DomainFest was Best

Elliot Silver
-
11

I returned to New York last night after spending a week in California visiting Burbank and attending DomainFest Global.   It always seems that each domain conference is better than the previous conference I attended.   This can certainly be said about DFG. Aside from the panels (which were good), the networking opportunities were phenomenal – both during conference time set up for networking and during the parties in the evening. Believe it or not, I even had several great discussions at the Playboy Mansion (all involving domains and development… get your mind out of the gutter, friends!)

I don’t typically attend all of the panels, but the few I attended had good information and dialogue. Typically at domain conferences, I maximize my time meeting colleagues, introducing friends, and learning about what others are doing to increase the value of their domain names and generate revenue from them. The atmosphere and layout at DFG was great for individual meetings and discussions involving several people. There were a few times in the exhibition area where people from different backgrounds had great conversations just by happenstance because we were sitting on adjacent couches.

Some people who didn’t attend are going to look at the results of the domain auction and possibly consider it a low point for domain owners.   I disagree with this view for a couple of reasons.   Even in tough times, close to a million dollars in domain names were purchased.   Sellers don’t have the need to drop their prices and give away their names.   This shows some strength, as weakness would be indicated by great domain names being listed at very low reserves, as domain owners need to sell ASAP. This just isn’t the case, and owners of good domain names aren’t looking to sell them in a down market.

This was the best domain conference I have attended so far, and it is a tribute to the hard work of everyone at Oversee.net who oversaw a great show.   Even in difficult times, amid lowering revenues and layoffs, the team at Oversee pulled through and gave us a great conference.

Planning for DomainFest Global

Elliot Silver
-
2

Subscribe to Elliot's BlogIt’s time to start making plans to attend DomainFest in Hollywood January 27-30th at the Renaissance Hotel. Last year’s conference was one of the top industry conferences I attended, and I had to miss the first day. This is a great opportunity to network, and the price is only $895 until the end of December.
You do have some time, but I am recommending that you order your flight tickets (or at least price them out and follow) ASAP. I’ve heard prices may actually go down as a result of the dropping price of oil, but I wouldn’t be so sure of that.The Renaissance Hotel is offering discounts for conference attendees, so start your hotel search by calling them.
As you might imagine, I am taking a direct flight in to Burbank Airport on Jet Blue from New York’s JFK.   According to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Burbank Airport was the second least expensive airport in the country in Q2 of 2008.   I paid under $325 round trip… not so bad.   I will also spend a few days in Burbank visiting some businesses.
With the economy in the shitter, this is a good year to attend DomainFest to network with others and see how the leaders are weathering this storm.

Domain Convergence, Great Learning Opportunity

Elliot Silver
-
3

Subscribe to Elliot's BlogThere are just a few days remaining to register for Domain Convergence, an intimate gathering of domain investors and developers just over the border in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada from October 6-8. The conference is going to provide a relaxed environment with great networking opportunities and information you can use to grow your domain-related business. This is a small conference, and the size will allow for some great discussion.
In addition, there will be a live auction hosted by Fusu. To help save you some money, the conference organizers are offering my blog readers a $100 savings simply by entering “elliotsblog” on the registration page.   I would be attending the conference if not for three prior commitments during that week that I am unable to reschedule.
The published conference agenda is below:
Oct 6, 2008
12:00 pm       Registration opens
3:30 pm       Founding Meeting of the Canadian Domain Owner’s Association
5:30 pm       Wine Tasting & Winery Dinner in Niagara on the Lake
Oct 7, 2008
9:00 am       Breakfast
10:00 am       Domain Name Monetization Options
11:30 am       Developing Domains, personal Experiences
1:00 pm       Lunch
2:30 pm       Domain Name Law
4:00 pm       Workshop: Develop this Name!
6:00 pm       Dinner
Oct 8, 2008
9:00 am       Breakfast
10:00 am       Understand your traffic
11:00 am       Don’t send your visitors away: Capturing visitor information
12:00 pm       Lunch
1:30 pm       Mass Development: Developing Domains on a large scale
2:30 pm       The best tools to develop your domains
4:00 pm       Fusu Domain Live Auction
5:00 pm       Closing remarks

Thoughts on the Auctions – Strength in Tough Times

Elliot Silver
-
4

Subscribe to Elliot's BlogWhile the financial markets are in the midst of turmoil, and much of this country is facing difficult times, I think the results of the opening day Moniker auction, Rick Latona’s auction and Aftermarket.com’s auction show the strength of the domain industry.   I don’t think the final tally for each auction was remarkable, but I think the auctions were very solid in such tough times.
There were some strong names offered for sale, and the reserve prices were mostly reasonable, allowing the market to set the sales prices. With several hundred bidders watching either online or in attendance, there were plenty of people looking to find good domain deals. A large majority of the names that were offered were sold, showing that if you price your name well, the market will deliver a fair price. Selling to end users might be more lucrative, but at the moment, end users might not necessarily have the cash.
This afternoon, Moniker is hosting their premier auction event. After spending quite a bit of time studying the auction list, I believe Moniker is poised to have a stellar day given tough outside market conditions. There are a considerable amount of names on the list that have great reserves (low or none at all), and these names are going to be sold for a fair price. I don’t think we will see huge numbers like the $10 million auction last year, but that’s completely expected given the current market conditions.   My prediction is that they break the $2.5 million dollar mark, which would be indicitive of a solid market – not necessarily strong, but solid.

Bolt Bus is Awesome!

Elliot Silver
-
0

If you are exploring ways to get to New York City for TRAFFIC in September and you live in the northeast, I would recommend taking Bolt Bus, which is owned and operated by Greyhound. I just returned from a trip to Lowell, Massachusetts via Boston and took Bolt Bus to get their. Not only is the price just about the same as a trip on a Chinatown bus line, but they offer free WiFi to stay connected while on the road. Yes, I have a Blackberry to check email, but I was able to do other things wirelessly while on my way up north.
Bolt Bus has stops in Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC and New York City. Although they don’t operate out of New York’s Port Authority yet, it is still easy to find the bus.   Once in New York, you can quickly grab a cab or jump on the train to get to the hotel in Brooklyn.   If you want/need to stay connected while traveling to/from New York, I highly recommend taking Bolt Bus.

Geo Domain Expo Recap

Elliot Silver
-
0

Those who know me, know I don’t particularly like to fly – scratch that – it’s taking off and landing I don’t like so much. Today it wasn’t a problem, as I slept like a baby on the flight, exhausted from the great weekend I had in Chicago.
Th geo domain industry is unlike any industry in which I’ve ever been involved. There is a sincere feeling of camaraderie, and everyone I met seems to have a genuine desire to help others. I started my blog to share what I know and have learned, and the geo domainers that I met at the show seem to have the same objectives of helping others learn and succeed in this industry.
At the show, there was very little talk about declining revenues and PPC. The real money is in development and building a business on geo domains. From what I saw and heard, there has never been a better time to develop domain names with the technology that’s available. While I felt a bit like I was behind in the times by using HTML, I learned more about solutions like eDirectory, and as I grow my sites, I plan to make the change to their platform.
Everything positive you hear about David and Michael Castello, Skip Hoagland, Dan Pulcrano, Josh Metnick, Jess Bookstaff, Sarah and Mark Mannix, Fred Mercaldo, Mike Ward,….etc.. is 100% true. These people have amazing success stories, and they are very approachable and willing to share advice and feedback. I met some great people at various stages of their geo domain development, and my best piece of advice was to grab the business cards of the most successful geodomainers and stay in touch. As someone said at the show, in 10 years from now, these people won’t just be geo domain pioneers, they will be the heads of major media companies.
This show was open to all geo domain investors, and I’ve learned that there are tons of ways to make money from developed geo domains. I believe we are on the cusp of something great, and I believe that the geo domainers are leading the way for all domainers.
Some takewaways from the show (aside from my hangover)
While the geo domain pioneers have great revenue-producing websites, the sky is literally the limit with geo domains. You can create goals for yourself and your sites, and once you hit those, you can improve on them. With new technology, new thinking, and determination, there is no stopping what you can do with your websites.
Trafficz’s involvement in domain auctions is going to change the game. Ammar and Jay have great ideas, and coupled with their technology, I think we are witnessing the growth of a giant in the domain space.
If you have good domain names but might not have the ability to execute your plans, try to parter with someone who has the expertise. Nearly everyone with whom I spoke has partnerships of various degrees, and they are able to balance their skills with those of others. Being a one trick pony is kinda cool, but you can’t be a jack of all trades – so find someone who has the skills you don’t and work out something amenable.
Patrick Carleton, MidwestBusiness.com, Jess Bookstaff, and Associated Cities know how to put on a professional show. Attendance more than doubled from last year’s show in San Francisco, and as a betting person, I would wager that it will be continue to grow. This space seems to be where the smart money’s at right now.
If you own a city .com and someone else owns a city + keyword name (Burbank.com & BurbankRestaurants.com for example), you can work together to improve both sites and make money. Just because you don’t have a pure city .com, doesn’t mean you are left out. This is an inclusive group and partnerships can benefit everyone.
While the live auction result wasn’t really impressive, I think that’s more related to the domain names that were auctioned rather than the state of the market. There were plenty of buyers in attendance (myself included – Secaucus.com), but the names weren’t great for the most part. I think that much of this can be attributed to the fact that most top city/state/regional geographic domain names aren’t for sale at domain auction prices.
Special thanks to Steve Morales. In addition to helping promote the geo domain industry, he is proudly serving our country.

1...404142...44Page 41 of 44