CNN’s iReport News Appearing on CNN.com

Elliot Silver
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6

I enjoy reading the news, and there are a number of websites I read throughout the day, with CNN.com being one of the websites I visit most frequently. I check back on their website often, although I usually stick to the main headlines, as those are generally the most interesting to me.

Just about everyone in the domain industry knows that CNN paid $750,000 to acquire iReport.com from Rick “Domain King” Schwartz in early 2008. On iReport.com, citizen “journalists” can submit “news” stories they feel would be of interest to others. It’s a neat idea to give exposure to people whose articles may be interesting to others.

Sometime in the last year I think, CNN began adding iReports to its CNN.com home page, without identifying the links as iReports until you got to the actual news story. As far as I am aware, there is no real way to filter actual CNN news stories from these iReport articles. It’s frustrating to me when I click a link and end up on an iReport, as I have come to trust the CNN brand rather than random people who submit stories.

I think it was a good strategic move to buy iReport.com and build a brand on it. I think it’s a really bad move to integrate iReport “journalism” with the actual news, as it is annoying for readers like me who don’t want to read this type of “news.”

Yahoo Buys Me.Me for MeMe.Yahoo.com

Elliot Silver
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1

Meme.yahoo.com

According to a press release that hit the wires this morning, Yahoo has acquired the domain name Me.me from the country of Montenegro’s .me ccTLD domain registry. The terms of the sale weren’t disclosed, but Sedo handled the transaction through its domain broker Jeff Gabriel.

Yahoo plans to use Me.me to enhance the brand and brand recognition of its social networking site meme.yahoo.com. Yahoo has been making a bit of news in the domain space of late, with some recent sales of domain names like MusicVideos.com, LookUp.com, and FreeComputers.com. In addition, Yahoo also sold Contests.com at a domain auction several months ago.

Yahoo does not own the domain name Meme.com, a domain name owned by a software company called The Meme Factory. Only time will tell if Yahoo decides to rebrand as Me.me instead of meme.yahoo.com, which could then make the Meme.com domain name all the more valuable. That would also seem to be good news for domain owners who have invested in good .me domain names (disclaimer: my companies do not own any .me domain names).

Yahoo does seem to have a tendency to use its primary Yahoo.com domain name for its projects like Kickstart, Shine, HotJobs, and others that all redirect to their own Yahoo subdomains.

Get a Premium .CO Domain Name Before Others

Elliot Silver
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5

I was looking through the .CO corporate website today when I noticed information about their Founders Program. Similar to what .mobi tried to do with reserved domain names, with no cost for an application, .CO is banking on companies or individuals to COme up with a great idea for a .CO domain name, which will become a centerpiece of sorts to show off .CO domain names.

Applicants can choose a premium domain name to develop, and if awarded, they will have the chance to develop their domain name before others will have an opportunity to acquire them on the aftermarket or through a registrar like Name.com.

Personally, I think this concept is smart. Not only will it reward great ideas, but it will help promote the .CO brand, and it will help bring greater consumer awareness of .CO, which is important when a new registry launches. Like I’ve said in the past, if consumers are aware of the extension and they adopt it, the domain names will become more valuable for domain investors.

Applications can be downloaded on the .CO website.

When It’s Critical To Own Your Product Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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6

Some companies argue that as long as they own their brand domain name, it’s much less important to own their product domain name(s). They may believe this because they carry many products, and it’s easier to manage one domain name and website than a group of them. In my opinion, when a company’s product is more well known than its manufacturer, it’s critical for them to own the product domain name, as that’s what consumers will obviously be looking to find when searching Google or typing in the domain name.

Case in point. I read an article in the Boston Globe yesterday about a new cleaning product called “Spaghetti Scrubs.” This cleaning product is apparently less abrasive than steel Brillo pads, and it molds to whatever pot or item you are cleaning. The idea is that it takes less effort to clean your pots and pans than if you were using a sponge, and it can cause less damage to your pots and pans.

The article mentioned that Spaghetti Scrubs were invented by a Japanese designer, and it named a couple of stores where it’s available to purchase. However, the key takeaway for me is the brand name’s domain name, SpaghettiScrubs.com, is unregistered. From direct navigation and SEO standpoints, this is a mistake. There really is no reason why the manufacturer shouldn’t spend the $10 to buy the domain name. Even a simple forward to the Crate & Barrel website would be better than nothing.

Have a Great Business Idea and Need to Raise Funding?

Elliot Silver
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30

One of the things I’ve noticed about domain investors is that they aren’t short on ideas for businesses on their domain names. People seem to buy domain names with a specific idea in mind for them, although many either lack the funding to build out the idea, the drive to build it, or they lack the experience to move forward with their project.

CNNMoney.com has a neat article about 6 startups (which I had never heard of), and the article discusses where the founders came up with the funding to bring their idea to fruition. There are some neat ideas on where to turn if your business concept needs some start-up capital. The CNNMoney.com article covers:

  • AirBnB
  • Makerbeam
  • Boutique Larrieux
  • Everlater
  • Measy.com
  • The Extraordinaries

If you happen to be someone with a great idea that just needs some capital to make it happen, hit me up. I am interested to learn about your idea and may be able to help with funding – or may be able to put you in touch with someone else who can help.

NCAA College Basketball March Madness: $1,000 in Prizes on Brackets.com

Elliot Silver
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6

Domain investor launches March Madness bracket selection challenge with $1,000 on the line.

Brackets.com is giving away $1,000 in cash prizes during the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, which begins on Thursday, March 18th. You can print out an official bracket and enter to win $250 – with no entry fee.   The person who has the most points will win $250, the second place finisher will win $150, and the third place finisher will win $100.

Entrants who aren’t good at making college basketball picks can still win. Brackets.com is offering $500 to the person who refers the most valid users.   In addition, to help build awareness, Brackets.com is offering prizes for inbound links from different websites. Higher pagerank websites are worth more points, and the leading referrer will win $250, the second place finisher will win $150, and the third place finisher will win $100.

Full contest details are available on Brackets.com. The tournament begins tomorrow, so sign up today.

Brackets.com is a recently launched venture from 260.com, a domain investment company founded by Tony Peppler.

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