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

Morning Folks,

There are two basic groups in domaining. Those that make money and those that would like to make money. Whether we like it or not, it is a very small group that actually makes money. An "Elite" group. Not that they are "Elite". But the group as a whole is elite because it is such a small but fairly powerful group of less than 2000 out of 7 Billion.

The industry is not growing. At least not yet. In a success, .whatever should grow this industry exponentially. With that growth it becomes less elite as more join those that make money. Or not because it may not unfold that way.

We have watched several waves of domainers come and go and come and go and come and go again. Many are the type that will chase shiny objects and we may or may not see that. Guess it depends on how shiny things are.

2014, 2015 and 2016 are just going to be fun. Lots happening. Lots of dumb business is about to be shown us. We are gonna die from laughing because some are going to make the dumbest mistakes you have ever seen. And some are going to be very methodical and fail anyway. It's just "Survivor" and it is being filmed right in front of us.

It seems you hear the same few extensions over and over when it comes to favorites. .Web is the front-runner almost every time. .App, .Blog, .Shop seem to be the runners up. Your guess is as good as mine. I can't stress that enough no matter how certain or opinionated I might be. But even in that race, I see .web vs .net if there is a race.

The key element for .com, like it or not, is type in traffic. That was the hidden pot of gold that is likely missing from the new extensions. Ask Google, they get most of the typos for .whatever right now and I bet it does not mount to a hill of beans.

Ask those in an elite group that are still standing. They ALL have type in traffic. Not on all their domains. But they have type in traffic and if not there would be no reason for PPC would there? So that is one of many missing foundations and how many have to be missing before you have a collapse? Type in traffic was the single biggest key and accelerator to domaining and growth whether folks want to understand it or not.

Each new .whatever has some dependence on other .whatevers. They will suffer the burden of the bad moves by others. So those with solid plans have the weak as their biggest obstacle not me. Nothing I can say can be as bad as a horse falling down right in front of you during a race.

Believe me, major mistakes have already been made by major players. It may not reveal itself yet, but in time, it always comes to the surface. So far the big winners are the auction losers which is funny and cool in and of itself.

This is an elite industry with even more elite people coming into it. If they succeed, they become more elite. .whatever barons and just like the Kentucky Derby, only a very elite group of people in the world could actually handicap this and from those maybe none of us will get it right. That is how you transform elite back down to earth.

700 horses coming out of the gate and the one thing that is pretty certain and almost all agree, some will be complete flops and be trampled at the gate. The only question is which ones and will they hurt others?

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!

Yep, hide the kids. No asterisk today.  Today I get to ask a real question.

So what does a Clusterfuck Really Look like? Seems clusterfucks are the new normal. Got insurance?

But I'm not going to get political.

So what does a Clusterfuck Really Look like?

"In the event a Fortune 500 company network infrastructure fails to work because of collision, the damages that just one company  could suffer could easily exceed all of ICANN assets."

First of all that might be a breath of fresh air.

But what happens if this untested .whatever results in collisions and crashes?

"Paul Rosenzweig, Esq from the law firm of Chertoff Group & David Fagan, Covington was on hand to tell everyone the consequences and potential liability that ICANN, new gTLD’s registries,  backend providers and even registrars might face if all new gTLD’s are allowed to go to delegation without any attempted mitigation for collisions and collisions actually occur resulting in large corporate networks to go down or existing domains to stop resolving.

To summarize Mr.Rosenzweig comments now that the collision report is out ICANN and everyone else in the food chain of likely defendants are on notice that this issue may cause damage to companies, ICANN cannot sit by without taking some action."

Now I have said Berkens is like having your own research staff.

The motivation came from this post he did yesterday.

So in case you want to know what a clusterfuck looks like, we may still be on the verge of seeing one. Chances are not high, but then again, this is a TEST!! If it goes south, it's a clusterfuck.

And guess what. This may only be one of many possible clustrfucks coming to an Internet near you.

Y2K? Maybe. then again, maybe not.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Afilias conducted a recent survey and .gTLD owners may not be encouraged. Tho I believe those numbers will change in time, what remains to be seen is will those numbers eventually climax and then back off? It measures things like awareness, trust and reaction. Worth the read for sure!

Morning Folks!!

So for those interested in .whatever it will spark a debate inside their kitchens, offices, and boardrooms. Don't ya think? Even if it is the entrepreneur thinking about it in the shower.

So then please follow the yellow brick road. They ponder between .com and .whatever. They weigh the pros and cons.  They discuss various issues. There is not a straight line nor is there an either or decision to be made. See the path will start as a volley between .com and .whatever. It will quickly morph into a discussion about .net, .org, .info, .us and other alternatives. So anyone that believes that won't be happening are completely miscalculating.

So from that the debate it is no longer about .com vs .whatever because all those variables just came on the paying field and .whatever went from a 50/50 scenario  to one of many alternatives. and then divide the 50/50 debate on one side by 700. 700 splinters perhaps?

THAT is how people really think IF they even get that far. Most don't care. Will never care and you can't do a thing to change their ways. We saw it. We did not plan it. I was just as surprised as many of you. Some did not even believe it. I was shocked in fact. Well not really. We may have come a long way in 20 years but for them, the race means nothing. It's a horn blowing in traffic and they could care less. Most could not care less. Their reply will be, "we already have a domain name".

Remember, I do a lot of talking with store owners and I know their mindset. It's sad. Its shocking. But it's also reality. The proof? Go into stores and ask. You will see that what you saw is a pretty good and accurate representation of what is out there. It was funny, but it sure made our hearts sink to know we have that much more to do. Even the young guy in his 20's or 30's said his site was under construction and he uses "Facebook".

All I can do is urge you to find 10 store owners to talk to and you will see the mountain we still have to climb. Do I lean against .whatever? Yes. But that des not mean I am going to be blind to opportunity if I see it. But at this juncture, there is no there yet. People can throw all the numbers around that they want. But at the end of the day, go see how many view Schwartz/Shilling had so far. Bet it surprises ya. I can do an entire post about that. 800 after 3 days on top of Domaining.com. That's it!! Not thousands....hundreds!

We are told that most people are not online and that is what many hold on to. However when we show that video, everyone laughs. Well don't laugh, THOSE are the folks YOU are relying on. Good luck with that. That is what motivated me to write this post and now I think it makes more sense. "I want to teach the world to sing" because you can start right there on Las Olas and I got news for ya, they ain't gonna change their minds or learn to sing.

Now it will affect domainers. If you own a lot of pigeon shit, it may turn into pigeon diarrhea as these worthless names become less valuable. lol Sad but true. Now it won't affect domains that mean something even if it has several words in it.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I could probably add to this list for quite a while. But these are the false myths that .whatever is trying to build their foundation on and if they continue, it won't help their case, it will hurt their case. Remember, I am in sales. This is not the road to selling. It's the road to losing credibility. At least inside the industry. Outside, I guess they might swallow anything because they know so little as the video on Las Olas proved. Each of these I have addressed on previous blog posts and the video.

Myth #1 We are running out of .com names. (Not in our lifetime.)

Myth #2 All these millions of people will embrace .whatever. (Anytime you try to speak for millions, you find yourself speaking for yourself.)

Myth #3  .com is like AM Radio (Sorry, that dog won't hunt. FM offered Stereo. .whatever offers nothing new other than confusion and a way for some to make money and others to lose money.)

What will success look like? It won't look like the above. It will be an extension by extension debate and vote and some are going to get very few votes. Votes in the form of registrations.  But even that does not guarantee investor quality domains. Some will find success with .whatever. But I look at all this through many lenses. That of a domain investor and that of a shop owner on Main St. I look at thru the eyes of startups and the eyes of the Fortune 500. I have the ability to go around a 360 degree circle and see it through their eyes. And when I do that, most eyes have little or no interest. Biggest are the startups, but startups make a calamity of wrong decisions and this is just an example of one they will need to fix with any degree of success and most of course will just fail all together. Could be the perfect marriage.

Selling is about overcoming objections. As long as somebody is objecting, like myself, they are buying. So while I have all these objections as an investor, it is their job to make the case using logic and facts sprinkled with some dreams. If they successfully do that, they can make the sale. But if they use arguments that can be easily shown to be myths, that sale gets further away. This is what I call "Negative selling" because it is less focused on the benefits of what is being offered and more focused on what they see as the impediment to where they want to go.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

There are 13 or 14 digits in a phone number that rings ever single phone in the world. Every single one. And when they run out, which they won't, they can add one more digit and they have TRILLIONS of more combinations. TRILLIONS more combinations!!! 12,345,678,901,234

There are 26 letters and 10 numerals. That spells out....more combinations. Unlimited combinations.

Then you can add a "DASH" and multiply infinity over and over and over again.

Then if you don't like .com you have .net, .org, .country codes, .mobi etc.

And that is before we get to "Personalization".

You may not own candy.com but you can own ZacksCandy.com or maybe BocaRatonCandy.com or SmithCandy.com. All superior to anything else other than your local country code but even in that case, you should own both.

The .com tells you exactly where to go and what medium to use to get there.

800 numbers do the same thing related to toll-free.

212 area code does the same thing.

101.7 and you know it is FM Radio

Channel 7 and you are likely talking a TV

The idea that .com domains are running out just makes no sense to me. There is no industry that a domain name can not be hand registered right now. NONE!

For less than the cost of a desk and chair you can buy a domain name that is better.

For the price of your first and last month deposit you can buy a better domain.

For the price of what it costs to open the most modest of stores and you can own a GEM!

Running out of dotcoms? Please! This is a losing argument.

Not in my lifetime nor anyone reading this today. It's nonsense and the numbers prove it.

So let's get to a substantive and more persuasive argument. At least inside the industry. We need to keep it real.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Before I start let me give you a little context. I wrote this a week ago Sunday a few hours before TRAFFIC began.......

So it is 7AM and this is already my third post I am writing today. It may be a "Condition" lol. I may or may not post it this morning.

There will be lots going on today. Registration, newbie orientation, cabana networking, cocktail party and then a special dinner. I will be doing many things in between. With all that going on I will still buy a domain or two, have breakfast with my mom and family, and I am still retired. Wonder what I would be like if I actually applied myself? I am still guilty of what many of my teachers told my parents over the years. That I was not giving all I had. They were right. I am naturally lazy. I look for the quickest, easiest and most effective remedy to contain any situation from getting worse. Then I refine it. Contain and refine.

Most if the day I do nothing. I think, I ponder, I observe, I act, I make decisions. I do things that slowly move things forward. I love what I do because I basically do nothing. I want to accelerate progress without being frustrated by how long it takes for 20 years to FLY by.

I love being surrounded by folks with great minds, creative energy and values to match. The energy is noticeable. When you learn and know that and use that, it makes it much more difficult to associate with those that are not like that.

When I met Howard in 1999 I was doing rather well. Retired from my 1998 sale of my home based business and reaping the benefits of selling all my traffic to Dean Shannon. In 2004 when we started TRAFFIC we came to a fork in the road. At that stage I took limos to the airports and went First Class and they were more frugal which of course I understand coming from humble beginnings. So we had 2 choices. I could go back to frugal or they could raise their game and comfort level because I was still going to get a limo and fly first class.

Of course that carried over to the venues we have picked as they too had to be first class as well as the food we served, the open bars we have and the top-notch speakers we have brought in over the years.

I get very introspective on the first day of a show. I get up before sunrise and think what I want to accomplish not only today but the period between shows. I set course and recalibrate the current course. To my surprise, there have been very few adjustments. More validation that the course is proper.

It's a wonderful voyage and I love cruising!

And as I finish this post 2 days later on Tuesday, I feel a great sense of accomplishment because folks here said they got what they paid for and what we billed. Schwartz vs Schilling will be posted HERE for all to see. Part 1 that is. Part 2 will be posted in eatly November. Attendees enjoyed it and so will you. It will be watched and studied for a very long time.

And let me add that why it may have been "Billed" as Schwartz/Schilling, there was Monte Cahn from Rightofthedot.com, Jeffrey Sass of .CLUB, Tim Johnson of .Kiwi and Lonnie Borck. They all added great and passionate info. New info. Different ways to look at the info.

Most satisfying for me was that the sessions were as well attended as I have ever seen and it was not our largest crowd. That means even tho the agenda does not come out until just a couple of weeks before the show, it is the right thing to do. We may sell fewer tickets, but the sessions are just more timely and geared to what is current and what the future holds.

Lastly, were all the new faces. HAPPY FACES!! That was priceless. I SWEAR to you that I would not do these shows if I did not believe we were changing people's lives.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

So here is the pricing for the next level thru the end of next month now that the allotted amount for the $1495 level with 3 nights in the hotel have been exhausted.

Starting tonight at 5PM:

$1495 includes ticket and 2 Nights at the Bellagio.

$1595 will be the price for 3 nights

$1295 without hotel.

As I stated in the opening, we have exhausted the tickets at the $1495 level with 3 nights at the Bellagio. But we will keep that open until COB TODAY or the next 10 tickets for anyone else to take advantage of the early bird.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Below is Part 1 of a 2 part video that was shot live at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. just exactly one week ago today. Almost to the hour. Whichever side of gTLD's you come down on, you will love it! At least I think you will.

I think you will see it is candid, passionate, respectful and displays the best of our industry debating a true unknown. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed participating in it and I want to thank Frank for agreeing to do it to begin with. It is great theatre and it was sorely needed to give some clarity to what is coming.

Team Schilling was made up of Frank Schilling, Monte Cahn, Jeff Saas, and Tim Johnson. Team Schwartz had Lonnie Borck and yours truly.

Gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to participate in this panel. It is helpful to all. The proof will be when you see the comments and overall reaction throughout the industry and beyond. I hope you will join me again in Las Vegas in May so we can do it again because we are a long way from knowing what is to come and in May we will be closer to finding out.

Now I am going to sit back and watch it for the first time myself. History in the making. We will look back at this in a few years and we will see. Enjoy!!!!

Part 2 will be out next Monday if all goes smooth or sooner if we can. If you can't load on your mobile device, try

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

So at the show last week I came to this thought and conclusion and I shared it with all: "DotCom is the Biggest and largest Franchise in the History of the World!" Actually in the history of mankind. Think about that, just don't react. There has never been anything like .com in history. So many belong to the special club. All the Fortune 10,000 for starters and 95% of all business on Main Street belong to this franchise. Most franchise owners are in North America but there are owners in every single town and city in the world. Many of them.

It is just going to be interesting to watch exactly how this franchise will be dethroned by the wishes of a few. Yes, those few are powerful but nowhere as powerful as the franchise that each of them are shareholders of. Let's see how many abandon their dotcom and relocate on .whatever. How many lead by example. My guess is that none will actually do that.

Rick Schwartz