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Go Daddy Donates Nearly $3 Million So Far in 2011

Elliot Silver
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2

Godaddy LogoIt’s been well documented that Bob Parsons is a generous person and that his company, Go Daddy, is equally philanthropic. I just received a press release from the company announcing some of its recent donations through its charitable arm, Go Daddy Cares. Recently, Parsons was honored with the Muhammad Ali Entrepreneur Award.

Just a few of the organizations that have benefitted (or will benefit) from Go Daddy’s generosity this year include Make A Wish Foundation, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Child Crisis Center of Arizona, and many others.

It’s great to see a company like Go Daddy giving back to the community and non-profit organizations like this. When a company shows how much it supports organizations like these, it makes other think about making their own contributions.

Press release below:

Business is booming for the world’s largest Web hosting provider and domain name registrar and the Ariz.-based Internet company is generously “sharing the wealth.” Already this year, Go Daddy Cares, the company’s charity division, and its CEO have donated more than $2.8 million to a variety of causes in order to make a difference in the world.

Over the weekend, Go Daddy donated nearly $2.5 million to help fund the fight against Parkinson’s disease. Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons also received the Muhammad Ali Entrepreneur Award during Saturday’s Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Scottsdale. “The Champ,” who has courageously battled Parkinson’s disease for years, recognized Parsons as a philanthropic inspiration, a sentiment echoed by Oscar-winning actress and fellow honoree Halle Berry.

In a surprise move after accepting his award in front of the star-studded crowd, Parsons volunteered to match a series of Fight Night donations up to $1 million. The generous maneuver triggered contributions beyond those for the evening’s planned auction items – several from his Go Daddy colleagues. The Internet mogul believes the money will make a significant difference in Parkinson’s disease research.

Parsons was roasted with a special GoDaddy-esque video tribute that entertained a ballroom packed with A-list celebrities, such as Billy Crystal, Brett Michaels, Kevin Costner and host Reba McEntire. A friend of Muhammad and Lonnie Ali for years, Parsons has earned a reputation for going all out at Fight Night, in part because, as he explained on stage, “I don’t want to be the richest man in the graveyard.”

Go Daddy’s sole owner is at the heart of his company’s philanthropic tradition. 2011 marks the strongest start in Go Daddy’s 14-year history. This year, in addition to funding important medical research, Go Daddy Cares is focused on helping women and children.

“We feel a sense of obligation to give back, it’s just the right thing to do,” said Parsons. “Go Daddy has grown more successful year after year, but as the economy struggled, so have most charities – organizations that support people who need help now more than ever.”

Already this year, Go Daddy has also pledged:

  • $100,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona, which grants wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Parsons, and his wife Renee, are set to be the honorary chairpersons of the Wish Ball, May 14 in Scottsdale.
  • $50,000, for a second consecutive year, to help the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA, which serves low income families in the Phoenix area.
  • $50,000 to the Starlight Children’s Foundation for the Go Daddy Starlight Care Room. The money will help create a fun place kids and families can gather while visiting or waiting for appointments at a Valley hospital.
  • $40,000 to sponsor the annual “Chrysalis Honors” event for a third consecutive year. Chrysalis helps victims of domestic violence rebuild their lives.
  • $40,000 to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in Iowa, where Go Daddy employs more than 300 people.
  • $25,000 to help the Child Crisis Center of Arizona both prevent and treat child abuse and neglect.

Last year, Go Daddy donated more than $3 million to a variety of charities. A half-million dollars went to the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS and is being used to create the Go Daddy Women’s Health Center, which will be the nation’s first prevention center that connects domestic violence with women and HIV/AIDS.

Go Daddy serves more than nine million customers worldwide by helping them create and maintain their online presence. The Scottsdale-based company employs more than three thousand people and has Ariz. offices in Phoenix, Tempe, Gilbert, as well as in Denver, Colo., Hiawatha, Iowa, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Canada, The Netherlands and Singapore.

To find out more about Go Daddy’s charity work, visit www.GoDaddyCares.com.

Afternic Records Over $300k in .com Sales ($2k+)

Elliot Silver
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2

The weekly Afternic public sales report was released today, and the company reported over $300,000 in .com sales, considering public sales of $2,000 or higher. The company had 110 public sales between $1,000 – $1,999, which are not included in the report below.

Sincerely.com, which led the sales chart for the week, was a Afternic DLS sale. Personally, I think FearNoEvil.com is a great brand name, and it was a privately owned domain name that was sold by Gregg Ostrick.

All Afternic public .com sales of $2,000+ from last week are listed below:

sincerely.com $20,000.00
tview.com $19,550.00
funlink.com $16,000.00
fearnoevil.com $6,500.00
VMed.com $6,300.00
amnion.com $6,000.00
mountainholidays.com $5,995.00
trat.com $5,900.00
marketsmarts.com $5,500.00
onedesk.com $5,000.00
Greenchat.com $5,000.00
webtrack.com $5,000.00
heartlandloans.com $4,788.00
pnlp.com $4,388.00
intelligentinsurance.com $4,300.00
jcstar.com $3,988.00
rocketpack.com $3,900.00
mathalive.com $3,800.00
yourdocs.com $3,788.00
foodpop.com $3,588.00
libertynews.com $3,588.00
offshoredirect.com $3,500.00
utourpia.com $3,410.00
cinemanetwork.com $3,188.00
connectnetwork.com $3,188.00
localbaby.com $3,188.00
debtmarkets.com $3,188.00
skiandsport.com $3,000.00
asiaforless.com $3,000.00
stockon.com $3,000.00
goodoffers.com $3,000.00
omart.com $3,000.00
evergreenmemories.com $2,988.00
teapeople.com $2,869.00
quickshopper.com $2,800.00
nature-photos.com $2,788.00
traya.com $2,788.00
NextMvp.com $2,595.00
collegebiz.com $2,590.00
pickdeal.com $2,588.00
airoffice.com $2,588.00
ambus.com $2,588.00
docdeals.com $2,588.00
funbands.com $2,550.00
feelgoodnews.com $2,500.00
gotsoft.com $2,500.00
thecurator.com $2,500.00
explorebritain.com $2,500.00
buzztrack.com $2,500.00
fieldreports.com $2,500.00
BANKFAIR.com $2,500.00
storagesmart.com $2,500.00
wmpn.com $2,500.00
debenedetti.com $2,488.00
entrepreneurcountry.com $2,488.00
takeresponsibility.com $2,488.00
trotamundo.com $2,477.00
artabout.com $2,477.00
jobgallery.com $2,477.00
fleximed.com $2,400.00
darkclouds.com $2,400.00
behealthybehappy.com $2,388.00
filmtank.com $2,377.00
bostonshuttle.com $2,358.00
chinimplant.com $2,300.00
coldfusiondevelopers.com $2,250.00
creditauction.com $2,200.00
altmarketing.com $2,188.00
tempshare.com $2,188.00
microrewards.com $2,088.00
climbaboard.com $2,088.00
ceobook.com $2,088.00
talkingfrench.com $2,062.00
changesmart.com $2,000.00
grunder.com $2,000.00
soggybottom.com $2,000.00
prolegacy.com $2,000.00
oneworldcommunications.com $2,000.00
balancefinancial.com $2,000.00
natureunlimited.com $2,000.00
shoesandhandbags.com $2,000.00
motormagic.com $2,000.00
allianceadvantage.com $2,000.00
gadgets4all.com $2,000.00
arcticexplorer.com $2,000.00
ventureincubator.com $2,000.00
freshpoints.com $2,000.00
RosesToday.com $2,000.00
broadbandserviceproviders.com $2,000.00
acousticaudio.com $2,000.00

The Challenge for Larger Companies

Elliot Silver
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2

One thing that has happened in the domain space in the last few years is that many companies have grown quite a bit from their roots. I’ve only been in this business since 2003 and serious about it for just the last 4-5, but I’ve already seen significant changes at some of the larger companies.

I don’t have the experience working within one of these companies, so this perspective is an outsider’s point of view rather than from someone on the inside.

Sustaining growth is a big challenge that every company faces as it grows. Some companies need to take outside investment, and oftentimes the investors’ goals don’t align with the needs of the company’s clients. Companies need to drive a positive ROI, and that can cause it to stray from its roots in order to achieve its financial objectives. In a small industry like the domain space, that can pose challenges.

As domain companies grow, they should continue to reach out to its clients to ensure their needs are being met, just as they always have been met. Hiring people who have experience in the domain industry is one way to do this. Surveying customers is another great way to make sure needs are being met. I think the best way is to have customer service representatives and account managers who know their clients and can make sure client needs are being met at all times.

With growth comes certain expectations from those who have ownership stakes. Companies need to constantly evaluate whether customer needs are being met, and if they aren’t, they should re-think how business is done. Companies grow for a reason, and they need to realize it’s the loyalty of their core customers that have enabled this growth and will sustain it in the future.

Sedo Sells StreetArt.com / You Can Buy StreetArtist.com & StreetArtists.com

Elliot Silver
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0

I am a big fan of art. One of the downsides of living in Manhattan is that I don’t have a whole lot of wall space for art, although I could certainly fill them up if I did. Ironically, when I was in graduate school (before domain names) I bought and sold art. I didn’t do it to make money, but I did it to finance my art obsession (ie buying a bunch of limited editions at wholesale cost and selling them for a small profit each to keep an edition for free).

Some of my favorite artists include Agam, Sol Lewitt,  Charles Fazzino, Peter Max, Keith Haring, and several others. Most of these guys are more mainstream artists, but a couple of my favorites are not.

One such artist that is not really mainstream yet is Mr. Brainwash. He is known as a street artist, but also has some very cool non-street works.  He had a very cool exhibit/show in NYC for a while, and I am a fan of his work.

When I was looking into some street art, I saw that Buy Domains is selling StreetArtist.com and StreetArtists.com, each of which is priced under $3,000. I was close to buying them, but I felt that I would have to build websites to sell art in order to make the most from these domain names, and I am not interested in getting in the art biz right now

In its recent sales RSS feed, Sedo just announced the sale of StreetArt.com for $12,000. I think this was a pretty good price for the seller, and the buyer should look into acquiring the other two domain names, which are pretty cheap  comparatively. If you happen to like art, perhaps you should look into buying these two names. If you have an interest, connect with Sonia and ask her to set you up with a good price for the pair.

WIPO Results: Typos VS. .CO

Elliot Silver
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9

I want to point out two UDRP filings that were based on the same primary domain name but had different results. The first case involves a .CO domain name that matches an established .com website, and the second case involves several .com typos of the same .com domain name as the first case.

The former case involves a domain name that was recently registered, while the later involves domain names that were acquired prior to the complainant’s  acquisition. As you can see in the arguments below, the date of registration/acquisition was important in the panels’ findings.

A few weeks ago, a WIPO  UDRP decision awarded PokerStrategy.CO to the owner of PokerStrategy.com. The UDRP was defended by Raj Abhyanker, and    this case was decided by a single panelist. There were a few comments I found interesting in the discussion:

“Previous UDRP panels have found that where a domain name is purely descriptive, even where it is part of a registered trademark, then a respondent will have a right or legitimate interest, unless there is evidence that the respondent is targeting the complainant.”

“In this case the term “poker strategy” is comprised of two common English words and the combined term is purely descriptive and based on the evidence before the Panel is commonly used in the industry. Without more this would be enough to find that the Complainant has not demonstrated that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the Disputed Domain Name and to deny the Complaint. However as discussed below, there are supervening circumstances in this case which lead the Panel to infer, on the balance of probabilities, that the Respondent has in this case sought to target the Complainant and that therefore the Respondent has not acted in good faith.”

“Based on the Respondent’s own acknowledgement of the success of the Complainant’s website at “www.pokerstrategy.com” and that the site had been in operation for a number of years prior to the Respondent’s registration of the Disputed Domain Name, the Panel infers that the Complainant’s domain name has most likely developed some degree of source identifying significance, at least amongst the Internet based poker playing community.”

The second UDRP filing involves a number of domain names that would appear to be typos of PokerStrategy.com. The owner of PokerStrategy.com filed a UDRP for:  pokersrategy.com,  pokerstategy.com,  pokerstratgy.com,  pokerstrtegy.com, and  pokrstrategy.com. This UDRP was defended by John Berryhill, and there were three panelists who agreed on the findings.

There was some interesting discussion in this decision as well, and it seems that the date of the domain registration was critically important to this particular decision. Here are some findings and discussion:

“It may well be that in non-English speaking jurisdictions the relevant authorities were unaware that the term “Poker Strategy” was an unregistrable descriptive term referring, flatly, to poker strategy, but the United States Trademark Office had no such language difficulty.”

“UDRP Panels have repeatedly found that the use of common words and phrases utilized as domain names to advertise relevant subject matter is legitimate.”

“Here, the Complainant has taken the unusual approach of simply “wishing the facts away” by stating that it “assumes that Respondent has acquired the disputed domains well after the Complainant’s trademarks have been applied for.” This statement is false and is readily and demonstrably false, and was explained to the Complainant’s agents prior to this dispute, upon their attempt to acquire the disputed domain names on behalf of the Complainant. A printout of the WHOIS data for  as of the stated “Cache Date” of November 6, 2005 clearly demonstrates that the Respondent had been the identified registrant thereof well prior to the Complainant’s later purchase of the domain name.”

Congratulations are in order for John Berryhill, who was also able to get a reverse domain name hijacking decision since the complainant gave statements that:

“were clearly designed to convey the impression that the Complainant itself had been using  for a website from 2002, before registration of the disputed domain names. Whereas the Complainant could hardly have been unaware of the fact that it had only acquired  in 2006.“

One thing I learned from the first decision is that if you own .CO domain names, you need to use them if the .com is already established. Descriptive domain names are generally protected when it comes to UDRP, but if a panel thinks you registered a name to capitalize on an established website, you had better be using the domain name as it should be used based on its descriptive nature.

Why Do Domain Investors Get Such a Bad Rap?

Elliot Silver
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77

It irks me sometimes when I hear people refer to domain investors as cybersquatters or other nasty insults. The general impression about what we do seems to all negative, and people assume we monetize trademark domain names, sit on valuable domain names to hold them hostage, and we do other things that are blights on society.

Some of this may be true for some people, but the sad thing is that this behavior is not limited to domain investors. I think a lot of this reputation comes from regular people who happen to own domain names.

Every year during the election season, many political campaigns turn nasty. This happens at every single level of politics – from small local alderman elections to big national campaigns. Inevitably, some dumb politicians (or their lackeys) thinks it’s brilliant to register the domain name (or something similar) with an opponent’s name in it.

They may only be doing it for political gain, but somehow this cyberpirating makes domain investors look bad. Sure, many politicians have slimy reputations themselves, but it doesn’t seem fair that these people get put into the same bucket as domain investors, making us look bad in the process.

Let’s now discuss the perception that domain investors horde good domain names and hold them hostage when some other parties could be using them better. First off, this is complete and utter horse manure. Nobody with any intelligence would say this about someone with undeveloped prime real estate or beachfront property.

What irks me about this perception is that I’ve  tried to buy plenty of domain names from people who registered them 10+ years ago and still haven’t done anything with them. They aren’t domain investors, and many of them aren’t even monetizing these names.

When I make an offer I think is decent, I often get crazy price quotes in reply. Are these people holding domain names hostage? NO! They are capitalists with similar goals as me.

I do realize that there are domain investors who monetize trademark domain names, do nasty things with sensitive domain names, and do hold some domain names hostage. However, I believe that given many circumstances, almost everyone would do the exact same thing, whether they were identifying themselves as domain investors or not.

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