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Soeren
Von Varchmin, Chairman of the NamesCon Advisory Board, got things
started just before 11am (US Eastern time) with his welcoming comments,
followed by introductions to the conference's three primary moderators.
Moving clockwise after Soeren (in the top left corner of the photo below)
are moderators Elisabeth Klughart (i2Coalition), Jonathan Tenenbaum
(MediaOptions.com) and, for the Handshake track, Michael Michelini
(Shadstone).
To
give registrants a big-picture look at the domaining
industry, and set the tone for the next three days of learning, sharing, and
networking, Soeren also spoke with wildly successful serial entrepreneur Bhavin
Turakhia, Founder of Flock, Radix and Zeta (at right above) and
DomainNameWire Editor Andrew Allemann (at right below).
The
first business sessions of the show then got underway and through much of the
day, discussions were going on concurrently on multiple stages. To give you a
better idea of the flow on each stage, we'll run down one at a time, starting
with Stage 1.
Stage
1 Photos & Highlights (Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021)
Above:
The Stage 1 track started with a session called The Investor Experience with
GoDaddy Leadership that featured, clockwise from top left, Alan
Shiflett (Sr. Director at GoDaddy), Bob Mountain (Chief
Revenue Officer at Afternic.com), Deeksha Mittal (Sr.
Director Product Management at GoDaddy) and David Helgeson (VP
of Sales & Care for GoDaddy Aftermarket). They
covered areas where progress has been made and opportunities created, with
their focus on providing the tools and resources domain investors need
to succeed.
Next
up (above), registrants learned How to Value Domain Names Step-by-Step
with Michael Cyger. The DNAcademy.com Founder is the top educator
in the domain name field. Michael detailed metrics that
need to be examined (like relevant, recent and
retail-priced comparable sales) that help owners value domain names in the
wholesale and retail markets. Cyger noted they must also make educated
assumptions about factors like desirability, traffic and appreciation.
Judging
from comments left during the above session - Finally, Some Real Numbers
- it was a big hit (one wrote that this session alone was worth the cost of
admission for the entire show). Moderator Andrew Allemann (top left)
talked with domain investors Mark Levine (Domain Theory LLC) (at top
right) and Logan Flatt (Media Code LLC) about their 2021 sales and the
two industry veterans were very forthright in detailing both the names they
sold and the prices they were paid. Levine and Flatt have each made dozens of
sales already this year and both have had success with both .com and non
.com TLDs (especially with hot ccTLDs like, but not limited to, .io).
NamesCon makes their sessions available for replay
for a month after their conferences end and this is one that should be on your
watch list if you missed it today.
Given
what Mark Levine and Logan Flatt revealed about their own success selling
multiple TLDs, the next session (above, featuring Neha Naik, Sr
Director, Channel Partnerships at Radix) titled Don’t invest in
New Domain Extensions, they said! Here’s some food for thought,
proved to be timely. Neha detailed how new gTLD registry
operator Radix has been marketing their TLDs and the results they’re seeing
with some of the most sought-after new domain extensions. Radix
administers .tech, .online, .store and many others.
The
final order of business on Stage 1 Wednesday was the RapidFire Domain
Auction, the first of three auctions (one per day) being held during
NamesCon. Before, the auction, five industry experts got together (above) for
the Auction Red Zone Countdown show, in which they discussed
their opinions of the various names going up for bid in this low cost auction
(no reserves above $500 were allowed) that also benefited charity (Entrepreneurs
for Knowledge). The entertaining preview featured (clockwise from top
left) Braden Pollock (LeaglBrandMarketing.com), Reza Sardeha
(DAN.com), Alistair Banerjee (Founder, Quaint Media LLC), Ammar
Kubba (CEO, afterTHOUGHT, Inc.) and Leoni Rossberg (Head of
Program at Entrepreneurs for Knowledge).
Above,
the two-hour auction then got underway, hosted by Aaron Sanders (Founder,
Repeat Brands), Tom Gallagher (Co-Founder, RapidFireDomaining.com) and Michele
Rae (Co-Founder, RapidFire
Domaining.com). 73 names went up for sale with 10 those donated to
raise funds for Entrepreneurs
for Knowledge (EFK). 40 of those names totaling $11,000
were sold, with $3,495 going to EFK. Good job by everyone involved!
Stage
2 Photos & Highlights (Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021)
While
all of the above was happening on Stage 1 Wednesday, things were just as busy
on Stage 2!
The
action on stage 2 began at 11:20am (US Eastern time) Wednesday with The
Traffic Jam (above), in which four of the most widely-known figures in
the domain monetization business covered the state of that domain
science. The panelists (clockwise from top left) were Gregg McNair (Chairman
at Premium Traffic Limited Group), Matt Wegryzn (CEO & Founder at
BODIS), David Warmuz (CEO, Above.com) and Michael Gilmour
(Co-Founder, ParkLogic.com). The all-star group covered
search to parking and beyond in providing information on how to make the most
of the traffic you get –and get more of it.
The
next session was one of the most engrossing ones I've seen at any
conference. In it Jay Paudyal, Co Founder at DN
School (at left above with moderator Elisabeth Klughardt)
told his remarkable story of Domain Name Trading on a Crazy Road Trip,
in which he and a half dozen passionate people spent two months and
traveled more than 20,000 kilometers around India to share
information about how how domains and affordable technology could change
people's lives.
As
Jay noted, in his talk and slide show (below), they
all piled into one van on a mission to impact the lives of millions of their
countrymen and women. They were greeted by inquisitive and sizable crowds
everywhere they went. You will absolutely want to put this one on your
replay list when those become available after the conference.
The
Stage 2 action continued with CentralNic's Marie Lanyon and Martin
Spreer (above) talking about Domain Migrations Done Right.
The session covered how resellers can address the
challenges of moving domains to another provider should the need arise.
CentralNic's ICANN accredited registrar, RRPProxy, provides the
services and support that help reseller registrars increase their
profits without overwhelming their teams or disrupting their customers.
In
the next session (below), Jebidiah Burnett (Business Development
Manager at Above.com), spoke about Killer Cash Flow: Unlocking
Your Portfolio’s Potential. With over 20+
years of experience in monetizing portfolios with innovative services such as
Above's Optimizer, Maximizer and now Managed Monetization, the company
specializes in creating innovative opportunities that can help you flourish in
today’s monetization environment.
As
they headed down the opening day home stretch on Stage 2, Brad Karn (above),
Co-founder at Unstoppable Domains, answered the question What Are Domain
Name NFTs? Karn covered how how this decentralized domain option
can give your more control over your digital identity, as well how you can
start accessing the benefits now, before the decentralized web hits the
mainstream.
In
the final Stage 2 session below, is was all about What's Up with .IO? This
ccTLD was assigned to the British Indian Ocean Territory but, after being
re-purposed for global generic use, it quickly found a home in the startup
world. With that new association, .io popularity and prices have skyrocketed.
This panel of experts included clockwise from top left, Christa Taylor
(Head of Marketing, Dot Brand Services at Com Laude), Jay Paudyal
(Founder, UrbanSkill.com), Morgan Linton (Co-founder & COO
at Bold Metrics Inc.), Braden Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing.com)
and Mark Ghoriafi (MrPremium.com). They
explored the dynamics of .IO’s pricing and use cases, and how these factors
can work in your favor as a domain investor or entrepreneur.
Day
1 Masterclass (Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021)
ParkLogic.com
Founder Michael Gilmour (above) is conducting a daily Masterclass
in domain monetization and investment at NamesCon Online. In the first
one Wednesday, Michael delivered a performance analysis
of the traffic industry and followed it up with a fireside chat with his
ParkLogic teammates Laci Nagy and Robert Lasky-Davison. Together
they have over 50+ years of combined experience in
domains.
Handshake
Stage Photos & Highlights (Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021)
In
something totally new for NamesCon, an entire stage was dedicated to the
rapidly developing Handshake naming system. Activity on this stage
kicked off started at 4pm (US Eastern time) with a Welcome and Handshake
Highlights session (above) hosted by the stage moderator, Michael
Michelini (President at Shadstone).
Below,
the first business session, Handshake 101, presented by Matt
Zipkin (Lead Developer at Impervious), started with all of the basic to
prepare for the deeper dive that followed in five additional sessions.
Activity
on the Handshake Stage continued until 8pm (US Eastern time) with sessions on Namecheap
Now Offers Handshake Domain Registration, The Risks and Impacts
of Name Collisions, Why Decentralization Matters, NFT
and Blockchain Investing and Numbers on Handshake Investing.
Four more hours of Handshake content will be presented Thursday (September
23), again starting at 4pm (US Eastern time).
Another
Thursday (Day 2) highlight will be the opening of the Europe Stage at
6am (US Eastern time). That will be early for U.S. residents but that is why
NamesCon's replay system (available soon after the conference closes) is so
valuable. We will be back with you here with the Day 2 Photos &
Highlights in our next post from NamesCon Online September 2021!
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