I admit it…I DO HAVE a PROBLEM….I am addicted to domain names…no seriously!
It all started in 1997 while I was attending law school…I would spend countless late nights purchasing domain names…I only wish I focused more on generic domains that have direct type-in traffic…Ex. Candy.com
I was obessed on the 1800 genre; I had and still have lots of domains such 1800Accountants.com , 1800Tutors.com 1800Veterinarians.com and 1800Apartments.com….I had and lost domains like 1800Chiropractors.com, 1800Stockbrokers.com, etc.
In the begining I registered most of domains thru ValueWeb for about $76 a year….at one point I registered NYClassifieds.com and than had a two week battle with ValueWeb after someone else got the domain after I was charged and received confirmed registration….I also picked up some other fantastic domains like LazyStudents.com, InternetEsq.com, MarineSupplyStore.com and JewishRecipes.com.
In 1998 I founded Prime Visibility, a internet marketing firm specializing in search engine optimization, paid search management, social media optimization, link building, web 2.0, web analytics, etc. My domaining activities were not as aggressive in the early days of Prime Visibility as I was building a company from the ground up…three - five employees the first 2-3years….than 6-8 employees; than 20, than 30, than 40 than 60…..what a ride it’s been!!
There a period I vividly remember in 2000/2001 when new.net introduced .school and .agent extentions and the 5 of us or so at our desks are screaming things like…”I just registered Baseball.agent and Modeling.agent, Bartending.school, Flight.school, etc.
A decade later I am still at it and more passionate than ever….there has been TREMENDOUS success in the industry and I have ALWAYS been strong believer in the value of domain names….heck I wouldn’t be renewing them for over a decade if I didn’t think so!
This year I have picked up some gems such as RequestFunding.com, JerichoTurnpike.com, SuckingThumb.com and OfficialGameBall.com - looking forward to procuring some more.
22 year old Johns Wu is one happy blogger today. He has sold his 2 year old banking blog, Bankaholic.com for $12.4 million to Bank Rate.
They have agreed to pay Johns an additional $2.5 million if the site performs well over the next 12 months.
This sale is indeed confirmed by an official press release from Bankrate, Inc. (Nasdaq: RATE). Better yet, Johns answers some great interview questions about the sale of his blog in an article found on WebProNews here
One of our clients just prepared a VERY funny video focused on the election and of course the candidates…. if you want a good laugh, check this out:
For more hysterical/creative videos go to www.KetaKeta.com
| Google Voice Local Search is Google’s experimental service to make local-business search accessible over the phone.
Using this service, you can:
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And it’s free. Google doesn’t charge you a thing for the call or for connecting you to the business. Regular phone charges may apply, based on your telephone service provider.
Note: Google Voice Local Search is still in its experimental stage. It may not be available at all times and may not work for all users. Google is fine-tuning the service to get better at recognizing your requests. It’s currently only available in English, in the US, for US business listings.
Was just reading some year to date domain sales in the DNJournal.com - WOW!!
Some highlights include:
Fund.com - $10M
Invest.com $1,015,000
SkiResorts.com - $850k
Printer.com - $800k
You can review the entire list here
I especially like when Steve speaks about zero-based thinking:
“Ask yourself this question: “Would I have ever gotten started with this project, relationship, career, etc. if I had to do it all over again, knowing what I now know?” If your answer is no, then get out as soon as possible. This is called zero-based thinking. I know a lot of people that have a limiting belief that says, “Always finish what you start.” They spend years climbing ladders only to realize when they reach the top that the ladder was leaning against the wrong building. Remember that failure is your friend. So if a certain decision you’ve made in the past is no longer producing results that serve you, then be ruthless and dump it, so you can move onto something better. There is no honor in dedicating your life to the pursuit of a goal which no longer inspires you. This is another situation where you must practice integrity in the moment of choice. You must constantly re-assess your present situation to accurately decide what to do next. Whatever you’ve decided in the past is largely irrelevant if you would not renew that decision today.”
I suggest you read the entire article at Steve’s Palvina Website
My 7 yr old son came across this really cool site called GoAnimate.com - it’s free and this is what he made….
As I sit in temple on this high holiday of Yom Kippur my mind is racing with more and more ideas…..for example; could I sell advertising space on the back of a talit? How about a yalmulke? Why is the only consistent and major advertiser in the temple’s parayer book always a funeral home or a trip to Israel?
And than it happens…out of the corner of my eye I catch my in-laws watching my brother-in-law and I sitting in temple on our blackberrys praying and emailing together….and of course checking the financial markets….obviously these are things I could not do as a child but I now have my own family to watch out for…..
An easy fast to those of you fasting……I hope you are breaking fast with bagels, lox and cream cheese from BagelBoss.com
Ahmen!
Had a very interesting second meeting today with Oran and Gil a/k/a The Brothers who have just launched TheWebisodes.com……these are entrepreneurs who are following their passion and I think they will succeed!!
Think of Siskel and Ebert and now think of Oran and Gil…..these Brothers intend on being “the destination point” for webisodes…..not sure what a Webisode is? Oh boy….here is the Wikipedia definition for you:
A webisode is an episode of a television show that airs initially as an Internet download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The word itself is a portmanteau formed by the words ‘web’ and ‘episode’.
A webisode is simply a web episode – collectively it is part of a web series, a form of new media that characteristically features a dramatic, serial storyline, where the primary method of viewership is streaming online over the Internet. Where there is no “set” standard for length, most webisodes are relatively short, ranging from 4-15 minutes in length.
Now that you know what a webisode is - keep in mind that there is A LOT of them out there and more and more are being created and published each day! With all that clutter and bad content and quality of production that exists - how does one get thru all the clutter and crap and find only the best webisodes? Enter TheWebisodes.com…check out their site, I KNOW you will laugh and find some good humor (no not ice cream).
Enjoy……..
I was referred to a very cool site today by one of my former Team Members….: www.SpotMixer.com
Pretty cool site that lets you create online videos from either video or images, allows you to use stock music for background sound and has a few hundred templates for layout. It is only $59 per month if you prepay the year or $79 per month ongoing. If you do the $79 option, you can create as many videos as you want and cancel it. (Can create only videos for 1 business per account)
Once created, you can upload through the interface to YouTube, Google Adwords, or save it as an MP4 for use anywhere. Pretty cool tool for small businesses to get into the game at a low entry….
This would also work well with GoogleTV ..don’t know about GoogleTV? Shame on you (GRIN)
- Andrew