Monthly Archives: October 2008

Fri 10th October 2008
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy Parking Page Customization: $99 - New service seems wildly overpriced. Am I missing something? I just read GoDaddy’s October sales letter (not really a newsletter as they call it), and read the fine print on the 20% off $75 coupon it offered. One of the exclusions is for “CashParking Custom Header“. Curious, I visited the GoDaddy web site to learn more. Essentially, GoDaddy will create a custom header for your parked domain. Price? $99. Am I missing something here? First, GoDaddy is the ... read more ...
Thu 9th October 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
Ok I’ll Ask: Are We Facing Another Great Depression? - The Dow suffered another 680 point drop today. The Dow has fallen 39% from the all-time high hit one year ago today. Shares of GM were down by 31%. Energy and financial stocks also booked deep losses. Morgan Stanley dropped by 26%. Exxon Mobil shares fell 12% The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) surged 11% to 63.57 an all time high and up 10 points since Monday, which also was an all time high. So I’ll ask the question are we in a recession which is going to lead to the ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Did GoDaddy Lie? - A couple of days after Kentucky issued their seizure notice against 141 domain names, we reported that Godaddy had caved into kentucky by tuning over  “registrar certificate”  to the court in Kentucky,  which gives the bearer exercises control of the domain name. The day we published that story we were at TRAFFIC NY.  During lunch that same day Howard Neu was told by a Godaddy representative that my story was not true and Godaddy had not turned the domains over.  Howard related that news ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Washington Post Quotes The ICA - In an article published today by the Washington Post, concerning the Kentucky seizure of 141 domain names, the article quotes Michael Collins of the Internet Commerce Association. “””””Michael Collins, executive director of the Internet Commerce Association, a trade group representing domain name investors and online advertisers. Collins said entire prospect of using the Internet — not only for commerce but for free speech — is at risk if one government or state decides they can freely ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Official GoDaddy Statement on Kentucky Domains Case - What is GoDaddy doing with gambling domains? Here’s the official word. There have been a number of rumors swirling around about whether GoDaddy has handed over domains that Kentucky wants to seize as it cracks down on illegal gambling. A number of online gambling news sources have reported that GoDaddy capitulated and turned over the domains, but a look at the whois shows the domains are still in the original owners’ names. (Compare this to the domain names ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Sends Breach Notice to Joker.com - ICANN says Joker.com and DNS.com.cn aren’t enforcing whois accuracy. Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has sent breach notices to two large domain name registrars warning them they may lose their accreditation. In May Joker.com and Beijing Innovative Linkage Technology Ltd, doing business as DNS.com.cn, received “notices of concern” from ICANN that they were not properly taking action when they received inaccurate whois notices. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Moniker: Kentucky Cannot Have Our Customers’ Domains - Moniker assures its clients that their domain names are safe. In case there were any doubts (and I heard some), Moniker customers can rest assured that the company is fighting to keep your domains from ill-advised state governors. Speaking specifically about the situation with the Kentucky governor, Moniker founder and president Monte Cahn released the following statement to Domain Name Wire today: Moniker strives to protect the rights of domainers. While it has ... read more ...
Wed 8th October 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
No Wonder This Country is so F*cked Up - So the AIG story continues. Yesterday we learned about the $440K spending orgy held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach last week. We learned that executives from AIG, still employed only by the grace of the US taxpayers, had the balls to rack up $24,000 in spa service, $140K on rooms,  $150K on food, $5K for drinks and $7K for golf. Oh yeah did I mention they gave less than $3K in gratuities, so on top of it all,  they’re lousy tippers. Of course this all took place after they just got a $88 Billion ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
DomainConsultant.com Issues Buy Recommendation on Domains - DomainConsultant.com issued this press release today telling investors that domains names is the investment to beat this down economy. They tell the story that happened in spring of 2001, Inbox.com was listed on eBay at $4,000 with no reserve. The auction ended without any bids or bidders. After the auction, an astute DomainConsultant.com analyst emailed the seller and offered him $2,000 for the name. The buyer accepted the offer. Sixteen months later, that domain name was sold to an end-user for ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
PizzaHut Rebrands in a UK and Forgets to Register a Domains First - Pizza Hut is temporarily changing its name to Pasta Hut to highlight its eight new pasta dishes, with nine restaurants changing their signage immediately, in the UK It registered the domain Pastahut.co.uk. However it failed to register any other extension including the ..net or .org or .info Not suprising that Pastahut.net, Pastahut.info and Pastahut.org have been registered and the sites filled with Google-style pay-per-click links, according to domain name specialist NetNames. Pastahut.com was ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
We Get It Award: DiplomaFrame.com - Church Hill Classics uses DiplomaFrame.com to drive business. A Domain Name Wire reader recently opened a brochure for diploma frames that came with his order from Connecticut-based Church Hill Classics. He was surprised to see that the company’s domain name was the generic and descriptive DiplomaFrame.com. The company also owns DiplomaFrames.com. Not only do these two domains get type-in traffic, but they position Church Hill Classics as a leader in the industry ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sedo’s Domain Sales Pipeline is Growing - After dismal week for domain name sales, aftermarket is filling up pipeline. Last week was a dismal one for completed domain sales, although the pipeline is full thanks to the TRAFFIC auction. Sales are also looking up over at Sedo. Just a few minutes ago SeedsDirect.com sold for $20,000. The domain gets about 500 visits a month. There are bigger sales on the horizon. All-In.com is active at $40,000 and will close on October 14. Government.net also has a bidder ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Network Solutions Fights for Domain Owners in Kentucky - Some good news came out of the Kentucky domain hearings yesterday. Internet Commerce Association, which defends the rights of domain owners, sent Executive Director Michael Collins to Kentucky for the “Domaingate” hearings. You can read his synopsis on the ICA’s web site. The most interesting news is that Network Solutions appeared to be the only registrar to send representatives to fight the illegal and unprecedented transfer of domain names to the Commonwealth ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The Weakest Security Link is You - Domain owners should be concerned about their own security precautions, not just that of domain registrars. Ever do something really stupid? That was me last night. I had a couple passwords for brokerage accounts at home that I wanted to access from my laptop. I know it’s not a great idea to send passwords via email, so I sent a cryptic email to myself that included two account login IDs and partial passwords. There was just one problem. When I typed the email ... read more ...
Tue 7th October 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
Kentucky Hearing Held Today: Can a State (Commonwealth) Be a Hypocrite - gambling911.com did a live blog from the Kentucky courtroom where a hearing was held today on the 141 domains seized by the commonwealth of Kentucky. After hearing arguments from attorney representing the gambling industry and representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the judge advised he would need 7 days before making his ruling. The most interesting argument from the live blog was that made by Edward  Leyden attorney for iMEGA, Interactive Media Entertainment Gaming Association, who stated ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
MeetDomainers.Eu Live Domain Auction nets $90,000 - This guest post was submitted by /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
New .Info Policy Announced - Afilias, a global provider of registry services, announced today a new registration policy that will go into effect on November 6, 2008, which prohibits registrants from using .info domain names for “abusive behavior” Abusive Behavior includes, but is not limited to: phishing, e-mail spam and other types of spam, the willful distribution of malware, the use of botnets and fast-flux hosting, distribution of child pornography, illegal access to other computers or networks, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Name Bargain Hunting on eBay - A look at some of the more comical domains for sale on eBay. Every once in a while you find a good domain name for sale on eBay. Not today. Here are some of the more comical offers I found when looking through eBay’s domain name category today. Item: TheFallofWallStreet.com Historical Domain Name! Behold! Misery! Dow drops 777 points and you can own this domain! Just liquidate 1 million of your AIG shares to buy this domain for only $999. But don’t risk ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Stocks Pummeled - Domain name related companies get pummeled on Wall Street. Google’s 52 week stock performance(from Yahoo.com) The stock market is in a free fall, and domain stocks are no exception. Shares of Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX) dropped 12.5% yesterday to close at $8.28. At one point it dropped to $7.75. It’s down 27.5% since the beginning of September. Tucows (AMEX: TCX) shares continue to drop, and closed at just $.35 yesterday. The stock has been as high as $1.00 over ... read more ...
Mon 6th October 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
So What is a Click Really Worth? - Last year we entered into a profit sharing partnership with a large online bedding company to brand a few domains to sell bedding products, including LuxuryBedding.com. Up to that point the domains were parked. A domain like luxurybedding.com, although highly brandable, does not get a lot of type in traffic and was making lets say $40-50 a month in PPC. The deal is simply.  The developer puts up the site, the manufacturers dropship everything direct to the customers, so the developer has no inventory. He ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
UPDATE: Max Hardcore is Sentenced - A few months ago we had a post about Max Hardcore (real name Paul F. Little), an adult film producer that was found guilty of multiple obscenity offenses, including charges he transported obscene material over the Internet. The court handed out its sentence on Friday and Max Hardcore was sentenced to 46 months in prison. In addition to the prison term, Judge Susan Bucklew ordered Little to pay a US$7,500 fine and to forfeit all profits from the distribution of the films he was convicted of distributing. In ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Last Call: Schwartz Bobblehead Auction to Close in One Hour - Just as a reminder the ebay auction of the offical Rick Schwartz Bobblehead is closing this morning at 11:31am EST. Bidding is currently at $800 and all funds will be contributed to the American Heart Association. Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
ASK.Com Tinkers With Their Search Results Again - Ask.com, rolled out a new product today which they claims improves the speed and relevance of search results. When Ask.com came out with its “ASK 3D” product in June 2007, which  marked the site moved away from the traditional method of showing search results as a long list and instead sorted them into three vertical panels, one of which included photos and other multimedia content related to users’ queries. Although Ask 3D was well-received, Chief Executive Jim Safka said, it was too slow ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Threat Watch: “Bank Run” on a Domain Registrar? - Threat of a “run on the bank” scenario at domain registrar exists. In November 2007 I wrote an article “A Run on the (Domain Name) Bank“. I discussed the potential for rumors about a domain registrar’s demise to cause a panic. Domain registrants would transfer their domains out in droves, further deteriorating the registrar’s business and pushing it under. Earlier this year I wrote an article “The Danger of a Domain Registrar “Run on the Bank”“, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
10 Things I’d Do if we Were a New Domainer - Here are ten things I’d do if I were just joining the domain name industry. I’ve been in the domain industry for a decade, so I’m stuck with my legacy portfolio to build from. But if I were just entering the industry, here are 10 things I’d do: 1. Focus on quality, not quantity. It used to be everyone had a pissing contest about how many domains they owned. “You only have 5,000? Well I have 10,000″. But the guy or gal holding 1,000 domains may be ... read more ...