Yahoo on Ebola.com: “I Don’t See What the Outrage is About This”

Yesterday afternoon, Yahoo posted the video below along with an article about the Ebola.com domain name. Unlike several other major news outlets this week, the Yahoo discussion about the Ebola.com domain name wasn’t all that critical of the domain name owner for looking to sell Ebola.com.

Yahoo Finance editor in chief Aaron Task made a comment that is likely reflective of how most domain investor think. He commented, “We live in a capitalistic society, he bought it legally and he’s trying to sell it legally…I don’t see what the outrage is about this.”

One interesting aspect of the discussion in the Yahoo video is about the status of the Ebola.com website, which is certainly underdeveloped as the owner looks to sell it. Task states that “he could be doing more with that website right now…” I wonder if the owner had built out an informational website, complete with advertising banners, if the response from the media would have been as severe and critical.

Have a look at the video below when you have a moment and feel free to comment about the situation.

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

13 COMMENTS

  1. I think his view on it is different from all the other writers because he is a money guy. He reports on finance so his views are totally different than your typical writer. He looks at money first and morals second when with everyone else it’s the opposite.

  2. A company or organization that is dealing with this Ebola outbreak could benefit immensely from the purchase of the ebola.com domain. A well developed site could be an extremely valuable informational tool to everyone, because everybody wants more information on this disease . As domainers we are part of the supply chain that makes business work, and our area of expertise is names. No one would expect the companies that supply medical equipment or protective clothing for healthcare workers not to be paid for their services. Health care is a well funded part of our economy not a charity. There is an emotional response that we are dealing with regarding this domain name. I would hope that a good organization would purchase this name and provide information that we can all benefit from. I would not expect that the people who craft this information not be paid for their skills and work. The domain name is just one cog in the gear.

    • “A company or organization that is dealing with this Ebola outbreak could benefit immensely from the purchase of the ebola.com domain.”

      I don’t think any major corporation is going to want to tie their company to this disease in any way. This is going to be the biggest epidemic in our generation and the negativity created by it will be immense. No corporation in their right mind will want a website or even a re-direct of this domain to their company. The domain is affordably priced and trust me if a major company was going to buy it then it would have been bought already.

    • Elliot you need to listen to all sides of the argument, nobody on a domaining blog is going to say these guys do not have every right to cash in on this domain. They needed to be discreet, the Washington Post famed them out as some sort of Hugh Hefner of disease domains, and basically implied some very immoral things about the parties that own the domains in order to make an article, and just create drama. The domain has been soiled with some bad PR now, if some drug company buys it, they are going to catch some bad PR. The owner is not doing himself any good, by stating well I took parking revenue off, and put a link to a charitable cause. They just need to create a simple wikipedia info site, with some links, and leave a contact link at the bottom, and go radio silent with the domain. The best bet scenario would have been to hire a broker who has done business with some big drug companies, and had contacts, and they should have done a quiet deal. Domainers always catch the bad end of the commercial press, just have to accept it in current times.

    • I don’t disagree about the negative PR so far, but I do disagree that the name has been devalued. IMO, the broader awareness about the name is greater than the negativity.

      Ultimately, we’ll see what happens. If I owned the name, I would have done things differently, likely starting from privacy on the domain name to the monetization of the website. I also probably would have had the brokerage respond to questions and referred media to them.

    • Ebola.org is a live site that is for sale, they put up a nice info site.

      http://www.domainholdingsbrokerage.com/inquiry/?domain=ebola.net

      Ebola.net is for sale at Domain Holdings

      http://www.domainholdingsbrokerage.com/inquiry/?domain=ebola.net

      EndEbola.org is a live info site

      Just about all other extensions are for sale.

      BUT THE ONE THAT TAKES THE SHAME ON YOU AWARD SHOULD BE EndEbola.com ,they selling “natural treatments” for Ebola. DISBICABLE. I think most would draw the line here as there is no treatment for Ebola

      http://endebola.com/natural-treatments/

  3. Nothing wrong with selling Ebola domains (imho), look what Facebook is doing, they are rolling out a feature called SafetyCheck that lets friends know your ok after a major disaster, while i think that’s a great idea, i’m sure they will benefit from it financially in some fashion whether it be advertising or using data. So will anyone be screaming at Facebook for taking advantage of disasters? and yes SafetyCheck is registered 🙂 and not by facebook.

    http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/16/facebook-safety-check-in/

  4. I think the real point here is that NOBODY makes more effort or money when it comes to profiting from negative news, fear tactics and misery than the
    media in this country. What nerve!!!!!

  5. Did any of you read the part where Aaron Task compared the selling of this domain to that of what Military contractors like Boeing and Lockhead Martin do?

    His logic is that anyone who sells a product that associates with death is no different than someone selling a domain associated with death, He comes off more like a liberal a-hole who lacks the intelligence of distinguishing between the two.

  6. I think when the Washington post referred to Shultz as a “Merchant” of disease, considering his portfolio and what he’s doing, I’d say they were spot on.

    Some have wrote that this is “capitalism”, I agree with that 100%, just like it was capitalism when New Yorkers were selling rubble and ashes from the Twin Towers days after 911..

    We can all agree the concept of capitalism is great, it’s what made many countries the richest in the world, but the products we offer for sale is not always so great, the act of selling a product that capitalizes off the sick or the dead is simply a repulsive act.. IMO sellers like this guy have NO moral compass, no sound ethics, if he had, he’d be offering to donate a large portion of the sale proceeds to fighting the virus, perhaps it would even influence the sale, and he would still walk away with a hefty profit on his investment.

    If he made the offer on the home page, perhaps the Washington Post would view him as a merchant of humanity instead.

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