many years when I was a TV sportscaster on the ABC station there (we moved about an hour north to Tampa when I took a job with the CBS-TV affiliate in  that city). We have always loved Sarasota and our daughter Brittany just moved there for her last two years of medical school at the Florida State University College of Medicine. As you might expect, I've acquired a number of Sarasota  related domain names over the years, my favorite being Sarasota.us. So, we were delighted to have a chance to see Howard and Barbara again and have an opportunity to show them around one our favorite cities (returning the hospitality they showed us when they (and some other South Florida friends) gave us a grand tour of Ft. Lauderdale this past spring). 

After a morning drive to see several of our favorite places we headed back downtown to Marina Jack where Brittany joined the four of us for a leisurely lunch that allowed us to enjoy the restaurant's panoramic view of Sarasota Bay.

Diana, Brittany and Ron Jackson at the Marina Jack Restaurant 
in Sarasota Sunday (Aug. 14, 2011).

After lunch we wanted Howard and Barbara  to see the fabulous Ca d'Zan mansion built in the 1920's by circus magnate John Ringling (who played a key role in turning Sarasota into a world class resort town.) Ringling bequeathed the bayfront home and the wonderful Ringling Museum of Art next door to the state of Florida and both are now enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year. There is also a Circus Museum on the grounds (that we also visited) as well as the historic Asolo Theater. All of the museums, the theater and Ca d'Zan (House of John) are now administered by Florida State University. 

Howard & Barbara Neu at Ca d'Zan in Sarasota, Florida Sunday (Aug. 14, 2011).

Ca D'Zan cost $1.5 million to build in the 1920s and a guide that took us through the house said it would cost $66 million to duplicate the house today. Unfortunately, John Ringling, who also had vast railroad, oil and land holdings, wound up losing his vast fortune in  the Great Depression. He gave the house to the State just a week before it would have been foreclosed on! I am reading a biography about him now (that focuses on his years in Florida) and it is a truly amazing life story.  

Diana and I have visited the house several times and I always learn something new on each visit. All in all it was the best kind of weekend. When you can spend time with good friends in great places and learn something along the way (a great byproduct of hanging out with smart people) it's hard to go wrong! I hope your weekend was just as enjoyable and that your upcoming work week will be rewarding. 

Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher noted, "Jeremiah’s leadership and legal expertise has been a valuable part of establishing Sedo as a trusted partner and advisor in the domain marketplace. We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship and building on the success we have experienced under Jeremiah’s guidance.” 

Johnston himself added this - "With the growing awareness about the importance of domains, the launch of new gTLDs and growing debate over internet regulations, it is an exciting time for IP law. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue my work with a company I truly believe in, while taking advantage of an important opportunity to dive more deeply into issues that are affecting the Internet on a much broader scale.”

We certainly wish him the best in his new venture and in his continuing roles with Sedo and the ICA. 

Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher

We have some other domain conference news from Patrick Ruddell (Chef Patrick) regarding his second DNCruise (the only domain conference held on a cruise ship), that is coming up September 5-10, 2011. Ruddell said that the new .XXX registry has signed on to help sponsor the cruise's main event - a Grand Cayman excursion with legendary domain investor Frank Schilling (who resides on the island).  

Escrow.com had already taken sponsorship of that day's luncheon, but the .XXX Registry will cover the cost of the two boats needed to take attendees on a three hour tour through local waters. Ruddell said the registry will also offer a presentation on Sept. 6 - good timing since the new TLD's sunrise period begins the next day. 

With its launch imminent, the .XXX Registry is taking an increasingly high profile. While I was away on a visit to the Silicon Valley last week, the 

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Ft. Lauderdale Beach conference (coming up Oct. 16-19) announced that the .XXX registry had signed on to be the show's Diamond Overall Sponsor (the lead sponsor for the entire event).

One other note on DNCruise, Ruddell said that Carnival Cruise Line's cabin inventory is getting low, so now is the time to sign up if you want to be aboard when the ship leaves Tampa, Florida Sept. 5. There will be stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico before the boat returns to Tampa Sept. 10. If you want to know more about what the conference/cruise experience entails, check out our review of the first DNCruise last October.  

We then headed about 25 miles north to visit Diana's niece, Beth, her husband and their son who live in Emerald Hills (adjacent to Redwood City). Diana's sister was also there, having come in a few days earlier from Florida to visit her daughter's family. Aaron, Nancy and Nicolas also came up and Beth took all of us on a visit to the historic (and stunning) Filoli Mansion and Gardens located just a couple of miles west of her house. 

Filoli was completed in 1917 and was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, prominent San Franciscans whose chief source of wealth was the Empire Mine, a hard-rock gold mine in Grass Valley, California. Mr. Bourn arrived at the unusual name Filoli by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”

After Mr. and Mrs. Bourn both died in 1936 the estate was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, who owned the Matson Navigation Company. Mrs. Roth made Filoli her home until 1975 when she donated the House and formal garden to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the 

Above: Visitors strolling through the fabulous 
Filoli Gardens Saturday (August 7, 2011)

Below: a corner of the enormous ballroom inside 
the Filoli Mansion (the room is 70 feet long 
and 32 feet wide with 22-foot ceilings!). 

enjoyment and inspiration of future generations. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend seeing this national treasure. After the Filoli visit we headed back to Beth's for a late afternoon cookout that completed a perfect California day.

We started our last full day of the trip, Monday (August 8), with a visit to scenic Saratoga, another town favored by the captains of Silicon Valley industry. The first stop was another masterpiece of natural beauty, Hakone Gardens, the oldest Asian estate and garden in the Western Hemisphere (and another place now cared for by the National Trust for Historic Preservation).

It was designed and built by San Francisco cultural leaders Isabel and Oliver Stine in 1915. Inspired by the displays at the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exhibition, Mrs. Stine traveled to Japan where she was enchanted by the Fuji-Hakone National Park and wanted to have her own Hakone Gardens in the hillsides of Saratoga. Wandering  through the 18-acre estate is like being suddenly transported to an idyllic retreat in Japan. 

Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, California
(Mon., August 8, 2011) - my favorite photo from our visit. 

We then made the short trip to another great Saratoga landmark - Villa Montalvo - a stunning estate with a fabulous gated garden that was built in the same era as Hakone Gardens and the Filoli Mansion. Senator James Phelan, California's first elected senator, constructed Montalvo on 175 gorgeous hillside acres, complete with 2.5 miles of hiking trails, in 1912.  Phelan, who died in 1930, bequeathed Montalvo to the state of California to serve as a site for the advancement of art, music, literature and architecture. The grounds and galleries are now open to the public at no charge. Montalvo was awarded inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 

Villa Montalvo - Saratoga, California

After lunch at one of Saratoga's open air sidewalk cafes Diana and I went in different directions for the evening. She went to Aaron's to spend Monday evening with the new grandbaby while I hooked back up with Howard Hoffman to go to the San Francisco Giants -  Pittsburgh Pirates game.

Howard is a diehard Giants fans who has two sets of season tickets at the team's AT&T Park, one of the best stadiums in all of baseball. Unfortunately, it was a tough night for the home team as the defending World Champions lost 5-0 (however they were still in 1st place at the end of the evening).

Howard Hoffman (left) and Ron Jackson at the Giants 
game Monday night (August 8) in San Francisco. 

Under the terms of the agreement, upon the closing, Web.com will pay Network Solutions $405 million in cash and issue 18 million shares of Web.com common stock, in addition to refinancing existing net debt of Network Solutions and paying certain fees. Network Solutions is currently majority owned by General Atlantic LLC, a leading global growth equity firm.

David Brown, Chairman and CEO of Web.com., said "This transaction represents a unique opportunity to dramatically expand our scale, add further momentum to Web.com's already

improving top line growth, and further expand our market share as the nationally recognized go-to provider of online marketing solutions specifically tailored to small and medium-sized businesses. Our integration strategy will be similar to our successful acquisition of Register.com, and we will be in a strong position to cross-sell and up-sell our services to Network Solutions' approximately two million retail customers and hundreds of thousands of wholesale customers. We believe this combination will provide significant long-term shareholder value as we grow our business, capitalize on synergies, improve our margins and generate substantial cash flow to invest greater resources in growth and branding initiatives."

Tim Kelly
Network Solutions CEO

Tim Kelly, CEO of Network Solutions, said, "Network Solutions has been a pioneer in this industry for nearly 30 years. We are very excited to combine our expertise, resources, customers and award winning customer service with Web.com. Our combined company will have tremendous know-how and a broad portfolio of online marketing, web services, social media and mobile solutions to help small businesses grow in the increasingly connected online world."

The transaction, which is subject to Web.com shareholder approval as well as customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, is expected to be completed in the fall of 2011. At the close, General Atlantic and other current Network Solutions shareholders are expected to own approximately 37% of Web.com.   

With 2011's only T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference now just 10 weeks away (October 16-19 at the Ritz Carlton on Florida's Ft. Lauderdale Beach), the show's organizers have begun accepting nominations for the annual T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Awards. 

On October 18 awards will be handed out in these categories: Best New Monetizing Solution, Best Overall Domain Solution, The We Get It Award, Developer of the Year, Best Domain Blog, Sponsor of the Year, Domainer of the Year and the Domain Hall of Fame (two persons are 

inducted in the HOF annually - those who are already members include Rick Schwartz, Frank Schilling, Ron Jackson, Scott Day, Yun Ye, Michael Berkens, Sahar Sarid, Michael Castello, David Castello, Rick Latona and Monte Cahn).  

To nominate a person or company in any category, send their name along with a sentence or two noting why you think they are deserving of the award to [email protected]. If you want to make a nomination, you will want to do it now while you are thinking about it because nominations close at 6pm (U.S. Eastern time) on Friday (August 5). 

In the latest phase of their operation completed late last week, 31-year-old Ryan Breen of Savannah, New York was arrested and charged with using the Internet to traffic in counterfeit goods. If convicted, Breen faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine. Breen was identified as the owner and operator of a website that sold unauthorized apparel from the FX Network TV series "Sons of Anarchy." The unnamed website offered to sell counterfeit t-shirts using the show's trademarked brand. 

This sixth phase of ICE's "Operation In Our Sites" also resulted in the seizure of 16 domains used for websites that ICE said sold knockoffs of 13 well-known brands, including Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Lacoste, Nike, Oakley, Ralph Lauren and Ray-Ban among others. The domains seized were:

• discountedoakleysunglasses.com

• onlypuma.com

• ralphlauren-polos.org

• solesold.com

• toryburchsoutlets.org

• toryburchsoutletsale.net

• ventma.com

• choosepuma.com

• ebayshoppingjoy.com

• lacosteshoesmall.com

• menlacosteshoes.com

• newerahatsnow.com

• newerahatss.com

• pumaforever.com

• replicaoakleysunglasses.net

• shoplacosteshoes.com

Once the materials were confirmed to be counterfeit or otherwise illegal, HSI agents obtained seizure orders for the domain names from federal magistrate judges. In most instances, the counterfeit goods were shipped directly into the United States from 

suppliers in other countries using international express mail. The 16 websites have been shut down, and now show a banner stating that the domain name of that website has been seized by federal authorities. This nationwide operation was spearheaded by the HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center).