DomainFest Global Recap – Day 1

As with most industry conferences, the first day of DomainFest Global was mostly spent catching up with old friends who I don’t get to see on a regular basis.   It was good to see most people in positive spirits, and it looks like the tough economy is helping people step out of their comfort zones to explore new ways to generate revenue with their domain names.

Here are a few notes from the first day:

Several months ago, I wrote about domain security and how I thought there could be improvements made to add an extra layer of protection over our domain names.   Moniker introduced MaxLock a while ago, and I learned last night that Name.com has a great new security feature available. As reported in CNN Money today, Name.com is offering customers a security key fob with an ever-changing authentication pass code.   Customers must enter their standard password, and they are then prompted to enter the security code from their key fob.   This is certainly a great way to protect a domain portfolio.

Rick Latona wrote a compelling post about why domain investors should consider attending the TRAFFIC show in Amsterdam.   He and I spoke about it in greater depth last night, and I all but bought my ticket to the show.   I have to work out a couple of things, but I am fairly certain I am going to attend. I know enough about country code domain names to know that I need to learn more about them.   I saw them used quite frequently throughout Europe during my honeymoon, and it seems like a good way to diversify a domain portfolio.   Tickets to attend TRAFFIC Amsterdam are now on sale.

The Moniker no/low reserve auction netted about $128,000.   Not too bad in my opinion and a fairly good start to the show.   Eat.net was a pretty strong sale in my opinion, and there were also a few bargains.   Nothing really sold for a lot less than I expected, which is a strong sign.

Mike’s beautiful wife Judi celebrated her birthday in style last night and I am glad I had the chance to wish her a happy birthday in person.   One of the more difficult aspects of traveling to a conference is that I leave my wife for a week because she can’t miss her graduate school classes. Mike is very lucky to be able to travel to these conferences with Judi, and the best thing is that they both realize just how fortunate they are, and they always look like they are enjoying each other’s company.   Here’s to many more good years (and to Bandit’s leg healing quickly!)

Last night was a blast.   I had the chance to spend time with my friends at Thought Convergence – parent company of Domaintools and Trafficz, who continue to innovate and expand in the industry.   I also finally was able to meet Craig and Stephen of WhyPark.   I recently launched one of my niche domain names with WhyPark (Oenophiles.com), and I hope to share some results and feedback in a few weeks.

Well, that’s it for now.   I am running on little sleep right now, but I am pumped to get the day started.   This is what happens when you travel across the country and are on New York time in California!