Creating iPhone apps is good. But when it is iPhone ONLY apps I have to ask – why did you ignore the other 83% market share?

Domain For Sale: USHotJobs.com Recently purchased, 9 years old. http://dnhop.com/?p=207 Thanks for looking!

USHotJobs.com

9 Years Old. Very Timely.

Accepting offers from $5,000.00

Send Confidential Offer to info@ceuq.com

REMINDER: Pres. Barack Obama will be Jay Leno’s guest tomorrow night on the Tonight Show. Again, History in the Making,1st President on show

CarbonFootstep.com

$2,500.00

Due to recent transfer in, domain is not eligible to transfer out for 60 days.

Presently at www.EaglesDomain.com, Wild West Reseller.

Free to open account.

Will push to your account. Then you can transfer out later.

SocialNetworkInfo.com

Please send confidential offers to info@ceuq.com.

I guess it has been a couple of weeks now since starting the blog.

The reasons of me deciding to do this are two-fold.

One is to simply be able to convey my thoughts and feelings on the domain industry and domainers.

The second reason is the best reason to me – learning WordPress.

Having only an intermediate level knowledge of Joomla,  I had been hearing so much about WordPress and its features. Usability was something that nearly all who tried it commented on, a user freindly  interface.

Having the knowledge and know-how to create my very own sites is thrilling. It can be a real pain in the butt at times but that is just the frustration of learning. In the end you just hope you have a pleasing product – both content and visual wise.

There is little doubt that parking domains is in a decline (seemingly steep at times). If my 2008 totals were down by perhaps 45% from 2007 and 2009 is already in the 50% range of 2008, what does that say overall about the parking models in place? Seriously, go back and compare  your own totals. If I compare the first three months of 2009 with the first three months of 2007, 2009 is perhaps down 60% or more over that 2 year period. That is shocking. That is pitiful.

Parking is what it is. And shame on me for relying on someone or something else to carry me this far.

It is indeed time to take my game up a notch or two. Creating sites for me will be a matter of finding the time. I do not view it as a chore or a hassle. Even though I have several thousand domains I am still not stressing over this. If I make all of them into sites in my lifetime, that will be a miracle. Actually, that would just be so cool. Instead of a 401K or 403B providing me an income in my old age I’ll have Adsense (or some form of it) bringing in some decent cash.

From here on out,  I say to you and to myself do not think of or dwell on what has happened.

Concentrate on the From Now On.

View the domain industry as a business sector in flux and without any clear leadership. I am convinced that many changes are going to sweep into place from 2009 through 2010. Those changes will be in the form of a shakeup in ICANN or some serious oversight by an Congressional appointed body. And we will see strict enforcement of Trade Mark violations. With all the laws regarding TM, SM, Copyright, and their owners, one would think that there is enough protection right now.

Protection – yes.

Enforcement – no.

Can I hear someone else say that domainers have no else to blame but themselves?

The domain industry has shot itself in the foot.

Putting a band-aid over a blood gushing wound is not going to take care of the problem.

Because of the decline in the parking revenue and just for the sake of knowing skills, I am teaching myself WordPress.

I really hate to sound clicheish and say, “If I can do it so can you.”

Rather I’ll just close asking, “Why aren’t you doing it?’

When you are not driving your car, does that mean someone can come along and take it simply because you were not using it?

I get a big kick out of names dropped or dropping and the buzz it creates. Recently it was reported that Pfizer Pharmaceutical was dropping the domain name Viagra.org. Pfizer is reportedly dropping 52 product names and a total of 13 Viagra related domain names.

The belief by many is the patent on Viagra will soon be up and then generic sales will begin.

Patents on products are valid for 17 years. Patents for Viagra are in place until 2011 – 2013. The issue here is a change in the law now makes patents valid for 20 years depending on when the patent was issued.

However, a patent expiration does not mean that the company that sells and markets a product under the name Viagra will stop using that word.

Sildenafil is the active ingredients of Viagra. Viagra is a brand, one that Pfizer has  no doubt put billions of dollars into R&D, clinical trials, advertising (who can forget the Bob Dole commercials), and promotion. Sildenafil will most likely become the generic name.

Think of it this way…many times we say and use the name word coke in placing an order etc. It has become a commonly used word for soda. Just because we use it in that manner does not mean that Coca-Cola is no longer a brand.

So why is Pfizer dropping the name? Who knows. And who cares.

Again, it is Pfizer’s right to drop a domain. Defenseive regs (the practice of a brand regging all extensions) may be a thing of the past. I predict that by the end of this year or the end of 2010 at the latest it will be totally un-necessary for a brand to feel compelled to reg every name.

Why do I see this happening? I do see and want the dropcatchers and registrars to step up (before it is made law) and clean up their acts by not allowing the sale, the registering, or facilitate the transfer or a trademarked domain.

If the domain industry fails to do so then the U.S. Departments of Justice and of Commerce may step in and make this into law. In other words, it will be illegal to own, possess, or sell a blatant trademark name. This is where all of this is going. To an entity outside of ICANN to regulate because ICANN has done nothing to stop or slow this process.

Despite all the press given to this issue of typosquatting and cybersquatting, everyone seems to be going about their business as usual. I am beginning to wonder if these drop catchers and registrars see the storm clouds approaching but ignore the warning signals. In other words, they know its coming but they better get to selling/registering while the going is good.

A few well timed lawsuits and well publicized cases involving a registrar or dropcatcher will stem this practice. In addition to criminal prosecution I would imagine punitive and civil damages would be awarded.

I am amazed how defiant and boastful many have become in defending this practice of buying, selling, catching, and transferring domain names claim it is not their problem.

Honestly, there are not too many more chances left for ICANN and the domain industry to clean up its act. As a taxpayer, I would rather have my money being used by Congress and the DoC to investigate and resolve more pressing issues than to be concerned with domains. But the simple fact to the matter is typos and TM’s are costing these companies billions in trade and commerce.

What really pisses me off is we, domainers, know it and don’t care. As long as we are making money and as long as we are happy that is all that matters. The world evolves around us.

Consider this; 2010 is election year for many seated in Congress at the moment. Call it grandstanding, but what a great time to revive the Snowe Bill and a few other bills to present to Congress. Canned and packaged as consumer protection and anti-piracy will go a long way at getting headlines.

And I can guarantee that not a single elected official will take to the podium in defense of domainers.

Go ahead and call 911 to report someone has taken your car out of the driveway.

How outraged would you be if the police responded, “Well, you weren’t using it. Besides, it’s not our problem.”

Since launching DNhop I have fielded many requests to swap links and sell names.

I think it is only appropriate to do this in a manner befitting to me and my principles and ethics of business.

It is important to me that I say NO sometimes. This may upset a few but I want maintain credibility to me.

When brokering names, there is no set fee and sometimes I am all too happy to oblige. The most important factor for both, you and me, to consider is can we trust the owner to transfer the domain name and do so in a timely manner. The answer is yes – I trust the owner.

When adding links to my site are these links to sites that I actually read? The answer is yes – I read the articles. I may not read this other blogs religiously or on a daily or even a regular basis. It is a link to a site that I think adds value to domains and domaining.

Does adding a link mean I agree with everything being mentioned and printed? No – absolutely not. I do not have to agree with everything put down in a thread, blog, or post. Disagreeing with what the author has to say does not mean the piece has no value. It means although we may disagree I still value what is being said and how it is being said and the author.

Trust is paramount to this business of domaining and is paramount to the success of domainers. And for me it is crucial to the success of this blog. More than anything I do not want to lose the trust of other people in the domain business or readers. If I lose trust then I have just commited domainer suicide. I may win and lose some readers but you can rest assured that they did not leave because they did not trust me or what was being said.

That is why I consider and weigh many factors when adding links, ads, endorsements, or names to broker.

Most importantly, you have my word that every product, site, link that is endorsed has my seal of approval – for what ever that is worth.

The same goes for a book. I love to read. Any book review will have been actually read by me.

Again, it is all about The Trust Factor.

I get a big kick out of seeing domains for sale that have to have an explanation to identify it or the sellers interpretation of what the domain says, especially acronyms.

Basically, 99% of the time it is telling me Look what I made up for the meaning and you can use it too.

The power of persuasion.

A while back I was interested in buying the domain name GRL.us simply because it is my initials. That domain name was posted along with perhaps 200 more on one of the domain forums. The seller was taking offers. I offered a respectable $200.00 and thought I would use it purely for the novelty of it or perhaps as an email.

The seller turned down my offer and added, Oh no. That says GIRL. I am going to have to have more for that.

Needless to say, I did not buy it. The purchase was purely for the novelty of it, $200 was respectable for an LLL.us, and finally…um, no – it does not say girl. It only says three letters – G R L.

All the sounds like, looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like nonsense is exactly that -nonsense.

Absolutely there are always exceptions to the rules. An identifying phrase with a few choice keywords will help it get indexed. There is nothing wrong with salesmanship, marketing, and promoting your name with descriptive text.

But not the snake oil salesmanship. There is usually very little ingredients to the contents that is actually good and beneficial.

That is what distinguishes some names into a class all by themselves and what helps identify this as The Art of Domaining.

For the most part it is generally a monumental waste of time to spend that time fabricating all these acronyms or descriptive text. If you want to try to convince another domainer that this is the name above all others that really stands apart then have at it.

Not once have I ever sold a domain to an end user and I have had to explain to that end user what it says or what it means.

The end user has been the one who has sought me out. That end user is also a consumer and already knows that the domain name means to them.

In The Art of Domaining there is very little, if any, need to say anything that helps quantify or qualify the sale.

What, beyond a word or two, can you offer or say to make that word more than just a sequence of numbers or letters?

Usually nothing.

In my previous career as an illustrator and designer, it was my portfolio of original work that would get me the job. I am talking about a physical leather-bound case about 30″ x 40″ loaded with hand selected works of art and usually limited to 15-20 pieces.

Art Directors and Creative Directors are notoriously busy people. If you are in a large advertising mecca like New York rarely would you ever meet with anyone. You left your portfolio at the door along with all the other portfolios.

In essence, the portfolio did all the talking. If it was good enough I would perhaps get a call back.

I want to stress that there is no difference in art art portfolio and one of a domain portfolio with one major exception – domain names are nothing more than concepts. They are not a finished piece of art. My art portfolio were examples of my finished and published works. The art portfolio represents my ability to take a piece from the concept stages all the way to the published work.

Going from the selection of a domain and creating a site is very much the same. Except this has become an age of virtual portfolios.

I was able to take all my years of honing my skills and my God given talent and create something that in the end demonstrated that I was a true asset to an organization.

Amazingly, there is strong parallel between a portfolio of graphics and a portfolio of domain names.

Imagine going to an Art Show opening at some posh gallery and the artist is present and has to walk with the crowd and explain what each piece means and represent. Sure, with abstract pieces perhaps a little interpretation is needed. In the end the person just stands there and just blankly stares at the piece and gives an Aha nod of approval or simply states, I still don’t get it.

A great work of art stands on its own.

Welcome to the Art of Domaining or Domaining as an Art Form.