Monthly Archives: July 2007

Tue 31st July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy, VeriSign Lobby Capitol Hill - Domain name companies spend hundreds of thousands lobbying politicians. Domain name companies such as .com/.net registry VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) and registrar GoDaddy are spending hundreds of thousands each year lobbying in Washington. An AP story published today disclosed that VeriSign spent $570,000 in the first half of 2007 to lobby the U.S. federal government. I searched the United States Senate’s records to find out which other domain related firms were busy ... read more ...
Mon 30th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Top Domain Name News Stories of Jul 2007 - Here’s a look at the top 5 domain name news stories of July. Following are the five most viewed news stories at DomainNameWire.com for the month of July, ranked in order of views. #1: New Domain Name Renewal Scam Hits Inboxes – yet another domain renewal scam is making its rounds. After publishing this story, the credit card processor that was an unwilling participant in the scam shut down the scammer’s account. Alas, the scammer merely started collecting ... read more ...
Thu 26th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
R.H. Donnelley Acquires Business.com for $345M - Local business directory publisher buys company, edging out other suitors including News Corp. Business.com, a web advertising and directory business, has sold for $345M in cash and “deferred purchase consideration” to R.H. Donnelley (NYSE: RHD). R.H. Donnelley is a yellow pages and local search company. The Business.com acquisition is a way for the company to diversify. As I pointed out earlier, this is not just a transaction for the domain name Business.com. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The Domain Guru Talks About Valuable Names, IDNs - Lee Hodgson, who owns Domain Guru, talks about shutting down ValuableNames.com and where he sees value in the domain name market. Depending on whom you asked, Lee Hodgson was either the greatest guy in the world or the bane of your existence in 2001. That’s when he started publishing a series of articles about the domain drop on SitePoint. He outlined how and when the dropped worked, giving ordinary Joes the chance to participate. So how did Hodgson get involved ... read more ...
Wed 25th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Roundtable Hits Seattle Aug 12-15 - Hundreds of domain industry participants to attend Name Intelligence event; event focused on networking. Domain Roundtable, a domain name conference hosted by Name Intelligence, will hold its 2007 conference August 12-15 in Seattle, Washington. “The focus will be on networking,” says Jay Westerdal, Name Intelligence President CEO. Westerdal says there is a party planned every night of the event, including Wednesday evening after the auction. Additionally, ... read more ...
Tue 24th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
CADNA Steps adult Assault on Domain Name Owners - The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) released its first news release today, which also identifies members. CADNA, a non-profit whose web site sparked interest a few months ago with its vague language, mission, and lack of disclosure about its backers, has released its first press release and identified its founding members. According to the release: The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) is announcing the launch of its national campaign against ... read more ...
Mon 23rd July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Name Parking Companies Gear Up for Fall - Domain parking companies tuning up services in time for fall traffic increase. It’s the doldrums of summer and that historically means a drop in internet traffic and domain parking revenue. My revenue is holding strong this summer, in part because the parking companies are doing a good job adding new features and optimization techniques in time for the fall. Here’s an update on the parking services I use: Parked – Parked continues to impress. I’ll publish ... read more ...
Fri 20th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Internet Brands Files for $100M IPO - Company that owns Autos.com and Loan.com files for IPO. Internet Brands, Inc. has filed for a $100M initial public offering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company started its life as CarsDirect, but then switched to the generic “Internet Brands” name when it diversified. Internet Brands focuses on big ticket purchases including autos, homes and home improvement, and travel. Although far more than just a domain name ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
First GreatDomains Auction Off to Solid Start - Bidding for top names is fierce; few reserves met Sedo’s first live domain auction at GreatDomains is under way and is off to a great start. Among the domains grabbing attention are Gibralter.com at $75,000, StockQuotes.com at $150,000, and Whisky.com at $125,000 (owned by the Castello brothers). Only two domains — Territory.com ($4,101) and Tai.com ($21,500) — have met their reserves as of Friday morning. Due to publicity from one of the sellers, the reserves ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Travel.info Sells for $116,000 - Sale is highest ever reported for .info domain. Domain aftermarket Sedo has brokered the sale of Travel.info for $116,000, the highest amount ever reported for a .info domain name sale. The buyer of the domain is using Moniker’s whois privacy service. A notice on the web page states that it is being redesigned. The domain hopped around between a couple sellers over the past few months, but the owner who made the record breaking sale is Jian Wang of East Star Corp. ... read more ...
Thu 19th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Take Domain Name Appraisals with a Grain of Salt - Domain name owners should not get overly excited — or dejected — about an appraisal of their domain names. How much is that domain name worth? It’s a tough question, and one that domain name appraisal companies and your domainer peers would like to help you answer. I have a secret: in the late 90s I was a domain appraiser. People submitted domains to me and I wrote up evaluations of their value based on a number of factors. But I realized over time that appraising ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
SwapNames.com Facilitates Domain Name Trades - New service from creator of DNHour lets domain owners trade domains. Domainer Koay Al Vin has been a busy guy the past couple months. First, he launched “Digg for domainers“, which seems to be getting some traction. Now he has a new idea, SwapNames.com, which just launched in beta. SwapNames.com facilitates trading amongst domain name owners. If you spend any time in domain name forums, you will frequently see people offering domains for trade. Trading is ... read more ...
Wed 18th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Business 2.0 May Bite a Dust - Magazine that has covered domain name industry may stop publishing. Few publications have done as good a good job covering the domain name boom as Business 2.0. But that magazine’s future may be in jeopardy. According to a report in Tuesday’s New York Times, Business 2.0 may close up shop with its September issue. The magazine’s ad pages are down 31.4% compared to this time last year. One possible explanation from Forbes.com: Part of the explanation: Ad ... read more ...
Tue 17th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Valuable Names Closes Down, Offers Domain Name Lists - ValuableNames.com shuts down membership site but offers database of valuable domain data. In May 2006 I reviewed ValuableNames.com, an exclusive membership service for finding valuable domain names. ValuableNames has a large database of domain names with Overture scores and other search data, along with information about how the domains are currently being used. For example, you might find a domain with an Ovt+Ext of 150, but the domain is currently not resolving. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
First GreatDomains Domain Name Auction Starts Thursday - Online auction to feature premium dot.com domains. Sedo acquired GreatDomains last month and immediately announced plans to use the site for premium auctions. Its first premium auction will start this Thursday, July 19 at 2:00pm EST. GreatDomains’ premium auction events will be held once per month and last seven days. Hopefully Sedo will be able to parlay its success with Sedo auctions to GreatDomains, especially with its emphasis on premium domains. Domain ... read more ...
Mon 16th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New Domain Name Renewal Scam Hits Inboxes - The latest domain name renewal scam hits, and it’s a particularly ruthless one. Domain name renewal scams have been going on for years. Typically, the scammer sends a fake invoice in the mail or an e-mail that says a domain renewal fee needs to be paid or the domain will be deleted. By paying the “invoice”, you are actually agreeing to transfer your domain to the scammer’s registrar. I just received a renewal scam in my e-mail this morning, and this one’s ... read more ...
Thu 12th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
10 US Laws Every Domainer Needs to Know - Domain sniffing, legal entities, domain donations: 10 things every domainer should know. An article published at Aviva Directory is perhaps the most straight-forward, best-researched legal article that every domainer — newbie or experienced — should read. The article covers some of the basic of domaining, such as trademarks, but also covers a variety of topics many domainers may have never considered (such as which form of legal entity to form, how to avoid ... read more ...
Wed 11th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Name Whois Privacy Creates Suspicion - Using a private registration for a web site creates suspicion. I was driving through my neighborhood today when I saw a sign with the domain name “StopLake35.com” on it. That caught my attention. When I got home I checked out the web site. StopLake35.com is dedicated to stopping the development of a planned 180 boat marina just down the road from my house on Lake Austin. (35 is a busy highway that runs through Austin). The site suggests that the marina will ... read more ...
Tue 10th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Google Desktop Gadget Updates Domain Parking Stats - DomainersEdge releases new Google Gadget for domain parking. Are you one of those domainers who constantly checks your domain parking stats? If you use multiple parking programs, that can mean logging into several web sites throughout the day. Here’s a solution. DomainersEdge just released a new Google Gadget for Google Desktop. Once installed, Stat Gadget grabs your parking stats from Sedo, DomainSponsor, and TrafficClub. You can set it to show daily or month-to-date ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Affiliate Summit Domain Auction Fizzles - Leonard Holmes of ParkQuick reports on the Affiliate Summit auction. I picked up a bargain domain at the Affiliate Summit domain auction last night. A few others did also, but I imagine that more than a few sellers were disappointed. Affiliate Summit has more attendees than TRAFFIC, but fewer of them are domainers or CEOs with deep pockets. It was evident from the beginning of the auction that domains would be going relatively cheap. GasolinePrices.org went for ... read more ...
Mon 9th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Role of Domain Registrars to Change Over Next 5 Years - What role will domain registrars play in five years? Today, we think of domain name registrars as the place to go to register domain names. But this role will change over the next five years. Why? If you think “all of the good names are already registered” now, think about what the landscape will look like in five years. Here are some predictions for domain registrars: 1. Registrars become domain managers, not “registrars”. The central role of a registrar ... read more ...
Sat 7th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Article Labels Domainers as “Spammers” - Article in Indianapolis Business Journal tells one side of the story, mislabels domainers An article in the Indianapolis Business Journal labels domainers, who are people who invest in domain names, as the “equivalent of e-mail “spammers””: “Domainers,” the equivalent of e-mail “spammers,” run programs that automatically search for unclaimed letter combinations, snatching up everything they find. Then they hold Web sites hostage, hoping to ... read more ...
Fri 6th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
iREIT Changes Management - Domain name company shuffles management ranks. Domain name acquisition and development company iREIT (Internet REIT) has made changes at the top. Craig Snyder, whom the company hired from Marchex last year, was promoted to CEO about a month ago, according to the company’s web site. Prior to that he was President COO. Former CEO and co-founder Bob Martin moved into another position, but recently left the company. Adam Dicker, former Executive VP with iREIT, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy to Launch “Signature Auctions” - Domain registrar GoDaddy is launching premium domain auctions through its TDNAM platform. GoDaddy, the world’s largest registrar, is the latest company to announce a new platform for auctioning high-end domain names. The company will launch “Signature Auctions” to auction off domains worth $10,000 or more. According to information recently posted on the GoDaddy web site: If you have a domain you feel is worth $10,000 or more, put it up for auction and then ... read more ...
Thu 5th July 2007
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Majority of Domain Names are Purchased as Investments - Most big ticket domain purchases are by investors hoping to flip the domain or cash in on pay-per-click revenue. Many high dollar domain sales are reported each week, but who is buying all of these domains? This is an important question to answer in order to understand the future of the domain name aftermarket. Domain Name Wire just concluded a study of high value domain name sales on the aftermarket and determined that 65% of domains are purchased by investors and ... read more ...