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DN
Journal: Let’s start with how the decision to
stage the Domainer Meeting conference came about and what
you want to accomplish with the upcoming event in Paris.
Schiwek: As soon we
got the info that ICANN was going to Paris we thought
someone needed to do a show! But at this stage no one was
taking action. Suddenly Dan Warner from Fabulous.com
came to Xavier Buck (EuroDNS General Manager) and I
during an earlier T.R.A.F.F.I.C. show and said "why
don’t you guys set up a show?" He was really forcing
us at EuroDNS to do something, so we had no other chance to
do it! I should also mention Jean Christophe Vignes,
the General Counsel of EuroDNS, who is part of the Organization
Team for ICANN Paris. He helped a lot by getting support
from ICANN for the show which made things much easier.
So over time the pieces of the puzzle came to together
and now we are just a few days away from the largest
Domainer Meeting ever in Europe. Our plan is to bring
international domainers together in one place and learn from
each other. |
Freddy
Schiwek (EuroDNS) |
Schnermann:
When Freddy told me about the Paris Domainer Meeting conference, it
was a no brainer for me to support it. Whilst there have been
regional conferences in Germany, the UK and other
European countries, they all had a focus on regional markets. I
consider Domainer Meeting in Paris the first real European
Show, with attendees, speakers and organizers who represent the top
of the primary and secondary market in the Domain Industry.
DN Journal:
As one of the world’s most beautiful and exciting cities, Paris is
a natural attraction. You have also given people practical reasons
to go by aligning your dates with the ICANN meeting that follows
Domainer Meeting. Both events will also be held at the same hotel.
Tell us how having your conference and ICANN back to back will
benefit registrants and also a little about what people can expect
from the venue - the Meridien Montparnasse Hotel?
| Schiwek:
Most of the attendees will have to take the train or plane
to arrive in Paris as it is an |
|
Markus
Schnermann
(KeywordDomains.com) |
international conference, so it is an easy
decision to stay for a few days more to visit ICANN as well.
Decisions are made at ICANN that affect everyone's property,
so all of us should have a say in their decisions and try to
influence them in our favor. I think it is very important
for every one of us to be at both events. The Meridien
Montparnasse Hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels in
the heart of Paris. We have arranged for luxury French food
and wine and we thing everyone will be very impressed. No
one should miss this opportunity!
Schnermann: Who doesn´t
dream of visiting Paris? Besides being one of the most
beautiful cities in the world it is taking place in one of
the best hotels in Paris. Having the opportunity to attend
the ICANN meeting as well is perfect. I have attended ICANN
meetings myself and it is a different crowd but worthwhile
to get to know. Both sides can learn from each other and
understanding the different perspectives will help us
getting over being "them and us". We are all
affected by the decisions made there so i can only encourage
everybody to participate. |
DN Journal:
Most of the large domain shows have be held in the United States
but domaining is truly a global industry with many of the major
players based in Europe, the UK, Australia and other regions.
Looking at your sponsorship list it looks like this conference is
getting the kind of broad based support that will allow you to
present a show worthy of the many domain professionals who live in
Europe as well as those that come in from other regions. Tell us
about the support you are getting from key companies and individuals
in the industry and how response from registrants is going thus far?
| Schiwek:
The support from the sponsors is very impressive, every one
wanted immediately to help us and be a part of it. DomainSponsor.com
is doing the party and auction and we have |
| very impressive speakers like Phil Corwin
from the Internet
Commerce Association, Gregg McNair,
Jay Westerdal from DomainTools.com,
and many more like executives from the Chinese registry! As
a person that goes to nearly all of the shows, I can say
that I know nearly everyone. But honestly, I see people
signing up which I did not know before. We have sign ups
from all over the world, it will be an interesting show.
DN Journal:
What do you think some of the highlights of the show agenda
will be?
Schnermann:
Next to the live auction I personally like the
focus on ccTLDs in panels like Domain |
ICA
Legal Counsel Phil Corwin will deliver the
keynote speech at Domainer Meeting Paris 2008 |
|
Investing or ccTLDs
& Domainers - State of the Union. Of course
there are many networking opportunities again including the
speed networking event and the exciting party organized by
DomainSponsor at a very cool night club called Cabaret
on Thursday evening.
Schiwek:
Make sure you do not miss the keynote speech from Phil
Corwin! Directly after the keynote we have a discussion
about new TLDs. Always interesting is discussion on the evolution
of parking and of course the Snowe bill. The very big
highlight on the second day is the Moniker/SnapNames
Live Auction, but before that you can learn a
lot about Tax Optimization for Domainers. |
DN Journal:
The live auction should draw a lot of interest. I’m sure there
will a number of solid globally oriented domains in that sale. Will
there also be names in the auction geared to the European market,
either in terms of keyword, or Euro ccTLDs like .de, .fr,
.co.uk, etc.?
|
Moniker.com
will stage another live domain
auction at Domainer Meeting Paris 2007 |
Schiwek:
We really want to spread the focus worldwide, but of course
a majority will be .coms and European ccTLDs like .fr, .de
and many others. None of the bidders have to worry about
local presence (Nexus requirements) because EuroDNS will
provide the local presence without any additional costs for
the buyer.
Schnermann: From
what I've heard there will be a very decent list of premium
generics auctioned off. Especially for the attending non-European
domainers i see a lot of opportunities to diversify their
portfolios by investing in some premium ccTLDs.
DN Journal:
Both of you are |
| veterans of domain conferences
staged in the U.S. From your experience with other
shows, what are some of the best attributes from those that
you will incorporate into Domainer Meeting and do you also
have some new wrinkles planned? |
Schiwek: We
definitely concentrate on being International as possible - no one
has to be concerned about limited English skills, stats are the same
worldwide. Everyone understands words like CTR, Keyword, Domain,
Portfolio. The wrinkle really might be having International domainers
coming together on a larger scale and having the chance to take part
in ICANN's meeting right after DomainerMeeting.
|
Schnermann: It's
a simple recipe; take the best ingredients from U.S.
shows like sessions and panels on topics that all of us
really care about, the networking opportunities and a
premium auction. Then add the charm of a European City like
Paris and mix it with participants from as many
nationalities as possible. The new wrinkle might be that it
might have more topics around the ccTLDs.
DN Journal:
In closing, are there any other comments, or points you
would like to make about Domainer Meeting and this unique
opportunity for domain owners to gather in Paris?
Schiwek:
Come to Paris to stay a few days longer, it’s a great
place! Maybe I should also mention that hotel room
registrations on the website are a bit complicated as the
event gets closer. You book the the first day (June 19) on
the Domainer Meeting website and the other ones on the ICANN
site because they still have some rooms available for Friday
(June 20). If you have problems, call the hotel directly at +33
1 44 36 45 54 (International and English speaking Phone). |
Hotel
Le Meridien Montparnasse
Site of Domainer Meeting Paris 2008 |
|
Schnermann:
A message to potential participants from outside
Europe and from inside Europe: Meet and mix with attendees
from all over the world, exchange ideas, investment
strategies and learn from each other! Paris is always
worthwhile to travel to and you get to combine business at
the Domainer Meeting and the ICANN Meeting with the savoir
vivre of France!
***** |
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