PALM BEACH, FL - Richard Lau, it’s a name many in the domain industry will be familiar with, as he was a Co-Founder of NamesCon, the domain industries “main event” so to speak, now owned by GoDaddy.com through its acquisition of World Hosting Days. Richard is also known for his long-term support of WaterSchool, a global nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. It was a staple at NamesCon events – at least that is where … [Read more...]
100 More Print Newspapers To Disappear Next Month, Along With Hundreds of Jobs
PALM BEACH, FL – More than 100 local and regional newspapers will disappear next month when News Corp Australia will cut publication and move many of its titles online, while others will cease to exist altogether. The news comes amid what the company said was a sharp decline in advertising revenue and a ‘double impact’ of COVID-19 and competition from tech platforms. According to the Sydney Morning Herald as many as 1000 jobs could be lost from just three titles, The … [Read more...]
Why Investigations Into Google’s Search, Ad & Android Businesses Will Go Nowhere
PALM BEACH, NY – It seems like every day there is a brand new, squeaky clean investigation (or at least some accusations) into our good-ole’ friends at Google Inc., and Alphabet Inc. Swirling stories of lawsuits and federal inquiries into a company that is so large, so big, it’s almost such that you could consider them, “too big to fail” – how familiar. Historically, investigations into good-ole’ GOOG have gone all but nowhere. For instance, in 2013 the Federal Trade … [Read more...]
First Google (GOOGL), Now Facebook (FB) Under Attack by 47 Attorney Generals
PALM BEACH, FL – In September, word started circulating across major media that Google (GOOGL) was expected to face scrutiny by 50 U.S attorney generals regarding alleged bias and antitrust violations from the tech giants advertising and search businesses. The probe, which would be the first of its kind since Microsoft was sued in 1998, was expected to potentially expand into other areas of the business later in the investigation. It's an investigation to determine … [Read more...]
Google Chrome, Once Again, Messing with Domain Names In Browser Address Bar
PALM BEACH – Sometimes I just hate Google, and I must admit, those times come a heck of a lot more often these days than they did in the past. I personally used to consider Google an ambiguous friend; always quietly working for me in the background, creating all new interesting ways for me to beat-out the competition. Assigning me that "competitive edge" through working smart and not hard. Allowing experienced know-how to tear through competitors and level the playing field … [Read more...]
A Domain Resellers Best Benefit Might Be In Domain “Savings”, Not Sales “Revenue”
NEW YORK, NY – In early 2005 I became a reseller for Wild West Domains Inc., a subsidiary of the GoDaddy, signing up for their Reseller opportunity, and at that time, their “Super Reseller” opportunity. The difference between the two was that the Super Reseller provided the ability to “resell” the “reseller” opportunity and put companies underneath you, earning a small portion of your acquired re-sellers sales, sort of like a sub-affiliate or MLM (multi-level-marketing) … [Read more...]
Search Optimization or Sponsored Search, Which One Is Better for My Business?
NEW YORK, NY – Whether a company embarks on typical optimization processes or just gives in and goes straight for Google’s recently re-branded “Google Ads” program is probably a question best answered only by someone who has been watching both of them evolve over the years, because both of them do work, and both can be used to grow your business exponentially, but figuring out which one works better or which will cost more is something the average business owner just has no … [Read more...]
Today’s ‘Successful’ Business Owners Become Experts at Doing More with Less
NEW YORK, NY – At a time when the economy is said to be continually improving, if you ask around to fellow business owners, most seem to be in a never ending phase of finding ways to efficiently cut costs and reduce expenses. In fact, this is a good practice for any business owner to keep top-of-mind, annually, or even monthly. To do this effectively, you must identify ways to implement change with minimal effect on production, products and service quality. The changes … [Read more...]
Domains and Divorce, Are You Prepared for Your Domain Assets to Come Under Fire?
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – This is a very personal post today with thoughts you might find surprising, however, one thing that readers of my site will always get is honesty, good, bad, or ugly; you’re going to have the opportunity to read through the details of my experience on the web – with whatever it may be – and those who read these articles have come to expect and respect my honesty and thoughts where sharing my real world experience on the Internet and within circles of … [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...]
The 472 Domain Names That Couldn’t Stop The Inevitable Collapse of ‘Toys R Us’
NEW YORK, NY - Toys R Us is a brand we’ve all grown up with. The company was originally founded by Charles P. Lazarus (October 5, 1923 - March 22, 2018), the son of a local entrepreneur who wished to someday mimic his father’s work with his own enterprise. Those dreams became a reality in 1948 when young Charles, 25, opened his first children’s furniture store called “Children’s Bargain Town” in Washington, D.C. After years of early success, Lazarus added toys and changed … [Read more...]
The Birth of ICANN: “The Green Paper”
NEW YORK - In 1997, the United States government under then President Clinton began processes to remove its control over the Domain Name System by creating research and dialog on how control of domain names and IP addresses should be handled in the future - by a non-profit organization in the private sector. This resulted in a document which has become known as "The Green Paper" originally named "A Proposal to Improve the Technical Management of Internet Names and … [Read more...]
It’s Called “Pitchfest Global” and Your Window of Opportunity Closes This May
NEW YORK, NY – If you have an idea that you believe would bring your existing business to the next level, but lack funds or you are in need of help to make it happen, you might want to take a close look at a competition called Pitchfest Global, an event involving both NamesCon and NameSummit. Applications for Pitchfest will be accepted through May 15, 2018. Entrepreneurs selected to compete will pitch their ‘golden idea' on August 6th and 7th of 2018 at NameSummit in … [Read more...]
Publication with Intent to Deceive; Where Does the Wild Wild West Draw the Line?
NEW YORK, NY - First of all, I am the last one that wants to create more rules and regulations for the Internet. As a publisher of both print and digital assets, I value greatly the right to free speech and the freedom of expression, but a problem is brewing out there and it is brewing right before us. It's a pretty serious problem and one that reveals itself as a combination of fake news and what I would consider publication with intent to deceive. Let me explain... We … [Read more...]
If I Had Just Started With Domain Names Today, I Don’t Think I Would Make It
NEW YORK, NY – When I started in this industry it was the year 2000. The Internet looked very different than it does today, and people were just starting to get acquainted with Google. Search engine optimization was a lot easier to do with most people not having even heard of the term “SEO”. Back then, as a website owner, you were able to take advantage of certain techniques which could easily put you ahead of the majority. Compared to today, there was little competition … [Read more...]