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world's
top ten domain brokers based on total dollar volume transacted on the
Escrow.com platform.
We
were there for all of it, so let us take you through the day as it unfolded.
Things got started on the Keynote Track at 11am (U.S. Eastern Time)
when Domain Name Wire's
Andrew Allemann interviewed CentralNic CEO Ben Crawford in an
informative fireside chat (below). CentralNic
has been one of the industry's fastest growing companies over the past
couple of years during which time they have made numerous acquisitions that
have made them a company that everyone is paying close attention to now.
Ben
was also one of the panelists on my first State of the Industry (SOI)
session Wednesday morning when we heard from Corporate Leaders. This
morning I hosted the second session in the SOI series, interviewing some of
the industry's leading Domain Brokers (the series will conclude Friday
morning when I talk with top Domain Investors and Developers at 11:35am
Eastern).
Above:
The panelists for the State of the Industry: Domain Brokers session
were (clockwise from top left) Evergreen.com CEO Jen Sale,
RightOfTheDot.com President Monte Cahn, NameRunway.com CEO Cate Lim,
Sedo Senior Broker Dave Evanson and moderator Ron Jackson (DNJournal.com).
I know I'm biased on this point but I thought it was a great session with
excellent information and advice on industry trends and opportunities from
every member of the panel. If you missed the session live, it, like all
NamesCon Online sessions, should be available to attendees
for replay within the next 24 hours (replays of the Wednesday sessions
were already up this morning).
Above:
Next up Moderator Christa Taylor top left) conducted a timely session
on How the pandemic has favored new gTLDs that featured Radix
Head of Premium Domains Karn Jajoo (top right) and Donuts Senior
Sales VP Matt Overman (row 2). They detailed how organizations are
using new gTLDs to expand their online presence using analytical insights and
statistical trends in numerous segments including eCommerce, social and more.
Above:
NamesCon is known for reaching beyond the industry to pull in speakers who
have done extrarordinary things in their lives. It is always a
source of inspiration and a reminder that there are few limits on what you
can do if you set your mind to to. Today was no exception when NamesCon CEO
Soeren von Varchmin interviewed Cassie de Pecol, the first woman to
travel to every country in the world! (a perfect choice for a
conference that draws attendees from all over the world). Cassie, who is CEO
of Expedition 196 LLC and the Founder of Her International Inc.,
has spoken to over 16,000 university and high school students, as well as
countless corporate and non-profit industry professionals since her history
making 196 country Expedition.
At
1:15pm (US Eastern time) the Internet
Commerce Association presented their 5th annual Lonnie Borck
Memorial Award - an honor that goes to an individual the industry
recognizes for their efforts to build a sense of community in our
space. The award, in memory of the late, great domain investor and exemplary
human being, Lonnie Borck, is usually presented every January during an
ICA members dinner at the in-person edition of the NamesCon Global
conference. Since the pandemic squashed that opportunity this year, the ICA
and NamesCon has to get creative and come up with a new way to bestow
the award on its recipient - and they did a great job of doing that.
Above:
The Lonnie Borck Award ceremony started with a pre-produced film introducing
the nine nominees who were rendered as cartoon characters whose
resemblances to the real people was uncanny. Left to right they were Bob
Mountain, Michael Cyger, Andrew Allemann, Donna Adams, Richard Lau, Gerald
Levine, Gregg McNair, Jothan Frakes and Andrew Strong.
Above:
Now, with personal meetings severely limited, it was hard to figure out a way
to surprise the winner (always a big part of the fun in a Lonnie Borck
Award ceremony). As it happens, two of the nominees, Michael Cyger (at
left) and Andrew Allemann live near each other on Bainbridge Island
in Washington State. So, the ICA was able to enlist Allemann to successfully
pull off their plot. Andrew called Michael and told him he would like to tape a
pre-NamesCon interview with him. Using that ruse, Andrew had the camera
already set up when Michael arrived. But once he started recording Allemann
confessed to Cyger that he had fudged a bit on the truth. Andrew then handed him a
black box. Inside it Michael was stunned to find the Lonnie Borck Memorial
Award with his name on it! Well played Andrew and the ICA!
Below:
While Cyger was understandably at a loss for words during the taping, ICA
Executive Director Kamila Sekiewicz brought him up live on a
Zoom call today in which Michael was effusive in his praise for Lonnie,
what the award means to him and how thankful he was to those who nominated and
voted for him. Another film clip was played in which Lonnie's wife, Ronit,
expressed her pleasure at seeing the honor go to Michael. It was indeed a
great choice. Michael has played an enormous role in helping knit together
the unique community we all enjoy within this industry today.
Above:
The final order of business on the Keynote Track Thursday was the live
domain auction that got a shiny new production coat designed for NamesCon
Online, with Peter Schwinge directing traffic from an Auction Center News Desk.
Above
& below: While viewers watched bids come in as each lot neared expiration,
auction emcee Jonathan Tenenbaum (below), the COO at MediaOptiojns.com,
called on a variety of experts, including Ammar Kubba, Braden
Pollock, Shane Cultra, Michael Cyger and many others to
comment on the merits of each domain. That made the whole process an education
in itself as the commentators shared their thoughts on the value of each
name and whether the prices being bid were too high, too low or just about
right. It can take some time to tabulate votes, verify bids, etc. so we don't
yet have the final auction results in.
Above:
In another special event midway through the auction, the winners of Escrow.com's
annual Master of Domains Awards were announced. Awards go to the
world's top ten domain brokers based on the total dollar volume they
transacted on the Escrow.com platform. For the third consecutive year the top
spot went to MediaOptions.com CEO Andrew Rosener. Congrats on the hat
trick Andrew - that is a remarkable accomplishment! The first five was
rounded out by Keith Richter (Lumis.com), Ryan McKegney (DomainAgents.com),
Jeff Gabriel (Saw.com) and Steve Miholovich (NameArena.com).
As
is the case every day at NamesCon Online, there was also plenty of activity on
the Breakout Track that ran simultaneously with the Keynote Track. The
Breakout sessions began at 11AM (US Eastern time) when Kickstart Commerce
Founder Alvin Brown (below) covered The Pros and Cons of
Buying and Selling Geo Service Domains.
I
had to miss the next two sessions on the Breakout Track because at the time
they were running I was on the Keynote Track stage doing my State of The
Industry interviews with Domain Brokers. Those sessions were Michael
Gilmour's (ParkLogic.com) State of Domain Monetization talk
and GoDaddy Tips to Selling More Domain Names that featured
GoDaddy execs Dan Adamson and Todd Cantwell. Fortunately, I will
be able to catch both of those when NamesCon posts the replays.
Above:
Drew Walsh (MovingSites.com) continued his Domain Development
Series with A Way to Soft Launch the Business
Thursday afternoon. In part 2 of the series Drew showed some ways to create
revenue with a soft business launch on your domain.
Below:
Next on the Breakout Track, the SEO Benefits of Aged Brandable Domains
were covered by Affiliate Marketer Craig Campbell.
Above:
In the final Breakout Track session Thursday, NamesCon's Peter Schwinge introduced
Arif Mirza (The Domain Social) for an eye opening session titled Exploring
the Math Behind Your Domain Portfolio to See if You’re On Track for
Rags…or Riches.
While
the Thursday Keynote and Breakout Tracks were now done, there were still two
late day sessions on the Americas Track to go. In the first one at 4pm DNAcademy.com
Founder Michael Cyger (above) showed how to Make the Jump from
Hobbyist to Professional Domain Name Investor.
Two
hours later, .CLUB CMO Jeff Sass (below) brought four fellow experts
together for a session titled Domains: Essential to Brand-based
Marketing. Jeff was joined by consultant Joe Alagna (Alagna.com),
Jonathan Thomas (Blacknight), Tim Smith (GM,
Canadian International Pharmacy Association) and Neha Naik
(Director of Channel Partnerships at Radix). The group explained how to
leverage the right domain(s) to amplify your brand’s messaging, making it an
essential session for marketers, brand managers, and anyone who wants to
understand the power of domains in marketing. If you missed, look for
the replay Friday!
...and
that's still not all! While most of us are sleeping in the U.S. tonight, the South
Asia Track, that fires up at Midnight (U.S. Eastern time), will be
running all night! We will use NamesCon's replay system to write a separate
article about the South Asia Track that will be published next week.
So,
now just one day to go. We'll have photos and highlights from the busy
Closing Day Friday for you in this column Friday evening.
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