Geographic Domain Names

Quick Hits for the Weekend

Some quick (and informal) hits from the last week.

On Thursday, I was thisclose to buying a ticket to fly to Las Vegas for the Domain Madness finale. If it wasn’t for a trip to New Hampshire in a week, a cross country trip in 3 weeks, followed by a trip to Michigan right after, I would be at The Palms with the Domain Consultant crew.

SES is a great show with a lot of information for developers. If you can make one of the many shows, it’s worth attending. If you can’t afford to pay for the actual show (or if you don’t want to pay), get a free exhibition floor pass and meet with some of the companies that exhibit.

There have been more times in the past 2 weeks than I can ever remember where I started to respond to an ignorant/misinformed/stupid post on a domain forum and ended up deleting my post before hitting submit.

If you own a geodomain – especially if it’s a city, state, or country domain name, you NEED to be in San Diego for the GeoDomain Expo at the end of April. If you want to develop it, there are no better mentors and advisors than those who will be at the Expo (ie Dan, David/Mike, Skip, Jess, Fred, Mark, Sara, Josh, Shaun, Nat). If you are looking to partner (or maybe even sell), these people are your primary targets. I mean, who else are you going to turn to – newspapers? LOL. The agenda should be posted in the next few days, but no matter what the panels are, it’s the informal events that are best.

I am not investing in any .tel domain names. I simply don’t get the concept behind why I would want or need to have a .tel domain name, and if people don’t want/need them, investing in them will probably be a fruitless activity. If I want people to have all of my contact information, I make sure they have it. If someone can’t find my phone number or other contact information quickly, chances are very good that I don’t want that person to have it.

Speaking of .tel, have you noticed that most of the people who talk about alternative TLDs like these (ie mobi, asia, tv…etc) have significant investments in them? I don’t want to be an ambassador for an extension. It shouldn’t be the job of registrants to pump a particular extension.

I was very surprised to hear about Monster Venture Partners closing its doors. This is big news that will impact domainers in more of a trickle down affect, as the company invested in domain names and partnered with companies that own great domain names.

Newburyport.com Logo

Just got the logo back for Newburyport.com from Mike and I dig it.   I should have a new site launched by the end of next week, as the articles are being written right now. I wanted to share the new design with you guys.   It maintains the look and feel of my other city .com domain names.

Newburyport.com Logo

BTW… speaking of geodomains, check out Lahaina.com when you get a chance.   That’s a great looking site!

GeoDomains on WebmasterRadio.FM

This evening at 7pm, Jess Bookstaff and I will be interviewed by Victor Pitts on WebmasterRadio.FM. Jess is a highly accomplished geodomainer, and she is the owner and operator of PigeonForge.com and Durango.com.   Jess was previously Chairman of Associated Cities. The interview focuses on geodomain development, the SES conference, and the upcoming GeoDomain Expo.

If you have time later on this evening, drop by WebmasterRadio.FM.

DN Media Corporation and Telepathy, Inc. Launch MiniSites.com

MiniSites.com to provide website development services to domain name investors.

Washington, D.C. – March 25, 2009 – DN Media Corp. and Telepathy, Inc. announced today the creation of a joint venture called MiniSites.com. The new company provides mini site development services to domain name investors, offering them an affordable alternative to monetize their valuable assets.

“We are thrilled to be partnered with Nat Cohen of Telepathy on this project,” said DN Media co-founder Bogdan Nastea. “Nat has ten years of experience in the domain industry, and he brings an impressive track record of turning domain names into successful businesses.”

MiniSites.com offers three levels of mini site development to accommodate all types of domains and budgets. The Micro, starting at $80, is a one-page site which is ideal for lead generation and affiliate marketing. The Mini, starting at $170, is a five-page site which provides more content to visitors, keeping them engaged and coming back. The Big Mini, starting at $290, takes the Mini to a higher level by offering an advanced link building campaign, as well as a thorough analysis of monetization options.

All packages include a dedicated project manager, unique content written by native English speakers, text logo design, header design, link building campaign, flexible monetization options, targeted keyword research, search engine optimization, and free hosting.

About Telepathy, Inc. – Founded in 1999, Telepathy, Inc. develops online publications. It developed a network of regional guides, anchored by Pennsylvania.com, Maryland.com, and NorthCarolina.com and including Annapolis.com, CollegePark.com and OceanCity.com. Telepathy is experienced in database development and specializes in the dynamic delivery of customized content.

About DN Media Corp. – DN Media Corp. specializes in domain name investing, website design and development, and search engine optimization.

Geodomain Acquisition

From the New York Times this past July:

Newburyport and Plum Island, at the mouth of the Merrimack River, combine shops, boutiques and maritime heritage with breathtaking views and beaches. The sea captains of 200 years ago are gone, but in town, the charm of their stately homes and commercial buildings remains.

Newburyport is a great tourist town in Massachusetts that is filled every spring and summer with vacationers. People come to walk along the water, enjoy boating activities, visit the art galleries and antique shops, and eat in the cute cafes and restaurants. There are beautiful homes and the town has a quaint New England feel feel.

My company just acquired Newburyport.com and plan to develop it in the coming weeks.

Incidentally, #3 on the NYT list of Northeast getaways is Lowell, Massachusetts.

Rocky Mountain News Staffers Start Net Venture

Rocky Mountain News staffers whose jobs were axed when the 150 year old paper announced its closure hope to start a new Internet venture, InDenverTimes.com.   If 50,000 people sign up and agree to pay $4.99 per month for access to the subscription-based website by April 23, 2009, the group will move forward with their new website, on a less than ideal domain name.   Unfortunately for them, Boulevards New Media, a Quantcast 360 company founded by Dan Pulcrano, owns Denver.com, the guide to Denver, Colorado.

This news also comes on the day the Seattle Post Intelligencer announced that they will no longer have a print edition of their daily paper, instead opting for an online newspaper.   Unfortunately for the Post Intelligencer, spelling their name is a real pain in the ass.   Incidentally, Boulevards New Media also happens to own Seattle.com, which is the guide to Seattle, Washington.

Media General’s purchase of Richmond.com is looking smarter and smarter each day, and Dan Pulcrano’s acquisition of some of the best city .com Internet properties makes him the biggest winner as the “old media” companies finally come to the same conclusion as Dan and his company… about 15 years too late.

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