Monthly Archives: February 2010

Sun 28th February 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Ombudsman Sticks it to “The Little Guy” - ICANN Ombudsman upset about service from “the little guy” at Air Canada. ICANN Ombudsman Frank Fowlie is giving a whole new meaning to “sticking it to the man”. The “little man”, that is. At the same time, he has learned what it’s like to be on the losing end of a complaint. Here’s the story. Fowlie was frustrated with the service he received from Air Canada after he did not get his meal choice in Executive Class last year on a flight from Paris ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Top Domain Name Wire Stories of Feb 2010 - A look back at February in the domain world. It’s over already? February is a short month, but it was still packed with interesting domain name news. Here are the top five stories on Domain Name Wire for the month, ranked by views. 1. GoDaddy Rated Best Domain Registrar (Again) – for the fifth year in a row, GoDaddy was rated the best domain name registrar in Domain Name Wire’s annual survey. For more survey results, see the survey page. 2. Mike Mann Speaks ... read more ...
Sat 27th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Microsoft Gets Hundreds Of Domains Shut Down By A Federal Court Without Notice To Holders - On Monday Microsoft got a federal court in Alexandria, Va. to grant an order to deactivate hundreds of domain names that the company said were linked to botnet named Waledac. The court order was issued under seal, that means not made public and without any notice to the domain holders before the order was granted or the shut down occurred. Microsoft says the defendants were linked to more than 270 Internet domain names involved with hacker network. The company said it is now seeking to contact the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
SnapNames Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed - Lawsuit over employee bidding scandal voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff. A lawsuit against SnapNames and parent company Oversee.net that was requesting class action status has been voluntarily dismissed. Steward Resmer, a SnapNames customer who lost $20 in an auction thanks to the “halvarez scandal”, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Central District of California in November. Resmer was seeking class action status for the case on behalf of U.S. customers ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.XXX Registry to ICANN: “We Must Protect Our Rights” - ICM Registry notifies ICANN of its hopes and intentions. Fresh off an independent review victory over ICANN, .XXX top level domain name applicant ICM Registry is asking ICANN to get the show on the road. In a letter (pdf) to ICANN chairman of the board Peter Dengate-Thrush, ICM chairman Stuart Lawley writes: “I am hopeful, as are others in the community, that ICANN will embrace the communications of the panel and use them to improve its processes and to restore ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons Buys Cher’s House - Bob Parsons buys house at auction for $8.72 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, Go Daddy founder and CEO Bob Parsons just bought a house in Hawaii owned by singer Cher. The house went up for auction, and Parsons was the winning bidder at $8.72 million. The house description isn’t bad, if I do say so myself: The Hawaiian property, at the Four Seasons’ Hualalai resort, includes a main house flanked by four one-bedroom bungalows. Singer-actress Cher bought ... read more ...
Fri 26th February 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
VeriSign’s Plans for “.Com IDNs” Become Clearer - Registrants of existing .com domain names are well positioned for coming release of IDN TLDs. For years, domainers have been investing in Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) that use non-Latin characters. But these have all been IDN at the second level only, as there currently aren’t any top level domain names in non-Latin characters. So an internet user has to type the second level domain using one character set and then append “.com” to the end. But that’s ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
If You’re Stupid, Domain Hijacking Clause Doesn’t Apply to You - Apparently ignorant people can’t be found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. One of the more controversial aspects of Uniform domain-name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RNDH). A domain owner can ask the UDRP panel to find that the complainant filed a case in bad faith or harassing manner, and the panel can then find that the complainant was trying to reverse hijack the domain name. (Technically, the respondent doesn’t ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
The Lifecyle of a Top Level Domain Fanboy - Here’s what happens in the domain investment world whenever a new top level domain name is released. Every time a new top level domain name comes out — be it .mobi or .tel — I see a similar cycle of “fanboys”. I think of “fanboys” like those Apple fans who think the company can do not wrong. Like Apple fanboys, domain fanboys blindly drink the kool-aid, only to be disseminated later. It follows a similar trend every time, regardless of the domain. ... read more ...
Thu 25th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN
Godaddy Starts Affiliate Program @ 20% For All Customers On All Products - Go Daddy.com sent out a press release today announcing the broad opening of an an Affiliate program that pays commissions of  20% to any Godaddy customer that has a “shopper account”. An affiliate, can choose from more than 100 Go Daddy banner or text ads to post on your existing Web site, blog, or Facebook. Affiliates earn commissions not only on domain name purchases, but on all “upsells”,  all Godaddy products, such as hosting services, or SSL certificates. Go Daddy ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Italy Finds 3 Google Execs Guilty Criminally For Online Videos Posted On Google Video - In what could be a legal decision having wide implications around the world, an Italian judge on Wednesday held three Google executives criminally responsible for an online video of an autistic teenager being bullied. The charges stemmed from a 2006 video posted on Google Video, thevideo-sharing service Google ran before acquiring YouTube. The footage showed an autistic student being pushed, pummeled with objects, including a pack of tissues, and insulted by classmates, who called him a “mongoloid.” The ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Baidu.com Launches It New Media Site Using a LLLL: QIYI.com - China’s largest search engine Baidu.com announced today it is going to launch an independent online video website subsidiary under the brand name Qiyi.com. The subsidiary’s CEO Gong Yu said the “Qiyi” video platform will carry  films and TV series including HD programs. This marks a continuation of major media branding using LLLL domains to launch new sites. Interestingly enough the domain is showing a registration date of February 8th 2010. Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Time Capsule: MP3.com Bought for $1,000 for 10,000 Visitors a Day - Entrepreneur paid $1000 for MP3.com domain name, got 10,000 unique visitors in the first day. For an interesting domain name story, check out TWiST #42 with Michael Robertson, founder of what became MP3.com. In minutes 54:00 to 58:00 of the show, Robertson discusses how he bought the domain name MP3.com for $1,000 back in 1997. The owner of the domain had registered it because his Internic handle was ‘MP3′, and he didn’t know anything about what an MP3 was. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
More Domain Name Companies that are Hiring - More job opportunities at domain name companies. Yesterday I wrote the first post about domain name companies that are hiring. With so many domain companies in growth mode, here’s a look at other opportunities. Go Daddy – With 2,500 employees, Go Daddy is by far the biggest domain name company, and its hiring plans match its status. Go Daddy Vice President of Human Resources Lane Jarvis says the company has 100 positions it’s currently trying to fill. The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Last Minute Picks for Today’s Great Domains Auction - Here are some domains to keep an eye on in the waning moments of this month’s Great Domains auction. By the time you read this, you have less than two hours before the end of this month’s Great Domains auction at Sedo. Auctions will close at noon EST, unless they are extended due to last minute bidding. But there are some good deals to be had. Here are a few. Obnoxious.com – the reserve is met and it’s under $1,000…for now. Update: domain sold for $3,600. BGM.com ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Survey: Innovation Coming to Domain Sales - Companies provide innovative twists on domain selling. Which company is most innovative when it comes to selling domain names in the aftermarket? The results show a handful of newer companies are innovating in the selling process — and attracting attention from domainers. The top response in this year’s Domain Name Wire survey (by a long shot) this year was Sedo. After that are three companies, two of which are smaller upstarts: Rick Latona and Bido. Rick ... read more ...
Wed 24th February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WIPO: You Need To Know The Trademarks Of Mexico Too - In a case involving the domain name, Bachoco.com,  a one person WIPO panel held in favor of the trademark holder. The term Bachoco is the subject of a trademark registered in Mexico in 1989 and a US trademark registered in July 2003. The domain name was created in 2002. The panel found that although Bachoco is a mountain region in Mexico that the Mexico trademark coupled with the use of the domain going to a parking page was enough to give the doman to the trademark holder. “””There is no ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Why The ICA Objected To The Contract To Run The .XXX Extension In 2007 & Still Does - Back In February 2007 the Internet Commerce Association (the”ICA”) wrote to ICANN objecting to the contract ICANN was considering entering into the ICM Registry to run the .xxx extension. With the ICM Registry taking the position yesterday, that the Independent Panel’s decision mandates that ICANN enters into a contract with them to operate the .xxx registry and that they start offering .xxx domain sometime this year, I though it would be interesting to see what ICA objections to the extension ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
How Baidu Got Hacked by a Iranian Cyber Army - Court documents show how imposter allegedly duped Register.com into handing over access to Baidu.com. Last month visitors to Baidu.com were redirected to a page stating that the site had been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army. Baidu later sued Register.com for allegedly allowing a security intrusion that enabled the hackers to change the name servers for Baidu.com. But the original lawsuit redacted the essential facts about how the hackers got control of Baidu’s ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Here’s What Happens to Value of Domains When New gTLDs are Released - My predictions about what happens to aftermarket values of domain names when new TLDs are released. In general, domainers are opposed to new TLDs. I don’t think this has anything to do with the concept of new top level domain names. After all, many domainers have embraced each new TLD as it comes to the market (much to the detriment of our pocketbooks). It has more to do with the baggage (e.g. new trademark rules) that are coming along with new TLDs. That said, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Companies That Are Hiring (Part 1) - Many domain name companies are in growth mode — here are some who want to talk to you. While many businesses are cutting jobs, domain businesses are in hiring mode. This is the first in a series of posts featuring domain name companies that are looking to connect with the right people. Directi – One of the domain industry’s biggest employers is always hiring. Co-founder Divyank Turakhia told me the company has just concluded campus recruitment for the year, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Travel Domain Name Featured in Magazine Ad - .Travel shows up in a print ad. Here’s something I haven’t seen before: a magazine ad with a .travel domain name. Admittedly, I don’t read travel magazines. But while flipping through the latest issue of American Express’ Departures magazine, I came across a tourism ad for Egypt. The URL? www.Egypt.travel. (See the full ad a pdf here). Egypt.travel is run by Egyptian Tourist Authority. The other URL in the ad is EgyptianTravelSpecialist.com, a web site ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
China’s .Cn to Quickly Lose Status as Top Country Code Domain Name - From “anything goes” to “nothing goes”, changes to .Cn registration enforcement will reduce the number of .cn domain names. China’s domain name strategy has always perplexed me. For a country known for censoring just about everything, I found it odd that the country was essentially giving away .Cn domain names for about 14 cents. The low cost catapulted China above Germany for the most registered country code top level domain name, a status that China ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Survey: ICANN Policy Biggest Issue for Domain Industry - Survey finds number of fears about domain market in 2010. ICANN policy decisions are the biggest issue facing the domain name market in 2010, according to a survey of more than 500 people in the 5th Annual Domain Name Wire Survey. 28% of those survey said that ICANN policy decisions, such as those with new top level domain names, is the biggest issue facing domain investors in 2010. The majority of respondents self-identified as domain name investors, although ... read more ...
Tue 23rd February 2010
Written by The Domains in EN
Google Sued By Advertiser For Dropping Its Quality Score & Increasing Prices 10,000% - Domainers are all too well aware of the quality scores that Google imposes on publishers/domainers which winds up adjusting the payments that publishers/domainers receive for the traffic it sends to Google. Google apparently also sets up quality scores for at least some of their advertisers which effect the amount that advertisers are required to pay to Google for the traffic. This quality score adjustment for advertisers is the subject of a lawsuit that was filed against Google by a comparison shopping ... read more ...