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Above:
ICA General Counsel Zak Muscovitch
kicked off day 2 with a Monday morning
Policy Briefing at the 2023 ICA Annual Meeting
at the Las Vegas Hilton that updated members
on what the ICA has accomplished and issues they are
currently addressing.
Above:
After Zak's policy briefing he joined other members
of the ICA leadership team for a Town Hall meeting
that gave members a chance to get answers to any
questions they had about ICA operations and future
initiatives.
Below:
During the Town Hall, one of the industry's
leading attorneys, John Berryhill was among
those providing valuable advice on how the ICA can
best fulfill the non-profit organization's mission
to protect
domain registrant's rights. Bill Sweetman (standing)
moderated the popular session.
Above
&
below: In Monday's main event GoDaddy President
for Domains Paul Nicks filled the room with
members eager to take him up on his offer to Ask
Me Anything! One of the most talked about
moves in the new year has been GoDaddy's
announcement of a new commission structure
that raises rates in some cases but lowers them in
others. Effective February 1, The rate
on their Dan.com platform goes up from
9% to 15% but the rate at Afternic, GoDaddy
Auctions and Uniregistry Market
goes down from 20% from 15% if you use the
landers of one of those platforms. Otherwise the
rate goes up from 20% to 25% - so the impact could
be positive or negative depending on the path you
choose. Nicks explained the reasons for the move toward uniformity between all four platforms
and also answered a wide variety of questions about
the many services the industry giant offers domain
investors.
Above:
The Monday afternoon sessions continued with a
timely panel discussion about UDRP Reform Proposals
that featured (left to right) ICA General Counsel Zak
Muscovitch and ICA Board Members Nat Cohen and
Jay Chapman.
Below:
The Monday business day concluded with a broad range
of Guru Discussions in an expert roundtable
format. 16 different topic tables were made
available so members could sit in on as many as they
wanted to over the course of the hour. The ccTLD
Investing table below, headed by Josh Reason,
was one of the many that quickly filled up.
Above:
At this table, Brokers Tessa Holcomb (DomainAdvisors)
and Negar Hajikhani (Sedo) - 2nd and 3rd from
left - offered useful advice on how to Make
The Most of Your Relationship with a Domain Broker.
Above:
With the Monday business day done attendees started moving
over to Bar Zasu, located in the same Resorts
World complex at the host hotel, the Las
Vegas Hilton. It quickly filled up as guests
enjoyed food and drink provided by Dr. Gregg
McNair's PTL.
Below:
You always know it will be a good night when you see
these three domain investor OGs in the house
- (left to right) Ammar Kubba, Chad
Folkening and Michael Castello.
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At
right: Everyone had a great time at the
party though there was one hiccup. We
understand that some ladies don't like to
arrive at an event only to see someone else
wearing the same dress. Well, this
wasn't an exact match case, but pretty darn
close given Diana Jackson's leopard
print tights and party host Gregg McNair's
leopard print collar and cuffs! Have to admit
it though - they both looked positively
stunning!
Below:
For me it was a great opportunity to see a lot
of long time friends. I had seen some as
recently as the NamesCon Global
conference last summer but in other cases it
has been as long as three years (partly
due to the Covid epidemic). So it was a treat
to get together again with (left to right) Ray
Dillman Neu, Steven Kennedy (after
me) and Michael Castello. Next I have
to round up Michael's brother and partner at
CCIN, David Castello! |
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Tuesday
morning (January 24), attorney John
Berryhill hosted the meeting's final business
session - What You Do Know Might Hurt You -
in which he dispelled a lot of misinformation that
has caused some domain investors a lot of
unnecessary grief. To many his advice could up being
worth more than the entire cost of coming to Las
Vegas for the meeting.
Above:
To close out an very successful 2023 Annual
Meeting, ICA Board Member Braden Pollock
and Executive Director Kamila Sekiewicz,
thanked everyone for coming and asked attendees for
input on when and where the next annual meeting
should be held. The general consensus seemed to be
it didn't matter when or where - the members plan
to be there. You could be too by becoming an ICA
Member yourself. You
can join here!
Thank you to the entire ICA team for a great
job and and outstanding meeting.
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