Tech news outside the mainstream
Uncommon news and information with a technical twist and some topics that are a bit out there. Enjoy...
By now you have probably gotten an email from every company that you have ever visited on their COVID policy. No need to rehash washing your hands and social distancing here. The point that I want to stress is that we are all in this together, locally and globally, and it's going to take all of us to beat this thing.
I work for the government in my day job, maintaining transmitters along the coast of South Carolina. The government is just people. Some very hard working people that perform jobs that in the private sector usually pays much more for the same work. But, boil it all down, and it's just people helping people.
In times of crisis's past, like the hurricanes we've had, we didn't get extra pay or bonuses, just a good feeling at the end of the day that we made a difference. Getting through this is going to be difficult, but not something we can't do.
There are always two options you have in any situation. One is to do nothing. With COVID doing nothing is actually a good thing. Stay at home and you're not part of the problem. The second option is to try harder. I have to credit my father with that one. He was part of what they now call the greatest generation, but the greatest generation is really yet to come. We are all products of these generations, we are the hybrids. Let's try a little harder and figure this out. Figure out what you can do to help.
Sure it's scary, we see exactly how fragile our world is. And, the big brains say it's going to get worse before it gets better, but we will get through it and come out stronger. Helping others is really the name of the game.
Check on your neighbors, have empathy and employ compassion. We are all going through a lot. I want to be able to reflect back at the End of the Plague party and know I had a hand in making the world a better place. I may not invent a miracle vaccine, but I help keep emergency communications online over here, inspire hope and I lend a helping hand. I am very grateful for the medical, fast food, grocery workers and everyone involved in all these chains that keeping us moving forward.
Do your part and work harder. Patience, courtesy and humor go along way, act like you've been somewhere. Maybe this will spark a spiritual revolution when we finally realize that we are all the same, and that we are all connected.
Want to keep keep up with all that is happening in the domain space? Domaining.com
2020 is off to a quick start and for those that are not active in the industry daily, it can be more than difficult to keep up with all that's going on. NamesCon is taking place in Austin, TX now, Rev.com just sold for 400k, Add.com sold for 800k this week, keep up with the status of the .Org Registry sale and get insight from the movers and shakers.
Domaining.com for the important news and domain industry headlines.
This article is by Kasssey Lee on TLDInvestors.com originally from GrandSeeds.com
Your domain is the address of your store in the digital world. If consumers remember what you sell and where to buy it, that’s powerful marketing. Your brand helps them remember what you sell, and your domain helps them remember where to buy it. Therefore, you want your domain to be easily remembered. The easiest way to remember your domain is to make it match your brand.
It's never too late to get the matching domain name, it just gets more expensive.
Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, but this one I just can't see how the management team didn't see the future of their business. Back in 2000 the internet was more than thriving and Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for a mere 50 million. As of today Netflix is worth over 128 billion, down from and all time high of 180 billion. In the summer of 2000, Blockbuster CEO John Antioco said "The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown". His council went on to state how the business models of Netflix and just about every other online business were not sustainable and would never make any money. That statement couldn't be any more wrong then than it is now. Read the full article here on Inc.com
How did these guys not see that by delivering their product online would eliminate all of their overhead, shipping and logistical nightmares. Yes, management and vision are two different things, but they shouldn't be. Doesn't matter what business you are in either, not only do you need a strong online presence, there is an evolution going on of how your customers will interact with you and not just on social media. Developers are building virtual realities to showcase products. Imagine if your customers could experience your products before they buy. This will be very popular with the gaming generation as they become the most powerful purchasers of consumer goods in 10 years.
If you haven't read the worst business blunders in tech history I would suggest Googling that phrase and see what you get. Branding blunders are even more common and they happen all the time. Avoid a brand blunder and start with a great domain name. A strong domain name is the foundation for enticing and retaining customers with a memorable name. Your domain name also attracts B2B partners and lays the ground floor for building supplemental income streams. Streams turn into rivers and maybe even into a whole new business model for your companies' survival. Have some vision and get creative.
Veteran's Day falls on November 11 for a good reason many do not know. November 11th is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, which ended the World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in 1918.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. And, on the following November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time. President Wilson proclaimed the day should be “filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory”.
Thank a Veteran and help those that are returning from combat. You can get involved at any level, from volunteering at your local VA hospital to helping the family of a Veteran. Do something positive, be a part of the solution for the real heroes.
Here's a company I discovered while looking for some keyword analysis on my GeorgiaBeachHomes.com website, Wordstream.
Not only does Wordstream offer keyword advice and optimization, they have a suite of utilities to tune up your marketing campaigns. Wordstream is a Google and Facebook Premier Partner leading the industry in search optimization.
I like the design of their wesite too and they have a wealth of information for those of you just getting started with online advertising. Spend a little time reading though the Pay Per Click University and learn about bid management and conversion tracking.
From and article on WinningWP.com about getting the best domain name possible by Karol K, he provides 22 essentials tips to help those new to the industry. There's only one other tip I would add to this post, it's well worth it to buy a great domain name. Memorability and validity make your business standout. Not everyone can afford a million dollar domain, but there's a reason why they are worth those kind of numbers, specifically site traffic and being the brand authority.
Remember you are building a brand when you build your website, and there's no point to building all your collateral advertising around a sub par domain name.
Escrow for Domain Names and a lot more.
I recently sold a domain name to a foreign buyer that wasn't familiar with the escrow process. It's really just as simple as depicted in the image below, but with their unfamiliarity, I can see how they could be skeptical, so I walked them through the whole process.
A couple of items not represented in the images are number one, make sure your buyer chooses the right email address for your transaction. Most people have at least a work and personal email address. It's always good to ask before you start your transaction. The second concern is for the seller. Sometimes when a buyer receives their goods they don't always follow up to verify that they have possession. You can rest assured that Escrow.com can verify the domain name transfer without any action by the buyer, it just takes a few day longer.
Escrow.com has been in the business for over 25 years and they began with handling domain name transactions. They truly are the industry leader.
They provide services for just about every other transaction as well payment plans.
Summer 2019 Reported Domain Sales
For those of you that are not in-tune with the domain industry, here are some recent domain name sales that have been topping this summer's domain charts. Please keep in mind that only a very small fraction of sales ever get reported. Orion.com changed hands, but the price was unreported, rumor has it that it sold above 30m. Prices have been rising for great domain names.
Voice.com 30M
Money.com 20M
EKO.com 1.5M
Room.com 1.5M
Nursing.com 950k
Links.com 789k
Carrot.com 565k
BettingOdds.com 486k
Cooking.com 402k
Casinos.org 400k
JoyRide.com 300k
Money.com.au 279k
PFF.com 270k
Crystals.com 188k
Viajes.es 165k (Travels Esp.)
Visit DNJournal.com for the reported year to date sales chart.
I found 2 articles on Domaining.com that I thought I would pass along to share. I follow all of these blogs and they help me stay in tune with the pulse of the industry.
This is a TED talk about the Carvertise.com story. From the business owner's perspective and a savvy domain owner. Not going to spoil it, just enjoy the presentation.
The second article comes from Morgan Linton's blog about the frequency of 6 and 7 figure domain name sales. Large sales are more common than you think and often under reported.
After Memorial Day is usually a slower season, but not so this year. Sales are up, and heating up.
Check out the rest of domain names I have for sale here.