Conceptualist.com, By Sahar Sarid

Readings for February 14th, 2008

« February 13th, 2008

February 15th, 2008 »

Marchex Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2007 Financial Results, Increases Stock Repurchase Program

Published on 2008-02-14 16:39:20 0 Comment Edit
URL: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080214/20080214006103.html?.v=1

Marchex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHX - News)(NASDAQ:MCHXP - News), a local online advertising company and leading publisher of local content, today reported its results for the fourth quarter of 2007 and full year ended December 31, 2007.
Fourth Quarter 2007 Consolidated Financial Results:
Revenue was $37.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to $32.6 million for the same period of 2006.
GAAP net loss applicable to common stockholders was $774,000 for the fourth quarter of 2007 or $0.02 loss per diluted share. This compares to GAAP net income applicable to common stockholders of $5.0 million or $0.01 loss per diluted share for the same period of 2006. The GAAP diluted EPS calculation in 2006 excludes the effect of the non-cash non-recurring discount on preferred stock redemption of $5.8 million, net of dividends on the redeemed preferred shares of $197,000. The fourth quarter 2007 results included non-cash stock-based compensation expense recorded under the fair value method of $2.1 million, compared to non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $2.6 million for the same period in 2006.
We provide a reconciliation of GAAP diluted EPS to Adjusted Non-GAAP EPS in the financial tables attached to this press release and encourage investors to examine the reconciling adjustments between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures. Adjusted non-GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $0.08, compared to $0.13 for the same period of 2006. Some Wall Street analysts use non-GAAP measures to analyze our operating results, which may include adjusted non-GAAP EPS, adjusted operating income before amortization and adjusted EBITDA. We present GAAP measures with equal or greater prominence than non-GAAP measures and such non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results.
Adjusted operating income before amortization was $5.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to $8.3 million for the same period of 2006. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted operating income before amortization to GAAP operating income and GAAP net income is included in the financial tables attached to this release.
Adjusted EBITDA was $7.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to $10.0 million for the same period of 2006. A reconciliation of operating income before taxes, depreciation, amortization and gain/loss on sales of intangible assets to GAAP net cash provided by operating activities is included in the financial tables attached to this release.

Source: Business Wire

Business In Dallas: Why mobi domains are a waste of time

Published on 2008-02-14 09:00:13 4 Comments Edit
URL: http://www.businessindallas.com/search-marketing/why-mobi-do...

In case you haven't been told there is a "new"? domain name extension out there called .mobi for "mobile"?. I put new in parentheses because it has been available for use since 2006 and has yet to catch on. Today, I and Mark Barrera noticed an article in a magazine extolling the virutes of .mobi domains and we both met it with a yawn, here's why.

The entire point of a .mobi domain was for what would amount to "sister sites"? for companies to have a "mobile version"? of their websites. Sites that would be optimized in size, shape, form and function to appear properly on mobile phones and other devices. The concept was developed because many sites look really jacked up on early smart phones like my Blackberry that I refuse to upgrade, for instance. Then last year something happened that made this all pointless. One word - iPhone!

If you have used an iPhone you know that the internet on the iPhone looks, acts and is just about as close to the regular PC/Mac based internet as a phone could ever be. With the iPhone, no one needs a "mobile"? only website. They only need a regular website which most companies already have. The iPhone effectively kills the entire purpose of the .mobi domain. "Wait"?, I hear you saying at the screen in front of you, "not everyone has an iPhone or will"? you continue. Well, I agree but it simply does not matter. You see the iPhone took on such dominance that every other phone maker is out now building their own truly smart phones and phones are going to get smarter, not dumber.

Source: Business In Dallas

Seesmic: How I started Seesmic and raised $6 million

Published on 2008-02-14 08:40:19 0 Comment Edit
URL: http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/2008/02/how-i-started-s.ht...

Source: Loïc Le Meur blog
More about Seesmic at TechCrunch.

While some think it is a great post/video I believe they underestimate how great it really is. This post highlights a discussion I had with some of my partners lately. Note that 5.5M is from one source and a number of A LIST investors are the additional 500K. The reason for that the founder had one big believer and many who somehow followed the leader, cautiously. Could it be that the main leader knew others will follow, making their investment bullet proof? Now there's A list investors all over the place, and new investors again will simply do the same as the initial A list, instead of trusting one leader, their leaders would be all who invested in series A, however with more trust, and more money. The real good part in all this? There is yet a business there. It is still all smoke and mirrors, and web 2.0 hype.
Well done!
Sahar

Frank Schilling: My Kingdom for An Eyeball

Published on 2008-02-14 08:32:29 0 Comment Edit
URL: http://www.sevenmile.com/2008-02/my-kingdom-for-an-eyeball/

In a world where people still operate 800/900 numbers to capture users "phoning in"? common numbers (Good work folks) - In a world where new billboards are appearing on the LA skyline month to month - In a world where those Sunset Blvd billboards generate more revenue than the buildings they are emblazoned on; what are your unique domain-name visitors worth? The battle to reach (and win) the hearts/minds of our fellow man has been raging since Gutenberg invented the printing press. How much greater is a medium's value when that ability to connect can be quantified and judged against its peer group? Is a unique visitor the same as a phone-in, a qualified lead or paid introduction?

Source: SevenMile.com

The Economic Times: Vanity portals set cash registers ringing

Published on 2008-02-14 08:29:29 0 Comment Edit
URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Internet_/Vanit...

Stupidity talks, vanity acts,"? said 19th century famous French romantic writer Victor Hugo. And now many countries seem to be following Hugo as their country code-specific top level domains (ccTLDs) are garnering big bucks for small and big nations alike.

The use of country-specific ccTLDs for purposes other than denoting the country in question is termed as Vanity ccTLDs in Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) parlance. ICANN is the global body which governs registration of all internet domain names.

These vanity ccTLDs are garnering huge business across the cyberspace for denoting everything but the country in question. For instance, take the .in ccTLD which was initially started to denote India. But now online social networking entrepreneurs are also making a beeline to register their sites under .in domain. Indian registries like Direct-I and Net4 are also getting top dollars from all manner of sites, from those seeking association with the internet (.in fits in perfectly), international operations (.in, again), even social networking sites who ask you to, yes join.in (come.in). And the beeline has become even greater with the .in registrations crossing 400,000 Monday, February 11.

Source: The Economic Times

Fortune: Help, a competitor bought my Web domain!

Published on 2008-02-14 08:24:36 1 Comment Edit
URL: http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/11/smbusiness/copyright_URL.fsb...

Dear FSB: Both the name and URL of my company's website were registered with a domain name registration company. After more than five years they have sold the URL for my company's name to another person who now runs it in competition to mine. Do I have copyright to this name and URL?
- Garry Whitfield, San Francisco, Calif.
Dear Garry: Unless you have a trademark on the business name, there's little you can do, according to Christine Jones, general counsel for Web hosting company GoDaddy.com, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"The first thing you have to distinguish is between copyright and trademark," Jones said. In brief, copyright protects the creators of "original works of authorship" such as literary and musical works. A trademark, on the other hand, is a word, name, symbol or device used to distinguish a particular good from others in the market.
"The question to ask is if you need a trademark to the name and URL," Jones said.
If your business name is a registered trademark, you can file a domain name dispute under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Policy which is governed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Source: Fortune/CNN

Further reading here.

MSNBC: Oversight agency ponders new domain names

Published on 2008-02-14 03:53:11 0 Comment Edit
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23150540/

Internet addresses ending in ".pdf" or ".mp3" could appear under a new proposal, while domain name suffixes consisting entirely of numbers would likely be rejected.
Hints about such do's and don'ts appeared in a new report issued by the Internet's key oversight agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The organization is looking for feedback on security and operational issues that may arise from the introduction of new domain names as early as this year.
ICANN said it considered prohibiting suffixes that match common extensions for file names, such as ".exe" for Windows-based executable programs, ".doc" for documents using Microsoft Corp.'s Word software, ".jpg" for photos in the popular JPEG format, ".pdf" for Adobe Systems Inc.'s ubiquitous Portable Document Format and ".mp3" for music files.

Source: MSNBC

Domain Name News: Marketplace Radio Interviews Adam Strong

Published on 2008-02-14 03:50:10 0 Comment Edit
URL: http://www.domainnamenews.com/up-to-the-minute/marketplace-r...

Marketplace, a radio station, recently discussed the increasing prices in the domain name industry. In their show, entitled "virtual real estate booming,"? Lisa Napoli interviewed several domainers, including our own Adam Strong, and discussed the risk and reward of domain sales. Much like real estate, the show concluded, it's all about "location, location, location."? Listen to the full report here. Marketplace has been covering this industry on other occasions before.

Source: Domain Name News