Contest: DNForum Scavenger Hunt

Elliot Silver
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11

DNForum is the first place I really learned that there was a community of domain investors. In fact, the person who told me about DNF was a domain buyer who told me that when I sign up, I would probably stop selling domain names to him, and he was correct.

Because of the popularity of the last contest I held, I thought it would be fun to have a DNForum scavenger hunt on my blog, with the winner receiving a $100 credit from Name.com, courtesy of me.

The winner of this scavenger hunt will be the person who first correctly answers the 10 questions below, or who answers the most questions first (let’s say the best result is 9 answers, the first to do that will win). Since some comments get moderated, the timestamp will determine the timing of submissions, and I will ultimately make rulings on ties or other issues. The contest ends on Wednesday March 14 at 5pm EST.

All of the answers can be found on DNForum.

  • What was Adam Dicker’s former username  on DNForum?
  • From whom did Adam Dicker buy DNForum (what is that person’s current username)?
  • In what month and year did I join DNF?
  • What popular (but  controversial) “gossip” website’s domain name was once listed on DNF for $19.95?
  • How much does it cost to buy a text link in the DNForum footer each month?
  • What are the user names of 3 moderators on the forum?
  • What DNForum user has the most  DNF$?
  • What US state .com domain name was offered for sale this month?
  • Domain Name Wire does an annual industry survey. How many times in the last 6 years did DNForum win for most popular domain forum?
  • What is the latest DNF sister website that was launched?

Dofo Aggregates Domain Lookup Tools

Elliot Silver
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16

I don’t know if the site goes by DoFo or Dofo or whatever, but I saw a link to it, tried it out, and want to share it with you in case you haven’t seen it or used it yet.

Working in conjunction with DomainTools, you can easily do a Whois search using Dofo. Obviously you can do that anywhere, so here’s what’s neat about Dofo. Instead of visiting a host of other websites to check out various analytics, you can do it all there on the same screen via framed redirected.

Some of the tools self-contained within Dofo include:

  • Screenshots.com and Archive.org results so you can see iterations of the site over time
  • Hosting and Nameserver history
  • Email blacklist information
  • Search engine backlink and indexed page results
  • Valuate appraisal tool

I don’t know if Dofo stands for something that I missed or if it’s just an easy brand name to remember, but it’s a neat little time saving tool you might want to try out the next time you are researching a domain name or website acquisition.

Leap Year Domain Registrations

Elliot Silver
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8

It’s February 29, 2012, and there won’t be another February 29 until 2016. I am sure more than one person is wondering what the expiration date would be for domain names registered on “Leap Day” since there will be no February 29th next year.

For that question, CentralNic CTO Gavin Brown has your answer:

Twitter is a great place to learn new things!

Most Important Thing Learned in Domaining

Elliot Silver
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5

I want to share the link to a post on DNForum that I think is interesting to read and has some good insight from a variety of sources. A user named vinsdomains.com asked the question, “What’s the most important thing you have learned domaining?”

As of right now, there are over 30 responses in the thread, and I think there will likely be more replies over the next few days. I know there are a number of people reading my blog who are new to the domain industry and are looking for good advice from others. I think this DNF thread should be subscribed to and read to get some ideas.

With all of my projects and my blog, I don’t spend much time on domain forums (or any forums for that matter). However, one of the things I like about DNForum and Namepros (and a reason why I think people who are new to the domain industry should become members) is the variety of members on the forums. There are people who have been involved in the domain business for 10+ years and people who just started. The range of experience and experiences runs the gamut, and a lot can be learned by visiting and reading threads like this one.

When you have a moment, check out the thread. If you can contribute to the thread, even better. The more knowledgable domain investors, the less spam we’ll see, fewer UDRP cases involving obvious domain names, and the more positive dealings we will all have in the business.

Guest Post: Mike Mann Helps Local Veterinarian Get His Domain Name Back

Elliot Silver
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22

I read a story on Facebook yesterday, and I asked if it could be posted on my blog because it’s a good story involving two domain industry veterans.

This is a guest post from  Donna Mahony (who operates  Domain Boardroom. Donna  shared a recent experience she had involving a domain name owned by Mike Mann, which had been previously owned by her veterinarian. I think it’s timely considering a UDRP decision and  discussion  that is ongoing on Mike Berkens’ blog.

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My nearly 14 year old dog, Max, was very ill last night. After speaking with my vet, Lane Kihlstrom, affectionately know as Doc Lane, we decided to wait and see how he was in the morning. He was tired and weak and nearly unresponsive.

Doc Lane is your typical country vet. A one man show with a mobile clinic. As he has done for me and many others so many times, he was at my door as quick as he could get here! After treating Max, who it seems had maybe eaten some poisonous weeds and loving on my other critters, Lane and I sat chatting (him on the floor with Max). He told me that in the midst of some turmoil last year he had forgotten to renew his domain name and asked if I could help him renew it. Super! He saves my dog, I save his domain!

Of course, it didn’t go that easily. The domain was now owned by Domain Asset Holdings, LLC, Mike Mann’s company. I know who Mike is, of course, but I doubted if he knew me.

We all get those sad tales from previous owners. We groan, sigh, roll our eyes. I hate getting them but always respond kindly and do the best I can for the previous owner. My stomach churned at being on the other end. I contacted Mike with my friends story.

Karma completed it’s circle. Mike responded quickly and he and I were able to make arrangements to have my friends domain returned home. Thank you, Mike.

Comcast Announces Streampix But Doesn’t Own Matching Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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10

Apparently Comcast has Netflix in its sight, as the company announced it will be launching a new streaming video service to compete with Netflix. Unfortunately for Comcast, it appears that they do not own the matching domain name, which I believe will be problematic, especially in the short term.

According to the Media Decoder blog on the New York Times website,

“Called Streampix, the service will give Comcast’s 22.3 million Xfinity cable subscribers access to 75,000 television shows and movies via cellphones, tablets and laptops.

The service is the result of a handful of licensing agreements Comcast has struck with media companies like Disney, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers and its own NBCUniversal.“

As you are undoubtedly aware, Netflix is a huge advertiser, spending a ton of money on banner advertising as well as direct mail and other marketing campaigns. Netflix has established itself as the leading popular video service, and the company makes it very easy for consumers to access videos online at Netflix.com as well as by mail, when you add movies to your queue on Netflix.com.

Whois records show that Streampix.com was registered back in 2003, and it’s currently owned by a Canadian company called Norpix. The company’s “flagship product,” which “has become the ultimate Digital Video Recording software” is known as Streampix. Judging by the domain name’s expiration date of 2019, it doesn’t appear that the company has plans to relinquish this name any time soon.

Undoubtedly, if consumers are intrigued by a new service provider called Streampix, they will visit Streampix.com. Luckily for Comcast, the domain name does not appear resolve at the moment. However, NorPix does appear to have a trademark  in Canada for StreamPix, granted it’s for digital recording software and not streaming videos, and it is in Canada.

**Update**

I received an email from the CEO of Norpix, Luc Nocente, who commented:

“I was shocked and surprised at the actions taken by Comcast regarding the name Streampix.  Norpix has a  trademark protection on the word Streampix in Canada and the US since around 1999.  We do a great percentage of our business in the US market and this is a blatant violation of our rights.  I intend to take legal actions against Comcast.  We feel this is going to create confusion and damage our business in the US market.“

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