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2023 Pan-Mass Challenge

On August 5-6, I will embark on my tenth Pan-Mass Challenge ride to raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dana-Farber is one of the leading cancer organizations in the world, and they are at the forefront in the fight against cancer. It is an honor to support Dana-Farber’s critical mission of providing exceptional cancer treatment while conducting advanced cancer research.

With the help of domain industry friends and colleagues who have sponsored and supported our PMC rides, John Berryhill and I have raised more than $142,000 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Although John is unable to join me this year, my 2023 fundraising goal is $15,000. Without the support of domain investors and domain name industry companies, we could not have supported Dana-Farber to this extent. You are appreciated.

This year, Dana-Farber and its mission are hitting closer to home. A family member recently began cancer treatment with Dana-Farber. It is going to be a long battle. In addition, a domain industry colleague recently shared his cancer diagnosis. Cancer impacts just about every person. I am dedicating my fundraising and PMC ride to these two strong individuals.

I will soon reveal the design for my 2023 domain industry supported cycling jersey that will be created to raise funds for Dana-Farber, as I have done nearly every year. My company will be the lead sponsor of this year’s jersey, and I hope to have domain industry support again this year.

If you are interested in adding your logo to the back of my jersey this year in exchange for a $500 donation to Dana-Farber via my PMC fundraiser, let me know. If you would like to support my fundraiser with a donation in any amount, my fundraising page is here. All domain industry supporters are listed below.

Thank you so much to friends and colleagues who have always generously supported my Pan-Mass Challenge fundraising.

2023 Domain Industry PMC supporters:

Taking a Blog Break

I have been writing articles on my blog since 2007. I have been fortunate to have the advertising support of many domain industry companies over the years, and I appreciate that. By accepting advertising revenue, I have felt obligated to publish articles on a daily basis. I usually take the weekends off from my blog, but that’s about it.

For the past 15 years, I have spent many hours each week searching for interesting topics to write about, writing articles, responding to comments, and performing general website upkeep and maintenance. I have made great friends and gotten to know many colleagues because of my blog. By publishing this blog, I have forced myself to stay up to speed on the latest industry news and trends. All of this has helped me become a better domain investor.

The new year is a good time to make a change, and I am going to take a break from this blog.

As advertising renewal dates have come and gone since last Spring, I haven’t offered the opportunity to renew banner placements. The remaining advertising commitments expire on Saturday. With no advertising commitments in place, I am comfortable to take time off. It may be a month or two – or it may be longer. It is an open-ended break.

Besides the income, the thing I like the most about domain investing is the flexibility it gives me. I can take my kids to practices or classes in the afternoon. I can play tennis or go for a bike ride or a run during the day. I can have lunch with my wife or do errands. I am able to travel anywhere in the world and still operate my business. Domain investing is an ideal business for me.

Despite having this flexibility, I have never felt completely free with the blogging obligations I put on myself. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I feel the constant need to publish content that will interest readers. I enjoy writing about domain names, but the commitment has become a burden.

This is not a “goodbye” post. My full focus will be on my domain investments. I thoroughly enjoy buying and selling domain names. Spending more time on my domain names should help me fine tune my business. Maybe I will pick up some more hobbies or do some community service or volunteer work. I will probably write an article from time to time. Perhaps I will return to my blog in the future.

I wish you continued success with your business. I will be working hard to continue growing my business, and I hope you continue to grow yours as well. I appreciate many of the interactions I have had with readers and commenters, some of whom I call friends. I am grateful for the friendships and connections I have made with other investors around the world.

Until next time…

Be Mindful of TMs on AI + 3rd Party Generated Content

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One semi-recent advance in relationship to domain name sales is the ability to create artificial intelligence content on landing pages. In addition to this AI content, some marketplaces allow, facilitate the use of, and/or encourage the use of third party created logos for domain names listed for sale. Domain investors need to be mindful of this content.

I was chatting with a colleague the other day, and he showed me something that could be concerning to a domain registrant. A domain name he was looking at had an image that was unrelated to the generic nature of the domain name but was associated with a trademark from a brand that has a similar name.

Escrow.com Announces 2023 Master of Domains

During the NamesCon conference today, Escrow.com announced its Master of Domains winners. The annual award celebrates “the highest grossing domain name brokers for deals completed in 2022” at Escrow.com. Taking the top spot for this year is Andrew Rosener of Media Options. I believe Andrew has been Escrow.com’s top grossing domain broker for the past five years.

Here are the Escrow.com 10 Master of Domains:

How to Buy a Domain Name That is Owned by Someone

For a domain investor, buying a domain name is second nature. Investors hand register domain names, purchase domain names via expiry and private auctions, and acquire domain names owned by others via private acquisitions. For people who aren’t in the domain name business, acquiring a domain name can be confusing, frustrating, and challenging.

When I want to buy a domain name owned by someone else when the landing page or website doesn’t provide information, the first thing I look at is the Whois record. Among other information, public Whois data provides the domain registrant’s name, location, email address, and phone number. Domain registrars like GoDaddy have Whois lookup tools, as do third party services like DomainTools. Oftentimes, the registrar where the domain name is registered offers the most detailed information.

My 2023 Domain Industry PMC Jersey

For a number of years, I have created a domain industry Pan-Mass Challenge jersey to raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Many domain industry companies have supported my PMC ride this year with donations of $500 or more. I am proud to share the final version of the jersey I will wear on the second day of the PMC as I cross the finish line:

I am debating whether or not to order custom matching shorts to go along with the jersey. If I can get two more companies willing to donate $500/each to my PMC fundraiser before the end of the week, I will have the shorts designed and purchase them for the ride. I can add one logo to each thigh. The caveat is the logos will need to look good on a green background. Alternatively, I could make the logos white to stand out. Email me first before making your donation to ensure availability.

Once again, I want to thank the people and companies who generously sponsored the jersey this year. I also want to thank all of my other domain industry colleagues who have supported my ride.

2023  domain industry PMC jersey sponsors (in ABC order):

UPDATE:

Thanks to Andy Booth for helping me raise an additional $1,000 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with the addition of two logos on the side of a matching pair of cycling shorts. The logos I will be wearing are:

It looks like I could probably fit two additional logo on the front of the shorts above my knees (one on each leg). This would raise an additional $1,000 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. If you’re interested, let me know, otherwise I will send these off to get printed on Monday afternoon.

Chat.com Profitably Resold for 8 Figures

In March of this year, I reported on the sale of Chat.com. The domain name was acquired by HubSpot Co-Founder Dharmesh Shah for more than $10 million USD. The exact acquisition price wasn’t revealed by either party. That deal had been brokered by Hilco Digital’s Andrew Miller and Larry Fischer.

This morning, Dharmesh revealed that he resold the domain name for a profit, and he is donating $250,000 to Khan Academy:

First Look at my 2023 Domain Industry PMC Jersey

This August, I will be riding in my 10th Pan-Mass Challenge ride to raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I will be riding 162 miles over two days, from Wellesley, Massachusetts to Provincetown, Massachusetts. I’ve been receiving great domain industry support, and I appreciate it. So far, we have raised more than $9,000 when all donations are posted. My initial goal is $15,000.

On the second day of my ride, I will wear a custom jersey featuring the logos of domain industry sponsors who donate $500 or more. Historically, this custom jersey has generated the largest amount of donations for my ride. This year, Theo Develegas helped me design my jersey, and I think it looks great so far.

As of right now, there are at least 8 sponsor spots remaining. Three donations were secured after the design was sent to me and those logos aren’t on the jersey yet. I hope to send this off to the jersey maker (Jakroo) next week, so I can wear this throughout my Summer training rides.

Update: I think all spots are now taken. I will be sending this back to Jakroo to add the remaining logos. If there is anymore space, I will mention it on Twitter. 

Thank you!

2023  domain industry PMC jersey sponsors (in ABC order):

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