In light of the downturn in the US economy and the potential Snowe legislation on the horizon, I am wondering if you are spending more or less on domain names that you have in the past. Results of recent domain auctions would indicate that people may be spending less on domain names at this moment, but I am wondering whether it’s a sign of the times or if the auction market has become saturated, and sales only appear to be down when they really aren’t.
Over the last few months, I think I have been investing about the same on domain names than I did in the past. I have been focusing less on the second tier names and more on the top quality domain names for development. Instead of buying 10 or so average to good domain names per month, I have been buying 3-5 better domain names for somewhere around the same price. I don’t know if this is a reflection of economic conditions or fear of the potentially damaging legislation, but I have been buying less names, although the amount I have been spending is around the same.
I am always buying high quality domain names that I can develop. Well, on second thought,

Early last week, a reader of mine asked me to go through a portion of his portfolio (about 250 domain names) to review which names I would renew and which names I would drop. He offered to pay me for my time, and I agreed to do this in exchange for a donation to the ICA. While reviewing his list of domain names, I thought about the types of names I think he should keep and the names I think he should drop.
Most of the names in his list have strong keywords, but many were backwards and out of place. This isn’t one of his names, but it would be like RestaurantsNewYorkDelis.com or something like that. While the keywords

I want to thank everyone for coming out to dinner last night, and I would like to give a special thanks to Domain Capital for surprising us all and picking up the tab. It was very nice of them to “quietly” and unexpectedly sponsor the dinner, and we are all appreciative.
The turnout of 23 was strong despite the poor weather, and we had a good chance to network with others in the industry. We had a diverse group involved in all aspects of the domain industry, which made for good conversation. Even nicer was that I had the chance to network with people I didn’t know before the dinner, and I expect to stay in touch. We work in a small industry, and it’s nice to have an opportunity to socialize with like minded people who live in the same area.
Details about the next get together will be posted soon. If you would like to be added to the list, please let me know. Thank you again to those who came to dinner and to Domain Capital.

Below are a few unregistered domain names I believe have good potential. Although I am not charging anything for researching these names, I am requesting that the person who registers each makes a donation to a non-profit organization.
JetMechanics.com
YachtMechanics.com
SpareMotorcycleParts.com
MotorcycleCustomization.com
MotorcycleCustomizations.com
PreownedDress.com
TradeGowns.com
DancingDirections.com
ExtremeMotorcycling.com
You don’t need to tell me how much was donated, but I would love to know which charity was helped, so please drop me a line after!
A few non-profits I recommend (with the link to make a donation):
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
ALS Association
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure for Breast Cancer
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Meir Panim
American Cancer Society
Turning Point (Domestic Violence Organization)
BC Children’s Hospital
Charities Previously Helped By Generous Readers of My Blog:
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
ALS Association
American Cancer Society
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

I wanted to remind those of you in the New York area that we will be getting together for an informal dinner on Tuesday, February 26th at 7pm. There are 18 people who have confirmed so far, and a couple more have verbally confirmed to me but haven’t responded to the Evite I sent out.
If you are interested in attending the dinner, please drop me a note and I will send you the Evite. This promises to be a fun networking event for people involved in the domain industry. I am looking forward to seeing and meeting you in a few days!

Rumor has it that Internet domain mogul Rick Latona will be going live on his new blog very soon at RickLatona.com. Rick’s company has been making big waves recently with his “Daily Domains” subscription email, selling high value domain names at great prices. His sales have been peppered across DNJournal’s Weekly Sales Report of late, and it’s sure to continue.