Home Blog Page 1534

.Mobi Madness = .Mobi Sickness

Elliot Silver
-
10

Wow…. I just spent the last half hour of my life reading Frank’s, Jay’s, Rick’s and Sahar’s blogs along with posts on a couple of forums about .mobi domain names and my head is spinning. I don’t understand why <some> people who have invested in .mobi feel the need to defend it like they are defending their children or family. Well, I guess I know why they feel the need, but it’s painful to watch.

It’s a freaking extension. If marketers promote it, investors will probably make money. If not, investors better hope they aren’t holding the bag like many of the speculators who bought names in other little used extensions. I don’t want to hear any more about bofa, disney, skype….etc. None of that means squat for 99.5% of the .mobi names that were registered based on speculation.

In my opinion, at best, some mobile-savvy marketers will buy .mobi names for THEIR brand, and some lucky .mobi speculators will make money (not just flipping to other speculators as it seems most of the successful investors are doing). At worst, .mobi is just another choice of extension that is owned by speculators and barely used by anyone.

Bottom line is that you can’t even have a rational conversation with most .mobi investors any more. It’s madness, and its making me sick!

Citigroup Really Gets It!

Elliot Silver
-
5

Citi LogoLast week I blogged about Citibank’s purchase of ThankYou.com to go along with its “Thank You Rewards Program.” While it may seem like the obvious domain name for this program, many corporations simply assume its customers will find out more information about a branded product or service by navigating to the corporate site instead. Last week, I congratulated Citibank on this wise purchase.

I was reading a post on Frank Schilling’s SevenMile.com blog about Citigroup’s branding of Mortgage.com, and I wanted to bring attention to this. Clearly the ThankYou.com purchase isn’t just a one time smart move. There is a strong marketing culture at Citigroup, and its domain acquisitions prove that the company understands its customers’ web surfing habits.

Mortgage.com is miles ahead of any other domain name in the mortgage industry. Sure, Citigroup executives could have said “if a potential customer wants a mortgage from us, they will navigate to Citigroup.com or Citibank.com.” This could have been true, and nobody would really say otherwise. However, the Citi branding of Mortgage.com allows Citigroup to make their pitch to ANY potential customer who wants a mortgage and visits this site. Instead of paying $x.xx or more per click to attract customers to its site, they now own all of these leads. They’ve eliminated the competition that existed, and they don’t have to compete with other advertisers.

It’s so easy, but so many companies just don’t understand this. I can’t say enough positive things about this great purchase.

**Although Mortgage.com was acquired by Citigroup, when they purchased ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc.

Example of a Split UDRP Decision

Elliot Silver
-
0

Someone posted an interesting UDRP-related question in the Legal Section of DN Forum yesterday. The person asked; If a Complainant filed a UDRP for multiple domain names owned by a single entity, are the panelists forced to make an “all or nothing” decision, or could they determine that some of the domain names should be transferred while others should be kept by the current owner?

Domain attorney John Berryhill provided evidence that a split decision could be reached. Berryhill cited the Yell Limited v. Ultimate Search UDRP Case No. D2005-0091. The disputed domain names in this case were YEL.com, YellWeb.com, UKYellowPages.com and LondonYellowPages.com. In the end, the panelists ruled that:

“For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain names, yellweb.com, ukyellowpages.com and londonyellowpages.com, be transferred to the Complainant.

The Complaint relating to the domain name yel.com is dismissed.” — Source: ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Yell Limited v. Ultimate Search

In the end, the Respondent was able to retain the most valuable domain name of the group.

Get WIPO Updates

Elliot Silver
-
1

One of the most critical things a domain investor needs to do is stay apprised of domain-related subject matters, especially UDRP decisions. Domain investors can learn quite a bit from various UDRP rulings, and it is pertinent that everyone who has any money invested in domain names should stay on top of these.

I just found out that WIPO allows people to subscribe to receive UDRP updates and decisions posted by panelists. I recommend that people subscribe here: http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/subscribe/decisions.html

Leland Hardy, Inspiring DNJournal.com Cover Story

Elliot Silver
-
1

Ron Jackson comes through again with a great article about Leland Hardy, scholar, professional boxer, sports agent, financial whiz, and owner of NewYork.com. Just reading the article makes me want to get to know Leland, and I think you will enjoy learning more about this brilliant person. Read the article here.

Godaddy Signature Auction Results

Elliot Silver
-
1

It doesn’t look so great for Godaddy’s first Signature Auction. According the the listing, only 2 of the 31 listed names sold. As I said in a post a couple of weeks ago, there really weren’t very many names on the list that were that appealing, and the few that were good, had high reserves.

As I said a few days ago, I didn’t see much hype surrounding the auction, although it did receive a fair amount of press. It looks like Godaddy should huddle up, figure out where things went wrong, and make adjustments for the next time. With the addition of domain industry veteran Adam Dicker, Godaddy is still in a good position.

Godaddy has a strong brand and large following, and once they get the right mix of premium names, fair reserves with their good technology, they could have a competitive product.

1...1,5331,5341,535...1,565Page 1,534 of 1,565