In 2004, Thailand, Indonesia, and nine other countries suffered one of the deadliest natural disasters in history, when a tsunami killed well over 200,000 people. Thousands of tourists and other people in the area were killed when an unexpected giant wave quickly swept onto land and through their villages. There were just a few seconds available to decide whether to climb a tree, enter a building with a solid foundation, or run as fast as possible to beat the wave. Many who made the wrong decision died while trying to survive. It was a terrible tragedy, and the affected areas are still in the process of recovering three years later.
An interesting thing happened just moments before the tsunami reached land that saved countless lives. As the ocean began to recede, many natives who saw this began running in the opposite direction. They grabbed their children, warned their friends, and they booked it as fast as they could run, leaving most of their possessions behind. They knew that a receding ocean meant a tsunami was about to devastate their area, and they didn’t stick around to see what would happen. They grabbed what they could and took cover as far away as their legs could take them in the five minutes they had.
While changes to the domain industry certainly are not
Domain Industry Tsunami
Rick's Last Blog Post
Rick posted that yesterday’s blog post will be his last. While Rick offers some poignant thoughts, I think one of the comments on his blog post sums things up best:
“I hope you all realize what is going on here. The message should be loud and clear. Rick has been warning everybody all year to help him mount a defense against what is coming. Very few are paying attention, and very few are helping him build the fort to protect against the coming invaders. So, rather than waste is time blogging to people who don’t listen, he is leaving us to fend for ourselves and he will use his new found time to mount his own defense (probably by developing some of his domains and selling others). We have lost our visionary and a big industry voice.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Rick stops blogging, Frank stops blogging, Yahoo kills arbitrage, Ask/Google, Snowe Bill.
The writing is on the wall.
Fast forward to 2010 and do a “Where are They Now” on the domainers of yesteryear. Some will have cashed out and be wealthy and happily retired. Some will have developed domains into businesses worth millions or maybe even billions. Most, however, will be EMPLOYEES working for a BOSS, wasting their hours thinking about the good old days and wondering what went wrong.” – Posted by: Robert Pearl
Everyone really needs to think about what is going on here. Our industry is changing. We had a much better chance a year ago when Rick first started discussing the problems that were on the horizon. They are no longer on the horizon – they are here. I hope it isn’t too late.
IsraelVacations.com – For Sale
I’ve decided to list IsraelVacations.com for sale. Israel is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary throughout 2008, and there has been a big tourism push. With the cost of booking a trip to Israel at several thousand dollars per person, this could be a great name for someone willing to take the time and effort to create a few informational pages and open an affiliate account with WC Travel or Ian.com.
I would even suggest installing a blog on the IsraelVacations.com website and adding information about various destinations in Israel. The more content you add, the more rapidly the name will get optimized and ranked in Google. Obviously that will increase your traffic organically.
I will probably do that if the name doesn’t sell. SO… IsraelVacations.com is available for 24 more hours (5pm on Friday). Otherwise, I will develop it.
***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
I forgot to list the price in this post. I had it listed here with a group of other names a few days ago. The BIN price is $10,000. I sold AsianVacations.com for $15,000 a few months ago, and I think this is also a great name. I will keep this sales thread opened until 1pm EST on Saturday.
Rick Schwartz Lists Widgets.com on Ebay
Rick Schwartz recently listed Widgets.com for sale on Ebay. There is a reserve on the auction, which is currently seeing a high bid of $2,025. The auction ends on March 26th. This is a sweet name and should sell for A LOT!
Join the ICA Already
Mike Berkens has a great post that I think everyone who has invested in domain names should read. Large corporations have been trying to take our generic domain names for us for some time via UDRP, and the Snowe legislation will make it much, much easier and even less expensive. Just to reiterate the most potentially damaging section of the Snowe legislation in case you might have missed it:
SEC. 3.(b)(1)(A)
“…such domain name is or contains the identical name or brand name of, or is confusingly similar to the name or brand name of a government office, nonprofit organization, business, or other entity;”
In short, this is considerably more broad than the Lanham Act, which targets cybersquatters from owning trademark-related domain names. The bill was presented as a “Anti-Phishing” bill, but you wouldn’t have to be involved in phishing or anything nefarious to have your domain name taken under this provision.
A company can claim that your generic domain name is confusingly similar to their name, and they can ask the Attorney General to go after the domain name owner. The owner can be liable for up to $6,000,000 (yes, SIX MILLION DOLLARS) in damages. The threat of a lawsuit like this will have a severe impact on domain values. Who would spend $10k on a domain name if a larger company can poach it?
As I see it, the Internet Commerce Association is the only group standing up for domain investors. Sure, other large domain companies have much to lose, but we can’t rely on them to lobby for us. Most will lobby for their own purposes. When a large company files a UDRP against a trademark domain name that is making good PPC revenue, do you see the parking company help the owner defend his name so they can continue monetizing it? NO. So why should you rely on large companies to foot the bill?
The funny thing is that domain owners are mostly entrepreneurs trying to start their own business online. They are real go-getters. From the looks of Mike’s post, it seems that most domain owners are sitting on their hands. Why? Please tell me why you aren’t joining the ICA.
This isn’t a fund to pay for Rick’s next floral shirt or another addition to Frank’s palace. THIS IS TO PREVENT THE SNOWE BILL FROM BEING PASSED TO SAVE THE DOMAIN INDUSTRY!
If you have no good reason not to do it, please join the ICA or make a donation – it’s 80% tax deductible. The industry needs everyone to help.
I will also match contributions – up to $1,000. In the comment box, mention Elliot’s Blog, and they will let me know how much I need to send.
Buy a Domain Name and Start a Business
One of the coolest things about owning a domain name is that you can get into just about any type of business your heart desires. Domain ownership breaks down some of the barriers of entry in an industry, and it allows you to jump right in feet first. You don’t necessarily need to sell product or services to be in a particular business, and you can make your own niche in the industry.
Let’s say you always wanted to be a travel agent or restaurant reviewer. You can buy yourself a domain name, easily set up blog software (or have someone do it for you), and start writing. You might not become recognized as the next Frank Bruni or Robert Parker, but you can carve your own niche because you can offer a unique perspective that they can’t. There are thousands of people who are similar to you, so why not reach out to them and share your interests? With a bit of web design and marketing help, you can create a unique site that tells people who you are and why you are pursuing this business. Maybe it won’t grow from anything more than a hobby, but the more you write, the better chance that someone will read it and be interested.
All it takes to do this is a domain name and an interest in a particular business. A friend of mine owns a highly targeted domain name (with an affiliate website), in the same industry my father’s been in for 30+ years. I told my friend that he should attend one of the semi-annual industry trade shows. With the domain name he owns, he will instantly receive respect from the wholesalers and exhibitors, even though they probably haven’t heard of his website. Having a well-targeted domain name tends to do that. People assume that you have a well-funded and respected website when you own a great domain name.
I am not a tax expert and this is far from “real” tax advice, but if you started a French restaurant review blog and generate revenue using Adsense or direct advertising sales, I would imagine you could deduct some of your dinners, as that would probably be considered a business expense. Why not get into a business that you are passionate about? It’s as easy as buying a related domain name and simply uploading blogging software or having a designer create a website that reflects your personality.
Of course you could do much more with a domain name than start a blog. You could build a directory site or e-commerce site with a little more work. By purchasing a domain name, you are buying a piece of land in the business district of your choice, and you can build whatever you would like. Is jewelry your thing? Why not set up shop on Jeweler’s Row on Sansom Street in Philadelphia? Want to work in the stock market? Why not buy a property on Wall Street? With domain ownership, you can virtually open a business anywhere you want!