Frank Schilling Spends Seven Figures on .XXX Domain Names

For over ten years, the ICM Registry tried to get approval for the .XXX TLD. They first proposed it in 2000, resubmitted an application to ICANN in 2004, was approved in 2005, and then rejected in 2006. The ICM Registry persevered and continued its efforts to get .XXX approved, and it finally was approved in March of 2011.

Wired has a pretty comprehensive history of the .XXX tld if you’re interested in learning more about the trials and tribulations.

As I mentioned a few days ago, some of the first .XXX domain names have come online in recent days. Many of these were part of the Founders Program, which awarded .XXX domain names to companies and publishers who agreed to build and promote websites on their domain names.

I just learned that an additional batch of .XXX domain names recently went online, and they are owned by Frank Schilling’s Name Administration. These include some of the best .XXX domain names, and the back story is interesting. According to Schilling, “they were actually purchased in January (at Domainfest) before the contract was awarded. It was a huge risk buying names that didn’t exist.” (The list of .XXX names Schilling acquired is listed below).

Although the exact purchase price was not disclosed, I understand it was seven figures and it was an all cash deal.

This shrewd business decision made by Schilling is another example of his foresight in the domain space. By taking a risk on .XXX, he could have ended up owning non-existent domain names had the extension not been approved. Now, he owns a chunk of significantly valued domain names, since these are some of the best possible .XXX domain names.

Name Administration’s .XXX investment:

  • amateur.xxx
  • amateurs.xxx
  • anal.xxx
  • asian.xxx
  • asians.xxx
  • bollywood.xxx
  • book.xxx
  • celeb.xxx
  • celebs.xxx
  • chat.xxx
  • dating.xxx
  • free.xxx
  • gratis.xxx
  • hardcore.xxx
  • hot.xxx
  • indian.xxx
  • latin.xxx
  • lesbian.xxx
  • lesbians.xxx
  • live.xxx
  • milf.xxx
  • milfs.xxx
  • oral.xxx
  • porno.xxx
  • pornos.xxx
  • pussies.xxx
  • pussy.xxx
  • sexe.xxx
  • sexo.xxx
  • sexy.xxx
  • video.xxx
  • videos.xxx
  • webcam.xxx
Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

97 COMMENTS

  1. Frank Schilling is just smart ….plain and simple…heck, there is no way he could have made it so big if he wasn’t…..just like in any biz, you have to be smart to make real money.

  2. A great business decision that should have been made under a shell entity to preserve the reputation of the other assets. This kind of PR probably wasn’t anticipated and is not helpful in my view.

  3. News is news. That’s why Elliots blog keeps winning awards and has traffic @frager

    Don’t be jealous frager. Your peers have better blogs.

    Good post Elliot!

  4. That is why he is as successful as he is. But don’t forget that .XXX will fail for the simple reason that it can be blocked wholesale by schools, ISP’s, entire countries/regions, etc. with the click of a button. Internet censorship is real and getting worse.

    But for the .xxx registry, and major domainers who have the money and connections to sell the premium generics back to porn companies … they will have success.

  5. Elliot, you always misconstrue what I write as a personal attack. My point was that when he did the deal he didn’t consider the implications of a public record of this attached to the name of a company who is working on behalf of 100 domainers to change our reputations and improve our livelihoods. Back then he probably had no idea he’d be in the parking business. He’s not doing anything wrong or to be ashamed of but the public perception of domainers are cybersquatters who buy typos and then serve porn to kids with garbage traffic that doesn’t convert. All I’m saying is that this PR all over google as it will be due to all those who rip your content is not helpful.

    @ITS How does a message about Frank demonstrate jealousy of Elliot? You can go back through my blog and posts and on domain forums and find nothing but admiration and praise for Elliot since he came onto the scene. I voted for him. I often cite Elliot as an example of someone who came in late and proved that success is possible. I played a key role in Elliot’s decision to start blogging, and he played a key role in opening up a revenue stream for my blog through advertising.

    Blogging is not a competition. In fact it’s an opportunity for you to have more choices so you can follow the blogs and people that interest you. Your statement should be “your peers have better blogs to satisfy MY needs.” Just as the CMO of Cloud.com would argue that my blog is better than this one for his needs.

    Finally, the most interesting part of this post is that a lot of people benefited from DomainFest except the one company that created it for its own benefit: Oversee

  6. Owen

    Correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to imply that I am doing Frank a disservice by posting this article. Frank is the person that gave me this information. If he was worried about PR and perception of outsiders, I am sure he wouldn’t have emailed me.

    I also believe Frank’s company has plenty of adult domain names in its portfolio aside from these.

    “Blogging is not a competition”

    I agree with Owen on this.

  7. This is what I called the Sucker mentality…I want to get the 1st gadget or car that comes out in the market.
    After a while, it losses its appeal and value.

    Sucker buyers.

    Dot com is KING!!

  8. Those are some of the best one word generics that fit this extension. I’ll bet the registry will regret doing this deal, even if it was for 7 figures. Hopefully for them it was high 7 figures!

  9. I doubt Frank would be any more ashamed of his investment in .XXX than Time/Warner or Charter would be about their high channel numbers which feature soft core and hardcore porn. Adult content and Internet were made for each other.

  10. Elliot you are wrong. And we are making a mountain of a molehill.

    It’s obvious Frank gave you the info to publish.

    It’s my (one man’s) opinion that the pr is harmful. Maybe Frank doesn’t care. And that’s ok because I’ll be the first to admit that he’s much smarter than me. But a few months ago Frank’s decisions had consequences for he alone. Today his actions reflect on 100 customers who are banking on his credibility for their livelihoods.

    I am one of those 100 so from that perspective, I wanted to weigh in.

  11. Both of you Owen/Elliot need to get a room and battle it out.

    All I and we care is the info….just the facts Ma-aamm.

    I could not care if Frank is using you or not…just publish them.

  12. I think a deal like this makes the extensions approval look foolish, the bottom line was always about cash, how this garbage gets approved I suspect relates back to cash… everyone wins besides the guy last holding.

  13. The reason no one appreciates my sentiments is because you haven’t made significant money from parking $10K a year $100K a million 10 million- then felt the pain of seeing your income drop in half because some company associated with the administration of your name has porn in their portfolio or on the same server which lowers your score. That’s not talking smack. That’s talking reality. @poor uncle that’s why domainers worry and why most domainers in adult use a different holding company and parking company. Compare Rick S and see for yourself.

    There is a major backlash right now in the press about xxx being a “porn tax” levied on corporations who now have to pay for yet another to protect their brands. Again public persona that domains=extortion. My day job is helping brands shape these personas it’s something I know a little bit about and am very good at. Google porn tax and see for yourself.

  14. If you need me to say “Elliot wins” to end this so it be said.

    But Elliot had nothing to lose in the first place. He has no skin in the parking game. And that’s what this is really about @poor uncle.

    Adult+Parking=lower quality score=significant reduction in earnings

    That’s why most players have separate entities, separate servers and an unrelated to their other holdings monetization partner.

    Check and compare whois on Rick S domains and see for yourself.

    And to understand how pr right now can be toxic, Google “porn tax .xxx) and see how mainstream is framing XXX as an extortion plot to force payments for brand protections. It’s just better in stealth at this point in time, in one man’s opinion.

  15. My Friend–I’m disappointed that you chose to publish these domains on your excellent blog; and in Frank in first buying–and second publicizing–his purchase.

    We all need to be better than this.

    Just become something exists in the domain world doesn’t mean we have to be part of it.

    No matter what the profit potential.

  16. Sweet list for sure but who gets Sex.xxx & Porn.xxx ? 😉

    ———–
    The company is currently counting down until the Sunrise A and B period, which begin on September 7 and runs through the end of October. Sunrise A will give trademark holders in the adult community the opportunity to secure their trademark .XXX domain names. They can also attempt to secure their .XXX names if they own a corresponding domain name in another tld. For instance, the owner of FootFetish.com can claim FootFetish.XXX during this period.
    ——–

    So they have sold off most of the best domains even before Sunrise A begins. (it is still August is’nt it?)

    Is that a first in Domain launch history ?

    I’m guessing that will go down like a lead balloon with the Adult Sponsored Community and the .com holders 😉

    Good luck though, great domains 🙂

  17. The company is currently counting down until the Sunrise A and B period, which begin on September 7 and runs through the end of October. Sunrise A will give trademark holders in the adult community the opportunity to secure their trademark .XXX domain names. They can also attempt to secure their .XXX names if they own a corresponding domain name in another tld. For instance, the owner of FootFetish.com can claim FootFetish.XXX during this period.
    ———————————

    Great list for sure but it is only August isn’t it ? 😉

    Somehow I think that selling most the best ones off before Sunrise A starts will go down like a lead ballon in the Adult community and with the corresponding .com owners.

    Is this a first for a new domain launch?

    Congrats 🙂

  18. @ RH

    The problem with .XXX posts is that when someone enters .XXX in the comment box, it goes to my spam filter. Usually I approve them manually. Unfortunately this afternoon, I accidentally hit the empty spam button and I think iit deleted a couple of comments that should have been approved. Its likely that yours was one of those. I am sorry for that but hope you will re-post your comment.

  19. For seven figures, Frank should’ve bought the whole .xxx tld.

    He is playing with house money as he’s made so many tens of millions already from domains, but I’m not so sure this was a great investment.

    If some non-domainer millionaire did this, we would get a lot more “he could’ve put those 7-figures into much better domains”.

    Time will tell if Frank scores again but I doubt it this time.

  20. Was Frank interested in holding for the long term or flip the names a little bit like Mann did w/ dotcos

    And I must say I understand Owen’s point.

    Thanks for sharing Elliot, always interesting to read articles like this one

  21. Guess who is sponsoring TRAFFIC this time round…. yep .XXX what timing he leaks you this story and Rick shares his with Michael his all in the same day or so.

    Youre being used Elliot.

  22. @ Josh

    I don’t moderate posts, but anything with “XXX” or other porn/sex terms gets spammed, and I have to approve those manually. I don’t get any notification from spammed comments, so I check it every few hours.

  23. Should a blog report on any newx they receive.? Another terrible extension released with one target in mind.

    Nice backlinks to convert porn fans into domainers. Live name may be a problem with MSN. Sharing the ass dot com text on TheDomains and listing the Fran names are uneducated posts. It doesn’t matter if the information was shared or offered.

    The top blogs work together to reduce competition. Regurgitated news. I suppose when thousands comment on a blog, the blogger can choose to treat a person any way they prefer. Arrogance is the best trait at the top of the domain pyramid.

  24. @ Jason

    If you don’t like what I write, go elsewhere… please. You never seem to listen to advice anyway, so what’s the point of visiting? Most of the time, I feel like you write your very long winded comments for your own pleasure. In fact, I think this was one of your shortest comments.

  25. Notheless, i agree with DomainGang that blogs or online outlets report the news. News already happened. You guys report it. Doesn’t take a genius to report the news, but it takes courage to challenge the news.

  26. @ Jason

    This is a blog. It’s my opinion, and it’s not really breaking any news. I am not a journalist either. I am a domain investor who posts his opinion on news related to the business in which I am fully immersed. I might be right or wrong, depending on who you ask, but it’s opinion. I’m no genius, but I’ve made quite a nice living the last 3+ years solely relying on my domain investments.

    I happen to think this was a shrewd move by Frank and the registry. They get 7 figs in cash up front for some potentially great names, and Frank gets to cherry pick his top choices. If .XXX takes off, Frank will do very well. It was a smart move from my perspective.

    If you want to challenge the news, be my guest. You should be knowledgable about the topics though.

  27. Correction: nonetheless. Blogs are nice until they realize that specific visitors are not making them revenue. Ip addresses can be checked to review the sponsor clicks. You dont bite the hand that feeds you revenue.

    You can step on the people with little value in determining your revenue earnings. I would rather be awarded a trophy from a small organizion than to receive a domain award of any kind. Thank end-users and Google for making domains valuable. Domains are only names.

    Give respect to talented web developers. Step on SEO companies with borderline tricks. (imo), get rid of the Panda dud. WhyPark sites are getting hit hard when eHow is ranked number #1. Imo and fact, Outdated coupon sites with AdSense continue to pollute the search engine. A new extension decreasing the value of adult names. Good thing Eric sold his 4000 sites.

  28. @Elliot

    “Most of the time, I feel like you write your very long winded comments for your own pleasure. In fact, I think this was one of your shortest comments”

    Point proven. You think I get pleasure out of writing to make no revenue. Poor assessment.

    Remove all your sponsorships and see how long you last on this blog. I doubt you write to inform your readers. That’s B.S.

  29. @ Jason

    Your rant is confusing… I think it’s time to step away from the computer.

    The award I received was voted on by people who read this blog. it was an honor to receive it.

    Most of my advertisers are on 4 or 6 month renewal cycles, and just about all have renewed many times… actually, I don’t think one on here is on their first cycle. If they weren’t earning a ROI, I am sure they would spend their marketing funds elsewhere. As you can see from the links, most use tracking codes to calculate how much return they are getting.

    I think you should find a different hobby.

    “Remove all your sponsorships and see how long you last on this blog. I doubt you write to inform your readers. That’s B.S.”

    I didn’t have any sponsors for the first 2 years.

    You are right though. If I wasn’t earning money from this, I wouldn’t spend 40 hours a week writing and dealing with comments like yours. I would stay more focused on my other revenue generating websites and relaxing.

  30. @Elliot

    “You never seem to listen to advice anyway, so what’s the point of visiting?”

    I haven’t taken your advice? I stopped purchasing reverse order domain names the moment you told me they were worthless. I used your sales pitches. I dropped possible TM names to avoid conflict.

    I suppose I wasted my time reading your blog for the last 16-17 months. Damn, what a waste of time since I never listen.

  31. “Your rant is confusing… I think it’s time to step away from the computer.”

    What rant? Google Panda disguised as a competition killer (IMO).WhyPark sites getting de indexed no matter if the content is original or is content rotating across all sites.

    People think this new extension can be used to market cars, children toys, and other online content. Pathetic.

    Always count on Elliot to belittle people, especially when he disagrees with them. I may not be as rich as you (NYC complex _ I’m better than you), but at least I respect people enough to not step on them when they’re sharing their opinion.

    In the education department, I hold a MA just like you.

  32. @Owen

    You know commenting on blogs can be quite an addicting thing to do…problem is I’m in my 40’s not in my teen’s…and I really have more pressing issues to deal with than most people at this time.

    Appreciate your insights about the parking business and how BAD PR can adversely impact one’s revenues in said business. I am a newbie…so forgive me if I am mistaken, but I am under the impression that Frank Schilling is like the Steve Jobs of the domain business. So, why do you think he is so honest and let the world know that he bought and now own these pornographic names?

    Honesty is not always the best policy in business…but it certainly earn my respect instead of trying to hide behind some shell games.

    Having said that…if I have business with Frank and think that his ownership of said names will significantly impact my revenue stream I would stop doing business with him in a heart beat.

  33. @Elliot,

    “So you’ve taken the free advice I’ve given to help your business, and you’re still a sarcastic asshole? Nice – and thanks.”

    You win the award for that. I wasn’t the one who assumed another e-mailed Frank to ask questions (misinformed), and then said this isn’t kindergarten with asking questions. Or to make it even more interesting, to open Domain Questions due ti an influx of questions.

    At the beginning, all new domainers will ask questions. I noticed a few of your readers are no longer newbies, but they continue to ask many questions. In business, people ask questions to improve their decision making abilities.

    Of course, your readers will side with you because you are the number #1 domain investing news source. You are essentially a domain journalist. I run a blog stating my opinion. You write the domain news. I never mention breaking news beyond overpriced domain sales. For the most part, others on most domain blogs seem you imply you are a journalist (“as reported on Elliot’s blog”).

    I haven’t asked any question since you made it a point to bash me for doing so. I took some advice (thanked you for it), but then realized that some advice is not as effective without having a business or connections (sales pitches – less is more and no need to inform an end-user when they barely understand the Internet – recent conversion with an office supplies proves that).

    “If you don’t like what I write, go elsewhere…”

    Maybe you encoded a frequency on your blog to make people come back (domain addiction) Even when you show disrespect, I continue to leave comments.

    “and you’re still a sarcastic asshole? Nice – and thanks.”

    While your advice is free, I also took the time to help your readers with answering their questions on your blog and on theirs. You don’t need to sell one-word generic domain names to offer good advice.

    ‘Free’ is an overused word tossed around the domain industry. The top domainers tend to overuse “free” to suggest that their readers should be paying them to write articles. One top domainer people criticize deserves the most respect. He will help a person beyond domaining to better improve their situation. Besides this person, finding help is scarce.

    Elliot, in any case, you make money writing on this blog. Your advice is not free because you make revenue monetizing this blog.
    If you think you’re giving free advice, then thanks.

    If I had the money, which I don’t, I would send your wife and you Broadway tickets and pay for your dinner and drinks.

    Both times my fiance and I visited NYC, we could barely enjoy ourselves because we had to be financially conscious (high education expenses and Southern California living 20 miles from Burbank). The town car ride into NYC and the characture pictures I in front of the Renaissance broke me. Choosing good education and helping others decreased my quality of life.

    We can’t do the things we want until the right opportunity is there. It’s rare people will offer a helping hand in the domain industry. I don’t forget the good people have done for me. When I succeed, I will repay the gesture to those who made it possible for me to get there.

    However, I respect your contribution even though you make it a point to belittle people you dislike. I’m more knowledgeable than you think. Enjoy domains for what they’re worth. Always invest in other ventures beyond the Internet because any major change can impact a situation. For what it’s worth, have a great “Steppin Out” time in the city that never sleeps. Regards.

  34. “I hold a MS, not a MA”

    MS and MA. Nevertheless, both are Master’s degrees.

    “Your rant about Google Panda has NOTHING to do with the topic of this particular article.”

    You always assume I’m ranting about everything. It’s more of an opinion with facts to support the case.

    The topic of this article will eventually depend on Google Panda. I suppose porn addicts will hear about the new XXX and just type-in random keywords to get their fix. Don’t need Google to generate that type-in traffic.

  35. “I hold a MS, not a MA”

    MS and MA. Nevertheless, both are Master’s degrees. An M.S. Marketing Management and a MPA (correction on MA) have market value.

    “Your rant about Google Panda has NOTHING to do with the topic of this particular article.”

    You always assume I’m ranting about everything. It’s more of an opinion with facts to support the case.

    The topic of this article will eventually depend on Google Panda. I suppose porn addicts will hear about the new triple character extension and just type-in random keywords to get their fix.

    Don’t need Google to generate that type-in traffic.

  36. An accurate depiction of ranting is what is going on with the plastic surgery dot co and the past Chef issue. I suppose rich people rant when they have nothing to do with their time.

    Having a perception is different than complaining. If one can back up the claim, then they are using a cognitive perception rather than mass perception with agreeing to reported news.

    The new triple domain extension is another waste of time and money like the dot co (IMO). Good idea to list the triple extension names because the owner heading the article owns many adult domain names. I won’t write about anything without having some sort of experience to reflect on. I don’t care too much about the triple extension.

  37. @Devon,

    I suppose you don’t make typo errors when you type on tablets or a touchscreen phone. When writing on blogs, there is no grammar or spelling penalties. We’re not sitting in a classroom taking a final exam.

  38. On a few blogs, the platform gives you an option to make a revision. Nonetheless, once you post on this blog or most other domain blogs, the submitted comment is final. I’m sure you already know that.

  39. @frager
    “My point was that when he did the deal he didn’t consider the implications of a public record of this attached to the name of a company who is working on behalf of 100 domainers to change our reputations and improve our livelihoods.”

    How do you know he didn’t consider this ?

    “The reason no one appreciates my sentiments is because you haven’t made significant money from parking $10K a year $100K a million 10 million- then felt the pain of seeing your income drop in half”

    ummm. .. .and you have ?

    @elliot you sir should be nominated this year for Harassed Domain Blogger of Year. you have no reason to put up with this garbage from this jason guy. Don’t feed the trolls

  40. @Adam,

    Take a step back in time in Elliot’s archives. Read the old comments. It’s easy to assume the obvious reading the comments.

    Maybe you like people stepping on you. Seems common in the domain industry. Domaining is exactly like car sales.

  41. @Adam

    Having a perception is garbage content? Maybe the 140 characters or less will improve this blog. Then, you don’t have to 500 dot co domains plastered on the blog to build backlinks.

    Notice how many domainers will flock to this blog the moment there is a request to buy domain names? These domainers will list hundreds of domain names, many domains that are not even remotely close to the requirements.

    In the end, the blog is flooded with useful junk and the request is never satisfied. I assume domainers are taking the advice.

    Dumb dot triple character.

  42. @Adam

    Having a perception is garbage content? Maybe 140 characters or less will improve this blog. Then, the readers don’t have to read a list of 500 dot co domains plastered on the blog to build backlinks.

    Notice how many domainers will flock to this blog the moment there is a request to buy domain names? These domainers will list hundreds of domain names, many domains that are not even remotely close to the requirements.

    In the end, the blog is flooded with useful junk and the request is never satisfied. I assume domainers are taking the advice.

    Dumb dot triple character.

  43. Smart purchase on Frank’s part. Not sure why he would want this publicized ahead of time though.

    If I was one of the owners of any these major domains in the .com, I’d be quite frazzled knowing someone got the opportunity to lock them up in a special deal before the various official purchase periods began. Are you saying this deal was even done ahead of the Founders purchase period?

    Kind of surprised he got Porno.xxx since the .com is Rick’s and has been for a long time.

    Frank did take a huge risk not only from the standpoint of whether .xxx is going to succeed or not, but also from the standpoint of owning the major publicity level domains puts you on the high visibility targeting list at the DOJ when they look for adult companies to make an example of.

    Good thing for Frank is he could easily hop out of the investment he made quickly and flip enough of them to get his money out.

  44. @Devon

    What’s your damn problem? Apparently, you have to be an arrogant SOB to make consistent sales.

    You dont even know the whole history. Most readers are loyal to their masters. No use discussing this any further. Followers refuse to look past the obvious.

    Do you sit back and let people ridicule you? Your troll reference is played out. Imo, the triple x is a joke. Now I’m on topic.

  45. I am worried this person Jason is mentally ill. I mean this rant is off the chart.

    No one should belittle you if that happened, but why are you going into if Elliot is a journalist ? His advertisers or his lifestyle ? How is that your business.

    And I am no follower I do not know Elliot, read the blog its usually good. This is a very good story since it concerns Frank.

    Maybe Schwartz was right close comments, most of the time they are only for a backlink. There are some that contribute but what the heck everyone has a blog use that.

    Elliot I think your story was great. If people want opinion go read opinion, if you want news get news, its a big world. No one brought you here.

  46. This is an good example of why most of the new gTLD will be DOA in my opinion.

    The average person never has a chance at top tier keywords, and at the end of the day the “investors” will kill an extension by just holding the top tier keywords.

    Brad

  47. @Jason. You’re starting to sound crazier by each post! As Elliot said, perhaps you need to step away from the computer and/or get a new hobby. Wow, seriously calm down!

  48. @Devon,

    I’m not trying to start conflict. However, when you are nice in this world, people will step all over you. I learned that in the military, in domaining, and in life

    There much more history than what you see here. When your traffic goes from 60,000 to 5,000, it will have a major impact (i.e. Google Panda, imo).

    Check back at old posts dating back to March of last year (this blog). Whenever I share my opinion, you can expect at one person, in particular, to say I’m ranting, want attention, or trying to show off. Look for the one article where the comment section is closed (Frank Schilling article on his beard).

    Read my 600 blog articles. People don’t get frustrated in one day. It’s easy for people to read and think someone is having a meltdown. I didn’t have anything to eat, so that along with the usual comments made here probably sparked me.

    You would understand my domain experience through reading my articles chronicling the events. It’s when like you see a customer arguing with a cashier. You assume the customer is crazy. However, you only perceive the moment, and not that of the past.

    The triple x extension is like the dot co. The top people will acquire the best names. It’s unfair competition. You see many unfair practices. Not much one can do, especially when you have to live a poor quality of life in result of such events.

    I stopped commenting on domain blogs, but then someone decides to cover my article on their blog. Therefore, I end up leaving comments again on domain blogs. I should be writing more on my astral projection and dream site as well as my education sites to help students. Thanks.

  49. @ Jason

    I was kidding… who cares what degree either of us has? None of that matters really in the domain biz, and it certainly has nothing to do with this article.

    “Elliot, in any case, you make money writing on this blog. Your advice is not free because you make revenue monetizing this blog.
    If you think you’re giving free advice, then thanks.”

    None of the people who read this blog have to subscribe or pay to read it, so it’s free.

    “If I had the money, which I don’t, I would send your wife and you Broadway tickets and pay for your dinner and drinks.”

    The thought is what counts, and I really mean that. It is very nice of you to say that.

    “I should be writing more on my astral projection and dream site as well as my education sites to help students. Thanks.”

    Yes… spend time doing something you are passionate about. That is what life should be about.

    Have a good Sunday.

  50. Elliot

    As someone who knows you, respects you and thinks VERY highly of you, might I offer a suggestion.

    “other people’s rules of engagement are NOT yours”

    When others attempt to pull you down to their level, that is their problem, not yours.

    Why even respond to their negativity? you are far to nice of a person to be sucked into their negative vortex.

    Keep UP the good work, as their are MANY like myself, that ENJOY your blog post.

    Bruce

  51. I don’t see why everyone is freaking out at Elliot … one of the biggest, if not the biggest, player in the whole industry made a pretty large investment, and specifically emailed Elliot about it.

    What is the problem ? Regardless of what you think about .XXX and how it affects the industry (I agree .xxx is indirectly extorting brand owners and it’s bad for the industry), BUT IT’S STILL NEWS !

    Get off his case, and what is with the personal attacks about his NYC apartment and lifestyle ? That is just weird dude, get some help man, seriously.

  52. I don’t care if Warren Buffet invested in .xxx, it is still a stupid investment. If he plans to flip these quickly, he might make some money.

    These names and extension are DOA.

    I have a hard time believing this to be true

    “Although the exact purchase price was not disclosed, I understand it was seven figures and it was an all cash deal”

    Do you really think Frank or anyone else would value the .XXX extension NOW but especially before it was officially approved for around 3-5%, maybe higher of the .com value?

    Good luck on your investment Mr. Schilling regardless of what you paid.

  53. I hate how the old boy system allowed one person to buy these urls BEFORE anyone else.

    During the first go-round, I had actually tracked down the main person launching the .XXX urls AT HOME, and we spoke at length.

    I beat Frank by years.

    Instead of congratulating this guy, he and the registrar should be exscoriated for an under-the-table deal.

    • @ John B

      I disagree. Had you made an offer to them, perhaps you would be the owner. Heck, perhaps if you make a significant offer on some of the other names, you could buy those, too?

      It sounds like sour grapes to me.

  54. @johnB LOL sour grapes indeed.
    you meant the registry right ? and they should be “exscoriated” but I’m sure if you ended up with the names it’d have been ok ?

  55. Of course you don’t agree, you’re part of the problem. What a bunch of yes men, intentionally missing the point and trying to put it back on me. “Exscoriated” is the word I used and the word I meant.

    What part of “Under the table” did I lose you on?

    He put himself in the front of the line before everyone through backroom influence. He’s not a bold investor, he is a line jumper, and a line jumper to everybody, not just me.

  56. @ John

    We’re not talking about government contracts where the government has an obligation to seek out offers from all parties. These are two private entities that worked out a private deal. The registry is a private company and can do what they wish. They took a risk, as did Schilling.

    The most successful people in this business don’t sit on their asses. They work hard, cut deals, and make things happen to better their own private companies.

    If you want something badly enough, take the initiative to make it happen.

    Why should this private domain registry not have taken his money? They are under no more obligation to publicly sell domain names as you would be if someone made an offer for one of yours. People might expect or hope they would have equal opportunities, but there certainly isn’t a mandate for it.

  57. As the registry operator just to make clear…

    The Founders program was open for business from December 2010, open to all comers on a first come first served basis.

    With the founders program , there are strict development requirements, no PPC, no parked pages.
    All designed to make .xxx a vibrant space for early adopters to build showcase sites.

    We met with Frank in February I believe @domainfest and agreed a deal on the listed names, to be developed into active sites, which I understand is now happening via partnerships with established providers.

    Frank is in for the long term as there is no “flipping” allowed on Founders names.

    35 or so other companies joined Founders for some 1,500 names and some are live already.

  58. I *think* Owen meant that being associated with porn and with .xxx specifically would/might/could lower Frank’s stature among the ‘normal’ crowd.

    • @ Priv

      Weird considering Owen’s glowing endorsement of .xxx’s sponsorship of TRAFFIC on Mike’s blog:

      “http://www.thedomains.com/2011/08/06/xxx-to-be-the-diamond-overall-sponsor-of-traffic/”

      From what I can tell based on his comments there and here, Owen seems to only be worried about his own domain names being associated with Frank because he parks with Frank’s company.

      I also want to add that there’s nothing wrong with him feeling that way and he’s entitled to his opinion.

  59. Frager comment very simple- the program @Adam is Internet Traffic Frank’s parking program that has brought earning back up for 100 others due to HIS reputation. My concern was that is he puts these XXX domains under his name and on the same servers with non-adult domains, a couple of hundred of which happen to be mine, my traffic score could suffer and MY income could drop. This was a self-centered concern. It’s not about Elliott, Frank or anyone- just how this impacts ME and how regging them in a different name would have been better.

    Let the party begin for Traffic this can hurt my income a dime . Its great idea. Call a spade a spade!

  60. Regardless of what name he uses or puts the domains under, I’m sure they’ll still be using his feed, just like the other 1m+ names under the feed. It won’t have any impact on your precious pcc earnings any more than someone else using that feed who perhaps might take one of their PPC names and send out emails and post links on forums to generate traffic to their domains.

  61. Really Amazing to see some indian names in your list? and does these domain name will really work? and does Google, Bing and Yahoo will index these stupit stuff. Bing already filters the porn industry related words for most of counteries and after this Google will do the same.

  62. So will these names live in the parking arena for the next two decades ? I must admit if i had the spare money i would take a chance on this extension ……. i think anyone in this game would happily reg these names if they had the bankroll

  63. So if he paid 1M… those 33 names cost him 30K each and include some of the absolute top names possible in the entire TLD… dating, webcams etc… That should make it very unlikely to see any individual names going for more than 25-50K each at auction.

    The decision by ICANN to approve many new TLDs including .porn, .sex, .whateverelse for a 180K application fee and some red tape gutted the value of .xxx to an even greater extent than the horrible job they did marketing their plans to the small group of potential customers capable of buying and developing these domains.

  64. As a follow up with five months past I think everyone now realizes the negative impact the publicity has cast on domainers. Together with the massive pr for new tlds which awakened ceos and mobilized a collation of the Fortune 500 to lobby Congress. We are in the spotlight. Government is seizing domains, and will probably be forced to regulate to serve the corporate interests that are their only interest.

    The migration of these million domains from Yahoo to Google took 30% of Yahoo’s revenue from their bottom line to Googles. That alone proves that there is significant value in domain traffic.

    Google has banned parked domains and has used the insights gleamed from managing Frank’s domains to convince the lead advertisers on the parked page to place an ad directly on the keyword page. Having spiffed Firefox and Apple to manipulate user behavior so the type-ins go to the search bar rather than address bar, a minimum of 30% of the type-ins intended for your domain go to a page where you’ve been shut out, so they click on the ad for the same advertiser they would have clicked on had user intention not been hijacked cutting you and Frank out and charging the brand Google network rates versus the lower bid partner network where the source of the traffic is buried and rolled up with a lot of garbage traffic into a single line item. The domain channel is completely invisible. Rather then public perception of our traffic as a major share of the search giants wallet, we are castrated and led to believe we have to accept whatever we get.

    Adam I’d love to compare notes and see how your domains are doing now. It may be a coincidence but the first 7 months parking with Frank matched or exceeded the previous year with Parked which was the best year since the downfall almost bringing income back to 2007 levels.

    However in August when this announcement was made income started to drop below the 2010 benchmark. It continues to decline to almost a 50% reduction for the Sept, oct and Nov earnings of 2010.
    Not sure if this is just me but it’s clear Google in its ban of domains, leveraging the insights they gleamed and possibly reacting to this pr, is slowing killing our businesses.

    I’ll go back to what I argued in my review of Traffic- what we need is pr and visibility to demonstrate the value of these dot com gems. Right now the industry is side tracked into fascination with .xxx so much so that domaining reads like a porn aggregator. For me over the last three months $4000 has evaporated. If the same is true for 500 people holding hundreds of thousands of names, we are under attack and need to rebrand and reposition our holdings. The money is in these dot com assets, not in new TLDs. Collectively bloggers have a huge megaphone. .XXX will spend $48 million on marketing and advertising but how much has ICANN spent for public advocacy and education about dot com value and proof sources of how these investments have changed the destiny for many businesses.

    If a couple hundred marketing directors can join forces put out some press releases and get in front of Congress why can’t 500 domainers stand up for their rights as well.

    By taking the previously invisible domain channel from y to z finally there are hard core numbers that dispute Google’s dismissal of parked pages as not being of value. And now by moving the highest bidder from the parked page to the Google page and banning the intended site they have admitted that the domain traffic is extremely valuable.

    If the revenue generated is $20 million there’s another $40 million that’s been paid to acquire the traffic split between the parking company and domainer. So the traffic is actually worth $60 million so there’s a huge incentive to cut the intermediaries out. Plus they paid $126 million to Mozilla last year ($1 a type-in) to divert direct navigation from our pockets to theirs. Together that’s a $180 million dollar prize.

    What’s lost in all this is the focus on the advertiser. It’s seems to be all about building Google’s bottom line but the objective should be providing leads and lifetime customers at the lowest possible cost to help the advertiser grow its business.

    We should be building all that I present here into a business case that compels the advertiser to lease the domain as a sole sponsor. Not only do they save all the Google mark-ups, they also eliminate the competitors who now share the page. Google has the incentive as shown to beat us down and make us feel worthless. But we have the power to provide value to the advertiser that Google can’t match.

    It’s time to stop dreaming and speculating and seize the opportunity that’s rightfully ours. It’s not about Google cutting us out, it’s about us cutting them out. While dot Tv could do this and .xxx could flip fast for that, there’s $160 million dollars on the table of real money.
    Money that advertisers pay for the value we create for them.

    I urge my fellow bloggers to refocus their efforts on changing the perception of domains and the value we create.

    Ps. Adam- that mailing you refer to was an error. An unfortunate error but an error. It went to 126 domainers and didn’t generate a single click. I’ve earned over six figures on a million clicks that all came from direct navigation. Any click that delivers a lifetime customer generates 2K a year in my niche. I think they’d be pretty upset if they learned they could have had a lot more had we not been banned from promotion. Google bloggers get the same traffic via editorial and serve text and banner adwords just like we do.But they can advertise or promote all they want.

    If you want to get hot and bothered over real crimes, consider the bonnet group that was busted and who made $60 million from fraudulent clicks. They are in jail but I don’t see the parking companies nor Google refunding the customers the other $120 million they earned from the crime. One crime among thousands.

  65. Now, 1 month after the launch of dotxxx, something those in the adult industry have always known and domainers have always denied has become so obvious it can no longer be ignored: dotxxx failed.

    They get less registrations per day than that other over-hyped tld dotmobi.

  66. Pretty ridiculous statement from Frank. What are his sources and who is he to announce the death of anything? .mobi can be purchased at a well known provider right now for $6.99 vs. $99 for a .xxx domain. Think THAT might have something to do with it?? Change takes time. I think the growing plethora of tlds will eventually solidify the .xxx, .sex, .porn and .adult tlds (if they get them all). Rather than have adult content lost in the hundreds/thousands of coming tlds, adult content will have it’s own online location. Some in the porn industry protested .xxx, but I suspect they will come around. Frankly, I’m sick of adult content being lumped in with companies selling rubber dog shit out of China. I like owning real estate specific to the adult industry.

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