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...]
Two Letter ngTLD “My.Life” Said To Be Sold for Whopping $175k, Buyer Unconfirmed
PALM BEACH, FL – According to several reports, the 2 letter gTLD “My.Life” has been sold in a transaction valued at $175,000.00 (according to the registry), with $100,000.00 paid up front in cash, and $75,000.00 to be paid by the end of the year. The sale was confirmed by a tweet from the Donuts Twitter account and by Elliot Silver who reached out to Matt Overman, Senior VP of Sales at Donuts. The buyer of the unusually short domain asset is believed to be … [Read more...]
Domain Industry’s First Virtual Trade Show Comes to Comfort (& Safety) of Your Home
PALM BEACH, FL – I just love great ideas, even when I wasn’t the one to pull the trigger on it. That’s why I just registered for The Domain Show, a new virtual trade show for the domain industry that is being organized by Page Howe, a domain industry participant I haven’t met yet, but look forward to meeting, if not in person, at the virtual Domain Show event. The Domain Show will be held online between June 11th – 13th. This will be a trade show and conference that … [Read more...]
Will Coronavirus Create Pandemic Volatility and Effect The Domain Name Industry?
PALM BEACH, FL - According to the CDC, the corona virus, now known as COVID-19, is expected to create a pandemic in the United States very soon. There are already cases in the Boston area which are being closely monitored with some people in quarantine. California has also seen its first case at the LAX airport. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country … [Read more...]
Nonprofit “ICANN” Exists to Serve the Public Good, Or Does It? What Say You?
PALM BEACH, FL – An important awareness message came out of The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) today, and it should make, even the least interested shopper, question whether or not price increases to consumers are justified when an item or service is purchased from a company with specific oversight from an authoritative body. Whether it is over domain names, or anything else, the question should be, when does a company - any company, which is permitted to … [Read more...]
NamesCon Global 2020 Domain Auction to Include Two “Good Cause” Domain Sales
PALM BEACH, FL – If you will be participating in the live domain auction which will take place Thursday, January 30 at the Omni Hotel (Downtown) in Austin Texas, you’ll have the chance to not only scoop up what will likely be some great domain deals, but you’ll also be able to help contribute with two sales having a portion of their proceeds benefiting domainers directions.com and toolchest.com. When the action begins at 4:30 pm Central Standard Time, you’ll want to … [Read more...]
DN Journal’s Ron Jackson Interviews Name Brokers’ Jeff Gabriel and Amanda Waltz
PALM BEACH, FL - Ron Jackson, known within industry circles as running one of the most authoritative websites related to the domain business, “DNJournal.com”, has been covering the Internet and domain space since 2003. One of the latest updates to his site, an equivalent of a print trade publication in today's world, includes a video update and interview with domain name brokers, Jeff Gabriel and Amanda Waltz who became friends while working together at Igloo.com / Domain … [Read more...]
Would You Rename Your Software Business And Change Web Address For $5.2 Million?
PALM BEACH, NY – In April 2011, a south Sweden based company called “Xcerion” changed the name of its cloud file hosting service to “CloudMe” and registered a U.S. federal trademark for the same moniker. At the time, it was just speculation, later confirmed, that the real celebration illustrated in this above graphic, was the sale and acquisition of the domain name. The company had purchased the domain name “CloudMe.com” just three to four weeks earlier; the service … [Read more...]
How Google Grows Advertising Rev 20% a Year, While Global Economy Grows at 4%
PALM BEACH, FL - If you are in the Internet business, you're going to want to stop and read this one. It will educate you. It might explain a couple of things you have thought about when it comes to Google. It might even make you a little mad. But it is always best to know what is happening in your industry. Or you could stay in your little bubble where they say, ignorance is bliss. Google has the ability to provide the illusion of diversity while using sort of eye … [Read more...]
With Price Caps Removed, Dot Org Domain Name Registry Acquired by Ethos Capital
PALM BEACH, FL – In a move that surprises few industry experts, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the Reston, Virginia-based not-for-profit created by the Internet Society in 2002 to manage the “.org” top-level domain name has been acquired by private equity management firm Ethos Capital. The acquisition comes shortly after ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, permitted the removal of price caps on “.org” domain name registrations on June 30, … [Read more...]
Will Sale of Dead News Site “Examiner.com” Attract Authentic Bidders at GoDaddy?
PALM BEACH, FL – A domain name, that by itself, could potentially fool even one of the most complex computer algorithms such as Google's rankings technology, into trusting that a site is a “big brand”. There is probably not a lot of them out there that could easily be scooped up, however, that’s pretty much what’s for sale at GoDaddy auctions this week, with the bidding for the domain name previously used by the defunct news site “Examiner.com” reaching $69,666.00 - so … [Read more...]
Monster Two Letter Domain Asset “TM.com” For Sale; Listed in Industry Trade Pub WTR
PALM BEACH, FL – According to World Trademark Review, the monster domain asset “TM.com” is for sale and the exchange is being offered / handled by Mark Thomas of VIP Brokerage. Thomas was recently highlighted for selling the premium exact match GEO domain California.com for a whopping $3,000,000.00. ‘TM.com’ up for sale – The domain name ‘tm.com’, previously used by a company called TM Advertising, is up for sale. A representative for the current domain owner told WTR … [Read more...]
Just Some Fake Bids; Nothing to See Here; Move Along Now, Please Disperse…
PALM BEACH, FL – This is a pretty interesting story all though it has come and gone just like yesterday’s old news – no one cares, no one is all that surprised, figuring it was non-sense to begin with, next story please. I suggest domain market participants not let it be forgotten and swept under the rug so soon, because it isn't at all good for the domain name industry as a whole - and clearly more should be done about it. Platforms that are used for … [Read more...]
Sources Say “Money.com” Sold for $20M; Net’s Seller Double Without Print Product
PALM BEACH, FL – The Internet domain name “Money.com” and its live website was all that was left when failed Money Magazine ceased printing its tangible physical copies last July. The entire business was for sale including its 400,000 or so monthly subscribers for $10 million by it’s owners Meredith Corp, publishers of newspapers, magazines, television stations and websites; with no buyer in sight, they ceased print and planned to focus only on its digital edition; lo and … [Read more...]
If Google Removes URLs From Search Results, Who Exactly Stands to Benefit?
PALM BEACH, FL – Last week I ran a story about Google’s obvious intent to remove URL’s from search. The story was titled “Google Determined to Remove URLs from Search Results; Replace with Breadcrumbs” and published on October 18, 2019. It was a follow up to “EVIL: Will Google Do Away with Domain Name and Extension Entirely Anyway?” There has been wide reaction from both the SEO and Domain community on the coming change and it warrants added thought and hopefully, added … [Read more...]