Domain investors aren’t well liked. Beyond typical social situations, the only time someone may meet a domain investor is when they want to purchase a domain name that is owned by an investor. The vitriol aimed towards domain investors can be quite alarming. Case in point, this “domain hoarder” comment I received a while ago.
Over the weekend, Mike Carson wrote about his Friendster.com acquisition in a blog post that was widely shared on Hacker News. At one point, it was the top post of the day garnering hundreds of comments. The comment that rose to the top had little to do with Friendster and a great deal to do with Mike’s background in the domain investment space:
“Apart from this app, I’m confused how proudly this guy presents his sleazy domain-squatting shenanigans. It seems to me, setting this friendster site apart, these people are the parasites of the internet. This whole domain name business is a corrupt stinking pile of crap. Why are we tolerating this? For this friendster app, I think we can be certain, if it has any success, it will become the same crap we already have, given where this dude stands.”
Many people see domain investors as middlemen who got in the way of a business owner or founder getting the exact domain name they wanted. Domain investors, many people believe, are a nuisance. Not withstanding the fact that if a domain investor didn’t own a particular name, it would be owned by someone else and possibly already built into a brand, some people believe domain investors have something they have a right to own instead.
Unfortunately, the animosity goes beyond just words online. It can impact negotiations. It can impact someone’s reputation. Fair or not, this is part of the environment in which we operate.
No kidding. I recently reached out to a company with a geo – ai .com domain name. I have the geo .ai domain name, an obvious upgrade. They told me to do something better with my life than squatting on domains.