Conferences & Tradeshows

Escrow.com Announces “Masters of Domains”

Escrow.com ShieldJust prior to yesterday’s live NamesCon domain name auction, there was a brief presentation of “Escrow.com Masters of Domains.” This was a list of the top ten domain brokers of 2016 by volume of deals put through Escrow.com. The company awarded a trophy to the winners, some of whom were in attendance at the conference. This was the first time the company listed the top domain brokers by volume.

The 10 Escrow.com Masters of Domains for 2016 were:

  • George Hong, Guta
  • Andrew Rosener, Media Options
  • Giuseppe Graziano, GGRG
  • Muhammad Al-Asadi, TopNames
  • Ryan McKegney, Domain Agents
  • Adam Beebe, Latonas
  • Derek Giordano, Giordano, Inc.
  • David Clements, Brannan’s
  • James Booth, BQDN
  • Raymond Liu, 62.com

Escrow.com also set up a website with information about the award and winners: MastersOfDomains.com. The website indicates that this will become an annual award.

I think it would be a great achievement for a broker to be on this list, but it is not necessarily the top 10 domain brokers. Escrow.com is likely the largest domain escrow service, but there are other competing escrow services that brokers use. As a result, this list would likely preclude top brokers at marketplaces like Sedo and Afternic who use in-house escrow options as well as companies that may use private attorney escrow services and/or alternative payment options.

Knowing how competitive some domain brokers are, this will probably become an award people work hard to achieve.

5 NamesCon Tips – (Please Share Yours)

NamesConNamesCon is about a month away, and I understand that conference organizers are expecting “well over 1,400 attendees” at this year’s conference. I think NamesCon is well worth attending, and I bought my ticket several months ago. I will be landing in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and I leave on a Tuesday night redeye back to Boston.

I thought I would share 5 conference tips with readers. Some of these suggestions can be acted on right now, and perhaps it will provide a tax benefit or cost savings. I encourage you to share any advice you have in the comment section. If I think of anything else, I will share it there.

Hotel – If you are looking for convenience, staying at the Tropicana is the way to go. The rooms are more than adequate, and you’ll be very close to meetings and events. If you’re looking for something a bit more luxurious, the Cosmopolitan, Aria, Vdara, and MGM all are good options. If you’re looking for something more economical, I think the Luxor and Hard Rock may be less expensive. There is some bridge construction ongoing, so keep in mind it might be a bit more of a pain to walk to different hotels. If you book your hotel now, you may be able to pay for it in 2016 rather than in the new year.

Agenda / Panels – I have never been one to

NamesCon Registrations Tracking Ahead of Last Year

It looks like attendance at next year’s NamesCon domain conference is tracking ahead of last year, according to a tweet from last night:

I reached out to NamesCon founder Richard Lau, and he let me know they are expecting

Brandsand.Domains and TheName.Show Events to be Held in Valencia

brands-and-domainsA new domain name related conference will be held in Valencia, Spain in about a month and a half. The event is known as Brandsand.Domains, and it is being organized by Domaining Europe founder Dietmar Stefitz. The event is scheduled for December 1 at the Hotel Sorolla Palace in Valencia. This event proceeds another new event called TheName.Show, which will be held on December 2.

To learn more about these events or to see their agendas, you can view the event  websites for full details. Here are the details that Dietmar shared with me:

Are You Going to THE Domain Conference?

One  week from today, I will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale for THE Domain Conference. Although the event officially starts on Saturday, I have a weekend commitment at home and will be attending Monday through Wednesday. I am curious if you are attending the event, and I invite you to let me/us know in the comment section.

If you are still on the fence, I think you will find it to be a good event for networking. The conference will be smaller than NamesCon, and this allows me to spend more time individually with friends and business colleagues without feeling rushed. The spacious venue allows for private chats as well as some semi-private discussions.

I feel like Barbara, Howard, and Ray Neu go out of their way to make conference attendees feel like they are attending a family event, and I appreciate that aspect of this conference. I am looking forward to attending.

I  had a brief email exchange with Howard last night, and he said there are a few tidbits about the conference that have not yet been shared:

Join our Family at THE Domain Conference

Join our family  at THE Domain Conference – Sept 10th-14th, 2016 – for an opportunity to learn about the value of owning Domain Names and how to increase your income from them.

There will be plenty of networking opportunities to meet both our many Sponsors (all listed on line) face to face, and other Domain Investors in order to exchange valuable information with attendees.   There is nothing like a hand shake to start a relationship.

This year there will be a special one-day kick-off to THE Domain Conference.   On the first day of our Cabana Networking weekend ~ STARTUP Saturday ~  from 10:00 – 5:00.   It will be an educational  opportunity for anyone who dreams of creating a Start up  business OR help your existing business grow by  meeting  with new investors, fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders,  if you want to learn about how to turn your Startup idea into a real business from those who have done it!

The Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel is offering our attendees rooms starting at $109 with NO RESORT FEE and FREE INTERNET.   The hotel is also offering a  20% discount off their 4 restaurants on food and at their Spa 66.   The venue is located just 3 miles  from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.   All rooms have balconies with water views or patios over looking the pool and gardens.   The Tower Rooms starting at $129 all have balconies and amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean and downtown skyline.

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