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

Morning Folks!!

Howard and Barbara have been in Las Vegas for the last 2 weeks scouting for venues and dates for a return in either 2012 or 2013 or both. No decisions have been made. There are solid reasons to go to Las Vegas and also solid reasons to wait. With your help we will weigh both sides and come to a good decision.

So what say you? Can't do it without you, so it really becomes up to you. 2012 may be too soon and 2013 may be a smarter choice.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

What happened with O.com is very significant. I mean O.co. Now that we have new facts I have stated the obvious in my last 2 posts. Here and here. But there is more to it than just is seen with the eye. There are huge ramifications and how it plays out is anybodies guess.

The equation has changed in that we have some clarity. We have seen that even with a multi-million dollar campaign, spitting in the wind is not going to work unless you really have something they really need and want and then take the time and energy to learn something new.

Human nature is a very difficult thing to change. This is a big day because new information that is broadly disseminated is what this is all about to begin with.

The birdie in the mine died. We proclaimed what it would mean if this was to happen and it has happened. They can try and put a happy face on this, but that dog won't hunt. I am writing a lot about this because how important it is. How the result is likely to change thinking. How reinventing the wheel may not be the smartest thing. There is a lot of things to discuss and digest. Much of it was done last January. But now that we have facts and reality to base things on instead of gut, everything changes.

This is a seismic shift. Does it mean .co has no value? No. But it does mean it now has less value. The days and weeks ahead will determine if the INVESTOR market in .co remains viable. The registry will still sell .co, but as investors, investors in domain names, this party is likely over. It was very weak to begin with judging by all the drops. But this is a bell weather of what might be coming. .Whatever did not have a good day. However, dotcom had a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As was reported yesterday, the grand experiment of O.co has crashed and burned to put it bluntly. After a huge advertisng budget they found out the hard way that overpowering .com is going to be no easy task.

I think this just verify's what I saw and said back in January. 'A failure here and you can expect the value of .com to rise once again along with skepticism with any and all other new extensions.'

This was a very costly experiment and it obviously did not go well. The only ones surprised are the folks at Overstock.com. The canary DIED!

A crash this early is pretty spectacular. It is not good news for the .co registry and may be a turning point. Between this and the numerous decsions going against the .co owners, it may be safe to say that their best days are behind them and .co for domain speculators may be over. This is VERY bad news for .co domains and the viability without owning the .com counterpart. It also means that .whatever MUST have the .com version if they want to brand ANY other extension.

A big day for .com and a possible funeral for .co.

.Com is now the undisputed champion of the world and now there is PROOF beyond doubt. RIP .Whatever before you are even BORN! The value of .com went up EXPONENTIALLY today. Dot com REMAINS King and 1000 challengers will all need the same thing. The .com counterpart or BUST!

There are new FACTS in town and these facts stand while speculation collapses. What you thought you knew now has to be re-evaluated because of what they said:

'Mr. Johnson said customers responded well to the O.co advertising, but after watching the spots, 'a good portion' of those who sought out the website went to O.com, instead of O.co.'

FACT! Right from the horses mouth. Only idiots ignore FACTS once they are no longer ignorant of them. New facts, new outcome and new results.

Rick Schwartz

Evening Folks!!

Less than a year ago I said this about Overstock.com and O.com and the confusion that would happen.

'O.com I mean O.co or Overstock.com has done one thing so far, caused confusion and they are likely pissing away a lot of money by not owning O.com which of course is associated with Oprah not Overstock. And right now neither of them has it. It does not resolve.

My point is this is a test. This is a canary in the mines. I don’t know which way it will go. But I do have a hunch it will be more difficult than they expect with a lot of blow back. So far, the winner on this one is the ad exec putting this grand experiment together. There will be a lot to learn here. Some you may want to copy and some you may want to avoid.

Is confusing your customer a good thing? I guess we will find out. The unknown is how many folks will go to O.com to find nothing and then just say what a bunch of idiots never to return. A real risk.'

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/01/my-take-on-ocomi-mean-oco-and-other-new-extensions-and-their-fate.html

Today they said: 'Confused? So were customers. Mr. Johnson said customers responded well to the O.co advertising, but after watching the spots, 'a good portion' of those who sought out the website went to O.com, instead of O.co.

Is there an ECHO here??

http://adage.com/article/news/o-overstock-backs-o-change/230983/

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

This is simply one of the most valuable posts I have EVER made. Today you can plant the seeds of success in a purposeful way. Whatever did not work for you yesterday is now behind you. If you read this, if you study and understand what I am saying, you will turn frustration into success. With this single post and the links I have to some of my key posts over the years, you can be a top tier domainer.....TODAY.

When Berkens and I get together sometimes we talk about how many people keep telling us how wrong we are. How we do this wrong and that wrong. I mean too funny. We compare notes and stories. Like I said, too funny.

A few weeks ago there was a specific comment about one of the domain names in our auction having no value. Well in fact it did sell and it does have value. But the guy pointing to that particular domain never did an ounce of legwork to find out. The domain was ThermalScanners.com. I thought it was a good domain name. Berkens picked it up for $2K. So there is an example.

Go Google Thermal Scanners. They are medical devices and scanners and some can run into 6 figures. But of course this domain has no value according to this domainer. If that was Mike's first purchase, he would be LIGHT YEARS ahead of most. So the path is not difficult. What is difficult is the discipline to stay on the path despite all the naysayers on the sidelines. The discipline say no to a low ball offer. Buy diamonds or buy glass. It's the same effort and the price is not that different when you know what to look for. If you don't know what to look for, you have two choices. Learn or walk away. There are more ways to make millions in domain names than any other industry I have ever seen and it is open to all for a very low entry fee. Below is just the most simplistic way. It gets you there each and every time. It just takes time and discipline and keeping your eyes open for all types of opportunity without losing your direction and being distracted.

1. Don’t quit your day job. You will need to finance your first few domains


2. Read #1 again and again and again. Don't quit your day job until it interferes with your earning capability.


3. Learn here and Learn here what makes a domain valuable and why somebody else would want it. If nobody can ever think of it, probably not going to be very valuable.


4. Buy a domain for $1000 or buy several if you can.


5. Sell that domain for $10,000. How do you do that? Read #3 and Here and Here. (Give yourself 6months to a year)


6. Take that $10,000 and either buy (10) $1000 domains or (2) $5000 names or (1) $10,000 name.


7. Take that domain or those domains and turn the $10,000 into $100,000.


8. Take $10,000 and go pay something off.


9. Take the $90K and repeat #6.


10. Have the patience to realize that this may be up to a 3 year journey. But when you get to #9 and do what you did in #6, you will be more adapt at it and you will turn your domains quicker.


11. With $900k in your pocket you can repeat #6, quit your day job and in 3 years you can be a millionaire. Maybe less if you are really good at #3.


12. Are you asking yourself the right questions? Here are my top 20.

That’s the simple, no brainer, anyone can do it, road map. Now all the clowns come out and tell everyone why that does not work. BULLSHIT! It will work, it does work and it will work everytime if you get #3 right and understand how you really need a rifle today, not a shotgun. It takes patience and 3 years. Less if you figure it out. If you still don't think you can do it or you think it is too late, then READ THIS!

This single post and the links I have will turn you into a first class domainer. Many if not most will just discount and reject it out of hand. What else is new? But this is simply one of the most valuable posts I have EVER made.

Good Luck!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Evening Folks!!

We have turned from a TIME BASED society to a PRODUCTION BASED society. But few know or even see that. So let me point it out. I did not know it until today myself so no worries.

But think about it, in the past you were paid to sit at a desk or an assembly line for 8 hours and just do your job and not slow things down. That formula does not exactly bring out the best in us. You become a government worker. Doing just enough but never too much. I don’t blame them, it is the framework that was built 100 or 200 years ago that no longer works and is not that effective.

Today many jobs are production based. In sales it is all production based. You don’t sell, you don't produce anything, you earn nothing. So you learn how to sell or get a job like I described. Now many jobs are production jobs. You get paid on your output. Whatever it is we measure like that and then that allows folks to work at home when they want to work and when it fits in. It's flexible and that flexibility makes folks work smarter and harder and become more productive.

In a very short amount of time, most people learn to be much more productive at home or in their private office as opposed to the 9-5 company framework. Business and the world need to sync up.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning folks!!

I wrote this post a week or two ago and like so many posts I have been deciding to post it or not. Sometimes posts like this are well received, sometimes not. But since I am posting it, I will be referring to this single post for years to come. Pointing it to those that need to read it and then either they can deal with it or hate me for it.

Let's start with FACTS today that were not facts then but I acted as if they were back in 1996.

1. Buying a great domain is a unique opportunity in time. For those that think it is over, some parts are. But new ones still emerge. There is so much opportunity that still exists IF you deal in meaningful domain names. But shit is still shit. There is no unique opportunity in time for SHIT. It was here before you and it will be here after you and it is still shit.

2. Domains will go up in value faster than any other commodity in the history of mankind. Nobody on this planet has yet to challenge me on that in 16 years. Steve Forbes corrected me. Domains are not a commodity. But it is still the easiest and most specific way to communicate things.

Remember 2007?? That was a GREAT year! The last really good year many had business wise. But even then folks were TRAPPED in their minds and of course it was my fault or yours. lol. The folks that say this and that today would have said the same garbage in 2000 and I will prove it right here, right now with an actual post from September 2000 from my private board. Maybe some will WAKE UP to the bullshit swirling around in their heads. There really is no other word for it. They are missing something very important. Some ways of thinking NEVER CHANGE. Just the dates, times and names change and the folks are sadly trapped in a prison of their own minds. Then they lash out.

Some are jealous whining, lazy people that refuse to do the heavy lifting but quick to point a finger. So for those people, they will either LEARN from the exchange below or not. I don't expect much.

But there are also good folks that just have not connected the dots in a way that gives them true direction. This can help be your compass. None of us have all the answers. But when you have perspective and purpose and direction you would be amazed how life changes.

When you isolate the bad and the negative you have room for the good and the positive. On the other hand if you are just a miserable bastard trying to make everyone miserable with you......screw you. Get lost. Take a hike. :-)

I am going to show folks themselves in a mirror. And when they look into that mirror, they will not see themselves. They will see another person with a defeatist attitude and they will see how truly ugly and unbecoming it is. This WHINE is aged from the year 2000. He too complained about this and that. How many of you wish you had the opportunity to go back to 2000 today just for a few hours armed with the knowledge you have today?? There are always reasons you can fail, but the desire to succeed trumps that when you have your shit together.

What would you tell that guy if you could listening to his babble a decade ago?? What do you tell somebody that sounds like you might today? He is not a bad guy. Not at all. But he has thoughts in his head that crowd out other thoughts.

Until these poor folks change how they think and how they interact and approach things they will be lost and wallow in their own gunk. The only person on earth responsible for where they are is THEM. I am just trying to reach one willing mind. Lord knows I have spent over a decade trying to reach those that are trapped and unlock the door. If this does not do the trick, then they are hopeless and that's that. The brain dead won't even look. And that is fine with me. No skin off my nose if they keep talking out their ass. But now everyone else will clearly see it as well.

Look, success does not come easy. Everybody on the planet wakes up and looks for it. If it were easy, it would be called something else.

When you read this post below, remember one thing as this poor guy feels sorry for himself. The post was before Frank Schilling bought his FIRST domain. But he defeated himself. Many folks defeat themselves. Want to start succeeding instead? I don't want to see anyone out there go down that defeatist path or I would not take the time to make the case to illustrate things.

http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/11/time-capsule-se.html

I really can't do anymore than PROVING what I say and showing folks I have been dealing with this same clueless mindset for over a decade. The same shit!! AMAZING! It could have been written this morning or last night because this misguided way of thinking is as hard to kill as a cockroach. Now don't get me wrong. This is not a bad guy. This is a good guy with bad thoughts and those bad thoughts were his prison. No matter where you enter, it will always be later than some and earlier than others. Just get your share.

So for those that still don't get it after reading this....you are brain dead. Call the mortuary. Probably too lazy to even read it cuz you may be hit with a big dose of reality and then you would have to admit that you are seeing the world wrong and of course you are too proud to admit the obvious. You have one more chance to get your life and mind on track.

Look at my response over 11 years ago and compare with this post from just days ago. See any similarities? That's because 2+2=4 then and it has not changed! The thought process has not changed either. Just the people with the thoughts.

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/11/ricks-top-10-bullet-points-to-being-a-successful-domainer.html

I truly want all domainers to succeed and be wildly successful, But it has and never will be up to me. I can only show folks what still works for me and others can show what works for them. But until they lose the attitude or think they are entitled to success because others are successful or think just because their pockets are not as deep as others or they got in the game TODAY and that they can't compete, then they will be disabled and worse and waste their time while others are on the right path. Others enjoying great success and PARLAYING their profits to the next deal and the next and the next after that. So it is never too late to get it right and get your mind synced in a different manner. Some repeat success, some repeat something that does not lead to success. READ the words from 2000 and today may be your 'Lucky' day.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

As Mike Berkens article points out the sale of Meet.me is now final and an investment of less than $2000 less than 3 years ago has now ripened to the tune of $450,000 CASH. Mike Berkens, Ammar Kubba and I have bought several domains together over the last few years. We don't have a contract, there are no lawyers involved. Just 3 solid guys that know how to do business on a handshake because this business is about handshakes. Together we own Date.me, Love.me and Marry.me and decided we could pull Meet.me out of the group without too much pain.

Make no mistake, this domain is worth much more but $450,000 is nothing to sneeze at and that becomes a building block for future sales. This domain means something and that is why it has great value. As Mike pointed out, we beleive this is a World's record for a .Me domain name.

The timing is interesting because I have been working on a post that will show the same Blah, blah, blah you hear in 2011 is eerily similar to what you heard in 2000, 2007 and every year in between. That post will be up within the next hours or maybe tomorrow.

Domaining is about speculating. It is not a religion. We don't worship extensions. We look for solid investments that have a chance of becoming valuable.

I own about 25 .me domain names plus the ones I own with Mike and Ammar.

As Mike pointed out, a few weeks back at TRAFFIC our 3 man group bought several .xxx domains. It is speculation. It is an investment. It is not about the value today, it is about how things unfold YEARS from now. It's about planting seeds now so you can look smart in the future.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz