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Who The Hell Are You?

Elliot Silver
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When you’re getting ready to launch a website, it’s important to keep in mind that your site’s visitors and readers are going to want to know who you are and what your background is, especially if you own the category defining brand. When I first launched my geodomain websites, my About Us pages lacked detail, and a few people emailed me telling me they wouldn’t discuss advertising until they knew exactly who I am and what my objectives are/were.

People crave knowledge and information, and they want to know from where the information is coming. When Frank Schilling started his Seven Mile Blog, he was giving great domain and business advice, and he was also dissecting the news that impacted domain investors. The primary reason Frank Schilling’s blog became very popular so quickly was because of who Frank is and what Frank has done for the industry.

Whether you are developing a site about real estate, cars, the stock market, or even domain names, it’s only fair that you tell the readers exactly who you are and why you are an expert they should trust. Not only does this provide a level of comfort to your readers, but it helps provide a connection between you and your readers, encouraging them to become more engaged with your website.

The more engaged your readers are with you, the more likely it is that advertisers will pay top dollar for your available advertising space.

Get Removed from Email Lists ASAP!

Elliot Silver
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I have a number of domain names that have email addresses which receive incoming email. For many of these email addresses, I forward the incoming email to one account where I can read news submissions and other information that is sent for publication on my website.

One of these email accounts receives a lot of junk email from annoying “the sky is falling” organizations that waste my time and irritate me. Because I receive them on another email account, my “unsubscribe” emails went unheeded. It seemed that when I would filter those email accounts, they would use different senders from within the same organization. This had gone on for around a year – maybe more.

I found that the US Government has a spam email hotline where you can report spammers. The email address is “spam@uce.gov.” Yesterday, I received emails from two different and unrelated organizations, and instead of deleting them, I forwarded it to spam@uce.gov and carbon copied the senders. I wrote, “I’ve tried to get my email address removed from this spam list many times to no avail, so I am reporting it to the US Government’s spam hotline.”

Lo and behold, this morning I received emails from both organizations informing me that my email address (the one that was on their records) had been removed from their mailing lists. I don’t know if the spam hotline did anything or if the threat of the US government is what did it, but whatever it was, I am no longer on those mailing lists. If you get spammed by people who are unrelenting, just copy them on your report to Spam@uce.gov.

Get a Premium .CO Domain Name Before Others

Elliot Silver
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I was looking through the .CO corporate website today when I noticed information about their Founders Program. Similar to what .mobi tried to do with reserved domain names, with no cost for an application, .CO is banking on companies or individuals to COme up with a great idea for a .CO domain name, which will become a centerpiece of sorts to show off .CO domain names.

Applicants can choose a premium domain name to develop, and if awarded, they will have the chance to develop their domain name before others will have an opportunity to acquire them on the aftermarket or through a registrar like Name.com.

Personally, I think this concept is smart. Not only will it reward great ideas, but it will help promote the .CO brand, and it will help bring greater consumer awareness of .CO, which is important when a new registry launches. Like I’ve said in the past, if consumers are aware of the extension and they adopt it, the domain names will become more valuable for domain investors.

Applications can be downloaded on the .CO website.

It’s You! No, it’s Not Yahoo – it’s My Friend, Gregg Ostrick

Elliot Silver
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ItsYou.comTechcrunch is reporting today that Yahoo is going to spend a whopping $100,000,000 on a new marketing campaign centered around the catchphrase, “It’s You!” In typical Yahoo fashion, they did not spend any of the $100 MILLION to acquire the rights to the domain name ItsYou.com, which is owned by my friend Gregg Ostrick (and has been registered since 2002 – back when Yahoo was… well… you know).

Now Yahoo is heavily promoting, “it’s you” to millions of people around the world in a variety of different channels. Of course, they are still directing people to Yahoo.com, but people tend to add .com to everything, and I would expect “it’s you” to be no different than any others. Well, the difference is that Yahoo will be spending millions and millions of dollars on the catchphrase it’s you, and they didn’t even buy this domain name – just in case.

Yahoo is another company whose stock I am very glad to have sold.

Oprah’s Next Chapter With No Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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While Oprah and her people were excitedly (I am sure) announcing the news that Oprah will debut a new evening talk show called “Orpah’s Next Chapter,” someone else was excitedly racing to his computer to see if Oprah or her Harpo Productions had registered the matching domain name, OprahsNextChapter.com.

I can just imagine the feeling of exuberance and jolt of energy that must have ripped through the registrant’s body as he quickly typed the domain name into his Dynadot account, racing other would be cybersquatters from claiming this seemingly valuable piece of Internet real estate that was available for the taking. In my humble, non-legal opinion, just because Oprah didn’t register the domain name doesn’t mean the domain name is fair game – especially when it’s monetized with pay per click links.

In the Wall Street Journal article I read, there was also news that Oprah was starting her own television network (maybe not new news, but I don’t really know), aptly named “Oprah Winfrey Network.” Unfortunately for would be cybersquatters, it looks like Oprah’s crew won the registration race on OprahWinfreyNetwork.com, as that domain name is owned by Web Infringement,  LLC an intellectual property protection firm. The do not own OWN.com, a generic domain name purchased   many years before this new network was consummated.

It seems unlikely that Oprah wanted the domain name for her television show, as she would have acquired it for the registration fee prior to the announcement. However, who knows what will happen with the domain name now that someone else has bought it and is monetizing it with PPC links.

Latonas Set to Challenge Bido with Daily Domain Auctions

Elliot Silver
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Latonas.comI just received Rick Latona’s Daily Newsletter email, which informed subscribers of a change to its format. Instead of listing domain names for sale at fixed buy it now prices, each listed domain name will be for sale in a 24 hour auction on Latonas.com. This is big news, which is sure to drive up interest and participation in upcoming newsletters.

To be eligible to bid, domain buyers must register for an account on Latonas.com. Bid increments will depend on the current price of the auction, but auctions are slated for 24 hours each. Full details can be found on Latonas.com.

Since Sahar launched Bido, he has been discussing the importance of liquidity in the domain space. Similar to Bido, Latonas.com promises to bring liquidity to the marketplace, as buyers will set the price/value of domain names in auction rather than the sellers. It’s a gamble, but as Latona revealed in his newsletter, at least “15,000 domain, internet marketing professionals, and businesspeople” are subscribers.

The quality of domain names is what will set these two competitors apart. With Rick Latona’s ability to offer great in-house domain names as well as pawn-default domain names, he immediately brings a strong product to the market. Likewise, with good names bringing good buyers, it’s likely that others will be willing to take a chance and list their domain names for sale on Latonas.com.

In fact, I am going to be placing several bids today and will probably send a few of my domain names to sell in the coming days.

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