Final Agenda Announced for Inaugural NamesCon Conference Opening Two Weeks From Today in Las Vegas

Show organizers released the final agenda over the weekend, an ambitious program packed with keynote speakers and 30 different business sessions spread across three simultaneous tracks, insuring there will be something for everyone at NamesCon. Another highlight will be the WaterNight charity social event benefiting the Water School that will be held Tuesday evening, January 14.

In addition to being there to file daily reports for this column, I will sit in on a Meet the Industry Press session moderated by Patrick Carleton that is scheduled to get underway at 11:55am on Wednesday. January 15. On stage with me will be Kevin Murphy (DomainIncite.com), Andrew Allemann (DomainNameWire.com), Michael Berkens (TheDomains.com) and Elliot Silver (DomainInvesting.com).

Richard Lau NamesCon Founder

You can read more about how NamesCon plans to stand out in the conference crowd in our show preview article that features an interview with show founder and veteran domain investor Richard Lau.  A centerpiece of Lau's strategy is an exceptionally low registration fee - just $399 through January 7, 2014 (the cost rises to $599 Jan. 8 through January 13 and if you want to pay at the door it will be $749). If you want to go to the WaterNight gala that will also be held at the Tropicana, a separate registration is required for that. WaterNight is free for NamesCon registrants (though donations to the Water School will be greatly appreciated). Those not registered for the show can go for a minimum donation of $100 - money well-spent as it goes to an award winning charity that has saved countless lives through its disease-eradicating clean water solution.

(Posted December 30, 2013) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20131230.htm

Heritage Auctions Debut in the Domain Business Continues to Pay Dividends Well  After Their Inaugural Sale Ended

HA's first domain auction, held last month, wound up generating more than $1.5 million in sales, including proceeds coming from deals that closed in the days immediately after the live event was held in New York City on November 21. HA put those domains that sold in front of the kind of  well heeled end users that domain owners have always dreamed of reaching.

Even those who did not have domains in the auction benefited from the bright spotlight that accompanied HA's debut in the business. When something goes up for sale at Sotheby's, Christie's or Heritage Auctions, the assumption in mainstream media, is that things of high value are being offered. Publications ranging from general business giant Forbes to specialty magazines like Coin World wrote about the HA domain sale (though, ironically, the more famous Forbes botched the story while the lesser known Coin World got it right!). 

Shot of Steve Roach's article about HA's domain auction in Coin World magazine.

Coin World editor Steve Roach wrote about the value of category defining domains in an article he wrote about coin related names like Numismatics.com that sold in the HA auction for $17,250 (numismatics is "the study and collection of coins and medals"). If that domain had been sold somewhere other than at one of the world's biggest mainstream auction houses - one the routinely sells rare coins - it is highly unlikely that it (and a lesson on domain value) would never have come to the attention of Roach or his readers. 

In their pre-sale promotion HA spent a lot of time and effort in educating clients who could benefit from specific names about how those domains could benefit their businesses, making a purchase one that would pay for itself in the long run. After the sale, articles in publications that never wrote about domains in the past, continue to educate people about the value of assets that many in this industry have been aware for close to two decades now. It is something we've all been waiting a long time to see and with HA now on the playing field (which has to have caught Sotheby's and Christie's attention as well) it is a process that will likely accelerate in the months and years ahead. That can only be a good thing for domains.

(Posted December 16, 2013) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20131216.htm

The Domain Masters Radio Show Returned Wednesday With a Controversial New Mann Behind the Mike

Under Mann, Domain Masters, which used to be a 60-minute show that aired at 7pm on Wednesday evenings, is now a brisk 30-minute broadcast that is on live at 5pm U.S. Eastern time (2pm Pacific) every Wednesday afternoon. If you tune in while the show is on, you can submit questions at the program's Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/domainmastersradio - with Mike answering those queries as time allows. If you can't catch the show live, no problem - WebmasterRadio.FM adds each weekly program to their archive, usually by the next day. If you missed Mike's debut show Wednesday, you can listen to it here. 

For his first turn behind the mike Mann had Phone.com President Ari Rabban as his guest. The first half of the show focused on building a business on a category defining domain. Among other things,  Rabban discussed the methods Phone.com uses to drive traffic to the site to complement the steady stream of type-in traffic that flows to the category defining domain name.

Michael Mann	In the second half of the show Mann tackled today's hottest topic - new gTLDs. Like many veteran investors, he is skeptical that the hundreds of domain extensions that have just started to arrive will ever rival .com's dominant position.  Mann noted research that found that people were more likely to trust and buy from businesses built on category defining .com domains that can pay for themselves through the increased traffic and revenue they generate. You can bet he will have much more to say on the topic in the weeks ahead as Mann is known as someone who is never hesitant to share his opinion. It is the latter quality that should make the new Domain Masters show an unusually entertaining half hour. I only see one potential pitfall. While it is common practice to have guests on shows like this and letting them carry most of the content load, in this case I think it would be a mistake to put too much focus on the guest and not enough on Mike. That's not a knock on any guest - it's just a fact that with Mann's domain track record and his well-known candor, most people who tune in are going to tune in to hear what he has to say.  That doesn't mean Mann needs to do a monologue every week - a lively back and forth with interesting guests will always add to the equation - it's just that in this new iteration of Domain Masters people are going to expect Mann to be what another Hall of
Famer, former New York Yankees great Reggie Jackson, once called himself - "the straw the stirs the drink." If Mann does that - and I am confident he will - I'm sure I'll be sitting at the Webmaster Radio Bar for a few extra rounds every Wednesday afternoon!

(Posted December 12, 2013) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20131212.htm

2014 Tour Will Bring Hot Rock Trio bree Featuring Drummer (& Domain Hall of Famer) David Castello to Our City (and Maybe Yours Too)

Screenshot from bree's new "I'm the Boss" video.

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Why Do We Call Them Computer Bugs? Google Honors the Woman Who Coined the Term Back in 1945! 

To be more accurate, Time told the story in 1984, but reprinted in today to explain what I had been wondering - what is this Google Doodle all about? The Time account revealed, " In August 1945, while she and some associates were working at Harvard on an experimental machine called the Mark I, a circuit malfunctioned. A researcher using tweezers located and removed the problem: a 2-inch long moth. Hopper taped the offending insect into her logbook. Says she: “From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.” (The moth is still under tape along with records of the experiment at the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center in Dahlgren, VA)!

So, as Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story"

And, oh, by the way, giving computer bugs their name was the least of the amazing Admiral Hopper's many achievements (for one, she became the oldest woman in the armed forces at the age of 76.) You go girl! You can read more about her astonishing life career here.  

(Posted December 9, 2013) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20131209.htm

Fix.com Sells for $850,000, Heritage Auctions Moves MutualFunds.com to Push Debut Auction Total Past $1.5 Million + Tme & Place Set for Domainer Meetup in Seattle 

On another front Heritage Auctions (HA) is continuing to close some big sales in the wake of the giant auction's house's first live domain sale that was held November 21, 2013 in New York City. At the end of the night a little over $400,000 worth of domains have been sold, but Aron Meystedt, the Founder and Director of HA's new Domain Name & Intellectual Property Division, kept working contacts made in the auction and has since closed more than $1 million worth of additional sales, pushing the total to date past $1.5 million. 

Aron Meystedt, Founder & Director, Domain Name & Intellectual Property Division Heritage Auctions (HA.com)

Meystedt reported today that HA had closed a deal for the marquee name in the auction - MutualFunds.com - at an undisclosed price (we do know the seller, Marc Ostrosfky was looking for $1 million for the name). Meystedt said both Ostrofsky and the buyer are happy with the amount they settled on. HA has also sold two more top notch domains - QR.com and Dayton.com - since the live sale, again at undisclosed prices. Meystedt said, "All things considered, we thought the live event was a relative success and the enthusiasm we’ve seen post-sale, with the high-end transactions that have taken place, points to the emerging confidence that Domain veterans, new investors and end users are placing in the category and in the Heritage Auctions platform.” HA is one of the world's three biggest auction houses (in a league of their own with Christie's and Sotheby's). The landmark auction in New York was the first time that a major, mainstream auction house offered domain names for sale - a category HA says it is committed to for the long haul.

One other note today. Last month we told you that  DomainSherpa.com Founder Michael Cyger was planning a new Meetup for domain investors in the Seattle area that would be held in early 2014. The date, time and location for the debut event has now been set. It will be held atop the world famous Space Needle in Seattle on Jan. 30, 2014 from 6 to 9pm.
It is obviously a great location but space is limited on the needle, meaning attendance will have to be capped at 45. With the number of domainers and domain related companies in Seattle that looks like a quick sell out, especially with tickets priced at just $15 (with proceeds going to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center). You can get more details at DNSeattle.com. I think every major city should have a regular event like this and the day is coming when most will.

Posted December 6, 2013) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20131206.htm

Companies Making News: Archeo, InterNetX's New Domain Game, Turkey.com & Igloo.com

Archeo focused their attention on their Geo-specific names in this first round of assigning prices, with domains like NewYorkDoctor.com, CarolinaOnline.com, AustinLawyers.com and GeorgiaHouses.com now utilizing the Buy It Now option.

Better yet, everyone who plays will have a chance to help out a very good cause by earning a donation of up to €200 that will go to the Bischof-Wittmann School, a center for the development of mentally disabled children and youth in Regensburg, Germany. So if you know things like which country the ccTLD .CX comes from or that .TV is not a gTLD, play the game and compete with your peers for the crown (current player rankings are displayed on the site)!  

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Tickets for Domaining Spain 2014 Now Available & We Have a Half-Price Ticket Code For You

I shot this photo at the futuristic Oceanogràfic aquarium in Valencia while 
we were there in the city for the 2012 Domaining Spain conference.

In addition to any exploring you want to do on you own (I highly recommend using the hop on hop off double decker bus that stops at the Hotel Sorolla Palace as a great way to get around town) -  the show will have some special group activities. One will be the traditional Boat Tour at la Albufera, a natural resource near Valencia. Any suggestions for additional excursions can be sent to [email protected].

Stefitz, who is currently putting together the agenda for the 2014 show, told me ccTLDs and new gTLDs will be front and center at the show with those topics examined from a European point of view. More specifically, he outlined these areas that will be covered:

-- What happened/s to the Domaining Industry  ( Top Panel )
-- Trusting New gTLDs
-- Cooperation between ccTLDs and new gTLDs
-- Marketing Ideas and Proposals ( how to use new GTLDs )
-- Community GTLDs ( awareness, can there be a Business in this segment )
-- Legal Panel 
-- Trademarks / Clearinghouse / News and Numbers 
-- Registrars and GTLDs
-- .EU Past-Present-Future
-- Parking and UDRPs
-- How to negotiate selling or buying Domains
-- Crowd funding in the Domaining Industry 

Stefitz also issued an invitation to anyone who would like to submit an idea for other discussion topics and/or speak at the event to send a note to [email protected]. He is also booking ad space that will allow companies to display their logo, put an item in the show bag, leave items in guest rooms or have three Spanish models wearing your company T shirt.

(Posted December 3, 2013) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2013/dailyposts/20131203.htm