Donald Trump accused of
Land Squatting?
This may be a little
long winded but it needs to be said. So grab a cup of coffee and give me
10 minutes.
Did you know that Donald
Trump owns land that he has yet to build on? Yet to develop? Did you know that thousands
and maybe tens of thousands right here in the USA have land they have yet to
develop? Some have been in the family and handed down from generation to
generation. Some that own that land in densely populated areas put up parking
lots!! Oh they screamed and yelled about having a parking lot. What an eyesore.
Do something useful with the land. As if it was anyone's business to begin
with. Ok, so parking lots are a terrible thing. Just remember to say that when
you are in New York City and a parking spot for just SIX hours is $40 or more
and don't forget to tip! Let’s BAN all parking lots!! That’s the answer!!!! Oh
wait a sec, where will I park my car when I want to go shopping? Right!! I will
take the bus.
The vacant lot by the
stadium that you just happen to own and on game days you can pack 20 cars in
there at $25 a pop. Did anyone call him names? Other than what a lucky guy to
own that land?
We buy land for
retirement. Sometimes a generation or more before we will ever use it.
Sometimes before the one it is intended for is even born. Here in the USA, over
200 years have passed and there is still vacant land. Folks that have not
built. CYBERSQUATTERS!! I mean LAND SQUATTERS!! I mean isn't this
interesting? How do we square it? Land ownership is encouraged and looked at
favorably. They don't ask you when you will build. That is entirely up to you.
The free market system working as designed. You pay your taxes and if someone
does not like it, too bad. I own or have the rights to or lease or contract for
dot coms. Call it whatever you like. It gives me certain LEGAL rights. It is up
to ME when I will build my domain names. It is up to ME what I will build on
those domains. It is up to ME if I will build on those domains. And if you
think I should do something different, you have 3 choices. Tell me your vision
and I will tell you mine and partner up to make it happen or buy it from me and
do what YOU want. However, let me warn you, I have only sold 6 domains and I
have a specific development plan for each. OR.....Be quiet, because what you
say has no value or meaning you just have too much time on your hands and you
don’t know how to mind your business .
STOP THE TRAIN!! Own
property in cyberspace? Land you paid for. Land you pay taxes and fees on. Land
that is in cyberspace and then domain owners are attacked as CYBERSQUATTERS?
That's just nonsense and folks need to stop swallowing nonsense. They need to
stop being parrots that just talk out of ignorance by repeating what others say
and actually THINK for themselves. I heard a dozen folks rag on the Iphone (tm)
this weekend. When I asked them if they actually tried one they said “NO!” They
just repeated what some other know nothing on TV said that hadn’t seen or used
one either and has a motive. I got news for ya, it does not matter what Paris
Hilton thinks! It does not matter what some newscaster thinks. It does not
matter what some guy invested in Verizon or Sprints says. It is about what YOU
decide.
It is not about some guy
or company that is so upset that they wasted their time and missed such an
opportunity that they try and discredit domain owners at every turn. Many of
the folks doing this, work for fortune 1000 companies. Don't listen to their
nonsense. They just want what you have and since they lost on the BUSINESS
playing field they have to resort to other tactics to get what you own. So they
resort to name calling. They circulate petitions against parking domain names.
They lobby trying to change the laws to take what you own. And make no mistake,
they are motivated by jealousy and greed. Motivated with a deep desire to
discredit anyone and everyone but always focusing on the biggest opportunity
they have had and it passed them right by. They can't get over it. So they will
make petitions, try and pass laws, file frivolous lawsuits and WIPO actions and
call everyone a CYBERSQUATTER.
Well they are wrong. We
are just everyday folks from every walk of life that have recognized a great
opportunity. We paid the fees, abide by the rules, don't break any laws have
families of our own and realized that if you were to develop in the future the
FIRST thing you need is prime LAND to develop on. It is up to each when and
where and how they will develop. The CYBERBULLY is thousands time worse than a
cybersquatter. They FAILED at recognizing a TIME SENSITIVE opportunity and
decided to spend millions to build failed companies and waste investors hard
earned money. These LOSERS and BULLIES are responsible for the collapse of web
1.0. Maybe it is time to shine a light on them. They failed, we thrived. They
are talking web 3.0 while we are still successful with 1.0. These failures
still run big companies and some of them will lose your money once again like
they did during the turn of the century.Listen to THEM whine?? Spare me! Maybe
they should articulate how they missed the single biggest opportunity in their
lifetime, their father's lifetime and their father's before them? How do they
answer that? They put on their shoes and THEN they put on their socks and now they
want to own what assets we took the RISK to have? NO WAY!
The CyberBully is the same as the railroad barons that came through towns and
threw people off their land without just compensation. They are the elite
establishment that wants to control everything. These BULLIES want the dotcom
domains we own and the reality is, if they want it, there is a free market and
they can either purchase one already owned or use their OWN IMAGINATION to
think of another name. Scream as they do, there are an infinite amount of
dotcom domains. There is NOT an infinite amount of beachfront property and if
that is the property you want, pull out your wallet and pony up! You had the
same opportunity each of us had and you decided to get bogged down on one
failing project without thinking about the future and what was time sensitive
and you screwed up!! That’s the truth Mr. Cyberbully! Deal with it! You had
companies worth billions collapse overnight and since you failed there now you
want to infringe on the rights of others and try to STEAL what they rightfully
own.
There is one thing we
can agree on Mr. CyberBully. Domain owners that have infringing trademarks in
them are WRONG!! There are some that DO take advantage of trademark holders and
what they do is wrong. But to lump all folks that own domains and call them
cybersquatters is also WRONG! For every trademark abuser I can show you a
corporation that STOLE a legitimate domain through a flawed system that allows
domains to be transferred from one party to another with no standard. No rhyme.
No reason. Those domain owners simply could not afford the fight and lost their
LAND!
I never heard of someone
that had 5 acres of land directly on the ocean and a 3 bedroom 1 bath house
being evicted. There are zoning laws and guidelines and as long as those things
are met, it is nobody's business what you do with what you own or lease. Go
tell Warren Buffet he has too much money and should trade in his old car
and move to a mansion. He may just tell you to mind your own business. And speaking
of business, I would be will to wager that even 'The Donald' owns a
parking lot or two.
So CYBER BULLIES, you
have now been put on notice. We are going to fight back and not allow the
CYBERBULLY to define or intimidate US! There are cybersquatters, but there is
also a legitimate and thriving domain name industry that is worldwide and
invests many hundreds of millions into these unique assets. It is time to stop
painting us with one wide brush. That’s just being a bigot! So attack those
that do wrong and we will be shoulder to shoulder. But treat the rest of
us like you would like to be treated. But if name calling is what you want than
today the CYBERBULLY has been named and soon we will make a list of some warm
fuzzy companies that are trying to take domains they have no right to take. See
how the public responds to companies persecuting some of their own customers.
Helpless folks with limited resources to fight the giant CYBERBULLY! History
has always celebrated great deals. When Peter Minuet and the Dutch bought
Manhattan for $24 worth of trinkets. When the Louisiana Purchase was made by
Livingston from Napoleon. It is still looked back at as a great if not greatest
purchase of all time. Why would domain names be looked at any differently?
I hear all the time….”Rick, why
don’t you develop your domain names into websites?” Ok fair question and I have
a good answer as it relates to MY LIFE and what “I” want and what “I” see.
Let’s rewind to 1996. I have about 120 domain names. I had a choice, build now
or wait for others to make colossal mistakes and learn from them before I
pissed away my limited resources. But an even bigger reason for me is that I
ABSOLUTELY KNEW that a website that may cost $750,000 to construct in 1996
would be a $75 template in 2006. A template $749,925 less expensive and a
template FAR superior to that of that era. So I saw no SENSE OF URGENCY to
develop. What I did see was a “Unique opportunity in time” that would NEVER
pass again. So one much smarter group than me chose a much more sophisticated
way to climb the same mountain. I on the other hand with no staff, no talents
other than cut and paste, had to figure a way to compete with folks that had
unlimited funds and staffs of 200. I am no cybersquatter and most folks in the industry
are not cybersquatters either! I am a smart businessman just like many of my
counterparts that figured out that the way others were doing it put things in
the wrong order. I decided that securing the LAND for the development in the
future TRUMPED developing one website. Looking back, that was one hell of a
great decision on my part and a HUGE mistake for many of them. Not all, but
certainly most. If they had a chance to do it again, I bet they would focus on
getting domain names. Now all they can do is label everyone with GREAT
undeveloped domains as “Cybersquatters!!' The truth of the matter is they
FAILED MISERABLY and their sour grapes are being exposed! That is the evolution
of the CYBERBULLY and why they should be exposed. SHAME on them and I hope they
will be recognized for the true pariah they are.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
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