Michael Cyger WTF is a Sherpa?

Morning Folks!!

Wtf is a "Sherpa". That was my first question when Michael's Cyger's Blog and interview machine first appeared back in early 2011.  A few months later I became his 28th interview. Now 123 strong and growing.

Michael-Cyger-Profile-300x145

"Thousands of new businesses startup every day and each needs an Internet presence. But domain names are confusing to the uninitiated. What if you had a guide, someone to show you the way and make the journey easier? That's our mission with DomainSherpa. I'm Michael Cyger, your host. It is my job to introduce you to “sherpas” who will answer all your domain questions"

So when folks are lost in domaining and don't know where to start, there are 123 shows, with over 100 great guests that will set you on the RIGHT PATH before you piss your $$$$$ away. But since most would never even consider this, because it takes a few WEEKS, they will spend YEARS wandering and chasing shadows.

This week I participated in a ground breaking show for the domain industry that has been very well received and I think we are about to see many more shows. The comments have been very positive and one really jumped out at me. One domainer that has been around for many years posted something that was priceless to me and to him as well.

"For people who still think Traffic is expensive, this is just a sample (and i really mean SAMPLE) of what happens at Traffic. It was the best thing i have ever done in my entire domaining life and believe me, for a portuguese guy it is not cheap at all to go there, but it is also priceless…so GO! Great show!"

Thank you Joao! I know it was a BIG decision for you to come to Las Vegas and I know I told you many times you would never regret it and it would be life changing for you. Thanks for digging deep and changing your destiny! Folks like you make the journey worth it.

I would have written this yesterday but did not want to influence the voting.

I am going to ask Michael if he would like to do this show LIVE at TRAFFIC. It's basically what we have done at the show since 2004. But "The Five Sherpas" or whatever Michael Cyger eventually names the show was fun to do and I think informative in an informal manner. Matter of fact, after the show we talked for about 15 minutes and we regretted not airing it. Hopefully in the future I will be invited back and there will be new elements and maybe even some interactivity.

So tip of the hat to Michael Cyger for doing this. Well done!

Rick Schwartz

 

New Birdie in the Mine Announced. Tell me How you CAN’T See it!!?? What is coming is Coming!!

Morning Folks!!

So my post yesterday morning is inadequate. It touches what I see, but it is oh so much bigger. It is the collective energy that is coming and WE are the BIG winners! 1000 NEW Divisions if not separate companies. They are going to make a LOT of NOISE!!

They are going to make noise in many ways. Some of it will be just that, noise. But thru that noise there will be some that have something or their something may benefit your .com as I have described here.

There is a TIDAL WAVE coming and it is going to make a direct hit on the domain industry. If it does not keep getting delayed. Each day of delay makes a company weaker not stronger. It costs money not to sell anything. But at some point that dam is gonna BURST and when it does, the landscape will never look the same again.

Bringing in Adam Dicker to help with T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is by design. We are preparing for what is to come. We have 2 venues capable of holding THOUSANDS of attendees. Besides the current domain investors an entire new generation of domain investors are all heading this way. The competition is going to be very interesting and it will be fierce and it will heat up from there. A lot of elbows in a small industry as this "Experiment" progresses.

So you are seeing the calm before the storm. And the only reason there is calm is because of the clusterf*ck that is delaying everything. In a perfect world you certainly would want to roll things out very soon. But looks like the delay will extend into 2014. I really do enjoy watching incompetence up close. Somethings are not well thought out and when that happens it blows up in their face. How could you not see this clusterf*ck 2 years away? I think I have been writing about it for 2 years and am glad others now see that there is no other word in the English language to describe it.

But after the clusterf*ck, IF we EVER  get to that point, then things are going to move very fast and the $$$ are going to fly! It will look like 2005 on steroids. This IS the calm before the storm and to be honest, the calm has a lot of things bubbling and brewing below the surface.

All I want to make perfectly clear is anyone reading this scared that their .com values are going to go down are not paying attention and are already reacting to noise that means nothing. Now WHY am I spending so much energy writing about this NOW? Because when the flood gates open, my voice will be drowned out by THOUSANDS of others. I need to be CLEARLY on record. If I stay true to what I see, I am also likely to have an entire new generation of people who don't like me. Sorry if my thoughts and vision does not match their agenda. REALITY trumps everything. Let the chips fall where they may and I am rooting for soe successes out there. The NOISE won't make them a success. END USERS, CONTENT and DOMAIN INVESTORS will decide their fate. MANY of those extensions may actually SNUB the domain industry thinking they can make their mark solely with end users. Good luck with that strategy.

I think the biggest unknown is how many extensions will collapse or be acquired before they collapse?

That said....I wish every new gTLD the greatest of successes. Your success is our success. Even if only 1 in 1000 works, the folks reading this blog will be on it. I won't hide which, if any, I think have a chance. The birdie in the mine for me is .web. I like .web but it could easily prove to be another .net. Should that happen, many others will simply collpase. And anyone that gets a .whatever and has a success and you own the .com version, you too have a success. It's coming!

Rick Schwartz