Monthly Archives: March 2010

Sat 27th March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WeddingCarHire.co.uk Sold For Six Figures? - According to a press release today a company in the UK, limobroker.co.uk said they recently purchased the domain name, WeddingCarHire.co.uk for six figures. “Although we paid a hefty six-figure sum for the domain name, we felt the market was worthy of such a substantial investment”  Tej Randeva, Managing Director is quoted as saying. However the domain was first registered in November 2009, and if in fact it was bought for six figures that would be the second recent domain registration to be ... read more ...
Fri 26th March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN
FourSquare Forgets To Renew Their Domain Name & Site Goes To Godaddy Parked Page - Seems like even the highest flying tech companies can screw up on the simplest of things, including forgetting to renew their domain name. FourSquare one of the hottest apps on planet website foursquare.com went to a Godaddy.com parked page for a while today, after the company let the domain name registration a lapse. A few hours later after paying the renewal fee their site was back up and running. Looks like they learned their lesson as well and now renewed through 2020. Wonder how much that domain ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
BeckStrom: Did ICANN’s Beckstrom Say That .Net’s Are Basically Worthless? Several People Say Yes - According to several sources during Verisign’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first domain registration, ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom was quoted by several people in attendance as saying that .NET, is “worthless”. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a transcript of the meeting, but some in attendance confirmed the statement was made in regards to the importance of .com, which the event celebrated. The other extension held out by Beckstrom as having inherent value was .Org. The Fairwinds ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Foursquare Admits Its Expired Domain Name Mistake - Popular location based social networking company forgets to renew its domain name. Kudos to social networking site Foursquare, which freely admitted this morning on Twitter that it messed up and didn’t renew its domain name. Based on the language of the tweet, it appears that Foursquare may have had an old credit card on file with domain name registrar GoDaddy. Or perhaps its email address in whois at master@foursquare.com no longer worked. Compare Foresquare’s ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DNW Radio: Bruce Marler Talks Local Internet Marketing - Bruce Marler discusses internet marketing for small businesses — and what it means for domainers. You meet a lot of domainers that are good at technology, and others that are good at sales. It’s rare to find ones with both skills. But one of those is Bruce Marler, who started registering domain names in the 90s when he was helping ATT build its internet backbone. Last year Marler exited the corporate world to start LocalTek, which helps small businesses market ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Franchisors Need to Add Domain Name Rules to Contracts - Domain disputes common with franchises. I often see domain name disputes between franchisors and franchisees when it comes to domain names. These usually resolve around two issues: 1. Franchisor doesn’t want franchisee to register a domain name using the franchise trademarks 2. When a franchise agreement is terminated, the franchisor wants the domain name back/terminated Here’s a case in point. Re-Bath LLC recently filed a domain name arbitration request against ... read more ...
Thu 25th March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
MEC.com Sells For $99K On GreatDomains.com - MEC.com a very good three letter domain sold today on the GreatDomains.com Auction for $99,000. Another  great sale for Sedo. A quick check on Google reveled plenty of company’s that have “MEC” in their company name including MEC Chemicals, MEC Mining,  MECGlobal and Mountaint Equipment Coop which owns MEC.ca, just to name a few. Then there are thousands of other companies whose name can be shortened to MEC like, Mayville Engineering, and Manga Entertainment, any of which may have been the ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Tradeshow Wars: DomainFest Coming To South Florida & New York With 1 Day Events & Live Domain Auctions - DomainSponsor, announced today it will hold two,  a one day “Domainfest” events, the first  on May 13, 2010 at the W Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale and the second on August 18, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt in midtown Manhattan. “”Each meeting will continue DOMAINfest’s tradition of providing a rich setting for discussions around how to increase the value of Internet real estate with subject-matter experts invited to facilitate free-flowing power networking sessions that will kick off each event from ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DOMAINfest Announces Two Single Day Events in U.S. - Oversee announces two “mini shows” for 2010. DOMAINfest, a conference organized by Oversee.net and DomainSponsor, has announced two one day events taking place in the U.S. this year. The first will be May 13, 2010 at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale and the second on August 18, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt in midtown Manhattan, immediately following the Affiliate Summit East conference. Each event will including networking and programming and a Moniker live domain name ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Cn Pullout is a Business Decision, Not Political [Updated] - Public misunderstands reasons for .cn pullout. [Update: see comments from Go Daddy Group Executive Vice-President and General Counsel Christine Jones.] I really don’t think Go Daddy was trying to pull off a publicity stunt yesterday with its testimony before a Congressional Commission yesterday. GoDaddy announced it was no longer offering China’s .cn domain name, and clearly laid out the hassle it would have to undertake to continue offering the domain name. But ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
How Search Rankings Boost Domain Name Sales - Getting your domain names in search engines boosts chances for selling to end users. I’ve written before about how I am using Octane360 to monetize a number of my long tail geo domains (e.g. cityAllergist.com). In addition to creating a new revenue stream on my domain names in the form of directory listing sales, there’s another benefit to creating web sites using Octane360 and similar site building systems: it helps you sell your domain names. How often does ... read more ...
Wed 24th March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
TruePoker.com Owners Come Forward In Kentucky To Satisfy “Standing” Requirement - According to Gambling911.com, one member of The Interactive Media Entertainment Gaming Association (iMEGA.org) has decided to step forward and, as such, satisfy the court’s requirement on “standing”. TruePoker.com, owned by Yatahay Limited Limited will step forward and identify itself as the owner of the domain, and provide the court a copy of the passport of the compliance officer of TruePoker.com, along with all necessary signatures and documentation. The Supreme Court of Kentucky last ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Godaddy To Stop Registering .CN Domains - GoDaddy.com announced today that it will stop registering new Chinese domain names following Chinese government requests for additional personal information on its existing customers. “This is the first time a registry has asked us to retroactively obtain additional verification and documentation of individuals who have registered a domain name through our company,” GoDaddy General Counsel and Executive Vice President Christine Jones said. “We are concerned for the security of the individuals ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
NFL Players Association Buys NFLLockout.com Domain Name - Football players union gears up for possible lockout by buying domain name. Is a lockout of National Football League players likely in 2011? NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith told ESPN that, on a scale from 1-10, the likelihood of a lockout is a 14. That sounds serious. Perhaps to gain an upper hand, the NFL Players Association just bought the domain name NFLLockout.com. Seller Eric Gargiulo tells Domain Name Wire that he sold the domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Adult Industry Association Still Doesn’t Want .XXX - Trade group asks ICANN not to approve .xxx TLD. In a letter to ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom, Diane Duke of the adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition asks ICANN to reject ICM Registry’s plans for a .xxx top level domain name. Much of the adult industry opposed .xxx after governments started getting involved. Governments suggested that perhaps they could force all adult web sites to use the .xxx top level domain, moving them away from .com. That would, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Rick Latona Discusses TRAFFIC Milan - Rick Latona discusses next month’s T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference in Milan. The next Targeted TRAFFIC conference will be held in Milan April 27-29. I reached out to show organizer Rick Latona to find out what attendees can expect. DNW: Your second conference of the year will focus on ccTLDs. You held a ccTLD conference last year. What will people who attended last year’s ccTLD show learn/experience new this year? Latona: The ccTLD industry is constantly changing, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Go Daddy Dropping .Cn, But Not China - Go Daddy drops .cn, but Chinese can still register domain names at the registrar. In a hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China today in Washington, Go Daddy Group Executive Vice-President and General Counsel Christine Jones explained that the company will no longer offer .cn domain names under strict requirements imposed by China. On January 5, .Cn registry CNNIC announced without warning that non-Chinese registrars were no longer allowed to ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Adlink Group Rebrands as Sedo Holding, Changes Ticker to SEDO - Adlink Group renamed to Sedo Holding. Adlink Group, the parent company of domain name brokerage and parking company Sedo, is changing its name to Sedo Holding. The company will also change its stock ticker to SEDO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. [Updae: the change will go into affect after the formal stockholders meeting scheduled for May 19th. The new name has been in the works since the company sold off its display advertising business, which was called Adlink. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
MEC.com Hits $41,000 in Great Domains Auction - Three character domain in the spotlight. Sedo’s monthly Great Domains auction ends tomorrow, and a three character domain in the auction is attracting a lot of attention. MEC.com is up to $41,000 with its reserve met. Four different bidders are in on the action. There are a number of companies and acronyms for MEC, and the domain name appears to get substantial traffic. It was just parked on March 18, and Sedo’s stats show over 3,000 visitors to the domain ... read more ...
Tue 23rd March 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
UDRP Cases Decline 9.5% In 2009 - According to WIPO, the number of cases filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in 2009 decreased by 9.5% compared to the previous year. In 2009, 2,107 cases were brought to the WIPO UDRP, compared to 2,329 cases in 2008. Those complaints concerned 4,688 domain names, compared to 3,958 in 2008, according to a WIPO press release, meaning many cases included mulitple domains. Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
EU Rules: Google Is OK Allowing Advertisers To Purchase Ads Under Competitors Trademarked Keywords - Today the European Court of Justice, the highest court in the EU,  issued its long awaited ruling in a case brought by Louis Vuitton, giving Google a huge victory, saying that” “”Google has does not infringe on trademarks  by allowing advertisers to purchase keywords corresponding to their competitors’ trademarks,” Louis Vuitton and two other firms brought suit alleging that it infringed in its trademark by allowing online advertisers to buy search keywords identical to its trademarks. The ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
From A Press Release: Mafia.com HITS a Marketplace: Hey Guys Was That Best Choice Of Words? - I Caught this press release today by a company named, VipMedia announcing that it’s been “selected to handle the sale of yet another premium domain name, Mafia.com. The Press release goes on to say: “This prized URL – owned by the same party since 1995 – is brand new to the market and will likely be among 2010’s landmark domain sales.” “We are pleased to be the exclusive broker for this premium web property,” said VipMedia CEO Cory G. “A phenomenal and immediately brandable ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Reality Check: .Tel Enters First Renewal Period - .Tel travels into “renewal valley”. How will it come out on the other side? The folks at .tel registry Telnic are certainly sweating this week: .tel domain names registered during general availability are hitting their first renewal period. I call this period — when new top level domain names hit there first renewal period — the “valley of renewals”. Renewal raters during this critical time are a barometer for how the TLD is doing as a whole, and the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Some Schmuck Bought Schmuck.com for $66,000 - German entity buys Schmuck.com domain name. Sedo has sold the domain name Schmuck.com for 49,000 EUR, or roughly $66,000 at today’s exchange rates. Before you think it’s going to be some site about jerks or idiots, it looks like this may be a brand name in Germany, and it’s also a common surname. Sedo broke the six figure barrier this past week with DolceVita.com selling for $120,000 to the shoe company of the same name, which got a nice upgrade to its existing ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The Worst Domain Name Promotion of All Time - Whatever happened to the Dotster Dots? There have been a lot of bad stunts, publicity attempts, and ads put out by domain name registrars. But one of them stands out as perhaps the worst of all time: The Dotster Dots. Dotster was one of the first discount domain name registrars, but has languished through the last decade while watching Go Daddy take home the crown. In 2006, Dotster took a look at what had happened in the domain name industry since 2000 and saw that ... read more ...