PALM BEACH, FL – It seems that Google, the world’s most popular search engine, is determined to do away entirely with URLs in its search engine, no doubt further increasing its position in, and not to mention, the value itself of “alternative URLs” by completely removing a person’s ability to subconsciously decide whether a site is trustworthy based on the URL itself. I touched on this topic back in September 2018 when I wrote “EVIL: Will Google Do Away with Domain Name … [Read more...]
Investor Land Grab Opportunity Arises from Donuts Registry with Reduced Price gTLDs
PALM BEACH, FL –An interesting opportunity has arisen from new domain name registry company Donuts Inc., which operates roughly 240 new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Although I am less than a huge fan of new gTLDs, there are industry veterans who do in fact use them in certain scenarios of ‘super premiums’, and you’ll have an opportunity to filter through a list of over 1.1 million names (previously on hold) now being released in a price-drop by the … [Read more...]
LGBT Domain Registration Service, PrideLife LLC, Announces Relationship With Afilias
PALM BEACH, FL - A new domain name registration service is hoping its partnership with Afilias and its "LGBT" theme will help spotlight its business, which caters to the LGBT community and offers domain name registrations such as the new ".lgbt" domain name. The service, PrideLife LLC (getpridelife.lgbt), also suggests other alternative Afilias sponsored gTLDs such as ".red", ".pink", ".black" and others. The .lgbt TLD was delegated by ICANN in 2014 and shows just under … [Read more...]
‘Pointless’ Concern Could Become Domain Investor ‘Reality’ in AU Top Level Domain
WEST PALM BEACH – Back in 2017, I wrote about the likelihood of growing regulation aimed at domain names; the article was titled, “Could Domain Investing Industry End with Legal Provision for Domain Hoarding”. That writing stirred some discussion, with one domainer going as far as considering such a possibility as ‘pointless’ or as he put it, “like planning for when an asteroid hits your house”. Well, such pointless concern is exactly what is being considered by AuDA (the … [Read more...]
The 472 Domain Names That Couldn’t Stop The Inevitable Collapse of ‘Toys R Us’
NEW YORK, NY - Toys R Us is a brand we’ve all grown up with. The company was originally founded by Charles P. Lazarus (October 5, 1923 - March 22, 2018), the son of a local entrepreneur who wished to someday mimic his father’s work with his own enterprise. Those dreams became a reality in 1948 when young Charles, 25, opened his first children’s furniture store called “Children’s Bargain Town” in Washington, D.C. After years of early success, Lazarus added toys and changed … [Read more...]
The Birth of ICANN: “The Green Paper”
NEW YORK - In 1997, the United States government under then President Clinton began processes to remove its control over the Domain Name System by creating research and dialog on how control of domain names and IP addresses should be handled in the future - by a non-profit organization in the private sector. This resulted in a document which has become known as "The Green Paper" originally named "A Proposal to Improve the Technical Management of Internet Names and … [Read more...]
Verisign Releases 2017 Second Quarter Industry Brief on Domain Name Market
NEW YORK, NY – In an endless sea of opinions (I admit, including my own) it is great to look at meaningful data when it comes to where our industry is going as far as growth, innovation and trends. If you would like to read-over the Verisign’s 2017 Second Quarter Industry report, it is online here (PDF). Some key takeaways: .com registrations are up to 129.2 million. .net and .org are still major players, but in number of registrations, far behind ccTLDs such as … [Read more...]
Name Summit Digital Branding Conference; Entrepreneurs, Experts, Domain Enthusiasts
NEW YORK, NY – “NameSummit – The Digital Branding Conference” is just one week away. There will be over 40 speakers, including entrepreneurs, experts and digital branding superstars ready to engage with attendees. Expert panels will discuss leading trends in branding, influence marketing, social media and showcase the continuing evolution of domain names as an important part of powerful branding and advertising campaigns. Below is the updated line-up of experts; an … [Read more...]
Name Summit Conference in New York City Shaping Up to Be “Very Big Event”
Agenda includes long list of Industry Veterans; Live Domain Auction for WallStreet.com; Event Ending with Undisclosed "Presentation for Exclusive Asset Sale" yet to be revealed!! NEW YORK, NY – A few days ago I spoke via telephone (yes, that clunky old device still in use) with some of the people at NameSummit to discuss interesting developments for the upcoming event in New York City which is just weeks away. If you have not yet booked your tickets and stay to New York … [Read more...]
List of Newer “Keyword Rich” gTLD Domains Changing Hands So Far This Year (NameBio)
NEW YORK, NY - This is not going to be an all inclusive list as some domain sales go unreported and some I've heard of which are not listed, such as "Homes.Forsale" and "Houses.Forsale", but this will give you a good idea of the types of names changing hands and the types of dots which are building momentum. The following list of gTLDs were listed at NameBio as closing sometime during this year (2017). They are listed in alphabetical order by TLD. The list does not include … [Read more...]
Sedo.com Weekly Domain Name Sales List 04/17/2017 – 04/23/2017
Just released is Sedo’s weekly sales list, a weekly list of public transactions above $2,000. This weeks highlights included the top .com sold as NativeMedia.com at $18,000.00 US, the top ccTLD as Aercap.ru at 5,000 EUR and the top “other” TLD as Sparkpea.net at 4,500 GBP. Here is the entire list from Sedo sales from 04/17/2017 – 04/23/2017. Domain … [Read more...]
New gTLD Success Will Be Measured Only by Use; Not Sales, Not Registrations
NEW YORK, NY - This week a new gTLD sale made the news, not because of its great keyword, but due to its high price and its ending extension. The domain name casino.online recently sold for over $200,000.00 at SEDO. This might seem like a domainers dream-sale turning a lucky registrant into an instant success, but it was far from a general availability registration; it was actually a domain name reserved by the registry. So basically, it was, for the most part, a planned … [Read more...]
Sedo.com Weekly Domain Name Sales List 03/06/2017 – 03/12/2017
Just released is Sedo’s weekly sales list, a weekly list of public transactions above $2,000. This weeks highlights included the top .com sold as PremierModel.com at $10,000.00 US, the top ccTLD as Pool.com.au at 4,999.00 US and the top “other” TLD as Bramble.org at 3,549.00 US. Here is the entire list from Sedo sales from 03/06/2017 – 03/12/2017. Domain … [Read more...]
New gTLD? Not So Fast; History Suggests New ‘Right of the Dots’ Could = Total Failure
It's a time where new generic top level domains are taking a lot of the lime-light in domain circles, sales charts, and buzz; but is the entire thing just a huge distraction from what domainers should really be focused on? I stumbled upon a case-in-point scenario that no domainer should ignore, and I cannot believe no-one is talking about it more. It's got me questioning even my own enthusiasm for these new, right of the dots. And please do not get me wrong; I myself have … [Read more...]