Quick Hits for the Weekend

Seems like even more companies than usual are filing UDRPs for generic domain names. Wonder how many companies have been successful in “acquiring” similar names using scare tactics like C&D letters or letters threatening litigation without even having to file a UDRP.

I’ve done some reading in the past few days about .Tel. As much as I “fooled” on April Fools Day, I do think there is a good reason for some people to buy a .Tel. From what I understand, it’s very easy to set up a site and takes no development knowledge. I sometimes take the development skills I’ve learned in the last year and a half for granted because I still consider myself to be a rookie, but I couldn’t have set elliotsilver.info up without this knowledge. Not needing coding/programming skills is a big plus.

Domain investors really need to learn a little bit of programming language like HTML or have someone on staff (or a reliable family member) that can assist. I’m no genius when it comes to web development, but learning the basics isn’t too painful. It makes us much more self reliant, and it would be similar to a homeowner learning basic things like changing a fuse or using a plunger if the toilet overflows instead of paying a repair guy for a simple fix.

It’s pretty neat to see President Obama on his European trip being embraced and welcomed by foreign leaders. I despise politics and political discussions, but thought it was cool to see during the past few days.

I really hope other people don’t begin using Twitter as a call for help. It’s so easy to miss a message/reply.

If you are trying to complete a domain deal and the price seems too good to be true, use Google to search for the person’s email address, full name (in quotes), and the domain name itself. See if anything sets off any alarm bells before you move forward with any kind of deal. Just because the economy is bad, doesn’t mean people are willing to give away great domain names at well below market value.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

7 COMMENTS

  1. “From what I understand, it’s very easy to set up a site and takes no development knowledge. I sometimes take the development skills I’ve learned in the last year and a half for granted because I still consider myself to be a rookie, but I couldn’t have set elliotsilver.info up without this knowledge. Not needing coding/programming skills is a big plus.”

    I’m not picking on you directly but using this statement as a representative of the pro-consensus of .tel…

    While it is helpful to set up a website without programming knowledge or hiring someone, there are big consequences to pay for putting too much faith into a .tel. ( see .tel mini guide: tiawood.com/learn/domain-investing/extension-guides/365-tel-domain-extension-mini-guide.html )

    The biggest question and concern I have for everyone: what happens when you need your .tel to scale? Advertisers are calling and want to advertise…people are demanding certain functions…What happens then?

    .tel is very limited. I have a feeling many people are going to be disappointed.

  2. I see. I’m sorry, I assumed you had by your post. I’ve seen some domainers go crazy over them without knowing exactly what they are for. Buying/Selling as if they were any other extension.

    • @ Tia

      Nope… I just think for someone who has no web development skills that wants to put information online, this could be a good opportunity. There’s no fuss – almost a “set it and forget it” type of site that requires no maintenance or hosting.

  3. “I just think for someone who has no web development skills that wants to put information online, this could be a good opportunity. There’s no fuss – almost a “set it and forget it” type of site that requires no maintenance or hosting.”

    (Blogger, WordPress. Completely free. No need to pay yearly fees) 😀

    • I don’t think it’s that easy… I guess it will come down to marketing and customer/business adoption with everything else. I don’t think this is a domain investors’ dream extension, which ultimately could prove to be very good for the registry as businesses won’t have to fight as many cybersquatters.

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