Internet Companies

Christian Science Monitor Ditches Print for Web

Subscribe to Elliot's BlogAccording to a breaking news story in the Boston Globe this afternoon, the Christian Science Monitor has opted to eliminate its [update] weekly print edition to focus on its core business, CSMonitor.com, its website. The article quotes CS Monitor editor John Yemma,

“We are getting out of the daily print business,” Yemma said. “By harnessing (our staff) to ‘Web first’ we will be putting the best of our content on the Web when it happens. It will be much more energetic. Much more a go-to place.”

With the cost of print increasingly becoming more expensive, it’s no surprise that a longtime print publication would opt to move online. Advertising is trackable, which appeals to advertisers, and it’s much more economical to publish online.   Smart move by the Christian Science Monitor, that I expect will be followed by many other print publishers.
This is very big news for domain owners who have names that might be coveted by publishers – geodomains, for example 🙂 .

Future Media Architechts (FMA) Launches Websites

Subscribe to Elliot's BlogOne of the most prolific domain owners in the world has announced the launch of several key websites. Future Media Architects, owners and operators of websites such as DJ.net, MP3.tv, Media.com, and i.net, has announced the launch of the following websites:
EFX.com – Children’s development toys using sounds and effects
Palette.com – Color tools, resources, and information
OSK.com – On screen keyboard information and tool
AI.com – Information and news about artificial intelligence
Cooperators.com – Meeting place and resource for people looking to cooperate to make the world a better place for everyone
Future Media Architects, which is led by domain pioneer (and my friend) Thunayan Khalid AL-Ghanim, also announced that Ibiza.com will soon be launched.   Thunayan is one of the most dynamic people in the domain industry, and it’s great to see his company continue to develop its domain properties.   FMA has a policy to never sell their domain names, and with their strong development strategy, it isn’t surprising.
Congratulations and cheers to Thunayan and his team at FMA.

TechCrunch: Amazon Acquires Fabric.com

Adding to its growing stable of business units, Amazon.com recently acquired Fabric.com and its business assets. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Fabric.com will continue to function as its own entity. Amazon’s acquisition of a somewhat unrelated company is an interesting move, in this era of corporate refocusing on core competency.
With a tough economy, now might be a great time for a large company like Amazon to pick up some great business assets at good prices. The question is, what can Amazon do to avoid the same fate as IAC?
Thanks to Brad for sending the story.

Nameade to Host ICA Auction; Make Donation to ICA

Nameade, a new domain auction venue, is now hosting my auction for PuertoRicanVacation.com. Originally, I listed this charity auction on my blog, and Nameade offered to host it to increase awareness and raise more money to support the ICA. The payment and transfer of the domain name will still be done through me to make things easier.
Nameade is a new site that launched last week. They provide a full service staff that contacts domain owners who are not in or familiar with the domain industry and finds individuals or companies willing to sell their domains. The entire inventory of names secured is then auctioned every two weeks to the domain community.
The idea is to move away from domainer-to-domainer or expired domain auctions and introduce new names into the space which otherwise would not be available.
Nameade will make a $1,000 donation to the ICA in addition to providing the venue for this auction.

Another Hat Thrown into Yahoo Ring

According to today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, another potential Yahoo suitor has entered into negotiations. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, owners of popular social networking site MySpace, has begun negotiating with Yahoo to combine these two Internet powers. The article mentions that News Corp. could receive a stake in excess of 20% of Yahoo.
In recent weeks, merger and acquisition talks involving Yahoo have included many suiters, including Microsoft (who made a $44.6 billion offer), Google, AOL, and possibly others. These talks have helped push up the value of Yahoo stock over the past couple of weeks. In my opinion, the acquisition talks are a sign of strength for the domain industry, as it shows other companies with Internet experience are bullish on Internet advertising and search. While this ultimately may not be the best for PPC income, I think it shows faith in our industry.

Web Tool Company Featured in "Untraceable"

DNSStuff, LLC, an Internet firm that offers domain tools, IP tools, and hostname tools, is featured in the recently released movie “Untraceable.” According to the Boston Globe, the film’s producers contacted DNSStuff and asked the principals behind DNSStuff to provide feedback and input. The company happily responded, and they created a new computer forensics tool that appears in the movie and will soon debut online for consumers.
Prior to reading this article,

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