Thoughts at the End of the Week

Elliot Silver
-
4

As the week is coming to a close, I wanted to write a little bit about a few things that I thought about this past week. I bet some of you are thinking the same thing, and I welcome your thoughts in the comment section as always.

I booked my flight to New Orleans for Domainer Mardi Gras in February. For those of you from New York, Jet Blue is offering round trip tickets for around $229 after taxes – not a bad deal at all.

I wish DN Journal accepted comments. There are so many great articles and news stories posted by Ron, and it would be great if we had the ability to discuss some of them on site. I bet this would surely be a big traffic driver and would be interesting to many.

It really annoys me when bloggers and other news outlets have a comment section and don’t approve them – or they only approve the favorable comments. I wonder if these people are naive enough to think that nobody notices this – or if they simply don’t want to feel put down by people that disagree with what they are saying.

I don’t think people should develop domain names simply because others are doing it. The reason I develop mini sites is that I am a full time domain investor, and this is a way to build/add value to my domain assets in a down market. The reason I fully develop geodomains – and will be developing Torah.com (very soon) is to build businesses on them so. Anyone can sell a good domain name, but not everyone can build and manage a business. I want to challenge myself while building a revenue stream for the future, and this is an ongoing process.

If you are going to make it as a domain investor, you need to look outside of the typical domain “hang outs.” Check out webmaster forums, browse SEO websites, read up on new technology, and think about things differently than others.

I believe there are many good potential domain deals in the high end of the industry, but most of the low hanging fruit under six figures has been picked, and there aren’t nearly as many deals to be had in that area. You need to have steel stones to invest in 6 figure + domain names these days without a development/business plan, and you need a back up plan if your primary plan is to flip them.

    2010 Domain Conferences I Plan to Attend

    Elliot Silver
    -
    1

    I enjoy going to domain conferences for a number of reasons, and Andrew’s analysis of domain industry conferences got me thinking about which ones I will attend in 2010, even though the current year hasn’t concluded yet. In 2009, I attended DomainFest, GeoDomain Expo, and TRAFFIC Amsterdam, all of which were great shows. The next domain conference I plan to attend is TRAFFIC New York in October.

    I haven’t committed to attend any domain conferences in 2010 yet, but I am beginning to plan my conference schedule. Because of the expense of travel (conference, hotel, transportation) and the amount of time I am dedicating to building out my operational websites, I think I am going to cut back next year.

    Here are the shows I plan to attend. Which shows will you be attending?

    Domainer Mardi Gras
    When: February 11-13
    Where: New Orleans
    Cost: $795 Early bird through October 15
    Why: I heard the conference last year was fantastic, and it will be a great opportunity to see friends and colleagues in a more relaxed atmosphere. I love New Orleans, flights from New York aren’t too expensive, and hotel rooms are reasonably priced. I also know the people who organize the conference are down to earth, fun people, who know how to have a good time.

    GeoDomain Expo
    When: April 28-30
    Where: New Orleans (During Jazz Fest and Heritage Festival)
    Cost: Under $1,000 (not yet released)
    Why: The Geo Domain Expo is the premier conference for geodomain developers and owners who want to build out their domain names. The conference is a great place to get to know the leading developers in more of an intimate setting than other conferences.

    TRAFFIC
    When: TBD
    Where: TBD
    Cost: Under $1,500 (not yet released)
    Why: I am going to attend either one of the European or Asian TRAFFIC shows in 2010. It’s a great opportunity to meet other domain investors who I wouldn’t ordinarily see in the US.

    AOL Just Protecting Its Brand

    Elliot Silver
    -
    20

    Ad.com

    Last month at an engagement party, I met a friend of a friend who works for Advertising.com. After brief introductions and small talk, he mentioned that he works for Ad.com. Knowing that Ad.com had just sold at Moniker’s auction for 7 figures, I inquired further, and he mentioned that his company is actually Advertising.com, but everyone calls it Ad.com. Therein lies the problem.

    In most cases, when a company or famous person has become known by a nickname, and that nickname or moniker becomes just as famous as the person (and clearly associated with the company or person), that company or person may be able to legally claim common law rights to that nickname or term.

    Michael Jordan was known as “Air Jordan” because of his leaping and dunking ability. During his playing days, Nike introduced the Air Jordan brand, and I believe it is still one of their most famous brands. Had Michael Jordan not been known as “Air Jordan,” the term “air jordan” would probably be worthless unless someone else used that term famously. Like Jordan, Advertising.com became known as Ad.com internally and externally, and many people associate the term Ad.com with Advertising.com. However, unlike the term “air jordan,” the term and domain name “Ad.com” has significant value besides its usage by Advertising.com.

    As an entrepreneur and marketer, I can commiserate with all parties involved in the situation. The current Ad.com domain owner just wants the sale completed as expected, Moniker/Oversee.net wants the commission they are rightfully owed, Skenzo is worried that they are going to have to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to the purchase price to protect their new investment, and AOL wants to protect the brand they believe is rightfully theirs.

    As a domain investor on the other hand, I am very concerned by this move by AOL, and it will make me more vigilant about researching the domain names I buy and develop.

    My 2009 TRAFFIC Awards Nominations

    Elliot Silver
    -
    40

    I saw that Mike made a few nominations for the 2009 TRAFFIC Awards, which will be given out at the New York TRAFFIC conference, and I want to share a few of my nominees. This year has proven to be the most difficult one I have faced in the domain industry, and there are several individuals who stand out in my opinion and deserve recognition and praise.

    BEST DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR:

    Shaun Pilfold – Kelowna.com: Shaun has spent much of this year building a business on the geodomain, Kelowna.com. Instead of a standard geodomain name (like mine) with tourism information, event updates and a bit of news, Shaun has taken Kelowna.com to the next level. Shaun’s company has sunk significant resources into the business, hiring journalists, editors, and sales staff, while marketing the heck out of the business. During the Kelowna forest fires, Kelowna.com provided the best local coverage and won a lot of praise from the local people. Shaun’s company owns a plethora of great domain names, including Jobs.ca and more.

    Richard Douglas – Oakville.com: Richard is one of the smartest people I know, and he has privately provided a tremendous amount of advice to me about development, SEO, marketing, hosting and more. Richard’s Oakville.com, which launched in the past year, was built on a great platform that will allow the company to scale. From geocoded directory listings to a great news distribution service, Oakville.com is quickly becoming recognized in the community. Oakville.com was also a partner of the RBC Canadian Open, a PGA event held in Oakville, and the site received recognition from the Oakville city government and local business leaders. Richard also runs the domain blog, TooManySecrets.com, which has great development insights.

    DOMAIN HALL OF FAME

    Mike Berkens: There is no doubt in my mind that Mike Berkens deserves to be in the Domainer Hall of Fame. Without question, Most Wanted Domains, the company Mike founded, has one of the top generic domain portfolios in the world. In addition to this, Mike’s blog, TheDomains.com, is one of the best sources of information about the domain industry, and Mike breaks down how outside factors will impact our domain investments and developed websites. Mike attends most of the domain conferences, and he is very approachable, always willing to give advice and offer honest feedback.

    THE “WE GET IT” AWARD

    Candy.com: This one was pretty easy. A small candy company bought Candy.com for $3,000,000 and have greatly increased their brand recognition and traffic. They went from being somewhat unknown to owning one of the best generic domain names that money could buy – and arguably the best in their industry. At every tradeshow, the Candy.com team will be instantly recognizable whether other vendors and buyers actually know them. This was a very smart strategic move.

    Castello Brothers to Keynote at Domain Convergence

    Elliot Silver
    -
    2

    David & Michael CastelloThe Castello Brothers (Michael and David Castello) of the Castello Cities Internet Network will give the keynote address and host an interactive session at the 2009 Domain Convergence Conference in Toronto, Canada August 13-14.

    The Castello Brothers’ keynote address will be The Future of Domaining – Building Your Brand. In addition, they will be hosting a special interactive session where audience members can submit their domain development and monetization ideas and strategies in advance for candid review and feedback during the session. “David and I are looking forward to speaking and sharing ideas with fellow domainers at the 2009 Domain Convergence Conference,” said Michael Castello, CEO of the Castello Cities Internet Network. “Some of the world’s most successful and innovative domainers are in Canada and this year’s Domain Convergence will surely be a vibrant and creative conference.”Domain Convergence

    The 2009 Domain Convergence Conference is Canada’s premier annual meeting of domain name owners, developers, investors and entrepreneurs. This year it will be held August 13 and 14 at the Radisson Admiral Harbourfront Hotel in Toronto. The Early Bird admission rate of $649 (Canadian) expires on July 25th.

    Domain Roundtable Auction Nets $500k

    Elliot Silver
    -
    3

    The Domain Roundtable live auction was held yesterday in Washington DC, and despite audio and video broadcasting problems, the auction netted $498,100. The largest sale of the day was for Contests.com, a domain name owned by Yahoo!, which sold for $380,000 to a bidder in the audience. In addition, the Internet Commerce Association also raised over $10,000 from the sale of donated domain names.

    IMO, the biggest steal of the auction was FederalProjects.com for $750. The DRT extended auction runs between now and June 24th. If you saw a name you like, continue to check in on the auction as the prices may be adjusted to encourage a sale, as I’ve seen in the past.

    For the full results, have a look at DNN, where Frank Michlick did a live blog of the auction.

    1...363738...44Page 37 of 44