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GoDaddy Announces Layoffs of “About 8%”

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In some unfortunate domain industry news this evening, GoDaddy announced a round of layoffs that will impact “about 8%” of its global workforce. The news was shared today in a press release entitled, “A message from GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani.” The content of the press release was an email that was reportedly sent to GoDaddy employees today.

Layoffs at a large company like GoDaddy aren’t surprising right now. Tech companies around the world have been laying off varying amounts of staff lately. In fact, Fast Company published an article with the question, Why is every tech company suddenly laying off about 6% of its workforce?

I know quite a few GoDaddy employees, and I was sorry to read the news today. Hopefully those who are impacted by these layoffs are able to find employment quickly. Perhaps some will go off and build a successful business on their own.

Here’s the press release from today:

Fox.org UDRP Decision is Upsetting

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Last night, I saw that WIPO had posted an update regarding the Fox.org UDRP. Fox.org is a domain name registered in 1996, and I think “Fox” is a pretty generic term. The decision was listed as “Transfer,” which meant the complainant, Fox Media LLC, had prevailed. I hoped it was an error, but unfortunately, that was not the case. The decision was published today, and Fox Media LLC won the decision and will get the Fox.org domain name barring legal intervention.

The UDRP respondent in this case is a person named Bill Biersdorf. Interestingly, the name of the registrant differed from what was provided by the domain registrar:

CEO of NFT.com Shares Domain Name Acquisition Learnings

Jordan Fried is the owner of some exceptional domain names. A few of the domain names he owns include NFT.com, PuertoRico.com, and Fried.com. This afternoon, Jordan posted an insightful Twitter thread offering some learnings from his domain name acquisitions. I think he offers some very good advice to people who are in the market to buy domain names, and it is well worth a read.

The target audience for the tweet thread is probably other Founders and CEOs, but domain investors can use it to understand a high end domain name buyer’s perspective:

Taking a Blog Break

I have been writing articles on my blog since 2007. I have been fortunate to have the advertising support of many domain industry companies over the years, and I appreciate that. By accepting advertising revenue, I have felt obligated to publish articles on a daily basis. I usually take the weekends off from my blog, but that’s about it.

For the past 15 years, I have spent many hours each week searching for interesting topics to write about, writing articles, responding to comments, and performing general website upkeep and maintenance. I have made great friends and gotten to know many colleagues because of my blog. By publishing this blog, I have forced myself to stay up to speed on the latest industry news and trends. All of this has helped me become a better domain investor.

The new year is a good time to make a change, and I am going to take a break from this blog.

As advertising renewal dates have come and gone since last Spring, I haven’t offered the opportunity to renew banner placements. The remaining advertising commitments expire on Saturday. With no advertising commitments in place, I am comfortable to take time off. It may be a month or two – or it may be longer. It is an open-ended break.

Besides the income, the thing I like the most about domain investing is the flexibility it gives me. I can take my kids to practices or classes in the afternoon. I can play tennis or go for a bike ride or a run during the day. I can have lunch with my wife or do errands. I am able to travel anywhere in the world and still operate my business. Domain investing is an ideal business for me.

Despite having this flexibility, I have never felt completely free with the blogging obligations I put on myself. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I feel the constant need to publish content that will interest readers. I enjoy writing about domain names, but the commitment has become a burden.

This is not a “goodbye” post. My full focus will be on my domain investments. I thoroughly enjoy buying and selling domain names. Spending more time on my domain names should help me fine tune my business. Maybe I will pick up some more hobbies or do some community service or volunteer work. I will probably write an article from time to time. Perhaps I will return to my blog in the future.

I wish you continued success with your business. I will be working hard to continue growing my business, and I hope you continue to grow yours as well. I appreciate many of the interactions I have had with readers and commenters, some of whom I call friends. I am grateful for the friendships and connections I have made with other investors around the world.

Until next time…

Some Thoughts About 2023

As the year winds down, I have been thinking about what to expect for the upcoming year. I am hopeful that it will be a good year, but I would not be surprised if the business of domain investing is more challenging than the past several years.

It seems like economists and pundits believe we are either in a recession or going to be in a long one soon. I have been preparing my business for one as best as I can. I’ve been more apt to accept decent offers on inventory, and I have been spending less money on auctions and acquisitions. I would not be surprised to see domain auctions impacted by spending cuts at some point in 2023.

How I Am Preparing for the New Year

Less than a week remains in 2022. This is generally a quiet week in terms of domain name sales, so I tend to spend my working time on some end of year tasks. Here’s what I am working on this week…

Throughout the past year, I have won many domain names in auctions that ended up my accounts at different domain registrars. I have been unlocking these domain names and transferring them to my primary holding account. Having a primary account tends to make it easier to keep track of my domain names.