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Kyodo News, Top Japanese News Site, Needs to Forward WWW to Website

Elliot Silver
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KyodoNews.jpI am sure many of you are watching this sad and scary news that’s unfolding in front of us in Japan. I know of a few domain investors and friends who are either in Japan or have friends in Japan, and I wish them all the best during this terrible time.

One news website I have been reading quite a bit for Japanese news updates is Kyodo News. This news outlet has a comprehensive English translated section, and it’s frequently updated with new information. As one might expect from a Japan-based news site, Kyodo News can be found on a country code domain name, KyodoNews.jp.

On one visit, I accidentally went to KyodoNews.com instead of .jp, and I was surprised to see that Chrome took me to the standard error page it displays when there isn’t a website. I assumed they own the .com and it was just some sort of error.  I checked to see if it was a redirect issue, and sure enough, www.kyodonews.com resolved, but the site didn’t resolve without the www.

I know Kyodo News has a lot on its plate right now. However, with a world audience likely numbering in the millions, it would be very smart if a web administrator turned on www forwarding on KyodoNews.com. Chrome makes it easy for people to navigate to the correct site, but other browsers and ISPs may serve up sponsored links to other sites. It takes just a minute, but it can mean a larger audience.

Secret Millionaire Viewing Party in NYC

Elliot Silver
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5

John Ferber is hosting what I am sure will be a fun viewing party in Florida on March 27th for his episode of the Secret Millionaire. If I lived in Florida, I would likely attend to show my support.

I don’t live in Florida, so I decided I am going to host a viewing party in New York City, also on March 27th, with a bit of a catch.

As you know, I am currently raising money for the Ronald McDonald House. My wife, Karen, and I will be hosting a Secret Millionaire viewing party at the Ronald McDonald House in New York City for 15 people, to raise funds for this organization.  I will personally pay for the food and drink, which will likely be pizza and pasta, with non-alcoholic beverages.

The cost to attend is a $50 donation to RMH. The party will begin at 7pm so we can casually eat and learn about what the Ronald McDonald House does and who it helps. We may get a tour of the house, but that’s not confirmed. Ronald McDonald House is located on 73rd between 1st and York on the Upper East Side. We will try to set up a video feed with John’s party in Florida.

If you are able to attend the viewing party, please RSVP here and I will add you to the Evite I am sending to past New York domain group attendees. The conference room can only accommodate 15 people, so I would really appreciate only firm RSVPs.

Don’t Be The Decision Maker

Elliot Silver
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I handed someone my business card at a conference, and it identified me as the President of my company. In talking with him a bit, he recommended that I lose the “President” title on my card, and I think he has a very good point that I want to share.

Although it might feel “cool” to hand out business cards to identify yourself as “the main man,” “head honcho,” “big cheese,” or whatever nickname you see fit, it may actually be to your detriment. Whether you are dealing with a vendor, or if you are negotiating a domain purchase or sale,  being the decision maker has drawbacks.

When you are dealing with a vendor or a potential vendor, the last thing you want is to be hassled while you are trying to make an important decision. Endless emails and phone calls seem de rigueur, and if the vendor knows you are the person that can decide the fate of a significant agreement, you will continue to be pestered until a decision is made.

Similarly, if you are negotiating a domain deal, you often aren’t given enough time to really digest the acquisition or sale.  The person on the other side of the negotiation wants you to move fast so he can close the deal. Trust me, I am usually the person on the other end of the phone or email trying to close the deal.

When you bring a business partner into the equation, whether phantom or real, you slow the negotiation and can relieve some of the inherent pressure that comes with being the decision maker. You can tell a vendor you appreciate his candor, but your partner wasn’t interested. You can also buy some more time in negotiations with a line like, “I need to discuss this with my business partner before giving you an answer.”

Having a business partner can be a solid business move, allowing you to get more than one vested opinion. However, even if you don’t actually have a business partner, there’s nothing wrong with operating like you do have one.

** The caveat is that you should never back out of a deal as a result of this invisible business partner, since you’ll sully your own reputation.

Private Domain Consulting Offer to Benefit Ronald McDonald House

Elliot Silver
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You’ve seen my post about fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House of New York City, and I want to hold a special “auction” of sorts, with the proceeds being donated to this effort.

I am offering 2 hours of private domain consulting services to the highest bidder. I no longer offer private domain consulting as part of my business, but I am going to make an exception to help reach our goal of raising $5,000 for “Team Ronald.”

Domain consulting services will be offered over the phone or via Skype if you’re outside of the US.  If you happen to be in New York City or are able to get to NYC, we can meet in person over coffee or drinks.

We can discuss your domain strategy, I can help evaluate the domain names you and your company own, I can give you some advice on buying or selling domain names, or we can simply talk about domain names for a couple of hours. I may not be the most successful domain expert, but I’ve been doing it full time for a few years.

I will leave this offer open for 72 hours.  The highest bid in the comment section at the end of 72 hours, which will be 2:30 Eastern Time on March 17, 2011, will be named the winner. If your bid comes in after the deadline, it won’t count, so please don’t try and wait for the last minute in the event my blog goes down for some reason. I do reserve the right to extend the deadline if the blog does go down for an extended period of time.

Bid increments will be $25, not including final minute bidding if there is any. That means if the high bid is $400 at 2:29 and someone posts a $500 offer and someone else posts a $501 offer at 2:30, the higher offer will win.  Any disputes will be settled by me 🙂

Your tax deductible donation to the Ronald McDonald House can be made after you’ve received the two hours of domain consulting (as long as it’s done before April 15). Thank you in advance for your bids, and I look forward to working with someone on this.

BTW, if anyone who donated already would like to turn their donation into a bid (and possibly add to it), they are invited to do so.

***********

UPDATE: Winning bid was $700

Aftermarket.com On The Ball

Elliot Silver
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12

Aftermarket.comOne thing I find frustrating after live domain auctions is the time it can take to get updates from the auction house on payments and/or domain transfers.

It’s not unusual to see transactions reported in DNJournal 2, 3, and 4 months after the auction closed. I know it’s not always the fault of the auction house, but it can be annoying. especially on large sales when cashflow is important.

This does not appear to be the case with Aftermarket.com, the company that just concluded its Domain Rountable conference auction, grossing roughly $200,000.

In the DRT live auction, my company sold HorseStable.com and HorseCorrals.com. Although I didn’t get as much as I hoped, the pair of domain names did sell. I was hoping for $4,000+ but I realize these are not necessarily names for domain investors, so likely my bad for not finding end user buyers.

Within a day after the conclusion of the auction, I had an email from Aftermarket.com.  The email had all the information I needed to push my domain name to the Aftermarket.com escrow account at Moniker, and it also informed me that a transfer had been initiated at Network Solutions for the other domain name. In under 12 hours, Aftermarket.com took possession of the two domain names.

The Aftermarket.com auction was captained by Omar Kubba, brother of Ammar Kubba, whose company operates Aftermarket.com. If it wasn’t for Omar’s unsolicited email a few weeks ago, I probably wouldn’t have even submitted these two names for the auction. From the opinion of an outsider, Omar has managed the auction quite well, and I want to him praise for his efforts.

Assuming the buyer makes a timely payment, the auction should be squared away very quickly.

I don’t generally auction my names because of the significant exclusivity periods and long waiting time between auction and payment, but Aftermarket.com’s auction (from an operation point of view) has been one of the best run in quite some time.

Thank You to Those Who Have Donated So Far

Elliot Silver
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I want to say thank you to the people and companies who have donated money to the Ronald McDonald House to help my wife and me reach our goal of raising $5,000.  As of this morning, we are just over 2/3 of the way there… Thank You!

The Ronald McDonald House is a great organization, and I really appreciate your helping us help them. I want to say thank you to those business colleagues and friends who donated nearly $3,400 so far (there have been several anonymous contributors as well).

We are raising funds through April 30 or until our fundraising goal is met.  Hopefully we will meet our goal soon!  THANK YOU!

If I missed you for some reason, I am very sorry… I double checked the list, but there’s always that possibility. I did not include contributors who chose to remain anonymous, but you are very much appreciated as well.

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