I had quite a few comments in response to my article about Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons’ vacation to Zimbabwe where he shot and killed a “problem” elephant. I wrote much of the post below last week, but I opted to post it at a later date since feelings were still very raw, and I wanted to make a point while keeping the elephant situation on the sideline.
On mainstream websites as well as on domain-related websites and blogs, many people have posted comments in reply to Bob Parsons’ video of him shooting a “problem” elephant in Zimbabwe. The vast majority of comments were highly critical of his actions, which I of course don’t condone and don’t wish to comment on in this blog post.
A number of people, both domain industry professionals as well as regular domain name owners, have said they plan to transfer their domain names from Go Daddy as a result of the actions of the company CEO. In fact, a poll on my blog indicated more than 50 people said they moved or will move domain names from Go Daddy because of the video. In my opinion, this may be a bad business decision.
GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world, and the company has 24/7 US-based customer support. The company employs thousands of people in a few states, and you don’t usually hear bad things about its technical support. Many individuals and small businesses rely on the company’s call centers for small and large domain name and website issues, and another registrar may not be able to provide the support (both in terms of expertise and round the clock care) that Go Daddy offers.
Moving to a new registrar may cause problems for a business, including business continuity issues. Companies may have to re-load websites for hosting, change url forwarding, re-set up and configure email accounts, create/move databases, pay for new privacy services, and work with a new account representative who might not be familiar with the person or business. This could lead to problems that aren’t really worth making a point about your dislike of Parsons’ actions.
There are some great domain registrars that are as good or better than Go Daddy. For instance Name.com and Dynadot are two companies I’ve only really heard good things about. However, a domain registrar change can be problematic for a business.
I understand the emotional issue with the hunt. I have a dog and don’t like to see or hear about animals being killed pointlessly or for someone else’s pleasure. In fact, it really pisses me off when people do bad things to innocent animals. However, it might not make sense from a business perspective just because you’re angry with the CEO of a company. Think about the ramifications before making an important business decision like this.
I don’t think they are the best registrar and there are some very, very good alternatives to GoDaddy.
I simply don’t want to do business with people like him.
So you say it is bad to support diversity in the registrar market?
Godaddy is awful.
Moving from them was one of the best business decisions I made this month.
Namecheap is my new home, and the interface is exhilarating when compared to add daddy.
Elepahnt shooting aside, GD is the worst host I have ever used.
Domain ip tables are easy to maintain, and the company with the best rep is in Germany. Godaddy might have quantity, but not quality
“So you say it is bad to support diversity in the registrar market?”
@ David
I don’t know how you’d interpret my post to mean that. I think that diversity is good. In fact, I use Moniker, Go Daddy, Name.com, Enom, Network Solutions, and a couple other registrars for my domain names.
I am saying that I think people should make a business decision rather than an emotional decision. Not only are domain transfers expensive for a large portfolio, but there’s a lot more than just transferring names away.
This video was likely faked, generated for controversy and publicity. Here’s why it’s been a success: http://wp.me/p1hiro-jn
You never, ever see an elephant in the whole video. Here’s why I think it’s a fake: http://wp.me/p1hiro-jt
elliot@
“There are some great domain registrars that are as good or better than Go Daddy. For instance Name.com and Dynadot are two companies I’ve only really heard good things about”
You’re comparison is not accurate.GD has ten times more domains thent hose companies,therefore he would have ten times more complaints.
I agree. An investor must be able to distinguish emotional feelings from business.
@joe
I am in thinking business needs to change. I let my emotions guide me and do what feels right.
Success has been my reward.
I think more people need to bring morals into their business.
Makes your life better imho.
@ Rich
I don’t follow what you’re saying…. ie what size has to do with anything.
@ david
I agree about morals, but for most small businesses who know little about domain registrations and hosting, changing registrars can cause a plethora of problems, and that might make a stressed business owner even more stressed.
The elephant did not die and just rot. It was eaten (yuck) by the people of the village. So IMO it is no big deal. Replace the elephant with a boar and there is no issue.
Good article.
I have all my domains at GoDaddy and I never cared for Bob Parson’s.
First, I’m not sure he even owns domains and I have no idea how he started in the business. He’s always been a loud mouth and I think this decision to kill an elephant for the good of the people was a dumb idea but at the end of the day, GoDaddy has the user interface and customer service that works for me.
So, until his dumb behavior affects my business, I’ll stay at GoDaddy.
I actually do not see the issue Elliot.
If the website is not hosted with GD then it’s a simple transition. Setup the transfer fill in the current nameservers and your good to go. Doesn’t matter if you move 1 or 50k domains.
If you need however to move to anotber website host then you just need to plan it. Planning and preperation is key here,
Course when you just move out you are gonna be in a world of hurt, but that goes for everything in this world.
@ theo
I bet many small businesses host there, too. If they make an emotional decision based on this, they will need to plan it. For someone running a small business, it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth.
Lots of planning and preparation just because a company CEO did something like this doesn’t necessarily make business sense, especially if the owner needs to pay a “techie” $150/hour to move his site and whatnot.
elliot@
what i’m saying is that if “Name.com and Dynadot ” would have 45million domains registered like GD,you will start hearing complaints about this two companies as well.It’s very hard to please 7,8 million costumers that GD has.
I disagree.
What Parsons did was wrong.
It’s worth it to me to go to the time and expense of moving my domains to ensure I no longer support this big game hunting jerk or his company.
@ Elliot
Well. I think that moving domain names is about as easy as it can get.
Hosting is another issue, and I hope that people are not using godaddy for hosting…the worst host out there.
You will be doing yourself a favor paying a tech to get you off of those servers.
But really, if you are using godaddy to host, then your site can’t be very dynamic. Therefore it should be easy to move with 0 downtime.
Maybe the process should be done just so people know how to move.
Good business would be having complete control over your internet presence, and the ability to be fluid. If it will break you to move from godaddy then your problems are huge, and I suggest hiring that 150.00 an hour tech.
Move every 2 years, you will save money and get better products. That is how we stay ahead of the game.
Never keep all your eggs in one basket.
If the good people of the world didn’t allow their feelings to influence their business decisions, there would be no hope for civilization.
You’re actually supposed to take your beliefs and your values out into the world with you. It’s what guides each of us and stops us from being total bastards.
Unsavory behavior always should have consequences.
Secondly, any one of a dozen godaddy competitors could do as good if not better a job. Being the biggest seldom means being the best.
If you haven’t heard the complaints about godaddy’s tech support and customer service, you haven’t been listening. The stories are everywhere.
I recently migrated a site off godaddy’s shared servers (a few days before this elephant news) where I was being hosted with over 3,000 other sites.
When I complained about missing and delayed emails, I was basically told to suck it up or shell out the cash for a dedicated server.
I’m much happier with my new company.
Regardless of the fact that Parsons killed Jumbo (and it was a female – not a bull), I didn’t like GoDaddy before he served up four tons of elephant tartare to anyone wearing a GoDaddy cap.
But seriously if I did have our names at GoDaddy would I transfer them out because Parsons acted like a classless schmuck? Probably not, however, I would 100% advocate putting all new registrations at another company.
The issue with the “hunt” is hardly emotional. goDaddy being a giant they are is not a good enough reason to keep them for convenience sake. If you were to really do some research, it is evident that this company’s track record is poor customer service, leader in issuing faulty SSL certificates and myriad of other problems (including employee class action suits).
That aside, if you feel comfortable supporting the company whose profits directly benefit inhumane actions, it is most certainly a choice, and not done out of necessity.
One thing there is generally no shortage of in Africa is guns. I have no doubt that if the ‘villagers’ had really wanted rid of their elephant in such a fashion they would have arranged it a long time ago without needing the services of the gun-toting former marine in question.
As for the hassles of moving one’s domains – yes its inconvenient but probably not nearly as inconvenient as being murdered by a problem CEO.
Unless there are some seriously exceptional circumstances, GunDaddy won’t be getting any of my business in future.
Its true that letting emotion ‘get in the way’ (for this, read ‘guide’) a business decision can result in lower short term financial hard cash profits – no argument there. Me personally tho I value being able to say that I dont knowingly or willingly support certain things I consider wrong, like elephant murder for example, and happily pay the premium throughout life to support that.
There is nothing wrong with killing animals when/where legal and/or necessary. People need to stop with all the nonsense already. It’s good for traffic though!! 🙂
Maybe if Robert killed a person (thankfully not the case!!!)… then maybe just maybe… we’d have ourselves a story!
@TJ
“There is nothing wrong with killing animals when/where legal and/or necessary.”
Totally agree. Especially, because this it was definitely NOT necessary!
Parsons blew apart an innocent animal unnecessarily!
He fed his ego unnecessarily.
He posted a self-serving, snuff film unnecessarily.
And it is absolutely not necessary to support a business that funds out-of-control, primal, inhumane animal murder.
This is not “emotional”, this is “factual.”
Agree with ya Elliot.
He isn’t saying not to move your domains, he’s saying just don’t make any knee-jerk reactions- a pretty rational statement.
That being said, I was disgusted at the video. I also love Namecheap and stopped using GD after I realized how simple and fast Namecheap is compared to GD. (Namecheap also offers 1 year of free privacy, and doesn’t bombard you with 5 pages of offers before you checkout)
Godaddy provides a great service in all years used them I have never had a complaint with the way they do business.
The customer care is one of the best in the business 100% proffesional. would not move my domains for any reason totally happy with the business model.
Ps would you also care if he shot a deer or some other animal. a Elephant in Africa is same as a deer hunt in USA.
Another questions generated by this little escapage: did Parson’s deduct his elephant hunting trip as a ‘business expense’ as he gave GD hats and shirts to his helpers, thus making it a ‘marketing’ event?
Just have to point out that if he did this in the US it would be a criminal offense, and he could very well serve jail time. African Elephant is protected under the Endangered Species Act. We’ve decided as a society to put people in jail for doing what he did, I think that should mean something. He committed a crime. He may not be punished for it, but to me it’s still a crime.
@ Ben
Premarital sex is a crime in some countries, too. What difference does it make if it’s a crime here and not there?
I don’t like the fact that he killed an elephant, but I am not going to spend the time and money to end my business relationship because of it.
People take their businesses somewhere else not because of him killing an animal, but it’s how he composed himself.
The reason he gave to support his action is ridiculous.
It goes like this…
What do you do when there are poverty and people are hungry ?
Go shoot an elephant.
If this is how the guy solves the problem, I got nothing to say but fire him.
@ Paul
Even the smartest people make bad decisions.
@Elliot
Agree
and the smart ones will apologize and find a smart way to make it up – instead of spinning on the issue.
@ Paul
I agree with that, too.