In October 2004, a small group of visionary people came together face to face in South Florida, most meeting in person for the first time, for the world's first major domain conference. They shared a belief that meaningful domain names had an inherent value that would multiply 

dramatically in the years ahead. With the Internet expanding and creating new business possibilities daily, it was just a matter of time. Businesses large and small would realize that having a strong internet presence, based on an unforgettable address that would make it easy for people to find them online, was the foundation they needed to succeed in a new digitally-driven business world. In short, they saw the future and they were right.

That historic event was the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 2004 conference that was held at the Delray Beach Marriott hotel. The outside world paid it no mind because domains were still a cottage industry, usually confined to each participant's home and an internet connection. From those humble beginnings 21 years ago, we have grown into a multi-billion dollar industry over the past two decades. 

We also continue to meet in person at multiple conferences around the world every year. The largest of those for domain investors, developers and their service providers is NamesCon Global, so it was especially fitting to see today's pre-eminent domain event bring their big show - one with a rich history of its own now - back to where it all began. NamesCon selected another Marriott a few miles down the road from its T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ancestor as its home base for 2025. The new hotel sits on Miami's beautiful Biscayne Bay but this time the event encompassed the surrounding community as part of a major NamesCon remix created by the event's new owners.

Images from Bigstock

NamesCon needed a lot more elbow room to accommodate a crowd that was many times larger than its 2004 progenitor, as well as a  flood of exhibitors who wanted space to make the biggest splash possible. The NamesCon team also wanted to marry respect for the past with a new modern day experience. That meant expanding it beyond the usual hotel/conference hall setup. With downtown Miami having a lively and beloved arts district (Wynwood), they decided to take advantage of that by securing the huge Ice Palace meeting space and other nearby venues to make a quintessential Miami locale a key part of the show. That involved giving up some conveniences (like trading elevator rides for shuttle buses and spacious hotel restroom for portable facilities) to deliver a more immersive and memorable visit to one of the world's most vibrant cities.

NamesCon Global attendees came from all over the world, including many who were at that landmark 2004 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. event founded by partners Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu, with Howard's wife Barbara and son Ray also on the team. Unfortunately, Howard passed early last year (when his friends turned out in a big way to celebrate his life) but Barbara and Ray were among the many Floridians who turned out for NamesCon Global 2025. It was a long time coming because South Florida had not hosted a major domain conference since a 2016 event that the Neu family staged in Fort Lauderdale.

Barbara Dillman Neu & Ray Dillman Neu at NamesCon Global 2025 in Miami

With downtown Miami having a lively and beloved arts district in Wynwood, NamesCon decided to make it part of the show. The famous Wynwood Walls, the Ice Palace and Wynwood Market, all located a little over a mile from the Marriott, were the primary venues for NamesCon events. That required a shuttle service to move people back and forth between the hotel and events. While that is less convenient than having everything in one location, they did an extraordinary job with the shuttle service. The comfortable high end buses were almost always right there or no more than a couple of minutes away when you were ready to go in either direction. 

NamesCon also kept Uber drivers busy and did so well before the conference even began. NamesCon Global Miami was billed as a two-day event, Wednesday & Thursday, November 5 & 6, 2025, however for years now the conference has spawned ancillary private activities that have brought people into town, often for multiple days on both sides of the show. With everything Miami has to offer, it was unsurprising to see that happen again - so let's begin there.  

Above & below: One of the week's first invitational events was an InternetEquity.com Monetization Platform Reveal Dinner, hosted by RightOfTheDot.com President and industry pioneer Monte Cahn (seen with his arms outstretched on the front row of the photo above from Eddie Sixto) at Miami's KYU Restaurant.  Below, Eddie (at left) catches up at KYU with two of the industry's major and most respected players for over 20 years now, Steven Sacks (center) and Chad Folkening.

Activities weren't confined to land either. On Tuesday (Nov. 4), Domain King and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Co-Founder Rick Schwartz (at center in magenta shirt), treated some of his fellow industry pioneers to a Legends of the Sea Yacht Day. They ranged from Dr. Kevin Ham (in from Vancouver, Canada) at far left to Ammar Kubba (Las Vegas) at far right. Several of the South Florida domain OGs were there too, including but not limited to Michael Berkens (orange cap in front row) and David Castello (the real man in black, despite what Johnny Cash claimed!) next to him.

Above & below: For many years, the biggest night before NamesCon private event has been hosted by Sedo and InterNetX and this year .it.com Domains joined them to make it another unforgettable evening (Tuesday, Nov, 4). It was held at Miami's Sha Wynwood restaurant where (above left to right) Chaitanya Ahuja (from Sedo and InterNetX's parent company IONOS) joined Sedo's Dave Evanson, Brad Lemire, Zoe Schulz and CEO Michael Robrock waited to greet guests. Soon after they began arriving, Michael (below) welcomed everyone and got the party started.

Above: Sha was soon packed wall to wall with guests enjoying excellent food, drinks and, most of all, lively conversations with their friends and domain industry colleagues.

Below: An excellent caricature artist made his way around the room to produce some eye-catching sketches including this one of Taku by GMO COO Claus Barche (who served InterNetX well for over 15 years before joining Taku earlier this year).

Above: An hour after the Sedo/InterNetX/.it.com began, NamesCon Global started its own night before party that was open to all attendees and just a short walk away from Sha at the spacious Wynwood Marketplace. (Photo credit: Eddie Sixto).

Below: George Hong (Guta.com), Diana Jackson (DNJournal.com) and Kevin McKim enjoying the perfect November night at Miami's Wynwood Marketplace.

Above: In another corner of the labyrinthine Marketplace, Eddie Sixto snapped this shot of, left to right, Tracy Fogarty, Josephine Kubba, Tessa Holcomb, Susan Lawrence and Brooke Hernandez.

Below: A pickleball tournament was held in yet another corner of the Wynwood Marketplace maze. That's where we caught attorney Brett Lewis coming off the court and asked him to show us his most intimidating pickleball face. I don't know about you, but it scared us! 

Above: With all of the pre-conference activities complete it was finally time to get down to business Wednesday morning (November 5) at 9am when NamesCon Chief Evangelist Soeren von Varchmin officially kicked off the show with welcoming comments and a summary of what was in store for attendees over the next 48 hours.

Above & Below: In the first business session of NamesCon Global 2025, two of the world's most successful domain brokers, Andrew Miller (ATM Holdings, at left) and Larry Fischer (GetYourDomain.com) dove into High-Stakes Domains: A Look Inside the World's Most Valuable Digital Assets. Andrew and Larry have handled many of the largest domain sales of all time (both individually and collaboratively) including Chat.com, Gold.com, Rocket.com and Home.com to name just a few.

Below: One of the many great ideas Andrew has come up with was getting the buyers of some of the best one-word .com domains to speak publicly about why they placed the high value they did on the names they acquired and, more importantly, why those have proven to be sound investments. As successful end users, their perspective adds an invaluable level of credibility to the extraordinary value of top tier domains. For his session with Larry, Andrew arranged to have, clockwise starting at top left, David Shapiro (Affiliate.com CEO), Joshua Orbach (Founder, Swag,com) and David Lazowski (Fairway, owner of Home.com) join the discussion through live video connections. Collectively, they provided the kind of testament to domain value that will resonate in C-suites around the world.

Above & Below: A perfect complement to the opening session followed with another all-star panel digging into Mastering Domain Investing - Building, Pricing & Selling a Profitable Portfolio. It featured (left to right) Moderator Andrew Allemann (DomainNameWire.com), Mike Mann (DomainMarket.com), Braden Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing.com) and Josh Reason (DNX.com). They shared their strategies for acquiring high-value domains, both privately and in the aftermarket, along with insights into pricing methodologies, negotiation tactics, and the most effective sales channels.

Below: After this session, attendees enjoyed a mid-morning coffee break that gave us an opportunity to get in some one-on-one networking and also visit the vastly expanded Exhibition Hall that was made possible by moving to a cavernous venue like the Ice Palace. The additional square footage opened the door for some of the largest individual booths we've seen at a domain conference - this one erected to promote NumberBarn.com.

Above: On the networking front we ran into industry veteran Jeff Garbutt who recently re-branded his popular Prime Loyalty brokerage to a killer exact match brand - URLS.com. A smart move by Jeff and the perfect choice for a company that is all about buying and selling top tier URLs.

Below: Webpros had another one of the over-sized booths in the Exhibit Hall with theirs setup in a prime location right in front of the Ice Palace entry doors. With NamesCon and the Cloudfest conference running side by side at the Ice Palace, the was also made more interesting by having vendors from both sectors in the expanded space. The layout put exhibits in the middle with NamesCon sessions in one side hall and the Cloudfest sessions on the opposite side in another.

By the way, while we made this trip through the Exhibit Hall during a designated coffee break, NamesCon actually made free hot coffee and cold drinks available all day long. With the show located away from the hotel, that made it much easier to stay refreshed and more comfortable throughout the day.

Above & Below: After the mid-morning coffee break, the next subject in the conference hall was today's hottest topic - artificial intelligence. Atom.com Founder & CEO Darpan Munjal (left) and moderator Art Malkov (Co-Founder, Web3Lab) provided advice on Smart Selling: AI’s Role in the Next Generation of Domain Transactions. They detailed how domain investors can leverage AI to boost sell-through rates, craft smarter listings, and connect more precisely with startup and brand buyers.

Above & Below: Artificial intelligence remained front and center in the next session as well with this one posing the question Artificial Intelligence – Friend or Foe? Exploring the Future of Domains and Domain Investing in the Age of AI. It featured, left to right, Rachel Sterling (Identity Digital), Chad Folkening (eCorp/AgentDAO), Ralph Quintero (Purple Horizons), Sammy Ahmed (Name.com), Sara Rego (Team Internet) and Richard Coggins (Office Depot). 

As AI-driven search tools and conversational interfaces become more prevalent, users increasingly obtain information directly from AI responses, reducing the need to visit specific websites. Also, the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) indicates a move away from traditional SEO practices prompting brands to focus more on optimizing content for AI-generated responses rather than search engine rankings. Considering these developments, the panelists opined on whether AI serves as a valuable ally enhancing domain strategies or a disruptive force and how attendees can adapt to these changes.

Above: In the final morning session on Opening Day (Wednesday, November 5), attention turned to legal matters with, left to right, moderator Jason Schaeffer (ESQwire.com), attorney Jessica Neer McDonald and attorney John Berryhill covering UDRP Essentials: How to Stay Out of Trouble—and What to Do If You’re In It.  As critical brand assets domain names can also be prime targets for disputes. The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) is the primary tool for resolving conflicts over domain ownership, especially in cases of cybersquatting or trademark infringement. The panelists explained how individuals can protect themselves from becoming a target of a UDRP complaint—or worse, losing valuable domain names.

Above & Below: A 90-minute lunch began at 12:30pm, but before heading to the Food Trucks parked in the courtyard in front of the Ice Palace, we headed over to what has long been one of our favorite events at NamesCon - the annual Women of the Web Lunch. When we entered the business in 2002 you could count the number of women in the domain business literally on one hand. Today we have hundreds playing key roles in this business around the world and the WOW luncheon celebrates them and the enormous value they have added to the industry. Here, at left, Rachel Sterling (CMO at Identity Digital, co-sponsor of the luncheon with Doma.xyz) and one of the luncheon's original founders, Susan Lawrence (Business Development & Partnerships, D3), welcomed an overflow crowd to this year's luncheon.

Below: A highlight of the WOW luncheon was Rachel's interview with industry pioneer Lori Anne Wardi who has been a guiding light and inspiration for more than 20 years while playing key roles in the success of the .CO Registry (which she co-founded), Neustar and the GoDaddy Registry. Lori Anne, who is now a highly sought consultant working on multiple projects, is truly one of the entire industry's MVPs and a great example of the huge positive impact the women of the web have had in our field.

After the WOW luncheon, we headed outdoors on a perfect Florida day to see what was on the menu at the various Food Trucks and catch up with some friends over lunch. For those who preferred to dine indoors a convenient cafe was located right around the corner.

During lunch, we also saw this artist putting the finishing touches on an original piece of art that would be auctioned off at the end of the day during RightOfTheDot's Live Domain Auction. The style was very much in keeping with the street art vibe that the surrounding Wynwood Arts District is known for.

Above & Below: At 2pm it was back to business in the Conference Hall where The Convergence of Blockchain Domains and DNS was the subject of the first afternoon session Wednesday (Nov. 5). The panel discussion featured, left to right, Andrew Allemann (DomainNameWire.com), Gherardo Varani (Freename) and Shane Layman (MarkMonitor). They explored how decentralized naming systems are beginning to complement, as opposed to compete with, traditional DNS infrastructure, offering new layers of functionality, interoperability, and user control. The panelists also discussed the emerging hybrid registrar model that bridges Web2 and Web3 domains, the potential for blockchain to streamline authentication and verification, and what this evolution means for registrars, brands, and end users.

Next up at 2:30pm, legal issues, UDRP in particular, were back in the spotlight with The UDRP Showdown - A Live Mock Hearing, featuring, left to right, Moderator Jason Schaeffer (ESQwire.com), attorneys Jeffrey Neuman, John Berryhill and Mike Rodenbaugh. To show attendees how a domain dispute often plays out, they presented a mock hearing in which a brand owner has filed a complaint against a domain investor, alleging cybersquatting. The case highlighted the strategies brand attorneys use to claim domains and the sophisticated defenses presented by domain name lawyers. The session provided an inside look at how these disputes unfold and what it takes to win.

Above & Below: At 3:15pm, in another conference highlight, Escrow.com announced their annual Master of Domains Award winners. This program recognizes the top ten domain brokers in terms of the total $ volume of sales closed on the Escrow.com platform. For the 7th year in a row, the #1 award went to MediaOptions.com Founder Andrew Rosener. seen at right above accepting his award from Escrow.com GM August Piaio.

The Top Ten honorees in order were:

*Seven of the ten award winners were represented at NamesCon Global to accept their awards. They were, left to right, Brian Harbin, Stephen Miholovich, Escrow GD August Piao, Andrew Rosener, Jeffrey Gabriel, Mark Daniel, Eric McKegney (accepting for Ryan McKegney) and Jason Miner.

Above: During the afternoon coffee break that followed the awards ceremony we took another run around the Exhibit Hall. At the .it.com Domains booth it was good to see two of the best people in business - Chief Strategy Officer Joe Alagna and Director of Channel Management Tess Diaz - welcoming visitors. 

Above: Around the next turn we were lucky to catch this many members of the GoDaddy crew at their booth at the same time. GoDaddy had approximately 30 representatives in Miami and, with the conference spread out around such a wide radius from the hotel this year, that gave them an edge in covering all the bases with attendees. Here we had a chance to catch up with, left to right, Mark Becker (seated), Chris Bublitz, Carissa Schwannecke, Wade Smith, Aaron Johnson, James Iles, Joe Styler, and Juan Plouin.

Above & Below: The final order of business on Opening Day was the annual NamesCon/RightOfThe Dot Digital Assets Auction. It is always preceded by the Auction Preview session (above) in which leading experts go through the catalog and pick some of their favorites along with the price ranges they expected them to go in. Their guidance is very helpful to bidders before they start raising the paddles and its always fun to see the interaction between this good-humored crew. Left to right are Andrew Rosener, Jonathan Tenenbaum, Braden Pollock, Josh Reason, Shane Cultra and Ammar Kubba.

Below: With the arrival of World Champion Auctioneer Wayne Wheat and ROTD President Monte Cahn on stage to start the auction, the hall quickly started filling up from wall to wall.

Above & Below: ....and they're off! Auctioneer Wayne Wheat gets the bidding started while ROTD President Monte Cahn helps spot biddera among a crowd that stretched to all the way to the opposite end of the Ice Palace. Over 60 domains were sold but the auction results have not yet been finalized. The total could land in the $4-5 million range, depending on the results from a single lot that went for $3.1 million. That was for Omegle.com, Omegle.tv, plus associated trademarks and intellectual property. Due to the multiple elements and issues involved, it could be the first week in December before that transaction is finalized or derailed for any reason.

Above: While the auction was still underway NamesCon began an evening cookout party held in the Ice Palace courtyard that ran from 6 to 8pm. That allowed early birds to avoid lines at the various food stations and find a choice seat before the auction ended and the crowd headed their way!