Through The Grapevine

Domain Name News ICANN Further Delays .XXX Decision Summary In today’s ICANN board meeting at the 37th ICANN meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, the board postponed a decision regarding the .XXX sTLD application and directed to solicit public comment for this application within 14 days with a comment period of no less than 45 days, allowing the board to reconsider this issue at the [...] ICANN nixes Expression of Interest for new gTLDs Summary The ICANN board has voted down the community proposal for Expressions of Interest for new gTLD applicants, requiring a $55,000 application fee. The proposal was mainly driven by proponents and applicants for new gTLDs with the hopes of speeding up the process. (c) 2009 DomainNameNews.com Advertisement Upcoming Domain Industry Events, Conferences & Auctions Colbert Report Mocks SurvivalSeedBank.With DomainTools.com Help Summary DNN’s crack team of roving reporters sent us a tip that Comedy Central’s Colbert Report just gave DomainTools.com some prime placement.  In a report on SurvivalSeedBank.com, host Stephen Colbert mocks the website copy which states “If you don’t have the ability to grow your own food next year your life may be in danger” . [...] Domainer Goes Road Tripping For GM & Charity- #sxswsf Summary A good friend of DNN’s and domainer (and winner of DomainFest pitchfest) is participating in the GM Road Trip Challenge.   They’re competing against other teams to win money for charity.  If you want to help their team, you can do so by checking out their site at their cool domain RoadChallenge.com and contributing a comment [...] Huffington Post Gets In On Top Domain Name Story Summary With the buzz circulating around the upcoming Sex.com sale, mainstream press is picking up the story of  “the world’s most expensive domains”.  Several people contacted us to tell us about CNN running the Sex.com domain sale on the ticker this morning. Now HuffPo is getting in on the story with their take on the top domain [...] Domaining - Expired Domain Names - Expiring Domain Names Godaddy Registers Its 40 Millionth Domain Summary Over the years I’ve seen registrars come and go. One registrar that I really admire, is Godaddy. Bob Parsons has led the industry for many years and the recent stats published by Godaddy are simply amazing. “GoDaddy now holds a near 50 percent market share of all active new domains registered in the world and [...] Poker.org Sells For $1 Million Summary Its been reported that Sedo has brokered a deal selling poker.org to PokerCompany.com for the sum of $1 million. Other .org auctions include engineering.org for $198k which happened in 2003 and date.org for $150k in 2006. 10 Interesting Facts From The Tucows Q4 Earnings Summary A few snippets of interest came out of the 2009 earnings call for TCX. For the record, neither I, nor any company I’m associated with own any shares in TCX. 1. Revenue for the fourth quarter increased 6.1% 2. New registrations up more than 10% 3. For 2009 as a whole, domain service revenue grew almost 10% compared [...] The Domains As We Predicted .XXX Decision Is Pushed Off Until Brussell Meeting Summary As we predicted in our blog post last month, ICANN pushed off a a vote on ICM Registry’s proposal to run the  .XXX domain name extension to “no later than its Brussels meeting,” which is scheduled for June 20-25. ICANN directed its general counsel and chief executive to formulate “possible process options” to [...] Utah House and Senate Pass CADNA Backed Trademark Bill, Why This Is VERY Bad News For Domainers Summary The “UTAH E-COMMERCE INTEGRITY ACT” which was just introduced in December of 2009, passed the Utah Senate last month, was voted into law by the Utah House today. When I first wrote about this bill in December,  it was meet with the usual domainer apathy I see when I write about something that can have huge [...] Another Generic Domain Lost In WIPO When Domain Holder Fails To Respond: 7Days.com Summary In a WIPO decision issued today a pretty generic domain domain,  7Days.com was awarded to a the owner of a trademark registered in Greece and Portugal. Although the domain was parked, none of the links were alleged to go to the trademark owners site or competitors site, just a general parking page. “”The Panel finds on the [...] Elliot's Blog Sex.com Sale To Be a No Reserve Auction Summary As I previously reported, Sex.com will be up for auction at the law offices of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP, 156 West 56th Street, New York, New York on March 18, 2010 at 11 am. The auction is a result of a foreclosure, a few years after the 2006 sale, which was reported (but [...] Related posts: 1. [Sex.com For Sale in Foreclosure Auction][1] In exactly one month from today, we may see... 2. [Results of Moniker No/Low Reserve Auction][2] Thanks to Mike at TheDomains.com for providing the results of... 3. [Suggestions for a Successful Domain Auction][3] The success of domain auctions has spawned the introduction of... [1]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/sex-com-for-s ale-in-foreclosure-auction-63812 "Permanent Link: Sex.com For Sale in Foreclosure Auction" [2]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/results-of-mo niker-nolow-reserve-auction "Permanent Link: Results of Moniker No/Low Reserve Auction" [3]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/suggestions-f or-a-successful-domain-auction "Permanent Link: Suggestions for a Successful Domain Auction" Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. Domain Registration Contest: Win $150! Summary IDN Tools and ElliotsBlog.com are co-sponsoring a IDN domain contest beginning today and ending in two weeks from today. All you have to do to win is register the IDN domain name with the highest footprint (explained below) and you will win $150. The second place winner will receive $100, and the third place winner [...] Related posts: 1. [Comparing Google Exact Match Search Volume to Type-in Traffic][1] I spoke on the phone yesterday with a gentleman who... 2. [Some Sunday Thoughts][2] It’s another lazy(ish) Sunday, and here are some things I... 3. [Finding Keyword Domains][3] I think the most important reason to buy keyword domain... [1]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/comparing-sea rch-volume-to-traffic-54251 "Permanent Link: Comparing Google Exact Match Search Volume to Type-in Traffic" [2]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/some-sunday-t houghts-0946 "Permanent Link: Some Sunday Thoughts" [3]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/finding-keywo rd-domains "Permanent Link: Finding Keyword Domains" Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. Welcome Name.com! Summary As you may have already noticed, I am happy to announce that Name.com has made an advertising commitment on my blog. I’ve heard a number of positive things about Name.com, especially working with the company, and now I have the chance to do so. Name.com offers a number of great products and services for domain investors, [...] Related posts: 1. [Domain Name Security Offerings][1] With domain theft in the news again, it’s time to... 2. [Keyword Search Tool to find Domain Names][2] I’ve been using a great keyword search tool to help... 3. [Fabulous: Free Privacy & Better Security][3] I received an email from Fabulous this morning containing some... [1]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/domain-name-s ecurity-offerings "Permanent Link: Domain Name Security Offerings" [2]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/keyword-searc h-tool-to-find-domain-names "Permanent Link: Keyword Search Tool to find Domain Names" [3]: http://www.elliotsblog.com/fabulous-free -privacy-better-security "Permanent Link: Fabulous: Free Privacy & Better Security" Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. David Carter My Top 10 Essential Wordpress Plugins Summary Here are a few of the plugins I use to extend the core capabilities of Wordpress. How To Keep Wordpress Current First and foremost is Plugin Central. This was shown to me by Ed Keay-Smith of Ozdomainer.com. It keeps track of all of the other plugins installed on a site and automatically lets you know when new [...] Domain Development – XSitePro or Wordpress? Summary For a number of years now, I’ve been a user and fan of XSitePro. The program is a domainer’s dream and could have been made specifically with domainers in mind. It was certainly built with the affiliate marketer in mind and that’s it’s real strength. Using the in-built templates, it takes just a few minutes to get [...]

Domain Name Wire Poll: How Long Until New Top Level Domain Names? Summary When do you think new TLDs will be available for registration? Another ICANN meeting has wrapped up. Blows were dealt to many, but some progress was made. With EOI off the table, the focus is on settling the “overarching issues”. The intellectual property constituency, which didn’t show up to Nairobi, was perhaps the [...] ICANN Board Drops Bomb on Registrars Hoping to Launch New TLDs Summary Board opts for separation of registrars and registries for new top level domain names. ICANN’s board resolved today that there will be “strict separation of entities offering registry services and those acting as registrars. No co-ownership will be allowed.” However, the board left the possibility open for compromise, stating that if the Generic Names Supporting Organization [...] Shocker: ICANN Nixes Expressions of Interest for New TLDs Summary No Expressions of Interest for new top level domain names. I guess I’m not in the internal loop at ICANN, but I’m surprised that its board voted to completely nix the idea of “Expressions of Interest” for new top level domain names. The idea was simple. If you want to apply for a new top level [...] ICANN Delays .XXX (Again) Summary .XXX decision pushed until next ICANN meeting. Should we really be so surprised? ICANN’s board has decided not to act on the independent review of its decision to deny ICM Registry the .xxx top level domain name. Until further comment. Insert joke about delayed sexual gratification here. ICANN has punted. “Let’s think about this some more” is [...] Company Sends Press Release After Buying $1,088 Domain Name Summary Company brings new meaning to “pumping”. I’m not sure what it’s like being a company traded on the pink sheets. But a lot of them try to do whatever they can to hype themselves. Today The Amergence Group (PINKSHEETS: AMNG) sent out a press release titled “Amergence Group Successfully Bids on and Acquires PanPacific International Domain [...] Domainer News - Daily updates from the Domain Industry Changes to .NL Policy announced by SIDN Summary SIDN have announced the outcomes of the 2008 Domain Name Debate including the recently introduced new rules for non-Dutch registrants on the use of a Dutch domicile address that was implemented back in October. Changes include a reduction in the amount of Whois data made available, ability to reserve a .NL domain name and dropping [...] Dark Blue Sea finally accepts the revised Photon offer for the shares Summary Dark Blue Sea has recently accepted the revised Photon Group offer of 35 cent per share.So,in the absence of a higher offer,Dark Blue Sea and Photon will close the deal on Monday 14 December 2009. Tim Hughes,Photon’s Executive Chairman said : “We believe that this revised recommended offer provides certainly to DBS shareholders,staff and customers.We urge [...] Three Registrars Lose ICANN Accreditation Summary 30 November 2009 On Wednesday, 25 November 2009, ICANN terminated its accreditation agreement with three registrars — Hosting365 Inc., OOO “Russian Registrar” and R.B. Data Net LTD for failure to comply with the requirements of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). The RAA is the contract between ICANN and registrars [...] ICANN Seeks Expressions of Interest for Bulk Transfer of Names Summary As the result of the Notices of Termination issued on November 25, 2009 to registrars OOO Russia (IANA ID 1238) and Hosting365 Inc. (IANA ID 956), ICANN is seeking expressions of interest from ICANN-accredited registrars that might wish to assume sponsorship of the gTLD names that were previously managed by these registrars. This request for [...] Conceptualist.com, By Sahar Sarid Bido’s Vote For Profits (Video Testimonial) Summary This is from Cole Mason, one of our highly valued customers here at Bido. ([Thanks Cole!][2]) [2]: http://ruraltechnocrat.com/2010/02/04/bi g-sales-at-bido/ Tweet Them Bido Auctions (+ Misc. Updates) Summary [We know it works][1]. Went on Twitter moments ago and came across this domain (tweeted by Andrew@DNW), one you may be interested in (good luck Andrew!). [1]: http://www.conceptualist.com/2010/02/22/ bido-selling-is-easier-with-vested-partn ers-on-your-side/ Edit: [Sold USD 2,750.00][4] [4]: http://www.bido.com/Auction?name=newlywe ds.net It’s been an exciting week here at Bido. [New team members, higher sales][6], and lots of activity. [6]: http://www.conceptualist.com/2010/03/04/ bigger-sales-coming-to-bido/ Monday morning, [Michelle and I are hitting the road][7], driving from [Florida to California][8]. Long trip, we will try to make the very best of it! [7]: http://www.conceptualist.com/2010/01/17/ bido-why-were-moving-to-the-bay-area/ [8]: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s d&saddr=33064&daddr=san+francisco&hl=en &geocode=FcP3kAEd06A5-ynztaAgRh3ZiDEMBc3 WBnYmg%3BFVJmQAIdKAe0-CkhAGkAbZqFgDH_rX bwZxNQSg&mra=ls&sll=32.052026,-101.29967 2&sspn=35.394864,67.631836&ie=UTF8&ll=32 .063956,-101.25&spn=35.394864,67.631836& z=5 Heve a great weekend, and if you are buying and/or selling today on Bido, good luck! Best, Sahar Bido Friends In South Florida: Pizza Today, On Us Summary Who: Bido friends, staff, local domainers. Come and say Hi ! (if you plan to attend, please let Jarred Cohen knows in advance so we have a headcount, Jarred@Bido.com) Where: [City Pizza 632 Hibiscus Street, West Palm Beach, FL - (561) 833-2323][1] [1]: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s _q&hl=en&geocode=&q=632+Hibiscus+Street, +West+Palm+Beach,+FL&sll=26.74561,-80.06 8359&sspn=69.981711,135.263672&ie=UTF8&h q=&hnear=632+Hibiscus+St,+West+Palm+Beac h,+Palm+Beach,+Florida+33401&ll=26.70861 2,-80.057706&spn=0.008961,0.016512&z=17 When: Today, March 4th, 6:30PM I know, short notice. Hope you can make it ! Best, Sahar Bigger Sales Coming To Bido Summary Here at Bido, we’re currently working on a number of five and six figure sales behind the scenes. In the last ten years, we’ve done much of it privately, now it is almost time to introduce it to the Bido community. We’re really looking forward to pushing the envelope on what the industry knows and thinks is possible. If I’m right with my prediction, Bido will have a number of six figure sales this year, and possibly seven figure sales. Recent Bido sales (in USD): [UDRP.COM 16.5K][2], [Pepe.com 15K][3], [Gymnastics.Net 8.5K][4], [Wine.US 7K][5], [Teens.US 4K][6] [2]: http://www.bido.com/Auction?name=udrp.co m&n=2 [3]: http://www.bido.com/Auction?name=pepe.co m [4]: http://www.bido.com/Auction?name=gymnast ics.net&n=2 [5]: http://www.bido.com/Auction?name=wine.us &n=2 [6]: http://www.bido.com/Auction?name=teens.u s&n=2 While we’re not yet ready to open this up, if you do have a hot lead in your hands (six or seven figure potential sale), and need help closing, feel free to reach out to us to discuss further. Our experience and advice comes at no cost to you, for the time being. As we rapidly improve Bido, it’s very probable that allot has changed since you last visited the site. If this is the case, check out Bido now, check out some of our recent sales, and if you like what you see, and would like a partner in the business that completely driven by YOUR success, start selling today. We’re happy to do a one-on-one consultation over email or the telephone and explore whats new at Bido, where we’ve been, where we’re at now, where we’re headed, and iron out a roadmap of how we may work together and how the platform compares and works to your advantage. Best, Sahar