Author Archives: DomainNameWire

About DomainNameWire

Domain Name Wire is a blog that deals with the domain name sector. The blog covers a range of domain related topics ranging from issues concerning expiring domains, monetization, domain registries and registrars, ICANN, policy, law etc. The blog began in March, 2005, after Mr. Allemann had dropped out of meetings to become involved in domain portfolio company, iREIT. The project began as a hobby to keep him involved in the domaining business, and then became his full-time business.

Thu 17th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Rightside’s initial dual domain names enter landrush - After supporting dozens of Donuts’ launches, Rightside is finally ready to play its own hand. Rightside’s first two top level domain names are getting closer to market. The company, currently part of Demand Media, launched .democrat and .dance in landrush today. Although these are the first two of its own domains to enter landrush, Rightside’s registry operations are handling the backend for Donuts’ domain names. Rightside is running a fairly traditional ... read more ...
Wed 16th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
A new TLD only canceled the landrush citing “little engagement” - .Best says registrars suggested little benefit to holding a landrush. The applicant for the .best top level domain name has canceled the landrush phase of its new top level domain name launch. The company says that “registrars have given us feedback that there has been very little engagement with the TLD Landrush Phase”. Indeed, with the typical new TLD launching with fewer than 10,000 initial registrations, delaying a launch for a month or two to pick up some ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Uniregistry activates thousands of indifferent domains per TLD - Company held back thousands of domains and has now activated and parked them. If you take a look at Uniregistry’s zone files for its TLD launches so far, you might think yesterday was a huge day. After all, its previously launched .sexy domain jumped from 6,849 to 12,318 registrations. That’s an 80% increase. .Tattoo jumped from just 1,432 to 5,932, a jump of over 300%. And .link, which launched yesterday, now has a staggering 20,000+ domains in the zone. It’s ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
With only 22 domains registered, .Rich is a biggest explosve in new TLDs. Or is it? - .Rich zone file only has 22 names in it. Last week the .rich top level domain name quietly launched in general availability. And I mean quietly. .Rich registry I-Registry’s website is still promoting the January launch of the .rich sunrise. There’s no mention of registrars carrying the domain, either. I can only find a handful of registrars supporting the domain. Oh, and it comes with a steep price tag: about two grand a year. That’s not a typo. IP Mirror is ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Power of Press: London Standard’s front page essay about .London - London Evening Standard dedicates half of front page to .london web address. .City domain names are popular with local press, and here’s a great example. Michael Blend (formerly with Demand Media) snapped this photo in London today. It’s the front page of London Evening Standard, and it looks like half of it is devoted to the publication getting a .london domain name. It’s basically a half page ad for .london courtesy of the publication, which is in the domain’s ... read more ...
Tue 15th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
The smartest domainers of a past decade - Rather than complain about outside forces destroying their business, they grabbed the bull by the horns. The past decade has been one of ups and downs for domain name investors. Domain parking busted around the same time the overall economy imploded. Domain values faced downward pressure as investors no longer had rich parking profits to funnel into domain purchases. Since about 2008, many domainers have trudged on to domain conferences, complaining about domain parking ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
I finally purebred a new TLD. Here is a (long) story. - I registered four new TLDs today. It took two hours. Today was the day. I finally registered a domain in a new TLD. Actually it looks like I ended up with four registrations, all in .link. Here is my story. Genre: horror. When I got to the office this morning I decided I was going to do whatever it took to register a domain in .link. .Link is the first truly “generic” domain to hit the market, and at about $10/year it’s also reasonably priced. Since it’s generic, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy.com comment government Goes Down - Site won’t let users log in. GoDaddy had technical difficulties today, spanning from about 2:30 PM ET to 3:10 PM ET. Users trying to log in were greeted with a message similar to this: Service Unavailable The server is temporarily unable to service your request. Please try again later. Reference #6.c758acc6.1397587049.b44810 I was able to enter my login credentials, but when I entered by two factor code I got the error message. A Domain Name Wire reader reported ... read more ...
Mon 14th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sedo hacked over a weekend - Intrusion resulted in confirmation emails sent to a “small number” of customers. Sedo was compromised over the weekend due to a security hole. This resulted in a number of registered Sedo users, including myself, receiving an email asking them to confirm their account. The confirmation email started: Dear Andrew, Thank you for becoming a Sedo member! In order to submit your offer for you must first verify that the email you provided is a valid email address. Sedo ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Wolfram doesn’t use mathematics in URS dispute - A lot of brain power missed the connection. Wolfram Research, Inc. has lost a Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) case for mathematica.guru and wolfram.ceo, and the case is noteworthy for a couple reasons. First, the domain names were owned by two different people. One of the whois records has privacy on it, and companies often file UDRP cases against domains that they think the same person owns. But in this case the domains were at two different registrars, which makes ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
CTIA kills Amazon.com’s bid for .mobile domain name - International Chamber of Commerce decision eliminates Amazon.com’s plans to run the .mobile top level domain name. CTIA, a trade group representing mobile phone carriers, has successfully objected to Amazon.com’s application to run the .mobile top level domain name domain name. CTIA filed Community Objections against applications filed by Amazon.com and Dish DBS to run .mobile. Both applicants originally planned to operated .mobile as a “Closed Generic”, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
WTF: No retreat domain hijacking if we try to buy domain first - Panelist says no reverse domain name hijacking because domain owner didn’t respond to purchase inquiries. Today’s “WTF, why isn’t this reverse domain name hijacking” case comes courtesy of panelist Alistair Payne and Czech Arbitration Court (CAC). The case was filed by the proprietor of French trademarks for “ikase” against the domain name iKase.com. The domain was registered six years before the complainant claimed any rights in the “ikase” mark, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Expired domain guru wanted to write for DNW - Are you an expired domain junkie? Do you follow and actively participate in expired domain auctions at NameJet, SnapNames, and (perhaps) even GoDaddy auctions? Do you also enjoy writing? Domain Name Wire is seeking someone to write a weekly expired domain article that covers both recent sales as well as hot domains coming up in the next 7 days. The article will be more than a list of domains to backorder. The best candidate will be someone who actively participates ... read more ...
Fri 11th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
More new TLD auctions on tap, and Uniregistry appears to be participating - Private auctions taking place later this month. With the start of ICANN’s “Auctions of Last Resort” quickly approaching, some new top level domain applicants are working on last minute contention set resolutions. Minds + Machines Group Limited (AIM: MMX), the band formerly known as Top Level Domain Holdings, says it’s competing in at least three auctions on April 22. The auctions are for .garden, .property, and .yoga. The company is in contention with Donuts ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Famous Four submits .Sport reconsideration request…with Ombudsman’s support - Ombudsman recommends new panelist hear .sport community objection. I haven’t written about many new TLD objection appeals (reconsideration requests) because there are so many and few have a chance of succeeding. But a recent one from Famous Four Media (pdf) for .sport is unique: ICANN’s Ombudsman has supported the company’s call for a rehearing with a different panelist. The reconsideration request is based on Famous Four’s recent disclosure of a link between ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Dune.com strike with UDRP - Generic word targeted with UDRP filing. The generic domain name Dune.com has been hit with a UDRP at World Intellectual Property Organization. The case was filed by Dune Holdings Limited, a London-based seller of shoes and accessories. The company uses the web address DuneLondon.com, so it’s no wonder that it wants the shorter domain name. When I search for “dune” on Google the first five results are about the science fiction novel and movie. Of course, dune ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Uniregistry Whois tells we because a domain isn’t available - Whois explains if domain is on name collision list. One of the most frustrating challenges of pre-registering new top level domain names is having the registrar return a search “not available”. You end up asking yourself “why isn’t it available?” The first instinct is to blame the registry for holding back what appears to be a good domain name. Odds are that’s not the case. Instead, the domain name is temporarily blocked due to name collisions. These domains ... read more ...
Thu 10th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
21 finish user domain name sales adult to $39,200 - Afternic’s strong week included a number of large end user domain name sales. Afternic and GoDaddy combined to sell over $2 million worth of domain names last week. Here’s a look at some of the domain names that were purchased by end users. You can view previous end user sales lists here. TailLights.com $39,200 – Software company Ristken.com. I bet it’s for a new product or service. BETM.com $32,000 – NRG Energy. I’m not sure what the domain stands for. SocialWifi.com ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Ready to .Party: Famous Four wins row set for .party domain - Famous Four uncorks the bubbly as it seals deal for .Party top level domain name. Famous Four Media has resolved its contention set with Oriental Trading Company for the .party top level domain name. The agreement was made through private negotiations; not an auction. Financial details were not disclosed. Famous Four Media now has 13 uncontested top level domain name applications. Oriental Trading Company, known for making cheap party favors, still has an open application ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Next week is colorful for new TLDs: 5 Schillings, Afilias colors, and a bit of buzz - Lots of new domains enter general availability next week, and only two of them are from Donuts. Only two of Donuts’ new top level domain names enter their “true” general availability phase next week. It will still be a big week for new TLDs as other applicants launch domains. April 15 .Buzz gets buzzing on Tuesday with broad registrar support. GoDaddy is charging $49.99 and I’ve found other registrars charging as low at $37.99. Tax day is also Frank Schilling’s ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Money talks, and Verisign is doing a good pursuit quashing new TLDs - Marketing programs help .com get top billing, but other registrars can play this game too. New top level domain names represent a growth opportunity for domain name registrars, many of which have seen domain registrations plateauing over the past year. That’s why 11 spent $50 million promoting new top level domain pre-registrations and other registrars have prominently featured new TLDs on their home pages. Over the past week or two I’ve noticed something interesting, ... read more ...
Wed 9th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Another 0-for-18 with new TLDs - I tried to register 18 new domains today. I failed once again. Five more of Donuts’ new top level domain names revert to standard pricing today — .florist, .solar, .coffee, .house, and .international. I came up with 18 domains that I thought might be worth registering in these new extensions. Regrettably, I went 0-for-18. Perhaps I’m not being creative enough. I’m admittedly coming up with domain ideas that many others would think of, too. But the results ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
How domain registrars and merchants accept Bitcoin but banking risk - Several companies make it easier to accept digital currencies with reduced risk. I’ve always wondered how companies like Overstock.com and NameCheap.com accept bitcoin payments while avoiding the risk of an exchange dying (e.g. Mt. Gox) and currency fluctuations. I got the answer last week when I ran in to Jessica Besseling at DomainFest. Besseling formerly worked for DomainSponsor and DDC.com, and now she’s Sr. Director of Business Development for GoCoin. GoCoin ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Last chance: greatfully take a 2014 Domain Name Wire Survey - Survey closes next week. The Domain Name Wire survey will officially close on April 15. If you haven’t taken 5 minutes to complete it yet, I’d appreciate you doing it today. This year’s survey is different from the past 8 years. The survey asks about the domain business, domain parking, registrars, etc., but without asking you which ones are your favorite. As a result, companies aren’t stuffing the ballot box this year. The upside is that I am seeing a lot ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Best WHOIS email address. Ever. - One domain owner is making a clear statement with his email address. I was going through Afternic’s weekly sales list to prepare this week’s end user sales list when I came upon a very long email address in a WHOIS record: Do_not_contact_unless_6_figure_offer(at)ImmersiveGames.com * Well, that’s one way to prevent lowball offers! The email address is on the whois record for ImmersiveGames.com, which just sold on Afternic for $1,200. As best I can tell from reviewing ... read more ...