Cheer up and give thanks.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States. That means a light work week, time with the family, and then a mad dash to the stores on Friday (except that I buy everything online). It’s a time to reflect on the past year and give thanks. Here’s what I’m thankful for:
1. Domains are holding their values. Yes, they’re down. There’s not nearly as much cash chasing domains today as there was a year ago. But compared to my stock market investments I’m feeling pretty good about my domains.
2. Google’s deal with Yahoo fell through. If it passed government scrutiny you would have seen the end of Yahoo. This would have accelerated Google’s squeeze on domainer margins. Now if only Yahoo could hook up with Microsoft.
3. The domain community. Throughout thick and thin this year, the domain community is staying active. You’ll find it on forums. You’ll find it at conferences, even if budgets are a little tighter. And you’ll find it on Domain Name Wire — traffic has steadily increased every month in 2008.
4. Domain parking cleanup. Domain parking revenue is down, but upstream ad providers are doing what’s necessary to “clean up” the parking channel. (Google’s words, not mine.) Although it may be painful in the short term, it is necessary for the long term survival of the channel.
5. Supporters of Domain Name Wire. I’m really excited to be able to focus more time on creating original and compelling content on DNW. Throughout the year I’ve ramped up coverage and investigations for stories. I also picked up the DNW.com domain name. I’m only able to do this because of readers (see #3) and advertisers. Despite the downturn, I really haven’t lost any advertisers and have picked up a couple. Thanks, everyone.
Patrick McDermott says
And thank you Andrew for wondreful, thoughtful reporting all year long!
Patrick McDermott says
oops- wonderful reporting
jblack says
Thank you Andrew for doing such an outstanding job with your blog in 2008. Wish you the best for next year too.
Sammy Ashouri says
Happy Thanksgiving!
Curtis says
Thank you sir, this is certainly my goto site for domain news!
RKB says
Thanks for providing daily fresh materials.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Steve M says
Rest assured, your ramp up in covering our always interesting & fascinating (if sometimes difficult/ frustrating) industry has not gone unnoticed.
Anyone serious about the domain business who’s not consistently visiting here is making a big mistake.
Very big.
Thanks Andrew for all your hard work…and Happy Thanksgiving.
ASEAN Portal says
Thank you so much Andrew for updates on the domaining industry. You did a wonderful job in keeping a newbie domainer(that’s me) interested as always.
Keep up the good work!
Ismael
Tim Davids says
You do a first class job with this site and all domainers benefit…keep up the good work