Home

Featured in Newsweek · USA Today · New York Times · MSNBC · Boston Herald · Arizona Republic  

October 08, 2015

Domain Sales

Latest News

Articles

Dear Domey

Resources

Archive

YTD Sales Charts

The Lowdown

Legal Matters

Letters to Editor

Classified Ads

About Us

 

 

 

Hooray for Hollywood: Debut Edition of DOMAINfest Global Deals Attendees a Winning Hand 
Page 3

DomainSponsor parties are infamous for causing attendees (and even panelists) to oversleep and miss opening sessions the next morning, so organizers mercifully scheduled the first seminar Friday a little later than usual – 10am. The delayed start time and the biggest panel I have ever seen at a domain conference, a dozen speakers including moderator John Berryhill, helped ensure a full room for a two and a half hour seminar called “Ask the Experts”. The group included four attorneys plus specialists in the aftermarket, technology, venture capital and ad networks category. See the photo below for the full list of participants.  

World's biggest domain panel - left to right: moderator John Berryhill, Esq., Aaron Kornblum, Esq. (Microsoft Senior Attorney), Samantha Frida (Domain Consultant), Bret Fausett (Cathcart, Collins LLP), Tim Schumacher (Sedo.com), Eytan Elbaz (Google.com), Ryan Berryman (Oversee.net), empty seat (soon filled by Dan Warner of Fabulous.com who was running late after the DomainSponsor party), Russ Goodwin (Tidewinds Group), David Liu (Jefferies & Co.), S. Brian Mukherjee (MIVA) and Alex Gardner (Casale Media).    

The appearance of Aaron Kornblum marked the first time a Microsoft representative has appeared on stage at a domain event. Kornblum said Microsoft owns over 20,000 domains and averages 300 new registrations a month. They also promote the use of domains by giving them away as part of their Office Live program and they offer customized domains through Windows Live

Kornblum is also on the company’s domain defense team and they are aggressive in combating unauthorized use of the company name by cybersquatters. They have filed civil lawsuits in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Seattle to let people know they are serious about protecting their brand.   

Much of the discussion wound up focusing on the issue of trademarks and how to avoid problems with trademark owners, so the attorneys on the panel were kept busy with questions from the audience.

Aaron Kornblum
Senior Attorney, Microsoft Corp.

Bret Fausett, Attorney
(Cathcart, Collins LLP)


Bret Fausett cautioned domain owners to be very wary of trademark infringement as it can easily cost $100,000-$200,000 to defend yourself against a federal court suit. Defense in a UDRP arbitration case is not cheap either, with atttorney's costs often running $5,000-$6,000. Fausett said it only costs companies $300 to file a federal court proceeding (as opposed to $1,500 to file a UDRP), so more are going that route and that is bad news for domain owners with infringing names. 

On other topics, Dan Warner said that high quality names in the drop catching market are disappearing. “Most of the cards have been dealt and there is not much left that is good,” Warner said. “Most good .com, .net and .org domains are being kept by their present owners.” The sheer size and scope of this session was so wide ranging that you will want to get the show DVD so that you can fully review it. 

Incidentally, if you do buy the DVD, think about Marcia Lynn Walker and Warren Walker when you are watching it as they are the people behind the cameras! The professional videographers from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (and veteran domain developers) volunteered their services to document the event. They will also be posting some free video clips from the DOMAINfestGlobal social events at DirectNavigationMarket.com as soon as editing is done. 


Marcia Lynn Walker and Warren Walker of MyrtleBeachInc.com

At the lunch break, Ron Sheridan handed out a variety of door prizes to delighted winners, then introduced a big screen video interview he had recently taped with Name Administration, Inc. leader Frank Schilling who many believe is the most successful domain investor in the world. Though he was not there in person, the charismatic Schilling had the crowd hanging on very word. Schilling, who is originally from Canada but now lives in the Cayman Islands, described himself as a value investor who was attracted to the intrinsic value of domains that could be used for paid search. To get started in this business, Schilling sold off some rental homes and used the proceeds to buy domains. It turned out to be a good move. Today it is estimated that his domain portfolio earns close to $20 million annually. 

Schilling said he was optimistic about the future of the industry though growth is getting harder to come by with increasing competition for domain assets. He also has some concerns about lack of transparency at ICANN and felt the governing body of the domain name system had left some very unhealthy holes open in the recent .biz and .info contracts (that could eventually spread to other registries) that could be very harmful to all domain registrants. As a result, Schilling played a key role in founding the new non-profit Internet Commerce Association that will have a key role in defending domain owner’s rights going forward. 

Still, when Sheridan asked him if it was possible for someone else to become another Frank Schilling in this business, Schilling immediately said “Yes!” Schilling said there are still big opportunities for buying in the secondary market, reselling domains and developing them. He rarely sells a domain himself, saying “My names are like my children – I love my names!

Frank Schilling
Name Administration, Inc.
spoke to attendees via prerecorded video

Schilling said he likes ccTLDs (country code domains) and his preference in order is for .coms, the ccTLD of your country (if it is a major country), .net and then .org. “Really good names in .info and .mobi will also have some value,” Schilling said. He added that the next phase in his business plan will be to start developing his domains.

The DOMAINfest Global program officially concluded with a two-hour afternoon seminar on “Building a Business from a Domain” moderated by Jothan Frakes.The five-man panel included Brian Benko (NoParking.com), Adam Smadja (Horoscope.com), Michael Gilmour (Australian Internet Industry Association), Nick Jordan (LookSmart) and Scott Beber (Oversee.net principal analyst).   

Moderator Jothan Frakes (left) 
and Brian Benko of NoParking.com

Benko’s company will develop and manage a website on a quality domain name for a 50% stake in the domain and ensuing enterprise. He said the development process starts with a site featuring seven or more pages of original content. He said you must also make it easy for people to reach you by email or phone. In the second stage, you begin developing direct advertiser relationships and communicating with potential partners. You also need to have an active search engine optimization program, refresh original content and work on upgrades for the site. Benko cited the ability to earn more revenue than through PPC and increasing the value of the domain as primary reasons to develop.

Smadja, whose properties attract four million visitors a month, said you can produce multiple revenue streams through development. At Horoscope.com he takes advantage of PPC and CPM advertising and also sells products and services and licenses out the original content on his site. Smadja said it is critical that when developing you pick a topic that you enjoy, otherwise you will quit before you get anywhere. 

With the rest of the panel in favor of developing, Gilmour decided to swim upstream and make a case for parking instead. “I can’t develop 6,000 domains!” Gilmour said. “It’s not scalable as you are building a business not just a website.” Gilmour said he did want to see much greater transparency from the PPC companies though, including auditing by a major accounting firm like Price Waterhouse Cooper.    

Adam Smadja
Horoscope.com

Jordan emphasized the importance of developing an audience for your site which in turn allows you to make money from that audience. He said you need to convey what is on your site and what makes it different so people will come back and tell their friends about it. He also recommends incorporating site tools that allow visitors to do more when they come to your site. Beber explained how search marketing can be used to effectively build traffic to your site and the advantages of buying secondary keywords rather than more expensive primary terms that other advertisers are competing for. 

After that final session, Sheridan closed conference business by thanking attendees for coming and announcing the the 2008 DOMAINfest Global Conference has already been scheduled for March 19-21, 2008 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Those staying overnight in Los Angeles were invited to a dinner at the hotel that evening as well as a Saturday morning brunch, both compliments of the conference.

The most gratifying thing I take away from every conference is the new friendships made and existing relationships made stronger. DOMAINfest Global gets very high marks on both counts. With respect to this particular show, the thing that stands out most in my mind is what an astounding dollar value it was for registrants. 

You can thank Oversee/DomainSponsor for that. I doubt that the registration and sponsorship fees could possibly have covered the full cost of providing the first class product they delivered at DOMAINfest Global. However, one of this company’s greatest strengths is that they have taken a long term view of their business relationships. 

For years now they have been planting seeds by supporting virtually every endeavor and program that could be of value to the domain community. Those early seeds have already flowered into well deserved good will that I think has played a major role in the company’s success. To their credit, they have not been content to rest on their laurels. They are still planting seeds and standing shoulder to shoulder with domain owners in the industry garden as we all work to keep the astonishing momentum in this business going full speed ahead.


BONUS: Visit our DOMAINfest Global Photo Gallery
for many great photos that did not fit in the wrap up article you just read!


Return to DN Journal Home Page

Back to Page 2 of this story    Return to Page 1 of this story


 Home  Domain Sales  YTD Sales Charts   Latest News  The Lowdown  Articles  
Legal Matters
  Dear Domey  Letters to Editor  Resources  Classified Ads  Archive  About Us

Hit Counter

Copyright 2007 DNJournal.com - an Internet Edge, Inc. company. 
No material may be copied from this site without expressed written consent.