I went on a long bike ride the other day, and I saw a sign for a tree service that used a .Pro domain name for its website. After riding by the sign, I thought about how few .Pro domain names I’ve ever seen. I can’t even recall one website that uses a .Pro domain name aside from the tree service.

Last week, 2014 #1 NBA draft pick Andrew Wiggins announced via Twitter that his official website can be found at  AndrewWiggins.Pro. Wiggins hails from Toronto, Canada, attended college at the University of Kansas, and he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first pick.

Check out the official website http://t.co/5zyySBC8nx for exclusive contests and win free gear from Andrew and Wiggins Enterprise

— andrew wiggins (@22wiggins) July 3, 2014

According to  RegistrarStats.com, there are

Alexander Taub, founder of SocialRank published an article on Medium.com today discussing how the startup was able to get the SocialRank.com domain name from the former owner who had his own plans for the domain name. The startup had initially used the SocialRank.CO domain name for its website, and they later decided that they needed the .com domain name.

I think people

For all the in-fighting that takes place within the domain industry, I think we should consider what some people outside of the domain space think about people who buy and sell domain names. Yesterday evening (or maybe early this AM), someone left the following comment on my blog:

“You are scum, domain hoarder. fuck you”

I don’t think anyone has ever said anything like this to my face before, but I am sure there have been plenty of people who share this sentiment about domain name owners. I have no idea where the anger comes from, but it seems that many people who want our domain names don’t think too fondly of people who own portfolios of domain names.

There’s nothing all that surprising with respect to this particular comment, but it’s something domain owners need to realize when pitching domain names for sale. Some people just don’t seem to like people who own domain portfolios.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you have likely seen comments from a person who uses the nickname “Raider.” The comments are sometimes critical of me or companies in this business, and they are occasionally biting, but I appreciate the fact that Raider posts her opinions. Most importantly though, I respect what she has to say, and I don’t believe she is trying to be hurtful when she comments.

It should go without saying, but I sincerely appreciate it when you share your insight and feedback related to articles that I publish. I learn from what you share just as much as people learn from what I share. I don’t think this blog would be as interesting as it is without the comments that readers leave and share, and I want to make sure you understand that.

I don’t always respond to comments in a friendly manner, especially when they are condescending, rude, or downright unprofessional. Even when feedback isn’t positive, I appreciate the people who take the time to share their feedback. I also don’t generally censor comments that are made (unless there are mitigating reasons that are at my discretion).

Although Raider and I don’t always agree (and we often disagree), I appreciate that she feels that it is okay to disagree with the publisher without fear of banishment, personal attacks, or comment deletion. I hope you feel the same way.

Thank you to those of you who participate in discussions on DomainInvesting.com.

I am frequently asked to test new products and services related to domain investing. I am generally happy to review new domain tools that can help my business, except if there is a requirement that I write about it or using the tool might give away business information. When it comes to testing new products or services with my domain names, I am pretty reluctant to do so given the number of domain names my companies own.

In total, my companies own fewer than 500 domain names. I have made it a point to focus on quality over quantity for the most part, so I don’t have a portfolio that includes thousands of domain names. This means that I don’t have a large enough inventory to offer for testing, and in addition, any test I would do on a group of my domain names would not be statistically significant. In short, even if I were to test and report a result to the company, they would be unwise to use my results as a basis for changes and/or updates.

When I meet with companies in the domain business, I am usually