Touch the World but be Patient. A Domainers Story

Morning folks!!

At the end of the day we are all trying to 'Touch the World.' Have the
world take notice. Have a great moment unlike any other. With each post, with
each new domain, with each site we develop, at the end of the day we are all
just trying to touch the world. Create a spark. A spark that carries to every
corner of the universe. Hopefully a spark that continues.

However what we want is also the ultimate challenge. Not only is it the
ultimate challenge but 6 billion people all want similar things. Millions of
videos are uploaded to Youtube every day. Of those just a handful really get
noticed. 1, 12, 100, 1000, take your pick. I generally see about 2 to 3 a day on
TV. Everyone trying to be one of those 2 or 3.

But this is not a surprise. this was expected. It took longer than I
thought it would but when exactly did the net hit critical mass? In 1995 it was
less than 10%. We came here very fast. But when was the exact date of the
tipping point? Do you know? Does anyone know? Probably not, you just realize one
day that it happened.

Domains to me always represented a way to always have an audience no matter
how intense the competition would be. The competition today is getting intense
and it will become more so. So going back to 1995 and 1996 I still remember what
it was that really kicked my ass in gear. I was sitting at a restaurant and the
table next to us was made up of 2 couples about 75 or 80 year old and they were
not discussing their bowels. They were discussing emailing their grandchildren.
That was th day that things really hit for me and I realized that the
convergence of the young and old would create that critical mass in a really
quick amount of time. I also looked at my mom and dad who communicated with
their grand daughter via email.

So this may seem all elementary today but if you were a shoe salesman
before folks wore shoes you would understand what it is like when you see
everyone in the world wearing those shoes.

I also remember dreaming that one day I would be in Times Square and every
billboard would be a dot com. That day happened in September of 2000. Even then
folks were starting the great race. When I walked through the area that night, I
was just tearful. Tears ran down my chheks. It was really uncontrollable. To see
something like this manifest itself so quickly and been such a long shot to have
even happened proved to me that we were on a journey unlike any other. The greatest race in the history of mankind had begun and this time virtually
everyone in the universe could participate.

So you ask yourself questions and you seek answers. You plan not for then,
you plan way down the line. Maybe 20 years when everyone can understand what we
have done, what we have built, what we have created. What has changed life as we
know it. Then folks ask what can they do with their new power? BANG! Ordinary
people creating extraordinary things. First one, then another, then another and
so it goes.

The single biggest mistake any of us makes is timing. Folks want things to
happen on their time line. It does not happen like that. You can't force time
you need to adjust to time. If you don't, frustration and anger becomes the
bi-product. So take a deep breath, dial it back a couple notches, take a few
steps back and take a real look around you. Things are changing so fast that you
may need to re calibrate.

We all want to touch the world, but it will most likely happen when we
don't expect it. When we don't plan for it. It happens when you just do what you
do and do it well.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Welcome to the Golden Era of Domaining. Before the 20 Year Plan

Morning Folks!!
'Folks that lose their job have the opportunity to find their
calling.' is something I heard yesterday and it is a very concise way of saying
something very complicated.

When I look at my own circumstances and my own personal
economic depression it also became the turning point of my entire life. Until
1984 I had made many people very rich as I worked for 2 companies that through
my sweat and traveling to the point of actually living on the road, became
wealthy. I believed I would be rewarded for my efforts. When you work for
someone they do everything to cut your wings and not pay you your value. That
was my story. They both thought they could do what I did and save the expense.
So they did. Cut the expense that is.

The first company I left on my own accord because I had to beg for money due me month after month and year after year. So I joined the
competition after a 5 year stint. It was war. We fought over account after
account from coast to coast and boarder to boarder. The battle lasted 18 months.
Company #1 doors closed.

When that event occurred it allowed us to grow company #2
quickly. Then they caught the same disease. After 4 years we signed a long term
contract. The contract was designed for them to pay me less. However as they cut
my wings I had provisions put in for levels of success they knew would be impossible to achieve.

Well I achieved those goals in 9 months so instead of paying
me and honoring the contract, they tossed me out the door because they found
some pipe smoking guy in the industry who promised them everything but in 55
years never held a job more than 2 years. Their greed was rewarded less than 2
years later. The company collapsed and went out of business. But that was the
last time I ever worked for anyone.

I was given my opportunity to find my calling and that was
what I did. The next 3 weeks were the most miserable and depressing of my life.
I was never without a job since I was 16. Plus I did not want a job. I wanted an
OPPORTUNITY. What is the difference? A job has a ceiling and a boss. An
opportunity has no boundary. That would be 25 years ago. I learned more in 1
week working for myself than in years of working for others. It was a true
awakening. All coming from the worst days and the deepest dark.

Point is over the last months I have articulated how bad
things are not to scare but to motivate and make you aware. There is more
opportunity out there right this second than in any other second since the first
dino roamed the earth. Most won't believe that and they will laugh. That is why they are
the masses. I mean even birds know the best eating of worms is after the storm.
So it is up to you not to be trapped by conditions but embrace those
conditions. Exploit those conditions. You have to fight the natural tendency to
contract. Everyone has been contracting and getting smaller. Never do what the
masses do. That is why they are the masses. You don't have to be that smart,
just always consider doing the opposite and you'll be in pretty good shape.

From the greatest adversity comes the greatest achievements.
Approach this downturn the right way and it will become your best days. It is so
simple they should make it illegal.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Why I came up with a 20 Year plan……Progress Report

Morning Folks!!

It is amazing to witness a phenomenon. Our entire industry could be labeled
that. The growth of the Internet itself. I think the hardest and also the most
magnificent thing is how far we have come and how fast we got here and even then
it is all in super slow motion when you are part of it.

In 1996 it is hard to believe that just 5%-10% of businesses were online.
When I am talking online I am not talking a web presence, I am talking a live
connection to the Internet at all. Worldwide, it was much lower. I knew because
I asked everyone I talked to in those days if they could get online for that was
the first time that I could point to an online brochure to do my selling and do
it instantly as opposed for waiting several days for the mail to get there. That
was just 14 years ago. Now as close to 100% in the USA as we are likely to get. Critical mass came very quickly but who knew that then? You could only speculate and imagine what it would be like if everyone used the net. All I can say....Not in my wildest dreams did I believe it would mirror what I saw. And if it did, I would likely be dead by then. To see it so quickly, and yes, 14 years, 10 years whatever it was, was damn quick in terms of changing the habits of a planet.

But just like a 14 year old kid the Internet has much more maturing ahead.
You can accelerate that growth to a small degree. 10%, 20%, maybe catch a break.
At some time down the road there is a tipping point. Years of sweat come to a
moment in time and just like a 14 year old boy becomes a man at some 'Moment' so
does the cycle of business. The cycle of business repeats itself. The same
scenarios play out just with different players and different themes. I have been
in many sectors of business in my life. They all play out the same. Each one of
them. I had some 32 jobs between the ages of 17 and 20. Each paid a little
better. Each offered a slightly brighter future. Each offered more things than
the last and each were the same in so many respects.

As many jobs as I have had in my youth completely changed once I turned 20
and have had but a handful. The right handful. But amazingly, as different as
they were the names were always different but the characters and events were
not. Like a Hollywood movie there were always heroes and heroines and villains
and bad guys and all the supporting cast in between. Each starts jovial and fun
and dwindles down from there. The chapters are all the same. They all play out
the same. Most get caught up in it and I too am guilty of that at times. But I
have the luxury of pulling myself away from the gravity of the swirl. I know the
beginning, middle and the ending. It takes 20 years for the first stage of this
to play out. That means some very exciting times are on our doorstep. This
economic downturn is a gift. Board rooms are asking fundamental questions and
need to get with the program or they too know they risk dying on the vine. They
will come and are coming industry by industry, need by need, desire by desire.
But make no mistake, they always show up at the very darkest point. Let me
repeat, they ALWAYS show up at the darkest point when folks are about to give up
and throw in the towel. The domain industry will not change the world. The world
is about to change the domain industry. There is a lot of building coming to a
parking lot near you.

And yes, I do view it as the first 20 years. That was what the plan called
for 'Don't take anything too seriously for the first 20 years.' See I believe
and have always believed that domains would be an overnight sensation that would
be 20 years in the making. The next 20 years I believe are the real money years.
I doubt oil was as useful or in demand as much when they started pumping in
Texas in the mid 1800's as it became when the autos hit the road. How amazed
would those original oil guys been to see it today? My biggest regret is that I
doubt anyone that reads this today will be alive to see the Internet and domains
in its' full glory. Living history folks, it really does not get better than
that and if you could step back a bit to see what I see.....You'd all be
committed! :-)

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

The Greatest Cover up in History…….

Morning Folks!!

I try and stay away from politics but each day politics and business are
getting more intertwined and frankly, it scares the shit outta me. I don't like
what I see. What I see is the greatest cover ups in the history of the country.
Let me first say there is plenty of blame to go around and there will be a time
to discuss that. Both parties have screwed us. Especially Congress.

How about what got us here and that is the mortgage problem brought to you
by Barny Frank and Chris Dodd? Now of course these two CROOKS are in charge of
fixing the problem that they themselves made. That is an impossibility. But hey
that is just the Frank/Dodd cover up. I doubt they will be calling for hearings
on themselves.

Then there is Bernie Madoff today. Fine he pleas. But what does he really
do? He really bypasses a trial and we will never know all the story. Why is that
important? Because the SEC did not do their job and if there is a trial guess
who gets embarrassed? I don't know the answer, but I guarantee there are dozens
that are implicated and many are elected or appointed government people. But hey
that is just Madoff and that cover up and it's only 60 billion or so.

Where to next? Let's go back to the future with Bush and Paulson and TARP.
That one makes me so sick let's just agree that's another cover up. Where's the
money??

Fast forward and we have been saved with a stimulus package that nobody in Congress
read. The largest spending bill in the history of mankind and nobody took the
time to read it?? I call that 'Congressional Malpractice.' This cover up scares
me a lot. The seeds planted here have to be funded forever. Many of the expenses
are on going long after the current problems are gone and that will likely
produce another crisis.

Unfortunately many people don't pay close attention to politics. They hear
tidbits. Some are fact, some are not. Few care. They just repeat. And so the
news media has gone to entertainment and the news we get is driven by a
reporters point of view which may be a view or agenda pushed by management. This
is a dangerous cover up because a press that has an agenda is no press at all. A
reporter has to stay on the trail no matter where the truth leads and agendas
completely defeat that.This cover up is dire.

So we all know we are spending trillions we don't have. But I want to pose
a question that I never heard asked. We know our current national debt is $10
trillion on the way to wherever. But if we would be doing a budget at home we
would look at our debt as well as our assets. My question is what is the value
of the assets of The United States Government? Last I heard the government owned
Yellowstone Park. What's the value of thousands of square miles of pristine
land? Yosemite? How much gold is actually in Fort Knox? How much cash is on
hand? How much is the Washington Monument worth? How many buildings does the
government own? What is the value? I could go on. You get the picture. But as a
numbers guy I really would like to see that side of the equation. How can you
really know how bad things are without knowing?

At the end of the day they are going to print more money, we will have run
away inflation and the only way to fix that is with higher taxes. Much higher
taxes. So then you as a domainer have to readjust your equation. PPC goes down,
equation changed. Registration prices rise, equation changed. Ad rates lower,
equation changed. Tax rate rises, fees rise, hidden taxes rise, prices rise,
equation changed.

None of us know the result of all the things we see changing with any
certainty. But we sure as hell can pay close attention and vocalize the sights
along the way. This whole thing is like an Evil Knievel motorcycle jump and
without a lot of forethought and practice, I just don't know how you make the
leap without changing life as we know it? Without risking everything. There is
still such a thing called 'Survival of the fittest' It is the oldest law of man. I mean there is a difference between helping and supporting. You can't
save everyone. If that was what we did as a civilization, all the dead people in
graves would be on life support instead. What a picture that would be!

What do you think about things? Is wealth redistribution here? Are things getting better or worse where you live? What are the things you are looking for to define success? What are the things you are looking for to define failure? Are you angry? Are you happy? Are you confused? Are you all and more?

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Clam up and Die or be Aggressive. How do you do Business?

Morning Folks!!

There is a lot of talk on the street about a number of companies in our
space going bye-bye. Even the ones that survive are much weaker than 1 year
ago. Layoffs, downsizing, consolidation will continue. Are any of
the companies you work with in trouble?

As companies get weaker they can not play the clam shell game and take
cover. Those companies will be wiped out. PPC companies are fighting reduced
traffic and reduced income. I see a couple holding their own and may even get
stronger, most of the rest are visibly weaker.

The good news is that payouts will hit bottom this summer and then begin to
recover in the fall. But during that time tens of thousands of the best domains
will be developed and leave the ranks of PPC. The companies that survive will
become much stronger because they are being forced to diversify. But even they
must be careful because sometimes too much diversification leads to
collapse.

I wish PPC was in better shape, but it is not. However I do see some light.
One thing I have noticed during this downturn as compared to 2002. At that time
all dotcom commercials on TV virtually disappeared. This time it is quite the
opposite. Ad rates are so low that dotcom companies are advertising on TV more
than ever. New ones all the time. Most will fail, but it is still fun to see the
difference.

I am not smart enough to tell you which companies in our space will fold.
But many will. Many are weak. Many are hanging on to flawed business plans that
worked well during boom times but are no longer a working model. So it will be
interesting to see how this all plays out.

Our first glimpse may be between now and April 15th tax time. This is the
time of year that the rubber really meets the road. As these companies and also
individuals get weaker they won't be posting billboards so you may have to think
hard who has either left the scene or look for other hints of weakness. Some may
even get desperate. Survival makes you do things you never would. So pay close
attention in the upcoming months. This is the time to be aggressive. Those
companies pulling in their horns are making a fatal mistake. The fallout will
soon be visible.

Either way, turmoil among some companies is very serious. My big fear is
that we are a young industry that has really yet to be challenged. Not only is
the industry young, so are the players. They are very sharp and this era will
make a First Mate a Captain. Folks are feverishly looking for new solutions.
Some are promising, most will just eat your traffic. But just one new solution
could turn this industry on its' ear. That solution is getting closer. The people buying traffic are getting more sophisticated. I am seeing a shift in
things unlike anything I have seen in 14 years. When times are good everyone is
a genius. When times get bad we see what genius is really made of.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Are you a”Domainer” or a”Businessman?”

Morning folks!!

Are you a 'Domainer' or a 'Businessman?' Some ask why I am so focused on the general economy? My answer is why are
they not?

Some folks are domainers. That's it. Domainers. That's fine. I am one too.
But I sure don't stop there. Far more are business people first and domainers
second. I would fall into the latter group. Domains are a vehicle. A vehicle to
help you make money and grow. But does it really matter what form that vehicle
comes in if it helps you make more money and grow? I believe not. I will be a
domainer until I find something better. I will be a businessman until they plop
me in the grave.

I see two things developing in domaining and it is similar to the general
population. The weak are getting weaker and the strong are getting stronger.
However I do see some strong getting weak. Some companies we know I believe are
in trouble or soon to be. The equation has changed and you can't play this game
with an outdated equation. So in the next few months we will see how many
companies adapt and how many either fold or get swallowed up by someone
else.

Those that have good portfolios and businesses that are recoiling are
making a huge mistake. Domains are becoming the center of the new economy in a
way some of us have dreamed about. We are finally entering the final stage and
what is about to unfold will be shocking. I have long talked about domains as an
overnight success that took 20 years. This downturn is a buoy for domains. They
WILL emerge as the multifaceted investments they really are. The domain is the
land rights. The traffic is the location rights. The revenue is the mineral
rights. The revenue is the dividends the banks no longer give. The revenue is
safety. The revenue is portable. The land rights are portable. Shall I go on? We
have built in advertising rights. We have built in audiences. The reason so few
understand domains is it is just too much for most to see because the simplicity
makes them crazy. So NEVER has it been more important not to second guess great
domains.

I have spent months meditating. Figuring out how hundreds of different
scenarios play out each time looking for weak points in my strategy and other
safe havens. I have yet to find a single anything that can compare to the domain
name. If I did, I would follow it. What we knew then is true now and will be
true for generations. Was the earth flat until Columbus discovered it was round?
So take solace in knowing what others don't know and finally will. You can't
rush the future, you can only harness it. You can only time it. You can only use
it to your advantage if you have the patience required.

All I can say is run a lean and mean machine and you will come out of this
sitting pretty. This is not the time to pull back. This is the time to be
aggressive and land the biggest deal of your life. I watch as so many with such
little business background make huge mistakes. They are captains of a ship that
they have never sailed thru a storm. They are not sure of themselves and so they
are scared and pulling back at precisely the wrong time.

Here is what is coming:


1. Domain portfolios are going to get major haircuts in order for their
companies to survive

2. Millions of worthless domains are going to drop. Millions.

3. Many category killer domains will be coming to market

4. Fresh eyes will be looking our way.

Plenty more. The fog is starting to clear. Clarity for the next 3 years is
starting to take shape. Gonna be the toughest time in generations. But as I keep
repeating, opportunity for our sector will never be better. Survival is a
wonderful thing. Trying to survive allows folks to explore. Explorers will land
on domains at some point and figure out. 2+2=4. They are all searching for what
we already know. So, get to the beach, grab an umbrella and a Pina Colada, relax
and wait for the masses.

Have a GREAT Day!

Who Really Said it? Just to set the record straight…..

Morning Folks!!
If you repeat something that is not factual long enough does it become Fact? I have read in countless places something that just is not accurate and has been repeated for many years as fact. It is time to share the events that led to that. I hope you will indulge me while I tell you the real story as it really went down.


Over the years there has been much discussion about a quote I made that has
been attributed to Bill Gates. The quote: 'Domains will go up faster in value
than any other commodity ever known to mankind.' Did Bill Gates really say that?

In a word, No and as the late Paul Harvey would say 'Here is the rest of the
story.'

First, that is my
quote. Been saying it since 1996. Now I will reveal how this quote got
attributed to Bill Gates. Back about 7 or 8 years ago maybe a year earlier or a
year later there were a group of us chatting on my board one night. As the
conversation winded down there were just 2 of us. That member asked me if it was
okay to post it and attribute the quote to Bill Gates? Figuring the quote did not mean much
coming from Rick Schwartz, I said 'Sure, why not?' Judging by a response from a student domainer on DNForum yesterday who was trying to verify this quote for a paper he was writing. What he actually did was verifiy that the quote would not mean much coming from me. He posted: 'Thanks Rick for the 'real story', I like the sentence, but I won't be able to use it, as the French
audience I'm targeting (novelists, business people, University
professors, etc.) do not know you.'
The person that posted this wherever he did years ago is someone who may decide to
come forward at some point. Somebody many of us know and it took me many years to
remember who it was. (I think) So I have no idea how that would
even be done, but he did it and it surprisingly has circulated and become fact from what I thought was a silly one time post somewhere. Either way, that is the REAL story just to set the record
straight and for historical purposes long after we are all dead. But if the quote sounds better from Bill Gates and does more for the domain industry, so be it.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Toys to Men……Dot Com that is…Part 2

Morning Folks!!

There has been a lot of talk about domaining 1 2, 3, 4 etc. I don't buy
into that and I am going to tell you why and what I see as the eras. First, I
believe it will be pre toys.com sale and post toys.com sale. This sale marks a
new era. Let me also state that they got a bargain. Toys.com is one of the
single best domains in the universe. They bought it on the very cusp of
domainer/enduser boundary line. This is a domain with a value in excess of $25
million. We can debate by how much in another post sometime. Maybe in THIS era folks will start to compare the right things. How
much to build a new store? How much to close a poorly performing store? How much
was toys.com? I rest my case. Plus I have yet to even mention the traffic. The natural ability to perform when matched with the right company. The advertising
power. The world reach. The status. So when companies and advertisers look at this in the RIGHT
LIGHT, many things will happen and the ground will begin to shift faster than
you can imagine.

Until now and still now folks compare the wrong attributes and then they
come out with a wrong answer. Madison Ave has just been kicked in the balls. Maybe
they will wake up. Let's see the ad campaign they come up with. Others are now
sure to follow. I pray that Toys r us does not mess this up. A success here
changes everything. The sale changed everything. This is a fuel for an industry
in a time of uncertainty.

Folks, the equation of life is changing. Taxes are going up. Fees are going
up. Income is down. This creates an entire set of new circumstances. So please
don't underestimate the importance of this sale and also more importantly what a
bargain they got. Lastly, a tip of the hat to all involved in this transaction.
You guys did a real 'Solid' for the industry.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Collapse, Meltdown, what’s next?

Morning Folks!!


Starting early last year I started writing about what I saw coming. I had
already started to prepare. I started seeing the unraveling in the spring of
2007. I said nothing at that point. I quietly started to prepare. I am a numbers
guy. I saw numbers that were impossible to work. I also enjoy real estate as a
hobby. The first tip was when I saw prices rise from $300/sq. ft to $1200/sq. ft
and as high as $2000. In some cities that is the going rate. Not in South
Florida. The first BIG clue was when the numbers went from $300 to $1200 without
stopping at $500, $700, $900, $1100. That showed me that this was unsustainable.
Something had to give. A collapse was in the making.

Then add to that I was seeing people making $75k/year buying homes for
$350k-$500k. It's mathematically impossible. Everyone would have to be pretty
damn optimistic to swallow that one. I am a numbers guy. To me it was just a
matter of time. The outcome had already been determined. Now we were just filling in the chapters.

What I did not know at that point was the entire system was corrupt and
broken. I knew the ending without even the most important pierces to come. But
it was August 2007 that I began to prepare. I never shared my concerns until
last summer. Even then folks I knew were skeptical that it could get this bad
and it will undoubtedly get worse.

You say 'It's not that bad' and you are right. The storm has yet to hit.
The fallout has yet to hit. The result of 5 million jobs lost so far has yet to
hit. The rents that won't be coming in from Circuit City and Linen and Things
and dozens of others is yet to hit. So much of this is yet to hit. Much of the
pain could be avoided but good decisions must be made and I see no evidence of
that. The confidence level is lower than at any point in my lifetime. There is
no confidence whatsoever and the stock market is about numbers and the numbers
never lie, people do. You should have seen the look at some of the faces when
the market was at 14000 and my out of pocket line was '14000 on the way to
7500.' They never liked when I would say that. But that was what I saw based on
the numbers and I still underestimated what was to come.

So as I saw this years out I began to prepare and am still preparing. It
won't be easy to stay ahead of this monster. You will have to be agile and you
will have to be quick and you will have to do a lot of things you may not
normally do. That really brings me to the subject of this post. I am embracing
this meltdown because I have been preparing and I have a strategy to come out of
it in a stronger way than when I came into it. I am a recession fan!! I LOVE
recessions! I love meltdowns! I love what we are going through. What I hate is
the interference that is going to make it much worse and much longer.

One thing will determine whether I succeed or fail. It comes to that every
time......TIMING! So I feel pretty good about how to ride this wave out. But I
will respect that the energy of this collapse and meltdown is bigger and
stronger than any of us. Never has so much been lost so quickly. Never ever. On
the other hand, coming out of this....never will so much been made so quickly.
Point is there is opportunity coming at every corner and if you know how to spot
opportunity, if you know how to seize opportunity, if you know how to recognize
opportunity, if you know how to time and play opportunity, then great times are
ahead. .
Patience will be key. The next few weeks until tax time may be brutal.
Then I believe we will see a big pop followed by the worst part of this storm.

The damage being done every day can not be minimized. It is long term and
may get completely out of control. If it gets out of control then it is time for
'Plan B.' What is 'Plan B?' It's the plan just before 'Plan C.'
Cash and income producing domains are the two safest things I can think of having. Then gold, but gold has too many risks for me....what a great time to be in the domain business. What a great time to fortify your portfolio. It may be the last chance.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz