GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a privately owned, Internet-based company that provides a variety of services including domain name registration, web hosting and e-business software sales. The company, which is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded by Bob Parsons. Parsons previously owned a financial services software company, which he sold in the mid-1990s upon retirement. He came out of retirement in 1997 to form Jomax Technologies, the predecessor to GoDaddy.
Since it’s inception, GoDaddy has risen to become the largest domain registrar in the world, with tens of million of domains registered to its clients. The company ranks as the world’s largest ICANN-accredited registrar; it’s approximately four times larger than its nearest competition. Recent corporate acquisitions include Outright, Locu, Afternic, and Media Temple.
GoDaddy has redefined Internet hosting services, and it has been the recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades. Among these awards are the 2001 Arizona BBB award for Business Ethics and the 2011 SC Magazine award for Best Security Team. In 2011, it ranked number four in the Phoenix Business Magazine list of “Best Places to Work in the Valley” and it made the 2012 Forbes list of “Best 100 Companies to Work For.”
Known for its sometimes controversial commercials and interesting spokespersons, GoDaddy also sponsors a number of charitable causes in support of domestic violence and child abuse awareness, and sports events, including NASCAR and the Super Bowl. In 2013, the company shifted its advertising strategy to focus more on small to medium sized business owners (SMB). Reflecting this change, its commercials and advertising materials shifted from “sexy” to smart.
June 13, 2018
I have a few hundred domain names listed for sale on Afternic / GoDaddy. After re-listing a domain name for sale, I discovered something that is pretty small but could pose a larger concern. Domain names listed for sale on Afternic have a listing date on the listing page:
For most people, this is probably a very small detail that would go unnoticed. I didn't really even think about it until very recently, and I want to share why it could be problematic.
I was reading the news and I learned that a big company had acquired a smaller company, and I own the exact match .com domain name of the smaller brand name, which is completely generic/descriptive. In this particular field, the smaller companies retain their own branding, so there is not a concern that the brand name would change.
When I saw the news about the acquisition, I went to check (more…) → Read More
June 8, 2018
It looks like GoDaddy's NameFind sold Claire.com. At some point between February and May of this year, Claire.com moved from the NameFind portfolio to the Afternic escrow account, according to DomainTools' Whois history tool.
For some reason though, the domain name resolves to an expiry landing page that states, "NOTICE: This domain name expired on 6/7/2020 and is pending renewal or deletion." Obviously that is two years from now. Here's a look at the lander:
For what its worth, Whois records show the expiry date is June 8, 2020. Either GoDaddy is clairvoyant (clairevoyant if you will) and knows this domain name will not be renewed in two years or there is some sort of funkyness happening with the domain name landing page. I thought it was amusing. → Read More
June 7, 2018
An interesting video popped up on my LinkedIn feed today. A LinkedIn / Twitter user named Keenan (verified on Twitter) posted a video critiquing a telemarketing phone call he had with a GoDaddy representative. Apparently, the GoDaddy rep didn't do his homework before making the sales call, and Keenan offered some critical feedback and advice about how the call should have gone.
Keenan posted a link to the video via this tweet:
In the comment section on LinkedIn, GoDaddy CEO Scott Wagner publicly responded to Keenan's video, and I want to share his response with you:
(more…) → Read More
June 4, 2018
June is LGBT Pride Month. Organizations and companies around the world are doing a variety of things to acknowledge and honor Pride Month, and a number of large companies are updating their Facebook, Twitter, and other social media icons with rainbow flag (or variants) to show support.
GoDaddy updated its Facebook photo icon with a rainbow flag design that seems to have drawn the ire of some of its apparent customers. The company also updated its Twitter icon as well. When GoDaddy updated its Facebook page with the new icon a few hours ago, the comments started coming in fast and fierce, and many of them seem to have voiced displeasure with this change: (more…) → Read More
May 30, 2018
GoDaddy CEO Scott Wagner made an appearance on CNBC's Fortt Knox show during the Recode Code Conference being held in California. Scott, who has been CEO of GoDaddy since January of this year, discussed a variety of topics related to the company in this wide ranging 20 minute interview. He discussed everything from the company's early provocative advertising to how the company has changed over the last few years.
I embedded the interview below:
Fortt Knox: Big tools for small business with GoDaddy CEO from CNBC.
→ Read More
May 19, 2018
If you visit GoDaddy regularly, you likely noticed a small but relatively major change to the GoDaddy logo. The caricature of a man with orange hair (the GoDaddy Guy as some people have called him) has been removed and the GoDaddy typeface is now green. The .com extension is not shown in the logo either, although that change was made several years ago. From what I can tell, the logo update was made sometime in the last week or so.
The company has been making significant graphic and typeface updates during the last year or so to align with its overall branding update. Regular users have noticed gradual changes throughout the website - from product and service pages to GoDaddy Auctions to the user control panel.
Here's a look at the evolution of GoDaddy's header logos over the years (the actual logo may have been slightly different than what was shown in the header): (more…) → Read More
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