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

Morning Folks!!

Labor Day!! Start your engines!!

The #1 thing I look for is not always what I get but it certainly is my target. I have the luxury of not following my own rules as I chase tomorrow in a 'Social' way. But here is the tiny little secret that will change how you look at and buy domain names.

The simple question is: 'If I had this domain and ONLY this domain, could I figure out how to make a living from it?' That's my test. It's so simple. And when the answer is yes and the price is right, I buy that domain name. Simple. It's my guiding light. My north star. When all else fails and I have this one domain, can I make a living?

When you do that, you really can't lose. But you still have to know what a business is. You still have to have an idea. You still have to make a mousetrap that catches profit. But the first thing you need is a domain name. A domain name that when standing by itself makes a statement, is a brand and clearly says what you do.

That's the primary method behind my madness. Go ahead, tell me how wrong I am. Cherry pick names out of my portfolio that don't meet the test. Do whatever losers do and focus on anything other than the simplest way to pick a domain name and almost never lose. Oh yeah, stick with a dot com.

Let me make it crystal clear. When you use a non dot com you will always be working harder for less. PERIOD! There will always be an invisible loss of sales and profits. PERIOD! There will always be some level of confusion. PERIOD! There will always be a cloud hanging over your business that a bad decision was made along the way and until they get the .com it won't be fixed. It is a business faux paux of the greatest magnitude. Just like hard to spell domains or cutsey domains.

Sorry, but I don't look at it thru the prism of a domainer. I look at it thru the prism of the business owner, the startup, the consumer, the eyes of human nature. I look at it as how does one differentiate themselves without confusing them in a more and ore crowded playing field. No matter how many websites are out there now, millions will be added this week alone. See when everyone is on their own soap box yelling ME! ME! ME! how do you get the attention of consumers? It gets more and more difficult. As that happens the domain is what goes up in value because it is one of the biggest things to elevate you over the rest. End user that is. That is the prism I look thru. The guy on Main Street. The guy in the middle of nowhere. The consumer most of all.

More importantly, the average consumer that folks aim for are not rocket scientists. They have an average 6th-8th grade education level. The masses! So you must keep it simple. Finally, all the sales and marketing laws off the net apply on the net. Supply and Demand still runs the whole thing. Sales and Profits are still the epicenter. No sales equals no business. Need, Want, Desire.

Have a GREAT Labor Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

It's not much more than 60 days to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and that is when my attention begins to focus on setting up the agenda. I don't do it alone. I reach out to all domainers and ask them constantly what they want to hear about? What issues are important to them? Who do they want to hear from? What discussions will help them expand their business? How are they going to make money in the future?

Many of us were 100% reliant on parking a few years back. When the bottom fell out, domainers went to work in new directions with new ventures. They just not sit and do nothing. I know personally I went from 100% of my income to now less than 1/2. It did not happen overnight. It took 4 years and then some. I am not done and you are not done.

As we begin to focus on individual domains our needs are going to change. Our direction is going to change. It is the reason we have always referred to ourselves as 'Developers' because that was where the road was eventually going to lead to.

With those thoughts in mind I am happy to begin to announce some of our speakers. Today, I am happy to report that Michael Ricciardelli of Bankrate.com will be speaking at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 2012.

Michael Ricciardelli was appointed SVP, Business Development and Consumer Marketing after joining Bankrate in September 2006. Prior to joining Bankrate, he was Vice President - Marketing & Media Sales at Apartments.com/Classified Ventures where he managed all marketing functions and online advertising sales efforts. From 1999 to 2003, he was Co-Founder & Vice President of Strategic Development for Insurance.com - venture funded by Fidelity Capital and sold in 2003 to Comparison Market. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ricciardelli also held positions in strategy consulting and business development at Fidelity Investments, and financial analysis at Salomon Brothers.

I think Michael has the credentials of somebody that can speak intelligently to our group and help us define and understand the elements needed for a great success with just one domain name in your portfolio. Guys like this are the hardest to get because the pool is so very limited of people that actually know what they are talking about. So it is never from a lack of desire.

I want to thank Alan Dunn for the lead and I ask all of you to think if you know anyone that fits the criteria we are looking for. That YOU are looking for. Together we have long tentacles and I think it is time to take advantage of those folks that you have crossed paths with or heard about. All I need is an email addy and a name and I will do the rest.

I don't think anyone can argue that the Domain Industry is at a cross roads. There is a new shiny object out there in the form of gTLD's and everyone is looking. We will too. We will listen to what domainers see and don't see. But we can't ignore the FACT that we as a group have more information and knowledge about domain names than anyone. We know answers to questions many have yet to think of. That has great value. We'll kick that ball around and see if any minds are changed.

And what is the fallout if consumer does not buy into it? What happens to all those that took the wrong fork in the road trying to invent the 'Second coming'? I'll tell you. They will end up in our laps. It will be for the consumer to decide but the ONLY thing that is going to truly motivate him/her to go there willingly is new and different content that can't be found anywhere else. So far nobody has been able to do that. Name your DOT. That is even before we address the issue of confusion which is an even bigger issue. Folks fear the unknown. So to take the fear out, information is the cure.

Many domainers are downright confused themselves let alone the consumer. They are questioning each decision they make like never before. Sales are forced. A deep breath and recharge at TRAFFIC is exactly what is needed to take the confusion away and add clarity by finding out the answers to your questions. Do business from strength, not weakness. Weakness costs 100x what TRAFFIC costs and can easily be spotted.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I have made a July 4^th post as long as I can remember online. I started writing this a couple weeks back along with several other thoughts and posts that were never finished or just decided not to publish. There is so much to say right now. So much confusion and second guessing. I re-evaluate things every waking day. New info, could mean a new result or just fortify what you believe even stronger.

Let’s just admit most of us have A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) and I think I can prove it. First of all we would likely not be domainers as we would be satisfied with just one domain name. We would be satisfied with perusing just one project. We would be happy owning one business. Shall I go on? Call it what you like, but as unfocused as we are, I think I am seeing even less focus as folks begin to doubt themselves., their futures and their own beliefs because they just don’t have the inner strength not to be swayed by their peers or the masses.

Domains are becoming very important and moving to center stage as I always knew they would and have said so repeatedly over the years. Almost decades! However many Domainers are weak and throwing in the towel. The numbers say 80% will give up before finding the success they so dearly wanted to find. Budgets are stretched and domain investors are forced to become domain flippers.

I see the weekly auction numbers like you do. It mostly shows weakness. $1.4 million this week, $1.2 million next week, $1.5 million the week after. To me, shows weakness. Not because of the numbers or even the number of sales. But the prices and the reasons that are forcing that sales. BILLS! OVERHEAD! MORTGAGES!

Domain Investors have been overrun with all types of other folks making a living off domains. That’s not a bad thing unless you don’t recognize and understand that. They have different agendas and goals with a lot of overlapping. Overlapping does not mean to ignore the defining lines and the various sectors and many new sectors to come. It means to understand them, use them, be one of them if that is your calling. But don't ignore anything.

For years I have talked about type ins and am always abruptly interrupted with a chorus of different views minimizing traffic. Well sorry, this game IS about traffic. Maybe not all domains, but you need a BASE of domains with traffic to support those with value that can’t support themselves. Those that ignore this continue to struggle more than any other group because they are missing a key piece of the puzzle and play the game with a huge handicap.

The entire PPC system is based on type in traffic!! Not based on seo traffic. The seo was just a way to abuse and take advantage of the system and Google allowed it for some DUMB or monetary reason. So if you don’t use ppc you are forced to be a flipper. It’s kinda funny for me. I entered domains and the Internet and the first place I ever posted was on a board with a bunch of folks flipping Mobile Homes. It was the same group as I see today on domains except the cost of doing business with domains is lunch money. They quickly removed my posts and tossed me out with the garbage for simply suggesting they could substitute this thing called domain names and do the flipping faster and make loads more money. I think Serge may be the only one that actually remembers because he was there and he too had his posts removed.

The industry is weak today as sales are forced. Forced to pay the bills. And when you are forced to sell, you have to sell your best. Junk is hard to sell. Sometimes you can’t even give it away. NNN.co for example. Nobody even wants the carrying charges or can afford them. Not even domain flippers and that says it all. Besides, why pay more for something proved to be inferior and pay 2x or 3x as much? But step away. Domain names, especially .com are stronger and more powerful than ever!!! The masses are just beginning to realize the importance and power and so many domain investors just can’t quite see the end of the tunnel. Don’t give up! We are almost there. Land ho! Land ho! This is the START not the end. Do everything you can NOT to sell you unique assets. Values are going to explode! And if .whatever does not lead to the promised land, they will explode again and even more so.

I have been enjoying the clarity of what is happening and what is to come. If you look at things as a snapshot, then fear comes. When you look at it as an evolution and a revolution, a huge smile comes. I feel JOVIAL!! I also feel bad for those that either don’t believe in themselves or don’t believe in their domains. That had to do it “Their way” regardless of the results.

If you are being FORCED to sell domain to survive, something is wrong and so many are in that situation including some large companies in the space. But look, we all see things differently and all I can do is share the way I see it and if what I share rings true, then hopefully understanding will come along with it.

I watch folks and domainers chase what happened yesterday. What a waste!! You don’t chase yesterday folks, you set up shop on tomorrow and have them pour you a drink. You don’t CHASE, you WAIT! Because if you wait, it means you got there before them and you know they are coming. If you chase, that train already left the station and it may be never before the next train comes.

So if you positioned yourself well, sit back. Take a deep breath. 1000 doors of opportunity are about to flood the market. And just like metal, there is gold and tin and a market for each. Many won’t be metal at all. Clay and they will break apart the moment they are touched.

So clarity and excitement and fulfillment all at once. As I mentioned on my email last week, there have also been a few constants. At the core are the 350-500 domain investors that came from every walk of life from all points of the globe that refuse to give up their vision. Have minds as varied as the stars and are bonded together by something we ourselves can't even explain. We are explorers with varying booties of treasure. None the same, but many alike. We have nothing in common and everything in common.

So for those that think it is over, let me tell you a tiny secret. It has yet to even begin. We are at Babe Ruth valuation not Derrick Jeter. Don't know or understand the difference?? Then don't waste your time disagreeing with me, invest your time and learn why I am right! Because sales is the driving force, understanding and great need will happen. SALES!! New Clients. Growth. But it won't be in your time frame, it will be in their timeframe. All we can do is accelerate and bend how long it all takes. Need, want and desire will be the path to the future and following the money will tell you the answers. Consumer money is smart. Investor money is not as smart. Type ins are the consumer speaking. It's the holy grail whether you want to accept it or not and it is going to determine the fate or success of almost every non-brand extension to come.

Thanks for reading and here is my post from July 4th 1998. Times changing?

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Evening Folks!!

Quite a day it has been in domain land. No matter where you come down on things, it has been interesting.

The most surprising to me was the one company I had my eyes on. I knew they would grab one, but I was not sure about the others. When I saw that they did not apply for .Mac, Apple did what was expected and got .Apple.

No confusion there! Simple! Reinforcing. Clear.

I was surprised that so much crap was revealed. Some looked more like domain names than extensions.

3 parties are going after .Property and one for .Properties. So I have nothing to complain about. There will be dividends to the .com and money to be made as this unfolds. Just not in the way domainers make money.

I had a supplier in the 1980's that taught me about making money from the 'Hole in the Donut.' How you sell something you got for free for a lot of money and make infinite profit because your cost basis was $0.

So there will be money to be made, just not in the traditional way we think of in terms of domain investing. There will be a lot of entities hiring new people. Experienced people. But nothing will happen overnight. 2013, 2014, 2015.

Can you imagine the intensity of the marketing when hundreds are out there all pointing out the benefits of their extension? Some we have heard before and some may be new. It will be a WAR! The brands will all be fine and useful. I have no doubt there. But the experiment will be consumer adaptation or it could become an internal platform for a company.

As for the generic gTLD's again, the consumer will decide. When was the USA scheduled to go on the metric system??

This is not all black and it is not all white. But as always, time will tell. First we are going to see some of the highest stake poker games the public has EVER seen before. Amazon vs Google for one. This is a heavyweight match and there will be a number of them unfolding. One thing for sure, it won't be boring.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

It has been no secret where I stand with the O.co debacle. I have written extensively on the subject. No other subject has been covered closer by me in nearly 5 years of this blog. Why? Because this was important. Very important. This bit of information is huge and I said many times I would 'Hang my hat on it' before I even knew the results. This golden goose has given birth again. A complete set.

The DomainIncite article today and the quote from Patrick Byrne of Overstock.com says it all.

“O.co was my bad call” and that “about eight out of 13 people who were trying to visit us through O.co, eight were typing O.com”

8 out of 13 folks! Pay attention. These statements made by these folks are priceless and I thank them for it.

We finally know the other side of this famous statement and added together, that is the whole enchilada! A full and defined equation using the best of circumstances with MILLIONS of dollars thrown at it and a full result.

'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.'

We now have a definition of 'Good Portion.' WOW!!!!!

According to the numbers that works out to 61%. 61%!!!! That is OFF the chart. Until now I had always believed that 50% would have been the high water mark. But 61% is much more devastating and that 61% will improve in time. To maybe 50% which is still DOA.

With all the evidence there was still debate disguised as hope. That hope is now DOA as well. The debate os OVER! What SCHMUCK wants to argue the FACT that if you use a .CO and lose 60% of your HARD WORK, advertising dollars, customers, sales, new customers, etc. etc. etc is worth doing? (or imo any other extension other than .com without owning the .com)

This should be a bar that every business not using a .com learns from. It may be invisible to them, but they are not leaking, they are hemorrhaging. Those that continue to close their eyes to the facts will continue to be SLAVES to people they don't even know. Like me and many of you!!

As they open up thousands of new avenues, I will enjoy the extra traffic and money and I wish them all the great success! I love you my brothers! Build empires.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

P.S. Here are just a few of my .co articles because I have articulated just how important this result would be BEFORE we ever got a result. And with loads of ads and Superbowl advertising and it is still spitting in the wind. This is a huge blow to .whatever and just because there are many forces that will push back as they have $$$ on the table, it will not change the facts. The equation will only be slightly different with others.

Lastly, let me tip my hat to the folks at Overstock.com that had the GUTS to actually follow the numbers and not bury them like most would. They did a great service for all of us. They learned something and they shared it. Mr. Johnson, Mr. Byrne, you are stand up guys and you bared for all following your heart and how sometimes that collides with following the numbers.

Overstock did something on a grand scale, got a grand result and those that don't learn after all the dollars they have spent need to keep reading the following 2 statements until they do.

Imagine, not only pissing 61% of all somebody's business away, but in a similar scenario they could be pissing that traffic right into the mouths of their competition. Who after what Overstock has taught us would risk that now? SCHMUCKS!!! I mean this is as simple as it gets. A company could collapse over something like this. Luckily nothing was at O.com because had there been a competitor there, it would likely sting 1000 times as bad.

'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.'

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

January 29, 2011

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/01/will-any-co-stand-up-to-udrp-or-wipo-and-will-it-be-worth-defending.html

February 6, 2011

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/02/coboom-or-bust-love-or-anger-confusing-the-confusion.html

May 11, 2011

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/05/the-birdie-in-the-domain-mines-singing-or-dying.html

November 14, 2011

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/11/the-birdie-in-the-mine-dead-at-just-11-months-of-age-now-what.html

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/11/is-it-over-for-co-big-fanfare-turns-embarrassing-and-costly-with-oco-decision.html

November 18, 2011

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/11/whatever-and-the-biggest-losers-.html

December 1, 2011

http://www.ricksblog.com/2011/12/mission-accomplished.html

Morning Folks!!

Mission Accomplished. I had time to think, reflect and verify. Mission Accomplished. So what I have tried to do is re-adjust and re-evaluate to a world where Domain Names are no longer an unknown. Quite the opposite. The entire world now knows that it all starts with a domain name. Every business, every idea, every child born. That's the first step. It is also a step they may need to repeat and revisit if they did not get it right the first time and found any degree of success. That is happening already.

We live in a world today where domain 'Evangelists' are in every corner of the world. Where there are more 'Domain Bloggers' than there were domainers back even as late as 1998 or 1999.

So where do I pivot to from here? What do we as domain investors see? That has been the question I have needed to answer and have wrestled with. I am not looking to create work. That is never a consideration. I retired in 1998 and even the thought about being trapped again is enough to make me run. I do 'Missions.' I don't do 'Jobs.' Is there a difference? You bet your sweet ass there is.

I don't look at domains as a business where I buy and sell. That is always a fallback plan but not the main plan. I look at it as a gold reserve that protects my financial independence. Strictly as an investment with expansion potential when and as I see fit. Each year I buy many more domains than I sell. I don't need a lot of new domains, I just need to invest in some every year that I see as safer than owning dollars and will rise in value faster than other riskier investments.

I defined my financial needs for a lifetime back in the 1990's and my gold bullion came in the form of a .com on the end. Storage was easy and very portable. It had so many faces I am still counting. Many parallels with many things. All making domains exponentially more valuable than the very things we can compare it to. As a commodity. As a collectible. As Real Estate. As the Yellow Pages. As the 800 Number. As Social Media. As Media. As an Address. As a Business. As a Movement. As a Stock. As a Location. As an Investment. As a TV. As Gold and Oil. So many more. What is yours?

I have sat behind a number of monitors and keyboards for 17 years now and I still don't see anything so universal, so meaningful to the future, so multi-faceted as a great domain name. Plus the annual overhead is something paid within the first days of each year.

Morning Folks!!

No, I am not blogging again. But as I said, I would chime in from time to time when I discovered something or had something to say etc.

A few weeks ago I discovered something very powerful and done by a company that was here before most knew what the Internet even was. I heard CNN.com long before I actually made it online.

One of my proudest sales was iReport.com to CNN. But guess what?? They no longer use that domain. Here is the iReport Link. See where it goes? Follow the leader and you will find the answers and no question CNN has been one of the earliest. If not the earliest.

Now this is not definitive. But I would like to ask them why they did this and what they have discovered along the way? If I were a betting man, I would bet that Sub-Domains are the future because you can focus on your brand and also have folks easily find what they want via a very easy system.

Now this is not some conclusion I just jumped to. I have believed this for over 15 years. But today, I have confirmation by an organization that has been a leader for a very long time. What does this really mean?

It is my very strong opinion that after companies investigate .whatever and all the confusion, expense, uncertainty and pitfalls associated with it, they will understand the power they already have with their sub-domains. I believe that .whatever got them thinking. But the longer they thought, the worse it looked. The more expensive it looked. The more overhead it would add. The more uncertainty. And more splintering of their traffic and brand. They would see what I see.

So I think http://iReport.cnn.com is so much easier and less confusing because folks already understand that navigation system. More powerful and universal than http://iReport.CNN. But maybe not. 6 of one, half dozen of another. The '.com' has a certain flow to it. But they will be a bell-weather either way.

They shelved a $750,000 domain for a reason. It may be what I said or maybe I got it 180 degrees backwards if they get .CNN and build on that. But either way, I have a definite answer and if wrong I know exactly why and how to adjust to the right one. Much better than being lost in a forest with no direction or no clues. I think CNN will be a leader in either direction and they will be who I look to for some of the answers to come. Whichever way it does go, the world will be about sub-domains either right of the dot or left of the dot.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Never confuse the customer. That's just one of the takeaways from the O.co disaster. Sure, you can put lipstick on this pig but 5 months after they announce they are going to become O.com, the change goes down in flames.

There are many losers in this. Some are short term losers and then there are long term losers. As for winners, there is only one winner. Dotcom!

Now this does not mean you can't make money with different extensions. You can. Including .co. It does mean you are crazy to try and build a business on any extension other than dotcom UNLESS you own the dotcom. They will ALWAYS have a gaping hole in their advertising and marketing strategy/budget and that is a costly mistake if they don't have the .com counterpart.

What happened with this news is akin to a $25 million domain sale. It's a marker in the sand. Marking a significant day with new FACTS.

This is what I would call a 'Paul Revere Moment' because the following line is going to be repeated and repeated and repeated for YEARS to come. Had O.co just decided to make a change would be one thing, but when they said THIS, the WORLD changed:

'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.'

You can't put this back in the box. You can't unring this bell. This is not a low level employee, this is the President of the company. It is out there and I and others will hang our hat on it for years to come. Whether it be .co, .net, or HUNDREDS and soon to be THOUSANDS of other extensions.

'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.'

Do not forget that line. THAT is what this is all about. 'It's the traffic, stupid!'

But there is also some clarity for the first time. Plus the conversation now turns to traffic. They are finally talking about traffic. When they start targeting that traffic we will all know we have arrived.

Itr has always been about the traffic but now they are reacting to it and understanding it.

When Overstock first announced they would be O.com I thought it was a stupid idea. Not because of the .co. That was not the first thing that popped in my mind. The first thing that popped in my mind was that the Overstock Brand itself was weak at best. Overstock is certainly not on the lips of most people and when I asked folks, most never heard of them. So their move was a branding mistake and premature.

It was stupid. I said so then and I did not mince words but I also was patient enough to wait for a REAL result. So the birdie in the mine was born.

Until NOW most folks did not know or maybe even did not believe that there is traffic leakage from ANY extension to the .com. That was inside baseball. We knew, few others did. Now the world knows. That's a good thing.

Read my posts for the last 15 years. I have stated over and over and over again that .NET is an'Orphan' extension. The weakest one because of the leakage to the .com. So this is nothing new. What is new is a mainstream company articulating that for the world to see. That is HUGE! That will have huge ramifications.

'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.'

That is the key sentence to focus on. Nothing else in the release matters. But there is still a variable there. How MUCH leakage was there? We can guess at this. But let's look at the FACT that 5 months after they went to O.co they change course. 5 MONTHS!!! How much money did they spend in that re-branding effort? New commercials, new ads, new this and new that.

They did it 1 week before Thanksgiving. That is more evidence on how much leakage. Would you have liked to be a fly on the wall during those board meetings?

My estimate is as follows. 25% would be the very least leakage. But i think it is more. 50% would probably be getting close. My guess is they brought in a focus group, ran the commercial and then asked folks to simply go to their website.

So if that focus group had let's say had anywhere between 25% and 75% of folks going to O.com, then you can see why they would do something so drastic they know would be very embarrassing. The exact number we can speculate on. Just look how many times we have messed it up on blog posts or comments. CONFUSION!

But the FACT is it was so much leakage that they were forced to make this move after a huge investment.

Re-branding was a huge mistake when the original brand was not fully branded. But that is just a debating point. What can't be debated is the FACT of the traffic leakage. It's always about the traffic.

There is no excuse or justification. There are now facts. Facts to look at and plug in. But when we agree that this 'Experiment' is a big deal, we can't go back and say it doesn't mean much when it fails. And this was much more than a failure.

The single biggest loser, let me see, there are a few of them. But the biggest loser is down the road. I will have to re-read my August post on .Whatever and see if I need to change any of my thinking.

The gTLD's MOMENTUM is the the single biggest loser. How many companies will rethink their plans? How many will see this as the deciding factor? None of us know but I will guarantee you the answer is greater than 'None.' It may even rise to 'Many.'

Next up is .XXX. They have a different vision. Together we will see how that birdie does. I don't know, you don't know, but the birdie will know. The birdies cousin did not do well and this could be the next fatality. But sex sells and so I would say .XXX is the last best chance. A failure there is a nail in the coffin of .whatever as far as domain investment goes imho. We can count the carcases and come to a conclusion at that point. But I will still wait for the results and as always, time will tell.

I will also see what happens with the .XXX lawsuit. Mike Berkens wrote a piece yesterday and gives some good reasons why companies should get their .whatever. We will see if they take his advice. One thing is for sure, understanding of domain names and traffic on the Internet are still in the elementary stages. Folks that at this point should be fluent in domain names can hardly speak the language.

Those that don't understand how meaningful that one statement Mr. Johnson made is just missing the entire picture and wishing won't make your assets worth more. Taking in new information and adjusting is key. This was HUGE information. Nothing we did not know, but now confimed in a very public way.

I will be using that quote for YEARS to come. Forget the .co, (allthough the confusion factor here is off the chart) put in any extension. If you are going to mass market, you MUST own the dotcom version. SIMPLE. One sentence says it all! Thank you Mr. Johnson. You are my hero!

'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.'

Have a GREAT Day!

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!!

I would not like to be Rob Hall today. This was going to be a comment over at TheDomains.com but decided it was worthy of a stand alone post.

After reading the comments, Why is everyone so positive on something (either way) that there is no way to know how it will unfold?

“So why wouldn’t you sell your generic .com’s and use the money to fund new gTLD’s”

Let me remind Rob Hall that 'dotcom' is the single most used word in the world today. Unless somebody develops something new and better and more useful, that will likely not change in most of our lifetimes. And where did he make the leap that you would have to SELL your dotcoms to fund a new gTLD?? What the hell does one have to do with the other? His logic is flawed in this respect. However he does make a good point as he asks Mike about Stuff.com but agan LOGIC is missing as I will explain.

“So would you rather own Stuff.com or .Stuff for $185K?

“If you owned the TLD don’t you think you could sell 10,000 registrations a year at $10 or make $100K a year.”

Maybe you would sell 50,000 registrations a year and now make $500,000 a year and that would be an annuity in perpetuity.

“So why wouldn’t you sell your generic .com’s and use the money to fund new gTLD’s”

This is a different mindset because it is not as a 'Domain Investment' it is as a business venture. But he fails to ask the next LOGICAL question. Would .stuff want stuff.com? And the answer is you bet your sweet ass they want and NEED the domain. But it does not matter if Mike sells Stuff.com and you can ask the folks at Anything.com who has XXX.com. Worth less???? Are you in your right mind? Worth less???

That said it does not mean there won't be 'Opportunity'. But don't confuse opportunist with opportunity. There may be plenty of both. So while I don't agree with Rob Hall on domainers selling their dotcoms, there are other things he says that may have some validity. So let's pick it apart a bit without the knee jerk and emotional reaction. Maybe a few FACTS.
Opportunity comes in many forms and lots of people make millions on failures.
Relying on the domain investor community to buy into 1000 different extensions is not going to happen. However it will draw those that missed the last domain rush into wasting most of their money on something that won't be a success for 20 years if ever. Most will fail out of the gate on their own weight and lack of knowledge.

It's all about the advertising and who does that advertising. CNN branded 'Dotcom'. As I can remember, they were the first. All day, All night, when it meant nothing to 99% of folks. So without that type of distribution, it is going to be a very uphill battle for 99% of all new extensions.

Wishful thinking won't work on either side. Hard facts and how it unfolds will.
Humans are very adaptable when they see a direct benefit to themselves. So never say never. But also realize how long it takes to change a foundation. You have to eat TODAY. Some of these new 'Roads' may not be traveled in our lifetime. They are building interstates but if they go nowhere and lead to nothing it won't matter.

The bottom line is it always comes down to the idea. We will never run out of domains, but we sometimes run out of ideas that just don't copy what already is.
The internet is like LIFE and will and has become destination based.

As a consumer I could care less about the extension. I just want what I need and want. Problem is when the average person tells others, the confusion with dotcom is HUGE!

For example. There is a big thing going on about being 'Topless' for women. So they have a site at 'GoTopless.ORG. Would you like to know how much traffic the .ORG is LEAKING?? Right now to the tune of 2000 visitors a DAY as I own GoTopless.COM.
Now I like .org. I believe it is the #2 extension and have stated that for about a decade now. BUT, folks MUST deal with this issue or they are FOOLS. Period. How do you ignore that??
Now if you ran a business and you lost 2000 customers a day having something other than .COM maybe an intelligent businessman would figure out it is costing them a lot of lost business. And if I were their competitor, I would be eating their lunch and owning THEIR customers. That leak can sink a ship. A person could make a living off a 'Leak'. Can make a FORTUNE off a LEAK.
So get .whatever and the dotcom version goes up 10 fold or 100 fold by ACCIDENT! I just proved it. The dot com owner is YOUR MASTER! Want to be freed of your MASTER?? That takes $$$$$$ to buy the dot com.

ANYONE that thinks a company can get a .whatever and not have the dot com and not lose is just closing their eyes to PROOF! If a guy on Madison Ave gets a .whatever for his client without the .com, he screwed over his client BIG TIME! PERIOD!

But with all that said, there will be BILLIONS of dollars thrown at .whatever and that alone is something that should give everyone reading this a little pause. Not just a knee jerk reaction. Just remember those BILLIONS will ALL need the dotcom counerpart.

I am THRILLED that most in mainstream will disagree with me. Most are looking for the second coming and 1 or 2 out of 1000 just might happen. THEIR success is OUR success. Not the other way around.

Be Loyal to what you believe and what matters. This will bring a tear or more to your eyes and make you pause for just a moment. Nothing to do with domains, everything to do with life.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz