I returned home from Ft. Lauderdale yesterday evening, and I want to share some of my takeaways from the TRAFFIC conference. Overall, the conference proved to be a great networking opportunity (as it always is) in an excellent venue.
– Domain Holdings made a very impressive showing. In a short span of time, the company has hired a number of people who are experienced in the domain industry and some from outside of the domain space. In fact, when I first arrived, I said hello to someone I know who has worked at a successful but covert domain company, and I was surprised when I saw his tag said Domain Holdings. I think Domain Holdings is a collegial team of experts who are working on products and services that target various segments of the domain business, and I bet you’re going to hear a lot about them in the next year.
– I had a productive meeting with Protrada about the company’s platform, and I am going to set up my account ASAP. I was given a walk through, and I think it is going to help me stay on top of potential acquisitions and auctions. If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s quite comprehensive and well put together.
– I really appreciated the fact that GoDaddy was there and took the time to walk through the auction platform. I had some issues with it, and I was able to learn a few tricks while showing some of the areas of frustration.
– Sedo and Afternic announced news during the conference, which will help domain owners sell domain names. Afternic is partnering up with Godaddy and Sedo expanded its SedoMLS distribution channel. It’s going to pay to list your names on both platforms. I also had a nice conversation with Don Lyons, who let me know about Moniker’s new partnership with Afternic, making it easier to sell names.
– Whether you think adult sites are good or bad, .XXX domain names are good or bad, or whatever your feelings are related to the adult industry, I can tell you they have a smart team running the operation, and I think they are going to be very successful. I had a long and candid conversation with ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley, and I came away impressed with the organization.
– The .XXX party at the W Hotel was fun. The venue was great, especially because it was so close to the Ritz Carlton. I think the party could have been a bit more “adult” though 🙂
– I am glad that Mike Mann was on the Test Track panel. He was very blunt when he needed to be and was entertaining by calling things the way he saw it. I think organizers need more vetting for Test Track to avoid no shows and to choose presenters with solid business plans.
– I want to wish Mike Berkens congratulations for Blogger of the Year. It’s very well deserved and certainly hard earned.
– I think there should be a Domain Broker of the Year category. I know awards aren’t that important to many people, but the broker side of the business helps bring in considerable revenue to domain investors, and some brokers are far superior to others.
– There was a guy who showed up at the conference with one of the most unbelievable lists of category defining .com domain names that made everyone’s jaws drop. Apparently, his father founded the company a number of years ago.
– The Ritz Carlton in Ft. Lauderdale was an excellent location to hold the conference. It was large enough that there was space to spread out and hold private meetings, but it didn’t feel like it was too expansive. The corridor outside the ballrooms was conducive to meetings, and to meet with companies that had booths. There were several areas (inside and outside) and restaurants for private dining and larger parties. In addition, there are a number of hotels within walking distance for those who don’t have a Ritz Carlton budget.
– Despite the three days of rain, spirits were still very high. People stayed at the venue for the most part, and there were many good opportunities to meet with other people and companies in the industry. I tend to take some time during the conferences to catch up on work/emails…etc, but I stayed at the venue almost the entire time.
– I am sure many people are just waiting until I discuss the auction. Actually, a lot of people will probably skip over this entire post just to write negative things about the auction. In any case, I don’t think it takes a genius to realize the results weren’t great. I think the .XXX sales were strong, although I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Movies.XXX sell, in light of a few other high dollar sales. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what went wrong and what can be improved, and I am going to stay out of that.
– As usual, the show organizers put on a professional trade show without many hitches. They’ve been at it for years, and I felt that the whole Traffic team made attendees feel welcome and appreciated.
Can you tell us more?
– There was a guy who showed up at the conference with one of the most unbelievable lists of category defining .com domain names that made everyone’s jaws drop. Apparently, his father founded the company a number of years ago.
Names?
Prices?
Any rumored big sales?
@ Steven
It’s not my place to give any details. There were a few rumored sales, but I don’t know the names.
Nice wrap up. i hope you also enjoyed our party.
@ Larry
I should have arrived earlier! It was very generous of you guys. I’ll email you about lunch next week.
I never been to the traffic,but i would think the convention is there because you wanna meet people,learn a few things about parking,seo,auctions,and buy domains.I would never expect the “t.r.a.f.f.i.c auction” to be more successful then what the sales are on weekly bases.Not on this economy any way the reasson is that t.r.a.f.f.i.c is for domainers,and there aren’t that many end users there.But of course since i never been there i could be wrong.This is my logical explanation
Thank you, Elliott. Excellent and well-thought-out analysis. You pointed out a number of reasons why T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will be returning to the Fort Lauderdale Ritz Carlton next year.
I agree with you with regards to prices.
There should be a price for domain brokering.
There should also have been a price for innovation in the area of selling or promoting domain names.
Since ppc is declining as revenue source it would also have been nice to see a price for innovative monetization beyond ppc.
It seems that you had great time there at conference. Cool
Always great seeing you Elliot! Hope to be able to spend more time with you in the future!
Forgot to mention: How about Account Manager of the Year category? Healthy competition is always a good thing in my opinion 😉
It was a pleasure to meet you and spend a few minutes chatting with you. You confirmed what I always thought, you are a great guy Elliot.
@ Adam
Likewise… was good chatting with you. Let me know if/when you’re in New York City and we’ll get together.
@ Kelly
Great idea…. I think customer service is a very big reason why I do business with certain companies, and the Account Manager at each company is probably the reason customer service is so good. I think that would be a good category to add.
Thank you, Elliot.
Thanks for the information and insight for all of us domainers that couldn’t go to Florida.
Your newest Fan,
Fred
@ Fred
Thanks for reading and for the nice comment.
Do conference attendees buy and sell domains during those few days but outside of the auction?
Might this be a reason to attend events like this?
@ DougC
Yes… my goal isn’t t make deals because i don’t want the disappointment if it doesn’t happen, but there are deals happening. I sold one domain name in private at Traffic a couple years ago.