I noticed that Rick Schwartz hasn’t posted an article on his blog in over a month. His last post was published on January 27, and it is pretty clear that the graphics he shared were related to domain investors having to make decisions about the new gTLD domain names. Since the article was published, it has become an active, ongoing discussion with over 125 comments to date.
Over the weekend, I reached out to Rick to check in and make sure he’s doing alright since I had not heard from him in a while. I thought perhaps he was on his annual cruise and had taken an extra long vacation. Turns out, he is not on an extended vacation, and all is well with him.
With his permission, here’s what Rick shared about why he hasn’t written anything on his blog for over a month:
“After spending a year and a half articulating all the pitfalls of the GTlds, I decided once they came out, to sit on the sidelines, not say anything so no one can blame me for anything that might happen, as some already started to do. The pitfalls, both known and unknown that they are and will be experiencing, will be even bigger and greater than anything I have said so far.
I am on record and I won’t say another word. I’ll let the numbers and the events speak for themselves.”
A few years ago, didn’t “The King of Domains aka Rick” say he was NOT going to blog anymore??
Swore I remember his saying that…
Or is it just me??
Not sure, but if he posted that, I am sure you could find it 🙂
Yes, I believe he said that too – nothing wrong with him breaking that promise (if he did) because his posts are usually interesting
I think we are better off with him blogging than not blogging. The more insight we have from experts, the better off we all are. Rick and I don’t always agree on various topics, but I respect what he has to say and I appreciate being able to read his insights (for free).
Mission Accomplished! My Last Regular”Daily” Blog Post.
http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/12/mission-accomplished/
He said he was stopping back on dec 2011 but obviously has returned and continued blogging.
I am glad he didn’t stop.
Flouncing is par 4 the course in the 21st century.
Miss the King.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=
Why do you call him an expert? Just because he has one word orkey domain names? I fail to understand HOW one gets that “expert” tagline in this industry 🙂
Just curious! Lol
“I am on record and I won’t say another word. I’ll let the numbers and the events speak for themselves.”
Who got to Rick? Seriously? This is Rick Schwartz the guy who doesn’t back away from any conversation even when the conversation is meaningless. This is something he has been extremely passionate about for a long time and he just stops and pulls the plug. No way!! Rick needs to get back in this conversation. Any man that starts and participates in a debate the way Rick did has the obligation to everyone in the domaining world to continue the discussion.
It’s like in an election when the votes are being tallied, the politicians running for office don’t need to rehash their campaign platforms.
In this case, Rick has a lot less on the line than a politician running for office, but he’s already said his piece about the new TLDs and daily news cycle events aren’t going to change that.
My guess is that Rick is being a gentleman and a scholar…
just watching from the sidelines as things Unfold precisely as he and a few other experienced domainers saw them coming (but much much worse)…
We all have friends in both sides of the aisle “no ill wishes”, however things got heated as a result of some stupid, irrational, irresponsible, fabricated, delusional comments…
Rick is a class act, it was quite obvious why he was silent. His blog is great, and I am glad he did come back, and blog. I’m sure as the numbers start to settle, he will be weighing in with his thoughts shortly. Many of the registries, with exception of business names really have no other generic meanings to generate that make sense, or are not blocked from registration.
I find blogs such as DomainGang useless, and litter on domaining.com, but I realize they can be blocked on the feed, so that helps spot relevant blogs before they are pushed down with utter useless postings.
You nailed it, agree strongly on both points.. Rick is one of those people that domainers can learn a lot from in a very short period of time, His blog has substance, strong substance that have helped many domainers including myself master their skill, I may not always agree with Rick but I respect him greatly and appreciate him sharing his knowledge.
As for low value blogs, nothing but “Time wasters” geared for low information readers.
Unfortunately Elliot this isn’t an election but if it was and I realized I voted for the wrong guy than I would continue the debate just like happens in the real world. Every single one of us at any given time can be for or against the new gTLDs and that is why this conversation will continue on for years. No one knows if they chose the right gTLD politician and that is why this has no end and no votes will ever be tallied.
You, me and 90% of your readers still even at this point in time do not have a clear iron clad opinion about these new extensions so I think the conversation should and will continue and Rick needs to get back in the conversation.
Domaining is a very colorful world but is a lot more black and white when people like Rick Schwartz are not in it. I can almost guarantee by the end of the day or very soon Rick will have saddled back up his .horse
“not say anything so no one can blame me for anything that might happen”………..uhhhh, OK, we won’t blame you then…
I’m not a sports fan and I’ve only made a drop in the bucket
selling a few small time domain names. But not seeing Rick’s blog
posts have been like someone turning off the stadium lights…Really empty.
I know his mother’s passing a few months ago had to leave a huge hole in his heart which is what I thought he was still healing from.
Many are glad you reached out and posted on his status and well being.
Thanks Elliot!
I emailed him at the beginning of February to see if everything is OK. His answer was simple “Just taking some time off and taking a break”
I disagree with some of the things said here and there but all in all, I consider Rick a friend and enjoy his passion and his writing. Between his mother passing, Namescons’ huge success, and the gTLDs it has probably been a draining 3 months and would be completely understandable to just take a break and find some relaxation elsewhere. These are my words not his. Good to hear he and his family were all in good health. He’ll be back soon enough.
In the meantime you’ll have to enjoy other sites for your light hearted comedy and unbiased information on the new gTLDS
Pretty petty and childish of anyone who blames somebody else for their failures. That said..Rick could just blog about other things. I know he enjoyed blogging so it is a little sad that he would be bullied into stopping.
Its far from being “bullied into stopping”
Ricks a soldier.
He is busy buying newgTLDs 😀
Jim H and other hater’s,
The constant bashing of Acro/Domain Gang is getting is stale and shows ignorance….. There are many of us who appreciate the blog as being “unbiased” and written by a talented and truly gifted author. I say this being “unbiased” as I have never met him or anyone else on Domaining.com. There are better ways to handle the situation if you disagree.
Disagree with anything he writes and see what happens, Feel free to add me to the list of haters, I’ve known him longer than you have, unfortunately.
I thoroughly enjoy the perspective and creativity that DomainGang and Acro bring to Domaining. It’s not easy work and it’s time consuming, much respect to Theo.
Like you did on DomainShane’s blog?
Rick who….
BullS who…
Ron,
Thank you for saying that. That was certainly one of the biggest crash and burns of a reputation I’d seen in a while.
Acro is a tool, and annoying, and a gtld comment-spammer…not much to respect there
I removed two comments, both of which appeared to come from a proxy IP and both of which had the same email address but used different user “names.”
For a while Elliot’s was the only domain related blog I had any desire to make a direct point of visiting and checking instead of merely catching links here and there to a number of the others. Some of the others are certainly cool and do often tend to have very interesting and valuable posts, and the people behind them generally do often appear to be very gifted indeed. I had certainly known about Rick for many years, his blog, and had been to his blog from time to time. In time, however, Rick’s became only the second industry blog I now feel that way about in terms of wanting to make a point of direct visit, so that’s what I do. Would love to see him posting again, but yes I can feel that sense of how it’s probably good for him to be taking a break now. 🙂
My blog is not the place for people to bitch about other people. Please keep your comments on topic.