Non-Domain Related

By this point, I would bet you’ve heard of Lana Del Rey. Lana has a new album called Born to Die, and here’s the video of her singing her hit song Video Games last night on the Late Show with David Letterman. I know it’s not domain name related, but there are a lot of people within this industry that know Lana and support her. Congratulations to her family and friends… last night’s performance was exceptional.

I oppose SOPA because it presents a serious threat to Internet freedom and our Constitutional rights.ow.ly/8z46M

— Todd Rokita (@ToddRokita) January 19, 2012

 
If you were at the TRAFFIC Conference  in October of 2010 in Miami, it’s possible you met Indiana Congressman Todd Rokita, a friend of longtime domain investor Chad Folkening. At the time, Mr. Rokita was Indiana Secretary of State and he was in a contested race for the Congressional office he eventually won.

Congressman Rokita became familiar with the domain investment space many years ago, through his connection with Chad. I had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Rokita, and I came away impressed by his knowledge of the domain investment industry as well as his clear passion for public service.

This morning, I read a Twitter post from Congessman Rokita regarding SOPA, and I want to share the contents of the press release that was posted on his website. Congressman Rokita has announced his intention to vote against the Stop Online Piracy Act if it comes before the US House of Representatives.

“I oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) because it presents a serious threat to Internet freedom and our Constitutional rights. If it comes before the House in its current form I will vote against it.

Internet piracy is a serious problem. It robs American companies and innovators of their intellectual property, and it destroys American jobs. That said, the threats SOPA poses to Internet freedom and free speech as well as the serious questions regarding its effectiveness in combating Internet piracy are too great for me to support it. I believe there is a way to protect intellectual property while still protecting Internet freedom, but SOPA is not it.“

Thank you to Congressman Rokita.

If you’ve been to a domain conference before, you probably know who Lana Del Rey is, and you may have even met her before. Lana Del Rey, aka Lizzy Grant, is the daughter of domain investor Rob Grant, and she has been a frequent attendee to various domain conferences.

Lana Del Rey has quickly gained considerable notoriety throughout the world, and her songs have appeared at the top of various Apple iTunes charts. She’s legit, and she has appeared on a number of leading music shows around the world, and has been discussed in mainstream music media outlets like MTV, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and others.

Tomorrow evening (Saturday, January 14th), Lana Del Rey will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. This is a big deal for her and her entire family. If you’re around, you might want to check it out, and if you’re not around, DVR it. It was reported that she will sing on the Late Show with David Letterman on February 2 and she will appear on Ellen (in Burbank) later on in February.

It has been neat to see Lizzy blossom into a star, and it will be fun to watch her tomorrow night on SNL.

I am not someone that likes to gloat or brag, and that’s is the primary reason I don’t generally publish my sales in DNJournal nor do I write about anything related to how much money I earn. However, someone linked to my blog’s Compete chart in a comment on  Mike Berkens’ blog, and that anonymous coward said traffic was down 59% year over year.

I think TechCrunch put it best: “If You Cite Compete Or Alexa For Anything Besides Making Fun Of Them, You’re A Moron.”

For the sake of transparency, I am happy to share my year over year traffic numbers, with the matching Google Analytics screenshots. In 2010, my blog received a total of  460,110  Visits, which I think is pretty solid. In 2011, my blog’s traffic increased to 581,731 visits, an increase of 26%.

I also use Stat Counter to help verify traffic and because I like it’s interface. Stat Counter listed  607,299 visits to my blog in 2011 vs. 453,251 visits in 2010, which would indicate a 34% increase in traffic.

As for my business, 2011 was also pretty good. For comparison purposes only, 2011 ranked as my second highest income generating year since 2003.

2011 Traffic:

2010 Traffic:

If you operate a website (or multiple sites) I think the new year is a good time to review your website disclaimer and privacy policy to make sure they are both up to date and accurate. I did this a few days ago, and there were very few changes to either, but it’s a smart thing to do for all of your websites.

If you’re a commenter or reader (especially if it’s on a frequent basis), I recommend you review my blog’s disclaimer / terms of service and the privacy policy. I wouldn’t call them exciting reads, but you should be aware of them when you visit. You probably should do the same on other sites to see what their policies are as well.

I also recommend you check out a previous article I wrote about conflicts of interest. I am an active buyer and seller in the domain industry, and I am far more of an industry participant than an observer. As a result, I have plenty of potential conflicts of interest when it comes to articles I write and commentary I provide on my blog and elsewhere. I would say a very large percentage of articles I write are about people I know or companies I’ve done business with in the past or have a relationship with today.

I still do not accept sponsored articles, and I have very few affiliate links throughout the site. I do not expect this to change now or in the future. In fact, all of the banners you see on the site are paid placements and not affiliate banners.

I don’t believe there are any surprises, but I do think it’s something you should be aware of and knowledgable about to make your reading of my blog