I read a story in ComputerWorld about domain speculators buying hurricane-related domain names and parking them or listing them for sale to profit off of this natural disaster. Every time a tragedy strikes, it seems that domain speculators buy related domain names with the purpose of profiting off of disaster. This causes much criticism of the domain investment industry, and it seems legitimate domain investors take it on the chin after every tragedy.
While speculators are still buying Hurricane Gustav-related domain names, there is at least one domain investor who is foregoing profit to make a difference. Fin Lemonde registered GustavRelief.com and similar domain names on behalf of his church a couple of years ago. Fin saw people buying Katrina-related domain names and wanted to make a difference in the event any of the 2008 hurricanes caused a disaster. Fin’s idea was to create an organization that could lend itself to helping other human beings if the need arose.
Because of other projects that took precedence, as well as a tragic personal loss in the last couple of years, this organization never got off the ground. Fin kept the domain names on the back burner until a few days ago. Upon hearing news of Hurricane Gustav’s potential to cause major damage to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Fin realized he needed to do something with this important domain name to help. Putting personal morals over profit, Fin has decided to forward all traffic from GustavRelief.com to the American Red Cross.
People in need of services or help in the wake of Hurricane Gustav that type in GustavRelief.com will not have to worry about clicking on advertisements, relief scams, or being sent elsewhere. Instead, they will be sent directly to the American Red Cross homepage where they can receive help from one of the leading American charitable organizations. Likewise, people who want to help will be able to do so as well. As soon as time permits, all of these protective domain registrations will forward to a single landing page where visitors will be able to choose from several charities that are helping with relief efforts.
This is a story of a domain investor doing the right thing. Instead of the negative stories about domain investors we always see, wouldn’t it be nice if media outlets focused on people doing positive things to help other human beings?
In Wake of Disaster, Domain Investor Does Good
Why I Don't Publish Press Releases
I’ve been sent many press releases from domain-related entities lately, and I haven’t published more than a couple of them. Although some of the companies are operated and/or managed by companies with whom I do business, I didn’t publish them as I saw them posted elsewhere. As much as I am always connected to the Internet via Blackberry, I am not always by my laptop or able to write a blog post.
Unless there is something unique I can add to the story – such as my own personal analysis of a situation, I don’t see a reason to post repetitive things. With RSS readers, email news feeds, sites like Domaining.com, I think most people who choose to read my blog read many other blogs, and I personally think it’s annoying to read the exact same thing in several places. As my friend Francois told me back in November (which I have taken to heart because he is right):
“Sorry to be rude but these posts are ANNOYING!
Simply because it’s annoying to read again the SAME post you have previously read in Sahar, Frank, Ricks, … blogs without any additional information or a different point of view developed.”
The purpose of this post is to say why I haven’t published many press releases. Some people have taken that personally, and I wanted to make sure they know it isn’t anything personal.
DNN Acquires DNN.com
Domain Name News just announced the acquisition of DNN.com, which will be their new home. This is a smart and ballsy acquisition, as DNN.com is not only a great domain name for them, but it also happens to be a tremendous domain name in general that must have cost them a small fortune. It’s great to see leading domain investors thinking like smart domain investors.
While it may sound a bit far fetched, I believe this acquisition could help bring more coverage to the domain industry. Brilliant move!
Adapting to the Changing Internet Landscape
Back from a short trip to the beach. I’ve been reading quite a bit on the new vanity TLDs, and the best conclusion I can come to is that nobody really knows for certain how things will play out. Neither the people who are vociferously stating that .com will always be king (myself included), nor those who are saying that new extensions will cause major sweeping changes to the Internet, really know for sure whether their opinions will be accurate.
What is for sure is that some people will take a big financial risk with these new extensions and some people will remain on the sidelines. In five years, there will be some obvious winners and there will be some obvious losers, but the answers will not be seen over night. I am eagerly observing from the sidelines for now, observing what my friends are doing, getting ready to make changes to my business model if they are necessary. Change is essential to growth, and being able to adapt to industry changes is fundamental.
The domain industry has changed quite a bit, even in the five years that I’ve been involved in the industry. The one constant thing is that the people who are able to adapt to the changes and work within the new parameters are those who are successful. While my thinking about .com may be inaccurate, I (and others) will still manage to do well if we are able to notice changes quickly, and are able to adapt to these changes rapidly. Just because I didn’t buy my first domain names in 1995 doesn’t mean that I wasn’t able to be successful. I found the industry later than many, but I learned as much as I could, took some risks and the rest is history.
It is great to see all the dialog about the new extensions on domain forums, blogs, and other news outlets. We are at a time of major change in the domain industry and in the history of the Internet. If you are reading this blog and other domain resources, it is likely that you realize how important this time is for all of us. Pay attention to the things going on in the industry, watch the industry veterans and media companies to learn about their plans, and invest wisely. You don’t have to be a trendsetter to make money, but you have to be able to adapt to the changes to avoid becoming obsolete.
Traveling South Today
I will be traveling south on business today. Back tomorrow.
Props to Andrew Allemann at DomainNameWire.com
Because Ron Jackson does such a great job reporting domain industry news on DNJournal.com, I think one of the most under-recognized people in the domain industry is Andrew Allemann of DomainNameWire.com. Andrew has been reporting domain industry news since 2005, and he is always the source of great domain information. I’ve met Andrew once in person and had a few phone and email conversations in the past year or so, and I wanted to take a second to give him props. DomainNameWire.com is one of the first domain news outlets I read in the morning, and I appreciate Andrew’s coverage and dedication to the industry.