Domain Name Apps (iPhone & iPad)

Elliot Silver
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7

I was browsing through the Apple App Store this morning to see what domain name related apps you can purchase for your iPhone and/or iPad. There were more than I expected.

If you’ve used any of the apps listed below in ABC order, let others know what you think of them. I have an iPad but haven’t downloaded any of these apps yet.

  • Deep Whois (free)
  • DN Forum Mobile ($4.99)
  • Domain Scout (free)
  • Domainster Instant Domain Search and Suggestion ($.99)
  • Domain Pro (free)
  • Domain Storm by Network Solutions (free)
  • DomainTools Whois, Thumbnail, Availability (free)
  • Domain Tracker ($.99)
  • GoDaddy Mobile Domain Manager (free)
  • iDomain Monitor ($2.99)
  • Instant Domain Checker (free)
  • Name.com (free)
  • NameDrive

Did I miss any apps that you’d recommend to others? If so, what purpose do they serve and how much are they?

Democrats Register AmericanJobsAct.com in Anticipation of President’s Speech

Elliot Silver
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18

According to a number of news outlets, US President Barack Obama is going to announce his new jobs initiative called the American Jobs Act, in a speech this evening.  In anticipation of tonight’s  speech, the Democratic National Committee  has registered the domain name  AmericanJobsAct.com. It is registered to the DNC and uses a @democrats.org email address, without privacy protection.

Whether the Democratic National Committee plans to use AmericanJobsAct.com to promote this proposed legislation remains to be seen, but it was a smart domain registration nonetheless. I am sure the Democratic Party would rather own it for its own platform rather than see someone else register and use it as a platform to oppose the legislation. The domain name was just registered yesterday, September 7, 2011.

At the present time, the domain name resolves to a Go Daddy landing page with pay per click (PPC) links, most of which are for job-related websites. According to various articles I’ve read  (albeit not from clearly reputable sources), it appears that GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons is a donor to (and supporter of) Republican causes, so you’d wonder if he’d be able to change some of the jobs PPC links to Republican cause website links.

The smart thing for the DNC to do would be to either forward the domain name to its party’s website or push a new website live just before the speech. I am sure “American Jobs Act” will be a highly searched term over the coming days and weeks.

Is 3D Dead? Where Does That Leave The 3D Domain Names?

Elliot Silver
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47

It’s very difficult to predict what technology trends will be popular and which will fizzle. Buying domain names based on future technology trends is a bit like playing the lottery… except there are guaranteed winning tickets with the lottery.

Have a look at the first sentence from this New York Post article from September 5:

“The next big thing in TV — 3-D — is proving such a bomb with consumers, the first victim may be ESPN’s sports-in-3-D channel.”

Judging by the thousands of 3D domain names for sale on Sedo, Afternic, and other domain sales platforms, it looks like there are going to be a lot more losers than winners in the 3D domain lottery.  Based on what I’ve seen, some people justify these purchases as $8 lottery tickets, which is fine I suppose, but when people buy dozens or hundreds of names to cover their bases, it becomes a big problem.

I don’t want to sound preachy here, but think about the reality here when you’re buying domain names. There are gamblers and domain investors. Investing in domain names can be a bit of a gamble, but it shouldn’t be a total gamble.

When you buy a domain name, are you investing or playing the lottery?

Domain Veteran Nat Cohen Starts Blog

Elliot Silver
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5

I think Nat Cohen is considered to be one of the original domain investors. His two companies, Telepathy, Inc. and State Ventures, LLC, own top generic domain names like Retirement.com, Maryland.com, NorthCarolina.com, and hundreds of three letter .com domain names (just a small sample). Nat has developed several websites, including OceanCity.com, and he is quietly involved in a number of other web-related projects and properties.

Although Nat has been vocal and active in private, he has remained more reserved in public. His companies have had more than its share of battles with larger companies trying to poach its domain names (like Crew.com, Geometric.com, and PLA.com to name three off the top of my head), and likely as a result, Nat has been an advocate for the rights of domain investors.  Nat is a supporter and current board member of the Internet Commerce Association.

This is beginning to sound more like a  eulogy  than an exciting announcement, so let’s get to the good news…

I am excited to hear that Nat is going to be blogging, albeit irregularly, at  DomainArts.com.  There are a lot of good blogs covering domain names, but there aren’t a lot of people who have the same level of experience in the domain business as Nat.  I strongly recommend that you add this to your blog reader so you don’t miss an article.

Here are Nat’s first three posts:

Free Domain Appraisal

Elliot Silver
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316

I get asked all the time what I think a particular domain name is worth, and today I would like to offer this space for you to request a single domain name appraisal on this slow Labor Day. I will do my best to give my gut feel on domain names that are submitted, and I hope others will provide their valuation thoughts as well.

The one rule here is that people can only ask for one domain appraisal each, or I won’t answer. The reason is simple. I don’t have the time to give everyone an appraisal on many domain names, so it’s easier to say just one.

Please keep in mind this is my (and commenters’) gut feel on valuation with perhaps a bit of additional outside research, like search volume, Wordtracker, # of advertisers…etc. If you have very industry-specific domain names, there’s a good chance I won’t have a clue about how much your domain name is worth, so it’s probably best not to submit it.

If you think there’s a chance I will tell you that your domain name isn’t worth anything, and you don’t want to hear that, I advise you not to submit it for a free appraisal. People seem to love to comment when there’s an opportunity to put others down, and despite this call out, I am sure it will happen. I don’t censor comments, so keep that in mind, too.

If you don’t like my rules, feel free to pay for an appraisal elsewhere or visit the appraisal section at DNForum.

Prague Post Interviews Domainer Jan Barta

Elliot Silver
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0

Czech Republic’s English-language newspaper, The Prague Post, posted an interview with “Tech Tycoon” and domain investor, Jan Barta. As you may recall, Barta’s company owns Elephant Orchestra, which owns and monetizes domain names. The company is a frequent sponsor of and exhibitor at various domain industry events, as well as other more mainstream conferences like AdTech.

The interview discusses “where digital business has been, where it’s going and whether there is another tech bubble on the horizon.” The interview covers everything from Barta’s domain monetization to his insight on whether there is currently a tech bubble.

Barta has done quite well investing in domain names and monetizing domain names, and this is an article you may want to check out when you have a chance.

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