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 of … [Read more...]
Uh Oh: 400,000 Less gTLD Registrations First Quarter of 2018, Vs Previous Quarter
NEW YORK – New gTLD proponents will be less than excited to learn that according to the latest Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief, new gTLD domain registrations, despite there being more awareness :) and more names available for registration, such extensions experienced a decline of 400,000 registrations or loss of 2% within the first Quarter of 2018 (Q1) when compared to the last Quarter of 2017 (Q4). Verisign creates these industry briefs to include quarter-over-quarter … [Read more...]
Verisign Releases 2017 Second Quarter Industry Brief on Domain Name Market
NEW YORK, NY – In an endless sea of opinions (I admit, including my own) it is great to look at meaningful data when it comes to where our industry is going as far as growth, innovation and trends. If you would like to read-over the Verisign’s 2017 Second Quarter Industry report, it is online here (PDF). Some key takeaways: .com registrations are up to 129.2 million. .net and .org are still major players, but in number of registrations, far behind ccTLDs such as … [Read more...]
Name Summit Digital Branding Conference; Entrepreneurs, Experts, Domain Enthusiasts
NEW YORK, NY – “NameSummit – The Digital Branding Conference” is just one week away. There will be over 40 speakers, including entrepreneurs, experts and digital branding superstars ready to engage with attendees. Expert panels will discuss leading trends in branding, influence marketing, social media and showcase the continuing evolution of domain names as an important part of powerful branding and advertising campaigns. Below is the updated line-up of experts; an … [Read more...]
Name Summit Conference in New York City Shaping Up to Be “Very Big Event”
Agenda includes long list of Industry Veterans; Live Domain Auction for WallStreet.com; Event Ending with Undisclosed "Presentation for Exclusive Asset Sale" yet to be revealed!! NEW YORK, NY – A few days ago I spoke via telephone (yes, that clunky old device still in use) with some of the people at NameSummit to discuss interesting developments for the upcoming event in New York City which is just weeks away. If you have not yet booked your tickets and stay to New York … [Read more...]
New gTLDs: Revolution of New Dots Is Here; There Will Be Winners, There Will Be Losers
NEW YORK, NY - One of the most problematic things about the new gTLD space is that all of the applicants are trying to accomplish the same exact thing, either ahead or before the other; to create a single authoritative place for their industry or brand. They all want 'their' dot, to be “the” dot. However, what they all seem to be aligned in parallel with, is the concern of, risk for, or fear that users will fail to adopt to the change, and that all the good .coms are already … [Read more...]
Throwback: Is Domain Parking Really Dead? If So, What Killed It? (Reprint: It’s That Good)
NEW YORK - A lot has changed with Domain Parking Revenue as well as Google Ad Earnings over the last, say, decade. There has been such great change that it's sometimes difficult to articulate - in a nutshell, why things have changed so drastically and in how many different ways this change has come about. I don't think anyone would argue that these changes have and continue to fundamentally reshape the entire industry. Last evening, I came across an article by writer and … [Read more...]
Verisign Still Pushing Hard on .Net Domains; Sales Remain Active; New IDN for Korea
NEW YORK, NY - While at NamesCon, I noticed a television commercial for the .net domain extension pushing it as a leading “trusted extension” and touting its long standing history in the domain space; the .net domain name was created on the same day as the .com in January 1985. (I’m pretty sure the video was part of Verisign’s “Uncommonly Timeless” collection of .net marketing pieces - it looked like one of these on YouTube [one is below].) According to Verisign, the … [Read more...]
Could Domain Investing Industry End with Legal Provision for Domain “Hoarding”
NEW YORK, NY - What if you had to have a legitimate use for each and every domain name you have registered in your domain account? What if every single domain name you owned had to be associated with a business website which served its own purpose? It’s not happening yet, but it could happen. Every once in a while people ask me what I think are coming challenges for domain owners and I always have the same answer; regulation. If you follow what happened in the 1-800 Toll … [Read more...]