DomainFest

Oversee.net Changes DomainFest Global Branding to WebFest Global

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Oversee.net has changed the name of its popular DomainFest Global conference to “WebFest Global.” When you visit DomainFest.com, the conference’s former domain name, you will be forwarded to WebFestGlobal.com. Registration is now open for the February conference, which takes place at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

I don’t know if DomainFest will still exist in other formats, like the smaller one-day conferences the company previously held in various cities, but it looks unlikely.

According to a press release Oversee posted on its website:

DomainSponsor ®, the online direct navigation traffic monetization unit of Oversee.net ® and organizer of the critically acclaimed DOMAINfest ® series of domestic and international conferences, announced today that online registration is now open for its Webfest GlobalTM conference to be held February 5-7, 2013 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, California.”

It becomes clearer that the DomainFest branding has been replaced by the WebFest branding rather than been created in addition to it. The evidence is further down in the press release: “Founded in 2006 by DomainSponsor ®, the direct navigation traffic monetization division of Oversee.net, Webfest Global (formerly DOMAINfest ®)…

I would imagine the company is trying to create a broader Internet conference with this new branding, since the DomainFest name is somewhat limiting. That said, I don’t think it’s bad to have a conference theoretically limited to domain investors, since DomainFest regularly drew over 500 attendees.

In case you care, Scott Day’s  DigiMedia owns WebFest.com. That domain name is listed for sale on the Domain Name Sales platform.

Full Press Release:  

Why I Wasn’t at TRAFFIC and Why I Won’t Be At DomainFest

A bunch of people asked me why I wasn’t at TRAFFIC, and I thought I had mentioned the reason a while back.We are moving to the Boston area tomorrow, and my wife and I have been packing for the last several days. I was hoping to make a last minute trip to Florida, but am happy I didn’t because the packing is nowhere close to being finished with less than 24 hours until the moving company arrives.

I already know I won’t be able to make it to DomainFest either. Last year, Karen and I won a silent auction for a week long home rental at Mont Tremblant in Montreal. We wanted to be sure some of our friends could come skiing with us, so we reserved the home for a week in February, which happens to be the week of DomainFest.  Unfortunately, the dates of DomainFest were announced after the reservation was made.

The good news is that I plan to attend TRAFFIC Las Vegas, and I will buying my ticket soon so it can be firmly placed on my calendar.

Anyway, I am sorry if I missed you in Ft. Lauderdale this year. I would love to have been down there instead of packing here. It’s going to be sad to move out of New York City, but there is something to be said about being close to our families in that area and having a home with a yard, and that isn’t available here.

2013 DomainFest Dates Announced

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Over the past few months, I heard from a few people that DomainFest would take place again in 2013, despite the fact that DomainFest.com had not been updated to reflect the upcoming conference.

With just  a few months remaining in the year and no updates to the website or email updates sent to previous attendees, I thought there was a chance the conference would be canceled, especially considering Oversee’s recent sale of client facing Moniker and Snapnames businesses. Thankfully, that is not the case.

Late last night, I received an email from Oversee with an informal “save the date” notice. DomainFest will take place February 5-8, 2013 at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica, California. The Fairmont will be reserved exclusively for conference attendees, as it has been for the last several years. Domain Sponsor will be the host of the conference.

In early October, Oversee plans to announce specifics about the conference agenda, online registration and discounted hotel room rates. For now, you can add this to your 2013 calendar.

Will DomainFest Continue?

I’ve heard mixed reviews about this year’s DomainFest Global conference, although the majority of them were positive. As I mentioned before, I canceled my trip a few days prior to the conference to tend to some things at home (all is good here). It’s the first DomainFest I missed in four years.

The big news, it seems, was Oversee.net’s sale of Moniker and Snapnames, which was sort of announced during the conference, although it wasn’t officially announced to customers until yesterday. With the sale of these two assets, I wonder if DomainFest will continue in the future – both the main conference at the beginning of the year and the smaller local events held later on in the year.

As I recall, last year, the DomainFest website had links to the local conference agendas and dates for upcoming DomainFest events. As of right now, the only event listing is the most recent event that passed. I would have assumed Oversee and conference organizers would have the local events listed already since people need to make travel plans in advance. Maybe they will be added soon. Hopefully that will be the case.

I have no idea if DomainFest is a profit center or if it loses money but is written off as a marketing expense. If the former is the case, I would certainly assume that DomainFest will continue. If the events lose money, the sale of Moniker and Snapnames could spell the end for DomainFest, since Oversee would have less reason to put on these events, as Domain Sponsor is now the primary client-facing line of business for Oversee.

Personally, I hope DomainFest continues. The only two certainties on my business calendar are DomainFest at the end of January and TRAFFIC in October. There are other events that take place throughout the year, but those two conferences are really the only firm events on my calendar.

I reached out to Oversee to ask about future DomainFest events but I have not heard back.

20% of DomainFest Auctions Have Bids

With a couple of days to go until the DomainFest live auction, a little under 20% of the auctions already have bids. The live auction, also found online via Snapnames, will take place on Thursday,  February  2nd at noon EST. I have highlighted the domain names I like in the auction and welcome your feedback.

Domain Name Reserve Current Price Bids

  • stripmall.com $201 – $500 $425 5
  • civilunion.com $1,001 – $2,500 $1,650 3
  •  avengers.com $501 – $1,000 $691 3
  • qe.com $25,001 – $50,000 $65,000 2
  •  californiarolls.com $201 – $500 $325 2
  •  rentaltrucks.com $5,001 – $10,000 $5,251 1
  • guitarclasses.com $5,001 – $10,000 $5,200 1
  •  margo.com $2,501 – $5,000 $2,500 1
  •  liberalartscolleges.com $1,001 – $2,500 $1,234 1
  •  weddingcards.net $501 – $1,000 $590 1
  •  antiqueguide.com $501 – $1,000 $500 1
  •  plasmatv.com $25,001 – $50,000 – 0
  •  12.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  1800business.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  activitycenter.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0
  •  autosupply.net $201 – $500 – 0
  •  banquethall.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  bargain.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  cardswiper.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0
  •  catfood.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  •  cheyenne.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  cloudmusicstorage.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  democracy.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  • drill.com $25,001 – $50,000 – 0
  •  eco.org $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  emails.com $500,001 – $750,000 – 0
  • empire.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  eo.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  eve.com $500,001 – $750,000 – 0
  •  feuds.com $5,001 – $10,000 – 0
  •  guavas.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  homeowner.com $250,001 – $500,000 – 0
  •  host.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  •  hotcoupons.net $201 – $500 – 0
  •  icard.com $5,001 – $10,000 – 0
  •  internetradio.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  jackpot.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  juice.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  liverdonor.com $201 – $500 – 0
  •  loveline.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  nurseries.com $25,001 – $50,000 – 0
  •  planners.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  •  platinum.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  prescriptionrefill.net $201 – $500 – 0
  •  promo.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  • qr.com $250,001 – $500,000 – 0
  •  reconnect.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  • security.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  •  servers.com $250,001 – $500,000 – 0
  •  sox.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  • sportstherapist.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0
  •  surveillancecamera.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  trinkets.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  unplugged.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  videodownloads.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  vintagemirrors.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  work.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  •  workscited.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  xeam.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  xegg.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0

As always, this is going to be an exciting auction to watch, as there are several domain names I could see selling for 6 figures. For instance, Empire.com would seem like the perfect name for insurance giant Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

What are your favorite domain names in the live auction?

Poll: Are You Attending DomainFest?

DomainFest (DFG) is probably the most widely attended domain conference. I think there were somewhere around 700 people in attendance last year, which is pretty large considering the number of people who invest in domain names full time.

I have heard from several people who I almost always see at DFG that they aren’t attending the conference this year for one reason or another. The turnout always appears strong though, so I am just wondering if you have plans to attend this year. If you’ve attended in the past but aren’t planning to be there this year, why did you make this decision.

I am booked (have been for a few months), and I look forward to attending in just a couple of weeks.


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