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

Morning Folks!!

Did you notice that the world is turning a little slower today? It is. When mankind loses the likes of Steve Jobs mankind loses something words can’t describe, When I look back, I would have to say he is as easy to replace as Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin or Isaac Newton. In other words, he is irreplaceable.

There is not a human being that is alive that has not benefitted from his visions and ideas. Talk about creating “Jobs”. Job’s created more jobs that perhaps anyone on earth and his legend will live on. What Beethoven is to music, what Shakespeare is to writing is what Steve Jobs was to progress and tech and of course computers and even more.

He may have departed but luckily for us he set a course that will keep producing innovation for more than a decade before the genius fades away.

Steve Jobs changed the world and changed our lives. Each and every one of us. I don’t know another person in my ENTIRE LIFETIME that has had more impact on more people, than Steve Jobs. Until last night......maybe John F. Kennedy.

All I can say is we are all very lucky that he was our contemporary. I admit I cried last night. I did this morning too. We lost somebody more special than words.

I still call for an “International Day of Mourning”. It will be interesting how this all unfolds today and in the days ahead.

I write this on my Macbook Pro. The last thing I set down at night before I go to sleep is the iphone and the iPad, well.....I am surrounded by them. It is part of me. All that since 2007 when the first iPhone came out and CHANGED MY LIFE! Still don't have an iPhone?? What century are you in? DINOSAUR! :-)

Here are my Blog Posts about the iPhone. I saw why it would be the #1 device in the world in my first MINUTE!

When I remember Steve Jobs, THIS will be the image I remember. LAST to market and became #1 with a bullet! A lesson to all.

'Don't let the NOISE of others opinions drown out your own inner voice.' Jobs 2005

Alexander Graham Bell and the others I mention now have a new member. What would 'Alexander' think of the phone today? Jobs did not invent the phone he just brought it to the highest level in 135 years. Commuication today? Watson is that you? Say hello to Columbus too.

Rick Schwartz

Evening Folks!!

Sorry to hear Steve Jobs has died. A GREAT loss for mankind. :-(

He will rank up there with Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein along with only a handful of others. Prolific life changer for EVERY person reading this.

And for those that think life is open ended......at 56, he was younger than me and not that much older than many of you. The greatest idea man of our time is gone. He can't be replaced. I think it is okay to shed a few tears on this one. I am surrounded by all things Apple.

I think he deserves an 'International Day of Mourning'

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Last week I described our idea about the 'Second Bite of the Apple' to help bring some liquidity into the domain market. It was just an idea and since then we have constructed the formula and put the infrastructure in place.

We will be working with ZenScrow.com who will be providing the financing, transfer and escrow service. The info can be found here.

This service is open to all sellers and they must advise us before the auction whether they want to be included in the 'Second Bite'. If the domain does not sell for cash, a seller can elect to offer 2-3 year (or more or less) financing with 25% down and then payments over the term. If the buyer defaults the seller gets the domain back and keeps all the funds. Likely eclipsing anything they could earn over the same term. However I believe most if not all will fulfill their obligation. Either way, it is a winner even if it goes south. The buyer gets a shot at a top line domain name with a fraction of the cash needed. That buys time!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Howard and I keep working on things to add value to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and to the Industry. So in that regard, next week on October 12, Just 48 hours before the TRAFFIC festivities begin, we will unveil our new app. Just one of a number of surprises we have in store.

App Description:

Get connected and get real-time access to the best Domainers and Domain Names in the Industry!

• Browse the most influential domain investors
  Easily connect with other domain name investors and developers when you know who is available, and find out more about their portfolio and interests.


• Browse high value domains
  When you spot a valuable domain name opportunity, you know who to contact to buy, sell or partner with.


• Promote yourself and your domains

Share your information about your investments and interests to create your personal “trading card” and “trading cards” for your domains

• Endorse your business partners and be endorsed.
  Recognize the real professionals with the highest integrity and business ethics. We create an atmosphere for serious business people to conduct business.

The app is designed for registered T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference & Expo attendees FIRST and then the domain community roll out after the show.

Here is a little sneak preview

http://targetedtraffic.com/app/

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

PS: Attendees at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will get this app included at no charge for an entire year as well as those register for the 2012 show. The cost has yet to be determined but the subscription will be priced like T.R.A.F.F.I.C. where the bar is high to help insure that only professionals are able to use the platform.

Evening Folks!!

Things are moving faster than I can even respond to the emails. The bargains are coming and the folks with nice domains see we are going to have a serious auction with serious domainers making serious bids. Why? Becuase it is meant to work by having people walk away with bargains. Some of the .XXX domains are going to fly well ahead of their reserves. So while some reserves may only be $15k, $25k, $50k, bidders will bid it up to the proper level. The MARKET will speak.

Just got in Socials.com and it is priced to sell on October 18th. What do you think a domain like this is worth? What will the high bid be? The owner gave me a price sure to garner loads of bids and somebody WILL buy this domain 2 weeks from tomorrow. So what say you?

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

If you want a chance at a new extension you must at the very least start with PRIME keyword domains. Here are a few to give you a head start. These will ALL appear in the Traffic Auction Scheduled for October 18th at 2PM at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The reserves will be listed on the website schedule by tonight.

Movies.xxx Reserve Under $400,000
Singles.xxx Reserve Under $80,000
Personals.xxx Reserve Under $50,000
Orgy.xxx Reserve Under $50,000
Stars.xxx Reserve under $100,000
Blondes.xxx Reserve under $50,000
Party.xxx Reserve under $60,000
Local.xxx (No Reserve)
Juicy.xxx Reserve under $15,000
Virtual.xxx Reserve under $15,000
Hotties.xxx Reserve under $15,000
Chatroom.xxx Reserve under $15,000

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I am not a geek so I was a bit of a fish out of water when I went online sometime in the early to mid 1980's. Compuserve ruled. But Compuserve was for geeks. I could not get to square one.

In 1989 AOL finally hit the market with a 'Graphical Interface' as well as Prodigy. There were earlier incarnations but now it was finally ready for prime time.

So all the geeks laughed at me and called me names just for having an AOL address. They still do. Some people won't do business with me simply because I have an AOL addy. How narrow minded can someone possibly be? But those 'Training Wheels' were exactly what 'I' needed. It was also what many others needed. So while the geeks laughed, I did business. Businessmen were not geeks.

But I would laugh back at them because they never even knew when their email was bouncing because the servers in those days were up and down like yoyo's and sometimes DAYS at a time. I was getting ALL of my email. AOL was never down. They were relaible when others were not. I know, I got their bounces!

So the geeks labled me early on. The geeks did not understand life. Did not undersatnd the NEED for a domain name. Imagine that?? Not even a NEED. Just use the IP#. When I would ask them how they would advertise that on TV or Radio or get word of mouth they would go NUTS! They would lambaste me with every name in the book. For what?? Seeing something that was flawed at best?

The geeks did not understand that most folks needed those training wheels. I saw many CEO's that I would do business with also used AOL including my late friend Gary Cohen who was the person responsible for me getting me more involved in the internet to begin with.

Why was AOL so valuable back then? Because I could literally access them from anywhere in the world very easily where any other service was next to impossible to get online back in those days. I remember being in mainland China back in the mid 1990's and being able to get online at the factory I was visiting. Those folks never saw the things I showed them before that moment. Could not do that with Compuserve.

But more importantly was how well AOL handled email searching. I could locate any email I have written within a few seconds. To me, that had the most value. Every other mail program did not work the way I worked. Sometimes I don't want to answer an email right away. I need to think about it. Sleep on it. So the others were just not compatible to how I work.

Mr800king alone has defined me in several places and it became a 'Handle' of mine. But now it is time to begin the transition away from AOL. I have been using gmail more and more but after talking to Scott Cleland last week, I question the privacy there. I also really don't like how it files my email or the strings or a lot of stuff. It has just been better than the other alternatives I have seen but does not work the way I work and we each work in our own ways.

So after the TRAFFIC show in a few days, I will begin a transition to a new, fresh email addy aimed at the next 15-20 years. If you have emailed me about something and gotten no response please use domainking at gmail for now. I know a number of emails are not making it to me anymore over the last few weeks. What WAS the most relaible email system out there is no longer relaible. That sucks!

So here we are on the edge of 2012 and the geeks and the domainer work together side by side. Still like oil and water sometimes but both realize they need each other to progress and make things happen.

So now back to AOL....

R.I.P A.O.L. It is like watching a great singer like Wayne Newton continue to sing when he can no longer sing. Very sad indeed. I saw it first hand. The audience did not boo just out of respect for the years of gret entertaining. But it was a train wreck. AOL is a train wreck. Very sad to watch it go down the tubes. The original 'Mouse that Roared' the day the mouse swallowed Time Warner is dying.

Have a Great Day!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

Morning Folks!!

When is it time to sell? Well for years I have had inquiries and offers for 235.com and my other NNN.com domains. I have one price for most of them $100,000. They all come back and say it is too high and not worth $100k. My canned respose...'Come back when it is'.

Well is 'Is'. And so a $70 gamble in 1998 pays off about $10,000 in ppc over the years and now $100,000 in cash. What stock coud I have bought in 1998 that would have done better?? Passively?? Over a 1500X return over the years.

Why sell now? Because like a farmer, the item was RIPE! I knew what 'Ripe' looked like for a long time. $100k. When the market reached $100k, the domain was 'Ripe'.

Now does that mean I believe it has reached full value? Absolutely not. I have NNN.com's that will not 'Ripen' until the market hits $250k. Go ahead and laugh. You can't even hold a candle to the laughs of 1998 when I 'Wasted' $70.

Do you have the patience to wait that long? My strategy started out knowing it could be 20 years. Not 20 minutes, not 20 days, not 20 months. Each domain will ripen at a different point because each industry is at a different point on how they are harnessing the power of the Internet.

Breaking through the clutter is getting harder not easier. THAT is why domains will keep going up in value regardless of what know nothings know and say.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

Want to ride in the nice man's Boat?? Some may get that THRILL when we race that baby right off the shore under the cabanas at the Ritz Carlton!! We add value when we no longer have to and we have so much more to come. When you miss T.R.A.F.F.I.C., you miss L.I.F.E. and B.U.S.I.N.E.S.S. and F.U.N.

Plus these names will be auctioned off:

Movies.xxx Reserve Under $400,000
Singles.xxx Reserve Under $80,000
Personals.xxx Reserve Under $50,000
Orgy.xxx Reserve Under $50,000
Stars.xxx Reserve under $100,000
Blondes.xxx Reserve under $50,000

Party.xxx Reserve under $60,000
Local.xxx (No Reserve)
Juicy.xxx Reserve under $15,000
Virtual.xxx Reserve under $15,000
Hotties.xxx Reserve under $15,000
Chatroom.xxx Reserve under $15,000

Come meet Mike Seebold and be the FIRST to see this boat in action.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 30, 2011

.XXX RACING TO MAKE ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE AT OFF SHORE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN KEY WEST, NOV. 11-13

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida: ICM Registry, the company behind the .xxx top level domain (TLD) announced today that it is entering world class powerboat racing with world champion driver Mike Seebold to compete at this year’s Off Shore World Championships in Key West, Florida.

Seebold and the team will be unveiling the all new race boat at T.R.A.F.F.I.C., the domain investment conference in Ft Lauderdale on Oct. 15-16^th, where guests and some surprised beach goers will get a chance to see the Miss .XXX powerboat blast along the coastline for a few test runs.

“We are extremely pleased to have a champion of Mike’s caliber join the .XXX Racing team and we look forward to lots of success with the .XXX Powerboat Team both on and off the water”, states ICM Registry Sales Director, Vaughn Liley.

“We are excited to be part of the .XXX team and were going to make them very proud in Key West as we go for the World Championship”, stated champion powerboat racer, Mike Seebold.

.XXX puts internet users in control of the content they wish to view or avoid, the .XXX indicates to the consumer that the website is likely to contain adult material, so they can now make an informed decision, whether to select or avoid. For more information about .xxx please visit www.about.xxx

Contact:

Mike Schriefer

Speedway Group/.XXX Racing

(704) 904-4141

mike@speedwaygroup.com

About .XXX Racing:

.XXX Racing has been set up in partnership with Speedway Group to activate and promote the .XXX brand at global sporting events. In addition to the powerboat racing .XXX plans to sponsor a variety of four wheel and two wheel events /teams as part of its global outreach to consumers.

About Miss .XXX Powerboat:

Hull: Skater Off-Shore Racing Catamaran
Engines: 2, Mercury Racing 650hp
Top Speed: 150mph

About Driver: Mike Seebold:

Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Resides: Marco Island, FL
Age: 49

Career Highlights:

• 2^nd all time powerboat race winner worldwide


• Fifty (50) F1 race victories


• Fifteen (15) Total National Championships


• Three (3) F1 Championships


• Oldest son of the famed Seebold Racing family


• Former driver of the famed Bud Light F1, Bud Select and Bud Light Off-Shore race teams.

Contact:
Mike Schriefer
Speedway Group/.XXX Racing
(704) 904-4141
mike@speedwaygroup.com