NEW YORK, NY - If you had not heard yet - domain registry, parking and portfolio management company “Uniregistry” has launched a re-branding effort changing its popular brand name from “Uniregistry” to simply “UNI”. Two things immediately came to mind upon seeing this news. Does the company own the UNI.com domain name? The answer: Surprisingly it does not. The domain name UNI.com has been registered since 1993 and is currently owned by an Italian company which according … [Read more...]
Did DuckDuckGo Just Acquire Premium Domain “Duck.com” from Google?
NEW YORK, NY – Popular privacy search engine DuckDuckGo.com, might just be quacking all the way to the bank with its latest [potential] acquisition, Duck.com, according to name server and domain registrar details pointed out by domain industry website DotWeekly.com. It is important to note that this is just speculation at this time, but knowing that the privacy based search provider has been eyeing the domain for some time, specifically saying that it creates confusion … [Read more...]
Not So Fast: Fierce Battle Over Use of .Amazon gTLD String Not Settled Yet…
NEW YORK, NY – Big news some thought when U.S. tech giant Amazon was given approval to operate the .amazon URL, even after Brazil, Peru, and other governments objected on the grounds that private use of the .amazon URL would violate public interest and damage the countries in the Amazon region. According to domain industry news site Domain Incite, the Amazon countries are continuing their fight against the decision by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers … [Read more...]
Chicago.com Sale Price Likely $1M According to IRS Filings in 2017
NEW YORK, NY – According to a story appearing on domain industry satire site DomainGang.com, popular domain investor and researcher George Kirikos, has discovered (and recently tweeted) that he located financial documents which indicate what appears to be a sale price of the geographic domain name Chicago.com. 💵💵 I believe that the https://t.co/od6CZmyGsw domain name changed hands for USD $1 million. According to the IRS Form 990 for the Chicago Community Trust (buyer), … [Read more...]
Industry Event, NamesCon 2019, Comes to Tropicana Las Vegas, Saturday, January 26
NEW YORK, NY – In another month or so, just after the holidays, domain name professionals, enthusiasts and others in the Internet industry will begin getting ready for another round of the world’s largest domain name conference, NamesCon 2019 in Las Vegas. This year it will again be hosted at the Tropicana Las Vegas, on Las Vegas Boulevard, right where the busy area of the strip begins, but word in and around the Industry is that this will be the final year of the venue being … [Read more...]
ICA Lays Ground for Compelling Argument Even the Most Bias of Opinion Cannot Deny
NEW YORK, NY – Two things happened on November 1, 2018, when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it would renew its Cooperative Agreement with Verisign while removing price caps on fees it charges registries: Verisign’s stock (VRSN) shot up $25 per share in a single day (then levelling off at still a healthy gain), Verisign came out blasting domain industry participants, calling them “Domain Scalpers” near suggesting that … [Read more...]
From $132 to $100M: Was YellowPages.com The Smartest Domain Name Grab Ever?
NEW YORK, NY – Back in April of 1996, Dane Madsen registered YellowPages.com, an idea that popped into his mind after being demanded to come up with ad-copy for one of his firms clients, Sprint, who was rushing to be included in the next issue of the print Yellow Pages book; back then if you missed the deadline, you needed to wait an entire year for your business to seemingly exist. At about the same time, Dan was told about a company called “Network Solutions”, which … [Read more...]
Domain Name ‘Bill of Rights’ Proposed by Global Domain Name Registrar Uniregistry
NEW YORK, NY – This past week, the man who virtually created the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee, spoke about his “Contract for the Web” initiative; something he believes is fundamental to ensure a protected, free and open Internet for all of society. Early backers of the initiative, which can be viewed at ContractForTheWeb.org, include notable support from some of the webs largest innovators such as Google.com, Facebook.com, Craig Newmark (Founder of Craigslist.org), the W3C … [Read more...]
“Global Internet Crash” Diverted As ICANN Implements DNS Security Enhancements
NEW YORK, NY – Early last month, The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for maintaining the registry of domain names and IP addresses, was preparing to implement the very first change to the “cryptographic keys” which help protect the Domain Name System (DNS) - the Internet's address book. The change had been delayed for over a year as ICANN reviewed last-minute data about the change and accessed any potential risk to the … [Read more...]
Verisign Warns Industry: Far Greater Worry Then Their Minuscule Rate Increase
NEW YORK, NY – They say that when you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Yesterday, Verisign, the company behind all issuing of .com domain names to ICANN approved registries, came out blasting attempts by industry insiders trying to control a price cap that was set by something called the Cooperative Agreement, an agreement between the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN), which for years, prevented any increase … [Read more...]
Verisign Receives Regulatory Approval to Raise .COM Prices; Restrictions Deleted
NEW YORK, NY – Although many had hoped it wouldn’t happen, Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN), the company behind the registration and creation of .COM domain names, has been given the virtual green light by the US Government to raise the price of .com domain names by 7% in each of the last four years of a six-year incremental contract. Late Thursday, news broke that the “Cooperative Agreement”, an agreement between the National Telecommunications and Information Administration … [Read more...]
Alphabet Releases App to Prevent DNS Manipulation, Deter Online Censorship
NEW YORK, - Google’s Alphabet has released a new Android app called “Intra” which prevents “DNS manipulation”, a process used often by ISPs to redirect invalid domain name resolution to their own version of branded search results, usually accompanied by search engine ads – when used nefariously, it is also a tactic of hackers who steal and redirect users to phishing sites or to otherwise dupe them into downloading viruses and spyware. The app is made available by a company … [Read more...]
Two New Alternative URLs Hit Superhighway
NEW YORK, NY – If you’re looking around for a few good ways to confuse new prospective customers, you’ve got two new great opportunities to completely derail even your best marketing efforts; .LUXE and .PAGE new gTLDs have just worked their way into the mix. Minds + Machines, the company behind .LUXE domain names, which are intended to serve the Ethereum, blockchain and security industry, has released the .LUXE domain which opens for general availability on November 6, … [Read more...]
Domain Sherpa Welcomes ICA with Segment on Groups’ Important Work
NEW YORK, NY - The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) joined Domain Sherpa this week to let viewers know about the organization and exactly what it is, what it collectively does and who’s involved. The segment stated out with Kamila Sekiewicz, Executive Director, who introduced the board of directors and a little about the organization basically stating that it is an “essential organization” for the domain industry, which seems well put and accurate if you ask me. The mic … [Read more...]
Attorney Suggests UDRP Process as “Clear Cut”, “Quick” and “Relatively Inexpensive”
NEW YORK, NY – If you’ve been keeping a watchful eye on UDRP cases lately, you’ve likely noticed some real over-reaching land grabs in action, especially those based on three character acronyms, and like me, have been watching is disappointment. I’ve always said that one of the greatest challenges in the domain space in coming years will be growing regulation and corporate theft by those who seek to own the assets of others; assets they did not have foresight to acquire … [Read more...]
Radio Host with Estimated 6.5M Listeners Talks Buying and Selling Domain Names
NEW YORK, NY - Kim Komando, a syndicated radio host to over 435 radio stations in the United States and heard internationally in 177 different countries, is dubbed “America’s Digital Goddess”. Her weekly three-hour call-in show covers anything and everything ‘digital’ from tech-gadgets, websites, smartphone apps, and internet security. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office her company Komando Corporation and associated owned and operated radio network, … [Read more...]
Pay-One-Price Domain Names? Imagine Registering Your Domain Name “Forever”
NEW YORK, NY - During the 63rd International Public Meeting of global domain industry regulator, ICANN (between October 20-25, 2018) in Barcelona, Epik’s Rob Monster discusses “Forever Domains”, a registration service made available by Seattle-based Epik which allows a domain registrant to not 'lease' a domain by the year, or the generally available maximum of 10 years, but to "own" a domain name, indefinitely. The interview was conducted by Filip Borcov of Website Builder … [Read more...]
Gargiulo Reiterates Necessity for .COM in New Forbes Domain and Branding Article
NEW YORK, NY - Michael Gargiulo, owner of VPN.com, a group of virtual private network consultants, is also part of what Forbes Magazine calls its “Forbes Technology Council”, an invitation only community for senior technology executives. Gargiulo, who I have begun to follow for his ‘straight-shooter’ domain advice, writes periodically for Forbes Magazine and certainly believes in the value of a great domain name, indicated by his decision in 2017 to purchase VPN.com for … [Read more...]
Will .COM Domains Get More Expensive with Expiration of “Cooperative Agreement”?
LONG ISLAND, NY – The “Cooperative Agreement” between NTIA (The National Telecommunications and Information Administration ) and Verisign includes a price-cap on .com domain names, however, this agreement must be renewed by November 30, 2018. This means that sometime very soon the price you pay for all of your .com domain registrations and their renewals may be raised, and there is no telling how much this increase might be. The NTIA, an agency of the U.S. Department … [Read more...]
SHOCKER: Two More “Dot Brands” Throw in the Sponge on Future of Alternative URLs
NEW YORK, NY – According to DNW.com, another two dot brands are letting go of their sweet dreams of running their very own .BRAND URL. The two companies are “Blanco GmbH” and “SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG”. I’ve never heard of these companies before, but surely these special URLs such as “.blanco” and “.spiegel” would have made them both Uber famous and internationally known. Nonetheless, they have notified ICANN that they are throwing in the towel on … [Read more...]
EVIL: Will Google Do Away with Domain Name and Extension Entirely Anyway?
NEW YORK, NY – Our best friends at Google are quietly scheming behind the scenes to through yet another curve ball misconstrued as a benefit to all web users, especially us domain name owners, brokers, investors and enthusiasts. They’re always up to something neat aren’t they? According to Wired.com, Google has been working, at least since 2014, on replacing the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) we use as web addresses with something a little less complicated. After all, … [Read more...]
Internet Isn’t for Sharing: More Disastrous EU Legislation Coming Down the Pike
ORLANDO, FL – The European Union has become a bigger threat to the Internet ‘as we know it’ then nearly anything I’ve seen in the past, including Net Neutrality. Even Internet inventor Tim Berners-Lee and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales say that the web could not have developed as it has if these new EU rules were in play 25 years ago. For instance, recently Europe created the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) which we all know has had wide reaching effects on the … [Read more...]
