2009 May archive at Conceptualist.com, By Sahar Sarid

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Archive for May, 2009

Absolutely “Fabulous” !

Published on May 19, 2009 in Domain Names. 4 Comments

(Image source: DNJournal)

And yet today another great experience with Fabulous, this post is well overdue! Just to be clear, this isn’t a paid post nor a request by anyone, it is based on the many years of experience with many within the company, from monetization services to registrations, and more.

Choosing a brand name such as “Fabulous.com” is a risky proposition. If we take the long term view, there’s always going to be ups and downs. Is it possible to be fabulous all the time? Having such a brand name, if things go wrong, what would people say? In my view, taking on such a name simplifies everything for a company, as the identity could have not been any clearer to anyone in the company, its customers, and potential customers. Now being able to deliver on such a promise, that’s a whole different story.

The folks at Fabulous.com have been able to do so time and again. While the company had its fair share of ups and downs, one thing has always been there: Fabulous service. The Fabulous folks come to most if not all industry trade shows. If you drop a line to Support, response usually is within a couple of hours or less. If you have a special request, as long as it is reasonable, they always accommodate.

And how about Fabulous excellence? Fabulous yesterday issued a bonus/compensation to all its affected parking clients because of their Google (their upstream provider) downtime (did you even know about that?). It was news to me however since we have names there, it is always a surprise to get those emails where “money was added to account due to downtime issues”.

Feel free to share your “Fabulous” experience!

Have a great day,

Sahar

The Choice Of Making No Choice

Published on May 18, 2009 in Business, General and Life lessons. 1 Comment

(image source)

After a long weekend, I’m finally glad to be back home. See, I spent this last few days somewhere in Trinidad, “meeting the Fockers!”. Good food, great hospitality, was good to finally meet the family. The place is as hot as Florida if not hotter. A lot of things made no sense to me. Why the rooftops are made of metal sheets in such a hot place? Why Rum is so popular? Why the roads, houses, and living conditions are so horrendous when it seems the country is doing well from its natural resources (Gas, Oil)? Why many are not trying to better themselves?

During the weekend we spent quality time with the family, drove around the island to meet Michelle’s extended family, and in between I had time to chat with some about business, life. Internet there, while common, isn’t yet to where it should be. It should be all over, it should be more affordable.

Rum and killing one another seems to be the favorite past time there. Laventille, one of the most dangerous places in Trinidad, counts well over 200 killings since the beginning of the year. And Rum? Not only locals make little money, they choose to spend it on drinking for the most part. Pausing reality keeps one away from making a better one. I found that sickening.

On the way back to the airport after spending the weekend there, seeing a stray dog walking on a busy highway calmly towards cars as if they were not there, head down, described my feeling there. Feeling of no hope, no future, nothing really matters.

I’m going to stop here, let you think it over for a day or two.

Have a blissful day!

Sahar

Today In Bido Chat: Understanding The Thought Convergence, Jay Westerdal Lawsuit

Published on May 14, 2009 in Bido. 7 Comments

(From left: Jay Westerdal, Thought Convergence Chief Strategy officer Ammar Kubba, in better times)

The topic of the day, no doubt, is the recent development between Jay Westerdal and Thought Convergence (PDF copy of lawsuit here, learn more here).

Today in the Bido chatroom we will discuss those recent developments, and try to understand better what went wrong, where, why, and how you can avoid those issues in your own dealings. We’re inviting all to participate, including but not limited to somain professionals, attorneys, search engine professionals (Search engine optimization, Search engine marketing), investors and venture capitalists, and web professionals in general.

Where: The Bido.com chatroom (must be logged in to participate)

When: Today, May 14th 2009, 1PM Est.

See you in the chat room.

Cheers

Sahar

Bido: A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

Published on May 13, 2009 in Bido and Domain Names. 2 Comments

As you all know we work extremely hard on Bido. We do so because we truly believe this is what domain owners need. How do we know? Because we own a large portfolio ourselves. Building liquidity is essential to the health of the industry.

The stronger the liquidity in the domain channel the better we all are. If you do not agree with this statement better stop here and surf away. This post is not for you.

If you are still reading.. I’ve talked much about liquidity in the past, about the importance of accurate pricing. What I did not talk much about is how you can help build such liquidity, how you can do so with Bido.

1. The public is tired of being “sold” into things

Aren’t you? The internet finally gave us all easy access to unbiased opinions. From travel to cars to funerals and marriage. “Hard selling” is out, unbiased is “in”. We welcome all with open arms to contribute at Bido. You may apply for a Bido expert status and contribute your unbiased commentary on domains listed. All commentaries are submitted to the site in real time and without any manual approval by us. All we ask is to stay on topic and be professional.

2. The more buyers, the better we all are

By participating you are helping to attract more potential buyers into the domain game. As the public is tired of being sold into things, they highly appreciate your unbiased commentary. It is what we believe to be one of the main reasons why buyers continue to come back to Bido.

3. The more turnaround, the safer your holdings are

The more domains are sold in the domain channel, the safer your holdings are in case you need to liquidate. Liquidity creates a healthy market environment, it creates a vibrant market. Without liquidity there would be no domain sales. The more liquidity means more buyers, more options. Your best alternative to a given buyer is to have another buyer.

Of course there are many more reasons and benefits to participate than commentaries, from building your own brand, to building your site links, to market your services through your Bido profile tabs, or to win exclusive prizes which are only offered to Bido experts (last prize we gave away to a Bido expert, Traffic ticket, valued at US$ 2,000). No matter what reason brings you to Bido, what we want you to know is that Bido is for you as much as it is for us. Together, we’re so much stronger.

Have a great day,

Sahar

Year Over Year, Advertisers Cut Back Paid Search By 26%

Published on May 13, 2009 in Business and Domain Names. 2 Comments

(Source: Hitwise)

Via Hitwise:

Hitwise data indicate that the share of search traffic coming from paid listings is decreasing at the expense of organic traffic. In the four weeks to May 9, 2009, 7.25% of search engine traffic to All Categories of websites was from paid clicks. This compares to 9.84% in the same four week period in 2008 - representing a 26% decline in the share of paid clicks

Most in the domain industry know the trickle-down effect has been definitely felt as domain name parking revenues have fallen since last year by about the same percentage, if not more. Talking to parking companies lately there are good indications we’ve hit bottom and things will now start to get better. This is to be seen.

Cheers

Sahar