Let’s face it. As domain investors, we are a part of a small community, where nearly all of us are connected in some way. Some companies have partnerships, many people are close friends with others, and some people have known others via forums, chat board and industry functions for years.
No matter what someone writes nor where they write it, there will always be some sort of conflict of interest due to friendships, partnerships and other relationships. With that said, it’s important as shrewd business people and entrepreneurs to see where conflicts of interest exist and to note them in the back of our minds.
Just about all of us have created our own path to get to this little known industry. Using the same gut instinct that brought us here, we should also use it to determine if someone’s blog post, news article or other public statement is self serving or if its going to be genuinely in the interest of the industry. I have found that while some posts may appear to be self serving at first glance, the content of the post is actually helpful and informative.
For the most part, most of the public domainers (those who keep a public profile) do so to help and encourage others. While some might have conflicts of interest, people shouldn’t be so quick to publicly knock that person down simply because of a known overlapping business entity or relationship.
It’s difficult or impossible to not have any conflicts in certain posts that I make (especially those where I interview friends or discuss products/services I use), and it would be ridiculous if I had to put a disclaimer in every post. We need to use more common sense before being so critical and judgmental.