Howard Lefkowitz Keynote Speech at NamesCon (Video)

Elliot Silver
-
0

I published an interview with Howard Lefkowitz, who recently launched a new venture using new gTLD domain names. Yesterday, Tech Cocktail published an article about Lefkowitz and his new company, and it’s worth a read.

Lefkowitz gave an animated keynote speech during NamesCon last month, and the video of his speech was uploaded to YouTube. When you have half an hour, I think you’ll enjoy watching the video I embedded below.

I don’t regularly attend the keynote speeches at domain conferences, but I think this one is worth your time. I think Lefkowitz’s new venture is fascinating, and it will be fun to see how things work out and how the company grows.  Lefkowitz’s company, One Degree World, is building websites on new gTLD extensions including .Vegas, .Buzz, .Ninja, .Club, and perhaps others.

Here’s the Howard Lefkowitz NamesCon keynote speech video:

Read More

Fairwinds Partners Hosting Beyond the Dot 2015 Conference

Elliot Silver
-
0

Last year, Fairwinds Partners hosted its inaugural Beyond the Dot conference, and the company is hosting the conference again later this month. Beyond the Dot 2015 will be held on January 21 at the Newseum in Washington DC.

According to a press release published by Fairwinds Partners, here is how the conference is described:

“Beyond the Dot conferences join together innovative business leaders, experts, and policymakers to provide context and discuss how new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) – extensions such as a .CITY or .BRAND that join .COM and .ORG – will impact the way we all communicate and do business online.”

Some of the conference speakers and panelists include the following people:

Read More

NamesCon: Spotlight on ParkingCrew

Richard Lau
-
2

Below is an interview with Axel Kaltz, Managing Director, ParkingCrew.com. For the past month, I have been interviewing NamesCon exhibitors and sponsors.

NamesCon will be held January 11-14, 2015 at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. To date, over 500 people have registered to attend the conference, and we are expecting to have 800 registered conference attendees in attendance.

Can you tell us about your company and how long you have been there?

ParkingCrew.com is a direct navigation monetization provider. Founded by

Read More

Thoughts About TRAFFIC Conference

Elliot Silver
-
5

I returned home yesterday morning after spending a couple of weeks on vacation and at the TRAFFIC conference in Miami. I thought I would share some thoughts about this 10th anniversary conference for those who were unable to attend. I’ll break it down into three sections – Venue, Attendees, and Panels & Parties.

For those who may not know, the TRAFFIC conference was held at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida. In past years, the October conference (called TRAFFIC East) has been held in the south Florida area, including Ft. Lauderdale and Hollywood. This was the first time the event was held at the Fontainebleau Hotel.

Some of my thoughts about the conference:

Read More

Monte Cahn Back in the Domain Auction Business

Elliot Silver
-
9

I received a press release from NamesCon and domain name consulting firm RightOfTheDot, LLC announcing that there will be a live domain auction at the NamesCon conference. From my perspective, the most interesting aspect of this news is that it means Monte Cahn, founder of Moniker and its popular domain auctions, is back in the business of domain conference domain name auctions.

Bucking the tradition of a domain conference hosting a live domain name auction, NamesCon did not have an auction during its inaugural event in January. Yesterday, conference organizer Richard Lau cited the experience of Monte Cahn and Mike Berkens with domain auctions in announcing the news. According to Lau, “We were initially reluctant to offer a domain auction, but the 15 years of domain auction experience, strength, reputation, and relationships that ROTD presented convinced us that their auction will contribute to the distinct and diverse activities and sessions that NamesCon is known and respected for.”

While at Moniker, Monte played host to some of the most exceptional domain auction results, including the TRAFFIC auction that famously sold $12.4 million worth of domain names. Since that auction in 2007, the domain space has changed quite a bit. Subsequent auctions produced much more modest results, and I think conference organizers have been less focused on the domain auctions, which were once considered the most anticipated aspect of conferences.

I think Monte and his team became known for hosting exciting domain name auctions. In addition to the buzz generated with large sales, there seemed to be more excitement in the room. I can recall many times when Monte  was  standing on the stage whooping up the crowd. I presume he will bring this back and hire auctioneers who will liven up the auction floor.

This is not the first domain auction Monte will have presided over since his Moniker days. During the Summer, ROTD oversaw the successful .Global auction in London that saw 35 .Global domain names sell for $63,780. This will be the first domain conference auction for Monte though.

I reached out to Monte to ask a few questions to learn about the upcoming auction and his expectations for it. He was kind enough to respond, and his answers are below.

Read More

Domain Conference Panel I Would Attend

Elliot Silver
-
1

When I am at a domain conference, I don’t generally attend the panels or keynote speeches. I go to conferences like TRAFFIC and Namescon to reconnect with friends and colleagues, meet with industry companies, and make new contacts. I very rarely attend the panels. There is one panel I would attend though: a Q/A with UDRP panelists.

A UDRP is a risk for any domain owner. Regardless of how defensible a domain name is (check out the Photo.com UDRP for an example), there aren’t really any domain names that are immune to a UDRP filing. I think a UDRP on a descriptive domain name should be a “no brainer,” but there are quite a few examples of a UDRP being ruled in favor of a complainant, despite the domain name’s descriptive nature. Even when the correct decision is made, I think there are many UDRP decisions that are inconsistent. I suppose it is the nature of the system.

That being said, I would find it

Read More
1...181920...44Page 19 of 44