Morning Folks!!

Why is the future so much different than the past? Because in the past you have been dependent on others instead of independent. That changes in the new era that is approaching. YOU are now driving and you are no longer a passenger in a bus you have no control over.

We have watched massive portfolios come and go. We have watched the game change so sharply that those that played a certain way just got washed away. They left no notes. Did not say Good-bye. No big press releases. Just gone. The rest of us survived multiple tsunamis as far as business goes. But we also changed our game. My portfolio swelled to 10,000 from 6000 and now after 2 years of 'Culling' the inventory, am back to 6000. But I will hopefully get it to 5000.

Some domains are perishable. Some never materialize. Some were a good idea at the time. Some you don't even know what you were thinking. But as we move forward it has become pretty clear where domains of value are and what elements they contain. The ones outside that realm should be dropped and the reason is this. Those 4000 domains were 75% non .com. The .xxx was $99 each. The .co was $25 each etc. So lets say the average is $20/year. That's $80,000 or $800,000 over the next 10 years. I am sure I can find a deal that will take that $800,000 I would have pissed away on pigeon shit in exchange for a top tier domain name. I am sure I can make a deal on a GREAT domain for a few grand a month for the next 10 years.

That's what you call turning a loser into a winner. One little pivot like that could save your empire and then ignite your empire.

It takes 20 years to go through the evolution we are a part of. The first part was a unique opportunity in time when you gathered your properties. Then we spent a period of time learning about these domains as well as this new medium. Thirdly we had to watch and see how things would unfold and develop. That process takes 20 years for the first phase and another 20 years of refinement and expansion. If you know that going into the game, you take a deep breath and play it the way you see it. I see it as a lifetime marathon that will live beyond me. That's why I don't get tempted to make a sale and would rather have long term returns.

Just because folks don't understand a business strategy does not make that strategy any less valuable and in fact and in time that is what becomes clear. But my understanding of what things would look like would have to come out of those mines with at least a handful of major gems and a truckload of other domain booty. Each capable of being a small business. A small oil well. Maybe someday the 6000 will be 600. Well 600 pumping out $1000/month is $7.2MM a year BEFORE we get to the premium ones. Before we get to any success or development potential. It's a silly vision. But it is my vision and not a human being on earth has taken that vision from me in these 18 years and only reality can take it from me in the next 18 years.

I just ask a simple question. Am I closer to that vision now than ever before? And when I look around me I am not alone. There are hundreds of you with similar visions. Not the same. Similar. It means we have been on an intersecting path for all these years and likely to continue that way far into the future. We may all have a vision of NORTH.....But we also understand that going Northeast and Northwest is not a bad thing. And as long as we keep going that general direction we will find north. We know the difference between North and South. We know stopping is smarter than going south until you can adjust to continue the journey north. The journey up not down. Others travel in CIRCLES and go nowhere and get angry when we point it out.

But I got off the path on this post. The point is we are going from a state of complete dependence to a state of choice. Complete Independence. A state that puts domain owners in a strong position. 2012 was a HUGE year for domain owners. And to be blunt, in 2013 I have a mission with JointVentures.com that will be central to what is coming. It's time and it's all about time.

I have written extensively on our plans for JointVentures.com so I am clearly on the record as to what we are going to achieve and how long it will take. A 3 year undertaking that is going to change how we all do business. The 20 year plan does not mark the END....it marks the BEGINNING! We have survived the treachery of attacks from being labeled cybersquatters to outright legal theft thru flawed decisions when nobody was looking and nobody cared. That is no longer the case. Everyone is now in OUR game. Everyone is trying to duplicate what WE did. Everyone that has minimized us over the years are now joing OUR game. Welcome!! About time. Bring your money and bring your visions.

I believe more rulings of reverse domain name hijacking in 2012 is making an impact in these frivolous WIPO actions. It won't go to zero but companies are learning the impact of their actions long after their dastardly deed is done. And if not.......Click here.

But the biggest opportunity is coming in the form of .whatever and what they are about to learn. They are about to embark on a path that we have been studying for nearly 2 decades and so many are missing the one component called 'Human Nature'. Let's give people credit, they will adapt to anything if it is in THEIR SELF INTEREST and it is not complex. They won't swallow the same pig with a new dress. Most don't get that part and that is why most won't make it far out of the gate. But a few will figure it out. Maybe. But none by itself or all together will have any impact on .com except greater value. More demand.

So no reason to poo poo .whatever. There is success and failure all mixed in. One more than the other is all. You will have to carefully navigate through all the caucuses that will be blocking the path of progress. .whatever will be a late night joke. That will give it some popularity. But will it be sustainable?

Nobody reading this knows all the answers so lets stop parading around like we do. However we do have knowledge and evidence and we already have the caucuses lining the road in the form of several extensions that you can fill in yourself. We can just call it the .mobi cemetery and they will soon be filled to capacity.

10 great domains make you a domainer. 100 and you are in a very small class. 1000 and the class is getting smaller. 10,000 your class can fit in mini van. 100,000 and that class can fit in a mini.

The destiny is YOURS! My solution is your solution. Time to harness the power of the future by getting there early as we have done time and time again.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz