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

Morning Folks!!

The way you put people asleep in this business is mention ICANN. This may be my least read post ever. If Michael Jackson dies again I will have many more readers and many more comments. ICANN? Yawn. But what if ICANN were to encourage criminal activity by their flawed policies? Reverse Domain Hijacking the LEGAL WAY? Maybe I can get your attention even when ICANN is the keyword.

I have long maintained that domains would become so valuable that eventually they would come after our assets. Well if you have been following Mike Berken’s blog, you can tell he is a bit frustrated as he watches what is to unfold and the lack of interest from rank and file domainers. ICANN is about to put your futures in jeopardy. ICANN is about to put their own future in jeopardy if they adopt this bonehead change.

Everyone hates domainers. So let’s start there. No love loss for what we do. However, in their hate for us, in their zeal to stop what we do, they jeopardize the mom and pop websites all over the world. Those are the ones that get caught in the crossfire. Nobody wants to hurt them and that is why we should show how it hurts the little guy with one domain, one website, one business. How just one over reaching jackass can turn their world upside down. We can fight the jackass. We have our legal teams go up against theirs and we will duel to the death. But the guy on Main Street is not so savvy. He may be under represented and the ones that they were supposed to protect are the ones ICANN is about to slay. The 'Rapid Suspension' process will put every domain holder on the defense and in a much weaker position than those plotting to grab your assets with the element of surprise on their side and new rules that will make reverse hijacking the new sport of the day.

While we have squandered a decade, our opposition has come together and have gained a lot of strength. This change if adopted will mark the beginning of the end for many. It gets worse from here, not better. Prepare to go to Federal Court to protect your assets. To REGAIN ownership. To be reimbursed for your losses. Our best defense is to let these jackasses know they and their companies will pay a price for over reaching. A better defense would be not to allow this to happen. So even if it falls on deaf ears, make your thoughts known. One commenter put it this way:

'No system is infallible regardless of it's

intent, but to actively create a system

with such visible fallacies in place is

criminal.'

Jonathan Rusca, Verdant Industries Ltd.

and I completely agree. If adopted, folks could accuse ICANN of extreme Negligence. They can CLEARLY foresee the abuse that can and will happen. If they wrecklessly move forward on this, knowing full well that it is flawed and can do unrepairable damage, not only the possibility, but probability, then we are going to see and witness some landmark legal cases and the restructuring of ICANN from top to bottom. It may actually be the best thing that ever happened to website owners.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

July 4th is much more than an American Holiday. It is a day to celebrate freedom throughout the world. A day in history in which people triumphed over oppression. Average people overcoming great odds…..isn’t that what life is about? We celebrate history so we don’t repeat past mistakes. However repeating past mistakes is the thing I see most in life.

I know it has been in vogue to beat up on the USA for a while now and apologize for this and that. But today we should offer no apologies nor should we ever. The USA is a great country that has done great things for the world and mankind over and over again and only the arrogant would apologize for that. Only the uninformed would believe that. Only the ill willed would spread that. Only the evil would try and destroy that.

So a big THANK YOU for every soldier to lay his life on the line for humanity before even the USA. To every family that offered their own. Hundreds of years of battle after battle after battle for the simple privilege of having the free will to write this blog and think the thoughts I want to think. Because of them we live in freedom and have escaped the type of tyranny we see in Iran and other places. The type of tyranny governments will impose if you don’t pay attention and learn from history. Indeed we are lucky and sometimes we need to pause and think what life is really about.

If you add up all the people that died in the world throughout history fighting for or against freedom, religion, land and those caught in the gunfire, you would find that number rivals the entire 300 million population of the USA today. All fighting for something we take for granted in this day and age? Here are the numbers just from the USA.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

It was 1997 when I started making my annual July 4th posts. Some have been public, most have been private. One of the times of the year to pause, take notice of where you are where you are going and why you are going there. They are always upbeat looking to a bright future. There is still a bright future with domains and in domaining. If not for realizing I/We have the best investments in the world. The most portable investments, the most lucrative and the most universally expandable, then I would be pretty nervous about the future and my friends, there is a LOT to be nervous about. More than at anytime in my life and even years before that. We are entering uncharted territory both economically and politically. A huge bust is coming if we stay on this path. Of course, all the 'Experts' will be surprised. Seems they are always chasing the train that already left the station. Always a few steps behind. Keep in mind, we have yet to feel the impact and pain for those that have lost their jobs. This will begin to manifest itself now that unemployment benefits and savings are running out for those that got laid off early on and are still not employed. We are about to see what happens when a city or a region hits 15%, 20%, 25%. How desperation manifests itself where it affects the lives of others.

If you think I have been exaggerating about the state of the economy, the state of the industry and the future of both, let me take the time to tell you that it is you that is underestimating what is happening and what is to come. It is you that will be surprised and unprepared. It will be you that will be scrambling while those that prepare are sucking up opportunity. Because that is what my posts are about. Opportunity! But if you are not in a position to take advantage of opportunity, you will watch it pass by. If you are in denial about the pitfalls, you will surely be a victim of them.

There are major shifts in strategy going on throughout the industry. Don’t think so? Then we are watching a different movie. Weak domainers are getting weaker. Strong domainers are smart enough to see what is coming and are scrambling.

That’s the way I see it. My record speaks for itself. The reason I have a record is I say what nobody dare says. I ask the questions that folks don’t ever want to even think about. I say/ask it early and often. Could this be a summer of discontent? Could there be a disastrous fall? Could things be getting worse, not better? Fasten your seat belts!

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Anything in between and prepare to pay a price. Dare to ask questions of “What if this”, “What if that?” Be bold enough to find the answer. The best answer. Even the ones you don’t want to find. Even when you are ridiculed for doing so.

Here is a secret. The only reason my 2008 and 2009 have been record years for me personally was I started preparing in 2007. When do you think it is time for you to prepare? You can disagree, but you can only avoid the gravitational downturn we are going to face by a plan and preparation and even that is no guarantee. Last fall I said that after there is a glut of goods on the market, it would be followed by shortages. I can identify several items in society that are now in a short supply. Can you? Do you have a stock of these items? My job in life is staying at least one step ahead of the masses. One step ahead of you.

In the meantime, you can hear some more of my thoughts in this Podcast done by Ed at OzDomainer.com.

See you on the other side.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

This is the best! No, this is better! Forget them this is the way! No, this one has a better solution. So now that we have established that everyone is full of shit, it is time to allow them to redeem themselves.

Let’s talk NUMBERS folks!! Only numbers. Specific domains and specific numbers. Don't list one, that does not count.

List 50 domain names. List the income on ppc or whatever the starting page. List the income on a new solution. Mini -site, Affiliate Marketing, CPA, CPL, choose your poison. Let’s see NUMBERS not bluster. Numbers. Dozens of domains not isolated blips. Folks have 100,000 domains, so list 1000 names. Just 1% and let’s see numbers. Doing it once on one domain, does not count. You must be able to repeat and do it hundreds of times, thousands of times, not 3 times. List with daily traffic and earnings and then the revised numbers after any type revision. If you are not willing to post NUMBERS…..I believe nothing. Not just ONE domain. Minimum of 12. Then repeat next month. The following month as well. A solution for 1 month is no solution at all. Let me see a domain grow over 12 months, 24 months. Come on. I think it is all Bullshit. I think 90% of the posts these days are just self serving BS.

Now the truth of the matter is there are tried and true ways to make more money off a domain. First is building a full blown business. Second is hooking up with someone with a full blown business. Any questions? The whole point is being able to do this on a mass level and repeat, repeat, repeat. Let’s peel back all numbers, all costs, all time involved. Real numbers. Not percentages. Not hocus pocus. DOLLARS and CENTS!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I have often said the greatest value of the Internet is that everyone gets their own soapbox. Ya never know when just one guy on one soapbox can change the world. Here’s an example of what I see as the power of the Internet. Check out this organization with 500-600 employees. Most could not pass the employee screening test at Taco Bell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7o9p0fP6cQ

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The first half of 2009 is over and now the tough times are coming. Put your head in the sand, fine with me, but when the big guys are hurting the small guys are getting decimated. Nobody runs around posting about their great failures but if they were to do that the boards would all crash from posts. Don’t kid yourself. A significant part of the domain industry is in absolute collapse. Large, worthless portfolios are burying the big and small worthless portfolios are making small guys look for a new formula because crappy domains STINK like dead fish.

Folks need to get out of their head that my posts are about doom and gloom, they are not. They articulate a problem and search for the bi-product. Search for the crevices in the economy that fortunes are made of. They are about navigating some of the toughest times we have faced in many decades and coming out of it stronger and with life changing businesses. But to do that it is about adjusting before being consumed. About being one step ahead and not one step behind. Those that are not 'Surprised' by events are prepared. They ask 'What if' questions and are not afraid of the answers. Nor do they dodge the question. The road is full of twists and turns and unexpected events. Knowing the terrain before others figure it out present great opportunity. So my posts are about opportunity and reality.

Significant amount of domainers are sitting on a worthless empire. That's reality. Renewing year after year waiting for the domain fairy to appear. The dream ends now. Those domains first try to be sold on the market and when nobody takes the bait, they are destined to drop and we’ll see if someone else can repeat failure.

So now even the big say this is a good time to sell some domains to make up the shortfall of PPC income. So we are getting some very nice domains coming to market at really good prices. If the guys with the crap want to turn it around, get rid of the crap and buy quality this time around. Nobody forces you to keep choosing domains that mean nothing. And until you hone your skill of picking domain names you can have complete access to .anything and you would still pick worthless domains. I see it with every new extension. Folks have their choice of quality if an extension is to hit at some point in the future and they still pick worthless or secondary domains. It’s almost like they are afraid to date the pretty girl.

This era will be the very last opportunity for domains that have meaning, that have value, that have great future value to be bought at prices that are downright cheap. Circumstance has made an appearance right into the middle of the domain world. I am not sure how long it will last. Months? Maybe a year or so. The one thing about domains, being unique assets and a once in a lifetime opportunity to but these domains, you still have to have cash to take advantage of what is out there. No cash, you are sitting on the sidelines. So even those in good shape that may be thin on cash need to get rid of their weaker domains to fill them in with stronger ones, ones that can fortify your portfolios and add great value.

Timing, timing, timing and then there is the time. This is the time. This is the best opportunity to buy domains since 2003. 6 years ago. So on one hand things are bad, but bad produces good, produces opportunity. So when you focus on the adverse you are likely to find the opportunity hidden in a place nobody is willing to look.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Funny, human nature sometimes prevents us from realizing how much impact a person makes in your life until they are gone. I was never a crazy Michael Jackson fan. However I can say several of his songs put me in specific places in my life at specific times. For Michael Jackson it was cruising down Van Nuys Blvd looking for girls when I was in High School and the one single moment I can remember most vividly of that era was listening to the Jackson 5 on that Friday night. Decades ago but I can still touch it with my mind like it was last Friday Night.

This morning I also learned something that we both went to the same high school in Encino. Different years, but I was surprised nonetheless when I heard that this morning.

I guess I look at him and see 3 stages of a life. The first stage was the Jackson 5 and I still remember their appearance on Ed Sullivan. The kid stole the stage and it was so obvious that nobody could compete. Then of course there is the “Thriller” stage that probably secured his place in history and not just here but throughout the world. I am seeing how intense his fan base is. Finally the weird stage in which we have all been a witness to over the last years. The man in the mask. The man with boys. The man that nobody could really define. Shocked by his death but not surprised.

So in the days ahead we will find out how he actually died. It probably won’t a be a pretty picture. I won't post my guess here, but I don't think this will be a great mystery.

This has been a tough week but an interesting thread and lesson to be learned. For me these 3 are of my era. I was around to see all in their big day. All 3 were cultural icons in one way or another of their time. Ed McMahon died of old age. Farrah died of cancer, Michael died too soon. Someone put it like this: Death of the elderly, the sick and the sudden. The 3 faces of death. Which one will we have?

Born to die with a few years of life sandwiched in between and folks waste time with bullshit and crap.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The #1 question I always hear is basically how do you pick great domain names? To that I can say it is all about nouns, adjectives and verbs. That is my guiding light of picking domain names. My foundation. The best domains other than 1 word nouns, adjectives and verbs are 2 word domains. A noun.com preceded by an adjective or a verb. So you can start with the base which for example would be Candy.com which is the noun. Then the job of mining begins. How many different ways can you either describe candy or categorize candy? There are hundreds if not more.

Candy.com
Hardcandy.com (Adjective, Noun)
Oldtimecandy.com (Adjective, Noun)
GetCandy.com (Verb, Noun)
Eatcandy.com (Verb, Noun)
SweetCandy.com (Adjective, Noun)

You can repeat this for every noun there is. However I focus on “Commercial” type domains. Items to purchase. Businesses to create. Sometimes the two word domain can trump the one worder because it is more specific. It is not limited to this but this is the foundation of how I mine. Verbs are great as well. Travel.com would be a verb domain. Then you could describe different ways of travel with an adjective or a noun.

So when you see unrelated words stuck together with a .com on the end…..that is NOT a domain name. I am not sure what it is. Great domains have certain elements. Finding them just depends how far down you want to drill. A domain like candy already has been mined and mined so little is left. But other NOUNS have not been mined to that degree. Pick a noun any noun. You are now on your way.

Have a Great Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Can Friendship hurt your Overall Business? Ever think about that one? Ever think that getting too close to business associates can work against you just as it can work for you? Can cloud your judgment, your business sensibilities and responsibilities and even values?

I think when you examine it there is a very fine line. It’s not easy to come to decisions to begin with, but how much should the friendship weigh when you are in a business environment and making business decisions?

As time goes on this will be a question that more and more domainers will be asking. They have to ask. We are dealing with survival in many cases if not all cases.

These are not easy questions. They may not even be questions you have thought about. But when you are faced with the crossroads, what do you actually do? I often describe myself as “Loyal to a fault.” It is actually something I am fighting. Sometimes loyalty can go too far. Can flirt with what you believe is acceptable, unacceptable and what you believe in is right even when they are your friends.

The industry is becoming a very tangled web. So many folks doing business with other folks and friends and there is a point where the cross business can actually become a hindrance. So many “Type A” personalities., so many egos, lots of peer pressure, so many desires and dreams, so many this and that all rolled together and here we are. We will experience the good, the bad and the ugly. As it should be I guess. However much more interesting when you can pull back for a moment to separate the positives from the negatives, the good things from the bad things, the understanding of the role each of us play, and how we interact.

Friendships can be the foundation of a business or the undoing of it.

We are an industry of friends and associates and personalities networking together with many that irritate this one or that one. At some point the irritation can poison the water but so too can the friendship. Can override the main mission. Can distract and destroy. Business has no friends. Business is all about friends. Two sides of a tight rope.

Just something to think about and how it relates to our little universe. Einstein once said something like he really was not that smart, he just spent more time thinking about things and went deeper than others.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I look at a domain as growing fruit and myself as a farmer. With fruit you have to plant and have the patience to let it grow, to ripen, to sweeten. You have to nurture and tend to them. Keep an eye on things. If you pick it too soon it has little value. Wait too long and it may go bad and you miss your opportunity to have food.

It’s hard to believe that the first 10 years of this new millennium are coming to a close. My first domain sale occurred in 1999. So 10 years ago. So I decided to make a list of the domains I have sold and the prices I have sold them for. The one thing common to each of these sales is in every case the buying party contacted me first.

Unfortunately I promised not to reveal the buying party but I can tell you it was a domain I bought for either $70 or $100 in 1996 and sold for $225k last week.

1999 eScore.com $100,000 (Kaplan Education Services)
2002 eCruise.com $100,000 and stock options to xxxxxxx.com (NDA)
2003 Men.com $1.32M to Kevin Leto / Men.com LLC
2006 PartnerCash.com $110,000 to PartnerCash.de
2008 236.com (Can't publish price) To IAC
2008 iReport.com $750,000 To CNN
2008 Property.com $5M++ and full equity stake to Foreclosure.com
2008 RoomDividers.com $75,000
2009 Candy.com $3M plus 2% royalty from gross and other considerations to Melville Candy Co.
2009 Undisclosed domain. $224,000 bought for $100 in 1999.

Total over $10 million on 10 domain deals PLUS Equity stake in Property.com, 2% Royalty from Candy.com, and stock in xxxxxx.com. Plus other considerations, options and alike.

Plus I have sold a sprinkling of other domains at TRAFFIC to help market and create some excitement. Nothing I wanted to sell and maybe 4 or 5 total domains.

I sold TeenModels.com for about $75,000 which in my mind was a trade for a domain costing a bit more that helped to round out my portfolio. Kinkysex.com at about $80k. Trade by two simultaneous cash to cash transactions.

Each sale I make is a sale I can build on. You can build on. The industry can build on. Each sale any of us makes adds to the valuation process.

We each have our methods and variables. If it works for you, that is all that counts. Just never underestimate the power of a business on the corner of the busiest intersection in the world.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz