Within the last few months, the New York Post changed its comments platform, opting to add Facebook comments functionality. I’ve seen a number of sites like TechCrunch do this as well. Readers are able to post comments on blogs and sites which are connected to their Facebook accounts.

In my opinion, adding Facebook comments plugin/widget is a good move because it makes people more accountable for what they write. I think it tends to lead to a more honest conversation and discussion amongst users, as there are less  inflammatory  comments left by anonymous cowards.

However, there are always big privacy issues to consider if you are a Facebook user who wants to post a comment on a site that uses the Facebook Comments platform.

I was reading a politically-focused article the other day, and I read a somewhat controversial comment (in my opinion). I was very surprised to see in small text to the right of the name that the person is a professor at a United States military college. It would seem to have been something that could get the person in some hot water for posting, and I would not have posted it, especially if I knew that my job would be listed directly next to my name on the Facebook Comments section.

I obviously don’t know if the person realized how comments are displayed and I also don’t know if the person even cared, but at the best it seemed like a bad judgment call, and at the worst, it could potentially lead to the loss of a job if someone else saw it and reported it. If you feel the need to comment on a website that uses the Facebook Comments plugin / platform, you should know how your comment will be displayed and make sure you don’t put your job or career at risk.

Braden Pollock is an active buyer of domain names, primarily in the legal sector. His domain name properties are either fully developed or they forward to a portal where the traffic is monetized in one of several ways his company generates revenue.

Braden forwarded me an email from a domain investor that was pitching him a domain name and touting that it is “the exact match of the search term.” One important thing struck Braden with this sentence: the keyword term has ZERO search volume. Basically, who cares if you own the exact match domain name for a search term if NOBODY is searching for it.

The pitch also described the domain name as “category defining” and “premium,” and I would say that those terms are both misused in this particular pitch. Braden also noted that based on similar emails he has received, these terms are being overused for domain names that certainly do not merit those labels

I agree with Braden’s assessment about this, and what also struck me is that the sales pitch that was used sounded familiar. It was a very similar version of the end user sales email I posted on my blog a couple of years ago. Well, it was nearly identical aside for a few changes, and I found it quickly on Google by copying a full sentence.

If you are going to pitch a domain name to a savvy buyer, you need to know things like search volume and not waste your time on worthless domain names. It’s bad enough to register a name that would likely sit unvisited even if developed, and it’s even worse to try and pawn it off on someone else. You can use the best sales letter in the world to sell your domain names, but if they are worthless, you can’t really expect someone to pay you to take them off your hands.

I am on vacation for a few days, so comments may not be posted as quickly as usual. I will approve them when I get a chance.

A couple years back, I forgot that I had to spy estimated taxes for the second quarter in June and not July, so I try to post a reminder that they are due in case you’ve forgotten like I once did. Estimated taxes for the 2nd quarter are due this coming Wednesday, June 15.

I believe they just need to be postmarked by the 15th, but I like to send thrum in a couple days early just to make sure there aren’t any issues.

One thing I’ve done to overcome this forgetfulness and ensure that I pay on time is put a couple reminders on my calendar the week prior to all estimated tax due dates. A few days before the due date (yesterday in my case), I receive a pop up and an email reminder.