Monthly Archives: January 2010

Sun 31st January 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Another Generic Domain, LawSociety.com, Gets Taken Away In A WIPO Making It On My Worst Of 2010 List - In a ruling this week,  a three member WIPO Panel gave a generic term, LawSociety.com to a group in the UK based off a trademark for “The Law Society” Here are the findings from the panel: “”The Complainant in this case was “the representative and regulatory body for the solicitors’ branch of the legal profession in England and Wales. It was founded in 1825 under the name of “The Law Institution”. It currently operates under a Royal Charter first granted in 1831. A supplemental charter ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Did DOMAINfest Just Set a Bar for Domain Conferences? - Reviewing last week’s DOMAINfest conference. For many years, DOMAINfest has attracted the largest crowd of all domain conferences. It only takes place once a year, and Oversee.net and DomainSponsor spend over a million dollars organizing it. The event last week set an attendance record with some 650 attendees. I was literally running back and forth between meetings, all the while bumping into people in the halls that I hadn’t seen in a year. As hectic as ... read more ...
Sat 30th January 2010
Written by The Domains in EN
Business Week Covers Domain Names - We try to point out anytime mainstream publications cover domain names and in a new post by BusinessWeek.com, they tell their readers to go get a .com “A dot-com extension is typically where customers will look for your company online, while you can use the dot-net or dot-biz extensions with your business name, they are not as memorable” “”If you haven’t done so already, find the individual who currently owns the domain name you’d like for your company.”” “”You can try negotiating ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Why a iPad is Bad for Domainers - iPad means more web users will circumvent web addresses to get information online. It wasn’t a question of whether or not Apple would release a tablet computer this past week. It was only a question of the specs and name. What we’re left with is a device called iPad that is basically a big iPod Touch. But it could be part of a larger trend that will wittle down at direct navigation traffic on domain names. In the iPad’s case, it’s applications that access ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Get Crazy during a Mansion? Here’s How to Block Photos in Facebook. - Here’s how to block friends from seeing your crazy night at the Playboy Mansion. That was quite a party Thursday night at the Playboy Mansion in L.A. Compared to last year, it was really off the hook. So now that your hangover has worked its way off, you might find another hangover when you log on to Facebook and see yourself tagged in a bunch of photos. These might not be photos you want your friends and family to see. So what do you do? There are a couple ... read more ...
Fri 29th January 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Quick Poll: What Was The Best Buy From The Live TRAFFIC/Domafest Conferences? - Three live domain name auctions in less than a week netted over $1.5 Million in sales from RickLatona.com TRAFFIC auction, the no/low reserve DomainFest auction and the Premier DomainFest auction, now its time to weight in on what you thought was the best buy. I made some suggestions on the right where you can vote for your favorite or comment below. Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Can The Huge Surge In Mobile Web Traffic Be GOOD News For Domains? - There has been much discussion in recent weeks on blogs, and even Jeff Kupietzky as part of his opening remarks from DomainFest noted that there is a huge surge of web activity from mobile devices and what the effect of navigation through mobile devices mean for the value of domains. Well in a post today in RealBusiness.co.uk, according to a small study they conducted, they held found that as the use of mobile devices to access the web grows, its even “more important than ever to have short and ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Live DomainFest Auction Nets $930K - The live domain auction from Domainfest just closed with a total of $931,300 in sales by my count. LoanCalculator.com lead the way with $215K. Here are the unofficial results: Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Shuts Down DomainCannon, Owes $187,000 in Fees - Domain registrar shut down after not paying accreditation fees. ICANN has sent a notice of termination to New Orleans-based domain name registrar DomainCannon, citing a number of infractions. The registrar apparently owes $186,598.39 in past due accreditation fees. Additionally, it’s web site is not available, and it has failed to escrow whois data, the letter states. The termination notice from ICANN also notes that DomainCannon is in breach of VeriSign’s registry-registrar ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Survey Focus: What’s a Top Factor When Choosing a Domain Registrar - Survey assesses most important aspects of domain name registrars. When it comes to choosing a domain name registrar to manage your domain assets, what’s the most important factor? It’s a question we’ve asked all five years of the Domain Name Wire Survey, and the results have been telling. Will it change this year? The survey asks respondents to rank these factors when choosing a registrar: -Security of domain names -Price -Value-added services such as web ... read more ...
Thu 28th January 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Our Picks From The DomainFest Live Auction - The live auction at Domainfest will be held Thursday January 28th starting at 2pm PST. There are over 250 live domains selected for the auction. Remote bidding is available on SnapNames.com but you have to have an account and download the software in advance. (the software does not work on a Mac operating system, unless you have the PC software installed on the Mac). There are so many good domains in this auction, at all price levels, it would almost be easier to pick the domains I don’t like, ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
TechCrunch: Apple Doesn’t Own 1 iPad Domain Name - Interesting to say the least is the post by TechCrunch today that Apple does not own even 1 iPad related domain name. As you know by know Apple chose to name its tablet the iPad rather than the long rumored iSlate, even through it owned islate.com The fact that Apple went with the name of the product while not owning any related domains sure is surprising. From Tech Crunch: “””(Apple) doesn’t have control over even a single domain name that has iPad followed by a country or generic TLD. Out ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Governments Deliver Another Blow to New Top Level Domain Timeline - GAC asks to postpone expressions of interest for new top level domain names. The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) is asking ICANN to delay a decision on the so-called “Expressions of Interest” process for new top level domain names. In a letter dated January 26, GAC Chairman Janis Karklins says that the period of community feedback has been to short and more time is needed to deliberate and fully understand the implications of the EOI process. The chairman ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy Manages to Get SuperBowl Ad Banned - One ad banned, but others approved. Phew, that was a close call. GoDaddy’s media strategy around Super Bowl ads was almost thrown into the air as CBS approved some of its risque ads. Without a banned or censored ad, that would mean less pre-game media coverage. But thanks to “Lola”, a flamboyant ex-football player turned fashion designer, GoDaddy can live another day. The ad is somewhat humorous, in typical GoDaddy fashion. Unlike prior years, GoDaddy didn’t ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Video from DOMAINfest Event during The Getty - Domainers dress up for The Getty. When you think of domainers at a party, the last thing you think of is viewing Rembrandts. But that’s exactly what they did at Wednesday night’s DOMAINfest party at The Getty in Los Angeles. Hundreds of domainers made the trip to The Getty, arriving by bus and then boarding trams for the trip to the top of the hill to enter The Getty. Inside, guests were treated to dinner and drinks, and access to many of the museum’s galleries. ... read more ...
Wed 27th January 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Yahoo’s Reports Earnings Beating Estimates - Yahoo reported results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009. Revenues were $1,732 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, exceeding the top end of the Company’s business outlook range. Revenues decreased 4% from the fourth quarter of 2008 and increased 10% from the third quarter of 2009. Revenues were $6,460 million for 2009, a decrease of 10% compared to 2008. Excluding the impact of currency rate fluctuations and divested business lines, revenues for ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
No/Low Reserve DomainFest Auction Nets $153K - The No/Reserve live auction from Domainfest just concluded with a total of $152,750 in sales. Love.info lead the way tied with FamilyCounselor.com at $12K each. Here is the full list of domains that sold: Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Live: Tony Hsieh of Zappos Keynotes DOMAINfest Global - This is a live post of Tony Hsieh’s fireside chat at DOMAINfest…updating. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com gave a keynote fireside chat with Oversee.net CEO Jeff Kupietzky. Hsieh founded LinkExchange, which he sold to Microsoft. He then invested in and joined Zappos.com, which he sold to Amazon.com. He’s a 36 year old Harvard graduate. He ran a pizza business in college, where he met Alfred Lin, who is now the CFO at Zappos now. Alfred would buy pizzas from ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Scenes from DOMAINfest Opening Night Party - Video from DOMAINfest Global 2010 opening night party. .Co sponsored the opening night party at DOMAINfest Tuesday evening. It was supposed to be a beach party, but the weather didn’t cooperate. In the video below, look for the cameo of Frank Schilling, Chef Patrick, and Michael Berkens. Don’t ask me where Chef Patrick got those sunglasses. The skies are supposed to clear up by today, leaving the rest of the conference’s activities in good shape. As I predicted, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
IDNs: The Next Horizon for GeoDomain Investors - by Aaron Krawitz, Gary Males Patrick Carleton [Editor’s note: this is a guest article about the potential of IDN geo domain names.] We’ve long been believers in GeoDomains and continue to be on the lookout for new and lucrative niches, which is why we have each individually made substantial investments in IDN GeoDomains. With the fog of uncertainty finally lifting over IDNs, now is the ideal time for for geo investors to stake a claim in IDNs where the window ... read more ...
Tue 26th January 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
CADNA Is Bringing The Utah Cybersquatting Bill To Washington On Friday To Criminalize Domaning - The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) is holding an event in Washington DC Friday to bring the proposed Utah trademark law that we wrote about a month ago to a federal level, or Snow Bill 2. If you look at the inviation and agenda of this meeting you will see that CADNA is going to be pushing hard to get the Utah bill enacted as a precursor to ACPA amendments that define cybersquatting in a way that encompasses many domainer activities, substantially increase civil money penalties, and ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Comment Period On Uniform Rapid Suspension Procedure Closes Today: Get Your Comments In - As we discussed the other day,  ICANN is considering the recommendation of one of its groups to “create a Trademark Clearinghouse and Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure to protect trademarks” The public comment period ends today , 26 January 2010. You can read the proposal here. (pdf) To see all the comments submitted so far, click here. To make a comment you have to send an e-mail to ICANN at the following address: sti-report-2009@icann.org Once your comment is received, ICANN will e-mail you ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Our Picks For The No/Low Reserve Domainfest Auction For Tuesday - The Domainfest low/no reserve auction will be held on Tuesday at 5pm PST. Remote bidding will be available on snapnames.com. We have gone through the list and this is what we believe are the best buys from the auction The domains reserves as usual are stated in ranges. It’s hard to see how you could go wrong with any of these domain names. Good luck to all Sellers and bidders: Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Jeff Kupietzky Opening Remarks during DOMAINfest - Oversee.net CEO Jeff Kupietzky gives opening remarks about how we’re still in the early days of domain names. Oversee.net CEO Jeff Kupietzky gave opening remarks to a record crowd at DOMAINfest Global 2010 this afternoon. His message was that we’re still in the early days of the domain business. Looking at Oversee’s three businesses: 1. Domain parking – DomainSponsor Over 80% of visitors to parked domains still don’t convert. Even though RPMs are high ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Live from DOMAINfest: PitchFest Part 1 - Live report from DOMAINfest in Los Angeles. DOMAINfest 2010 kicked off this morning in Los Angeles with the first of two PITCHfest contests. The judges were Eric Liaw (Technology Crossover Ventures), Adam Rioux (OCTANE360), Frank Schilling (Name Administration, Inc), and Ron Sheridan. Updated: AdMarketplace won the competition. Here are the presentations: Samantha Frida from VeriSign – discussed VeriSign’s pending delete DNS traffic report. VeriSign releases ... read more ...