The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Afternoon Folks!!

Or should I say whiney little brats?

So spoiled. So unappreciative of how if could have been had you been around for the real gold rush.

Even tho I would argue there has been more money in our gold rush. No pics, no shovels no mules.

I posted about the gold rush the other day and my experience 100 years later. I hope folks were able to enlarge the blurb that went with the commemorative coin. I enlarged it below so you can read the 82 words, digest and APPRECIATE them! It's really important to understand and put things in context. This is US!

We are them in bathrobes and slippers.  Coffee? Danish? Is the A/C too cold? The heat too warm? The shower water not strong enough? The Jacuzzi not big enough?

Take a deep breath. If  you are reading this, then WE have it pretty damn good! So whether you got in domaining in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006 or even 2013, you have a parallel and this is oh so much easier. Whether you invest or flip or develop, there is gold in them thar hills and it is still virtually untapped. You can come in the business TODAY and make your fortune. You only need to know one thing. What the gold looks like, tastes like, feels like and is and what fools gold looks like, tastes like, feels like and is.

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

A little "Birdie" sent this to me a few minutes ago and thought it interesting.

"The current challenge faced by both porn companies and Web startups is how to differentiate themselves. Since there’s only so much you can do, the answer for both industries has been to pursue increasingly small and bizarre niches."

Sound Familiar?

There are a number of parallels the writer of this article articulates and they have some validity.

Until folks look at the lessons the porn industry has learned , they are ripe to repeat their mistakes and likely a much more expensive lesson. Just remember one thing as I see it being in both places.....Adult circa 1997 and mainstream circa 2013 have yet to intersect. But we are getting VERY CLOSE to that happening. It COULD happen in the next 12 months and I have NEVER said that before. Once that happens, this industry will be transformed and folks will never look back.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As you know the last few auctions I have been focusing on domains with "No Reserve" so that we could have real and exciting auctions. In Las Vegas we sold 70% of the domains let by bouquet.com at $30,000. A real gem and a real bargain that Ron Jackson even did a story on.

As I have been writing about, the worst of the recession is over and business is recovering and things are moving again. They called yesterday "Merger Monday" even tho it was a Tuesday but it was the first business day of the year. Huh? Yes, first BUSINESS DAY of the year. The day after Labor Day is the day the gun goes off and the race each year begins. But this year is much bigger as we rise from yet another set of ashes like we did in 2003 and watch things take off in dramatic fashion. History repeats itself. It comes in waves.

So with that in mind, we are not focusing on "No Reserve" domains. We will be raising the bar this time with higher quality and higher value domain names. BUT....they still must be a bargain in terms of domainers.

Also we will be announcing a silent auction that will run before and after the Live Auction.

Now before we start here are the rules. If you don't follow the rules, I disregard your email.

1. I don't have the time to respond if I dn't chose your domain so don't expect to hear back from me. I am sorry. I am focusing on what I need to do. I apologize in advance.

2. No more than 10 domains on a list and please just send me one list.

3. You are selling to domainers, price accordingly. This is NOT an end-user event. However if you are an end-user you can get an incredible bargain.

4. If it is an alternate extension, it MUST be one word only and it MUST be cheap!

5. I am reviewing domains until Friday at 5PM or before. That's it. Once I get 75 domains that qualify, done deal.

6. If your domain is borderline, we may take for silent auction if you agree.

7. New gTLD's may want to consider an early jump-start and auction off the rights to some of their premiums coming online. 

8. Mail entries to:

domain king

at

Gmail

.com

8. Please don't get insulted or upset if I don't choose your domain. I will get ten thousand submissions and only picking 75 or so. My job is to make sure they are the best offered and priced so that they are attractive to domainers.

9. Your best chance is a meaningful one or two-word domain that is a .com

10. Good Luck!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Not the first time I have ever said this but if you want to WIN, you have to learn to LOSE. Learn to fail. Learn to embrace failure, refine failure, not excuse it, minimize it or run from it. When do folks learn the simple lessons of life? Here is the roadmap to  being a winner. Was it easy? No. Did it disappoint? Yes. But remember you are only defeated when you give up and this is the story about not giving up.

Damn it! Learn from her. She first attempted it at the age of 28 and after 5 times and 36 YEARS she succeeded! BRAVO! BRAVO!

Wonder how many idiot naysayers she had to deal with in those 36 years?

Not giving up on herself and not giving up on all the others before her that failed as well. Why do folks do this? One taste of success and understanding that success is built on the short falls and answers to failures and most wins and losses happen between the ears, then winning is a matter of time. Congrats to Diana Nyad. "Find a way"

Congrats!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

I have talked about this day and the gravitational pull that goes with it since January. The day after Labor Day is when folks in the USA "Begin" the process of changing from summer and down time to Fall and GAME TIME! Why is it so important to them? Because the next 12-16 weeks determines what 2013 will go down as and whether 2014 is a year they will survive to see. So over the next few weeks, things happen and the course is being set for the next year as well.

For me it is THE DAY that I am on the final leg of my journey that started in 1995. I felt the first real signs early this year and it has only gotten more intense. I knew that the first part of 2013 was going to be tough and folks don't want to hear how good the fall is going to be and things will keep accelerating for YEARS.

Business does not turn on a dime. It just slowly begins to get brighter and more intense. Things happen. The agenda for 2014 starts to take shape. Today is the start of the Business Class of 2013. What happened before today does not count. Spring Training. Today is opening day. Just like baseball but with the intensity and the calculations of football.

I will  point to these posts in 2015-2016. Your only question will be wondering how I could predict it so precisely! Of course it could manifest itself just a bit early. But not by much. As it stands on the day after Labor Day 2013, we are dead on the mark and right on time.

The Internet fad is no longer a fad and being a domain investor is no longer a bad thing.  Matter of fact, our "Stadium" is so good, they are going to try to duplicate it and many more.  That my friends gives you and me LEGITIMACY. Legitimacy we always had but today it is widely recognized and tomorrow it will be widely encouraged. What are 1000 gTLD's to do? Call us cybersquatters or call us customers?

Rick Schwartz

Mornng Folks!!

Just a couple of weeks ago I made a post stating that a blog post was not complete without comments. I think my blog post yesterday about a possible collapse of the gTLD's illustrates exactly what I meant. The post and conversation grabbed the attention of Frank Schilling and others and I think we are having a very healthy conversation and debate in the comment section.

It is unfiltered and real and I think you will find it most interesting. I invite other gTLD folks to join the discussion. Believe me, we all want to know what you see and why. We want to get our heads around it in light of the history we have already seen and been part of and our wallets sometimes lighter because of it.

That's what this is all about folks. Respectful debate. A sale can not be made until ALL objections are addressed. So a tip of the hat to Frank for understanding that and not fearing it like so many others will make the mistake of doing.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Can the New gTLD's Have a Domino Collapse? That is a very provocative question but does not delegitimize me asking it? At what point does the weight of other extensions that have not done well weigh so much on what is coming that the entire thing collapses like 1000 dominos lined up. When you add the weight of dozens of .mobi's and .travels. When you add the weight of all the gTLD's that have already been canceled. When you add the weight that even a GREAT gTLD could be tainted by the loss of the others.

Does it matter if .mobi has 1,000,000 domain registrations? Does that make it a better investment or is it still a loser as it stands today? Who cares if they make money at the registry level? They are no factor in domain investing or even domain flipping. It has NOTHING to do with YOUR LIFE!

And I don't mean to pick on .mobi but that is without doubt the clearest example so far. With great fanfare. They had their moment in the sun.They make $$$ with the sunrise and all, but face it, domain investors got caught holding the bag. And that is ok. That is what speculation is about. But other extensions DO have a more active aftermarket. .TV, .INFO, .ME. So there are lessons to be learned.

So in the event that the first 100 new extensions came to market and fell flat, what exactly would that spell for the other 900? It does not help their efforts it hinders their efforts. Even a winner could be weighed down by the sinking of others. And some are gonna sink right to the bottom.

So in that event, I would think some would be forced to even further delay a new extension rollout as they could go down with the tide. Let me be clear, I am not saying this will happen. But I do see it as ONE of the possibilities. Who goes FIRST could play a huge part in how this all unfolds. What if the first 5 rollouts are DOGS?

Food for thought. Never discount things that are possible until that threshold has been passed. .Mobi did not make the cut. Tebow did not make the cut. Both were surrounded by excitement and all the rest. But at the end of the day, the road has yet to lead either where they "Intended" to go. Tebow is still alive, .mobi is not alive as a domain investor extension today. So who cares how many are registered. They are not being used commercially and that is the KEY to value. No billboards, no TV, No Radio, no ADVERTISING DOLLARS at the end-user level. That's the KEY to growth. Not a bunch if domain investors buying TULIPS! If you don't know the Tulip Story, go LEARN IT right now!! RIGHT NOW. I sure have talked about it enough over the years. THAT is the most likely scenario at best.

Need, want desire. If nobody needs, wants or desires an extension and the few they sell are to investors looking for the 2nd coming and few if any are used commercially in advertising, how exactly does it get the oxygen to survive? Especially for investors. In OUR LIFETIME!?

.Com took off for a reason. The value of .com took off for a reason. How much did end users spend promoting .mobi last year?? THAT is where the value STARTS!

Reasons are missing in this new equation. They are just missing. And when you try to copy a recipe and the main ingredients are missing, what exactly do you have?

990 or more extensions could be very disappointed with their results regardless of their aspiring intentions. Some may not matter because with many new gTLD's then collectively they can operate and make money. But that is a different business than we are in.

.com did not happen overnight even with millions of registrations and many advertising the extension and little competition. A success on a new gTLD could take 10-20 years or more to manifest itself. Some folks think they can't plant a seed in the morning and have a tree in the evening. Maybe. 3 real or FAKE stories like that and the sheep will come a running.

But not to consider these things? Come on! This is MORE than possible given the evidence we already have. So those who have not thought about this scenario.....are they REALLY prepared? My question being in sales and marketing for so long is why would you not EXPECT it to happen? So if you don't expect something that is a possibility and that possibility arises and you are caught SURPRISED.......what happens then?

Rick Schwartz