By far my most favorite read these days is NamePros. While NamePros is mostly beginners and semi-professionals domainers what I like most about the place is the thirst for knowledge, the interesting threads, discussions. If I have to put it in one word I would say NamePros, unlike many of the other boards out there, is “Alive!”.
Here are some of the better threads I came across on NamePros:
We’ve written previously about how DNZoom By Bido was built, but one important factor we’ve not really mentioned was the why or what for. Now that Bido.com is about ready to launch, we couldn’t think of a better time to elaborate.
Back in our ModernBill.com days, we had around 250K domain names under management. I use the “management” term loosely. The fact of the matter is that “management” meant that Sean Stafford had to go in to our eNom account everyday and filter through which names were expiring, which names where needing to be moved to Sedo, which names should be let dropped, along with all the general sales inquiries. This was all done manually.
At this time we only used eNom.com and Sedo.com. Because our main line of business was business automation, we decided to build a small script to automatically point all expiring and unused domains to Sedo.com. This script only took a few hours to build, however it probably saved tens of hours of work. Once we saw the magic of automation take hold and save us those precious man hours, we knew we could expand upon this and add more features that would reduce the workload even more. This is when the first DNZoom prototype was built.
DNZoom at first only included a Sedo.com and eNom.com module. These were our only two providers at the time, but just by luck they were also the two providers with the best APIs in the industry. We quickly developed an eNom.com module to go along with our Sedo.com script. After that, we began working on a basic framework to keep track of names from a single location instead of using the platforms that were available on Sedo.com or eNom.com. With one central location we were able to see the full picture of the names we had. After all, if we relied on just Sedo.com data or just eNom.com data, we would only be seeing half of the picture.
The first interface was crude at best. It had very few features and didn’t do anything near what DNZoom does today, but it was pure magic. It changed nameservers and added domains to the Sedo.com panel. It was able to do things in minutes that would take an individual hours. Once we demo’d this to a few of our friends, we were inundated with requests to make a copy of this new toolset for them.
Then it hit us! Obviously this tool was a great boon for us, but what about others? Our core focus was automation in the web hosting industry, but could we export our knowledge to the domain industry?
The answer was a resounding “yes!” However, if we were to go to market with such a product we knew a few things were going to have to happen with our tool:
1) We would need a LOT more registrar/parking modules in order for it to be useful
2) We would have to get VERY staunch on security
So that’s what we did. We gathered as many APIs as we could, and then we locked down the security of the system. We also drew up all the features that we believed we would need in such a system and went to work.
Our next integrations were Tucows.com, NameDrive.com, and GoDaddy.com. We eventually received more and more APIs and got feedback from our clients. DNZoom was starting to take shape.
Then, after DNZoom gained a small following, we started to think about pricing. How much should we charge? How do we set up the pricing model? Knowing full well that any price on the software would be a barrier to entry, we decided to keep DNZoom free. We had something great on our hands and we wanted to revolutionize the industry.
So, with that in mind we focused on educating people about our product instead of selling it. If a product is free, there are very few reasons not to try it.
Today, DNZoom is the most well known management platform in the domain space. We’ve received a bit of competition, but nothing on the scale that does what we do. We grow by the day and every day we help more and more people take control of their portfolios.
We’ve just put together a new tour page on DNZoom By Bido. Next few days we will continue to enhance the look and feel of the site, including the front page.
Below is a screen shot of the tour page. Click here to go to actual page where text is clearer and videos are available as well. If you are not familiar with DNZoom by Bido, haven’t tried it yet, or just have questions, do let us know.
Feedback as always is most welcome, highly appreciated!
On rare occasions, we all meet remarkable people who share a common spirit and outlook on life… Its almost as though you have known these good people in another life.
On May 20th, 2008 that’s exactly what happened… in of all places the Magic Kingdom… (during an internet conference in Orlando, Florida)! The following photos tell some of the story, but there is a lot more of this story to be told … And the story continues to be written.
Our sincere thanks to Dr. Christopher Hartnett, Divyank Turakhia, Gregg McNair, Lizzy Grant, Caroline Grant, Rob Grant, Ron Jackson & his family, Ray Neu & his family and so many others who made this occasion so unique… and one of the best days of our life!
Still lots of talk on blogs and forums about geo domains. My friend Rick Latona got the formula right: Sell when people are buying, buy when they are selling. Today’s market is strong on Geo domains for many reasons, such as Associated Cities and the Geo Expo, Castello brothers constant attention on blogs/publications/tradeshows, Elliot Silver’s blog, Rick Latona’s famous newsletter, and a couple of other geo specific blogs, forums. In my opinion, observing from the sidelines, majority of the people who promote Geo domains are doing so not because Geo is doing great but because they are invested in Geo. As such, by marketing Geo and affecting their value they are essentially marketing the value of their own holdings. Nothing wrong with that really but for you, the domain investor, you should question these things carefully as making the wrong assumption may as well mean investing in the wrong commodities. The more important question about Geo is are they making money today? Dr. Kevin Ham, in a recent DNJournal article, said it elegantly:
We are building a new advertising and retail platform through Vancouver.com. The ambition and initiative is huge and if we can make it work for our city, then we can build it for the rest of the world. Geo domains are asset rich but cash flow poor. So if we can change that paradigm into one that is cash flow rich, then we will raise the level for all geo domains.
(emphasis added)
Note that in reality, today, Geo is a poor performer. That is not to say things won’t change in the future (they can go either way) but today, in present time, if you are buying these domains you are likely paying for their future value, voting against the two other strong possibilities that 1. They will stay the same and 2. They will go south in term of performance. In addition, you are likely assuming you can always flip it to others without taking a major loss. Haven’t we all made those assumptions before though, especially in great times? We don’t need to look further then the current Real Estate market in the U.S to know that contrary to popular belief things don’t always go up, things ARE cyclical.
In terms of cashflow performance, in comparison to other domain categories, Geo domains are extremely over rated. It is not something many like to hear, it is definitely not something you say if you are looking increase your popularity in the domain world, but it is what it is. As I see more and more in the domain space considering investing in Geo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) I feel an obligation to talk more about it, to expose the other side, the side many may not be aware of, many do not want to talk about.
With all that said, Geo can work for you. How you may ask? That is for another post.
I just got off the phone with a close friend and he let me know that “people in the industry laugh at us behind our back”. I asked why but there was not much explanation besides “things seems to be..”.
If this was not clear enough by now let me clear it up once and for all: We’re not in a popularity contest. Not one person on earth made it to the top by not being laughed at. The more you laugh the more assurance I have we’re doing the right thing. While you, whoever you are, have the time and need to laugh at us behind our back we’re busy actually doing, creating, investing, inventing, building.
Back stabbing in the domain space isn’t something new really. Back in the days on Rick’s board (when I was active there) there were few groups who behind the scenes were united against others. Today while not on the board there, the same groups, and new ones, exist as well. I have no desire nor interest to name names. If it makes you happy to bad-mouth one another so be it. I’m actually too busy doing, building, then to pay an extra second to this nonsense.
This industry is just like any other industry. There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good are your close friends who have been there for years, people who genuinely care about you, share information with you, likely know your family, and in general are there when you need, if not with money then with invaluable advice. The bad? Where do I start? domain hijackers, thieves, and manipulators of all sorts. And the ugly? Bad-mouthing is the norm, backstabbing? why not. They are busy criticizing, mainly because of jealousy, personal insecurities, inability to create on their own, grow.
Rick Schwartz, the one person who did more for the domain industry then any single individual in the space, knows what I’m talking about quite well. Constant attacks, blog and forum posts, videos, and lately even physical threats. Where are we going with it? My suggestion, if this happens to you, keep the eyes on the ball, ignore the noise because all those are nothing but noise, voices in their own darkness screaming for attention, and the moment you give them that attention you give them a reason for their existence.
I am happy to announce the launch of the DNXpert contest / prize giveaway that is going to shake the foundations of the blogosphere.
This contest comprises of over 62 genuine prizes including cash, material goods and quality digital products that a domainer / blogger can make use of on a daily basis.
All the resources below ( include $1,360 in cash ) can be used to directly benefit a domainer or blogger in their daily pursuit of online wealth.
With so many prizes at stake you have every chance of winning!
Participated companies, prize list:
* $700 in cash from We Build Pages who offer Link Building Services. ($700 value)
* $200 credit deposited into NameDrive domain parking account courtesy of NameDrive.com. ($200 value)
* $100 Godaddy Gift card from instantdomaintool.com. ($100 value)
* $100 credit in Bidvertiser account. ($100 value)
* $100 Cash from wordpressfreelance.com ($100 value)
* $50 cash from Ades blog
* $35 Cash from Tim Schroeder of eMonetized.com. ($35 value)
* $35 Cash from Web Hosting Reviews. ($35 value)
* $30 Cash from Life is colourful. ($30 value)
* 1 Market Leverage promo pack consisting of: MarketLeverage iFlip (digital camera), MLRewards card ($50), MarketLeverage USB Pen, MarketLeverage Polo and hat, MarketLeverage/Nike duffelbag. ($350 value)
* 2 x Market Leverage promo pack consisting of MLRewards card ($25), MarketLeverage USB Pen, MarketLeverage Polo and hat, MarketLeverage/Nike duffelbag. (2 x $220 value)
* 3 x Market Leverage USB Pens with $10 ML Rewards card. (3 x $35 value)
* 6 months subscription to MarketMotive.com top internet marketing minds. ($1794 value)
* 1 hour of SEO Consulting from Todd Malicoat from seo consulting. ($500 value)
* 1 year’s PRO Subscriptions membership to FreshDrop.net. ($395.40 value)
* 5 x 1 license of the software product Domain Name Pro (5 x $64.95 value)
* 3 months membership at Aaron Wall’s SeoBook course. ($300 value)
* 3 x 1 copy of the Domain Graduate ebook. (3 x $87 value)
* 5 x 1 exclusive list of 100 expired domains from DNXpert.com (5 x $50 value)
* 6 months premium clustered hosting at iMountain.com (6 x $39.95 value)
* 2 months VIP membership at ClickMojo ($200 value)
* 15 minute one on one phone coaching session with Simon Johnson from Domainer Income ($200 value)
* 2 year subscription to DNSstuff pro tools. ($139 value)
* 1 x 100 domain parking account at WhyPark.com ($99.95 value)
* 1 copy of the Revenue Domains Exposed ebook ($97 value)
* 2 month subscription at Wordze.com ($90 value)
* 3 x 1 copy of the Domaining Manifesto ebook. (3 x $27 value)
* 1 copy of Wordze’s Guide to Keyword Research & Niche Wealth Building! ($80 value)
* 1 copy of a single use license of Brian Gardner’s Revolution blog theme of the winners’ choice ($79.99 value)
* 1 copy of Optin Comments WP plugin. ($77 value)
* 1 DNForum.com Platinum membership. ($59.95 value)
* 1 yearly subscription to Gold Account at iwebtool.com ($59 value)
* 3 x 1 copy of the Killer Domains ebook (3 x $17 value)
* 2 x 50 available domains from WordFuse.com (2 x $24.95 value)
* 1 featured listing on Sedo’s homepage for 1 domain. (worth $39)
* 1 DNForum.com Gold membership ($19.95 value)
* 1 Month DomainNews.com Newsletter Sponsorship - Top Position Advertising ($500 value)
* 2 months 160×90 ad on ClickFire.com homepage (2 x $200 value)
* 1 Month text link on JustDropped.com search pages ($100 value)
* 1 month text link at DomainNameWire.com ($60 value)
* 1 month of 125×125 banner advertising on Winning the Web ($50 value)
* 1 month 125×125 banner advertising at DNXpert.com ($50 value)
* 1 month 125×125 banner advertising at DotSauce.com ($40 value)
* 1 month text link on blogaboutyourblog.com ($10 value)
* 1 copy of Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger ebook ($16.49 value)
Got back home from Traffic East yesterday right before the auction, was exhausted. Traffic East had much less attendees from previous shows. While I don’t know the number my guess would be around 150-180, half of those would be companies in the business and the other half domainers.
The first evening I was somewhat disappointed at the turnaround, was thinking to myself would be nice to have more. When I left I felt the same. However, before coming to TRAFFIC East we had a number of objectives to achieve and at the end of the conference majority of those were achieved, from talking to existing partners, looking at opportunities, presenting opportunities, meeting new faces at the Speed Networking event, and various meetings.
At the end of the day for the professional domainer who attend most shows it is not about quantifying each show but quantifying the whole. In many cases we cannot see the results of one show during the show, or a day after the show, but after few shows you see the pattern where meetings during the shows helped close deals, that attending those shows were the main factor to making things happen.
While some may look at things differently from a personal perspective and from a business perspective (ROI, initiatives we had) Traffic was yet another winner.
To read more about Traffic East auction results and read various opinions/thoughts, see Michael Berkens’ The Domains.
As we mostly spent our time in meetings below is the only talk I happen to personally attend. As always, listening to Dr. Hartnett is as refreshing as it gets.
During the day I go through a lot of blog and forum posts. I use my own RSS subscriptions (through Bloglines) as well as Domaining.com, the “News” and “Domain Industry” sections on DomainState, Rick’s board, as well as “Domain Name Discussion” section on NamePros.
Good morning all!
Still lots of talk on blogs and forums about geo domains. My friend 
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