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Sunny
Days for GeoDomains: Our Comprehensive Review of the 2009 GeoDomain Expo in San
Diego |
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By Ron Jackson
Talk about pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
The annual GeoDomain Expo, staged by Associated Cities, has a
history of presenting exceptionally high value events despite charging the
lowest registration fee of any major domain industry conference. Even so, it
looked like it would take a miracle to maintain their lofty standards at the
2009 show that was held at the scenic Catamaran Resort in San Diego
April 23-25.
As we reported in mid March, a disagreement
among AC board members on the future mission and structure of the organization
took the group's focus off their showcase conference and some favored canceling
as a result. The debate didn't end until March 16, so once the green light was
on for good, AC leaders were left with just five weeks to put the Expo together.
In a testament to their entrepreneurial skills they not only did it, they did it
exceptionally well, not only living up to their previous standards but
setting a few new ones along the way.
Click Here for Full Story |
The
Catamaran Resort in
in San Diego, site of the
2009 GeoDomain Expo |
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Big Show on the Bayou: The Debut Edition of Domainer Mardi Gras Lets the Good Times Roll |
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By Ron Jackson
Over the past couple of years if someone mentioned to me that they were thinking of starting a new domain conference I would tell them, "think of something else!" The conference calendar is already bursting at the seams and the existing players are tough competitors who have kept people coming back by consistently exceeding their expectations. With only so many dollars to go around, any newcomer is bound to have a hard time attracting registrants when there is already such a wealth of proven options out there.
Having said that, when the folks at Modern Domainer Magazine and their sister company, Parked.com, told me last year that they were going to put on a new show during the world famous Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans I immediately said, "count me in!" Why? Did I mention Mardi Gras? Did I mention New Orleans? 'Nuff said. I knew that if any new conference had a chance to get a toehold at this late stage of the game, it would be this one. Over three days from February 19-21 in the Big Easy the DMG team came through with flying colors. Click Here for Full Story |
From their balcony perch above Bourbon Street, Domainer
Mardi Gras attendees survey the raucous scene below. |
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Triumph
in Tinseltown: DOMAINfest Global 2009 Raises the Conference Bar
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By Ron
Jackson
As soon as you arrived at the
registration desk for DOMAINfest Global 2009 and pulled the
conference program out of the welcome bag, you knew the show
organizers, Oversee.net,
were sparing no expense to set new standards with this event.
The ultra high quality conference guide, complete with fold-out
maps, stunning color photos and neatly tabbed sections probably cost
more than some smaller shows spend to stage their entire event.
This may seem like a small thing, but it sent an immediate message
that this would be no ordinary conference and indeed it was
not.
Everything from having Apple Computer's
co-founder as the keynote speaker to taking over the famous Playboy
Mansion for the closing night party drove the point home - a
world class red carpet had been rolled out and registrants were
going to be treated like stars.
The venue was certainly right for it. For the
third year in a row DOMAINfest Global was staged at the Renaissance
Hotel which is part of the Hollywood & Highland
complex in Hollywood, California where the Oscars are
handed out each year in the adjacent Kodak Theater.
Click Here for Full
Story
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Official
program from the
2009 DOMAINfest
Global Conference
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Fabulous
Affair: Australia's T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under Conference
Enchants Attendees With Fun, Freshness and Flair
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By Ron
Jackson
Domain owners from around the world converged
on Australia's scenic Gold Coast November 17-21
for the first T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
conference ever held outside the United States. T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
Down Under was ably staged by Brisbane based Fabulous.com
under a licensing arrangement with T.R.A.F.F.I.C. co-founder Rick
Schwartz and Howard Neu.
Fabulous began promoting the show a year ago
and they have worked non-stop on the project ever since, never letting up until the last
attendee was headed back home. Throughout the process they promised
to produce a world class event that would be worth the trip from
anywhere on earth. They set a high bar for themselves but
still managed to clear it with ease.
Click Here for Full
Story
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Fabulous.com
Business Development Director Michael Robertson &
friend welcomed domainers to Australia.
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David
Beats Goliath (Again): How The Author of "The Domain Game"
Overcame Some BIG Obstacles and Got His Landmark Book Into Print
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By Ron
Jackson
David Kesmodel's new book, The
Domain Game, is a fascinating read that anyone who loves
domains is sure to enjoy. Kesmodel, who writes for the online
edition of The Wall Street Journal, worked 18 hours a
day, seven days a week, to get his ambitious project done. The end
result is an essential reference for anyone who wants to
learn about the domain business, its history and the key players who
have shaped this unique industry.
While you have probably heard about the book, you haven't heard
about the obstacles Kesmodel had to overcome to get this important
story into print. In an in-depth interview with DN Journal,
Kesmodel tels us how he managed to keep the book alive after the original publisher pulled out, what he would do differently if he had a second chance and what the domain industry could do to clean up its image. In short, here is
our inside story of how Kesmodel produced his inside story of the domain industry:
Click Here for Full
Story
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David
Kesmodel, Author
of The Domain Game
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Has
Sendori Discovered a Cure for the PPC Blues? New Monetization Model
Gives Domain Owners a Direct Connection to Top Advertisers
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By Ron
Jackson
It's no secret that domain owners have been watching their
pay per click (PPC) revenue sink for more than a year now. Many are
reporting drops that range from 30%-50%. That is a bitter
pill to swallow, especially at a time when overall online ad
revenues have been rising at a 30% annual clip.
This trend is playing right into the hands of Sunnyvale,
California based Sendori.com.
The two-year-old company has come up with an innovative monetization system that
bypasses Google and Yahoo by allowing advertisers to bid directly
on traffic from high quality domain names. Since the traffic is sent
directly to the advertiser's site, they pay for every
visitor, not just the ones that click through.
Sendori co-founder and CEO Ofer Ronen says their system
can produce considerably more revenue from premium domains than
parking and that their direct advertiser relationships can also lead
to top dollar end user sales. Click Here for Full
Story
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Sendori.com
CEO Ofer Ronen
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GeoDomain Owners Take a Giant Step at the 2008 GeoDomain Expo:
DN Journal's Wall to Wall Review of Show Week in the Windy City
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By Ron
Jackson
The 2008 GeoDomain Expo in Chicago
July 10-12 was a major breakthrough for the geodomain community.
Interest in the geo sector of the domain industry has been steadily
growing since Associated Cities was formed five years ago to
organize city .com domain owners into a group that would share
ideas, cross promote each other's websites and spread the geodomain
gospel.
Associated Cities, which now represents 130
member sites around the world, has been the producer of the annual
Expo. This year they got a powerful partner when The Kelsey Group
signed on to co-promote the event at the W Hotel City Center. Kelsey is
one of the world's leading consultants on local media matters and
since geo is all about local, their alliance with Associated
Cities was a match made in heaven.
Click Here for Full
Story
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Geodomain
owners descended
on Chicago July 10-12 for the
2008 GeoDomain Expo
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Photo
Review of the 2008 DomainerMeeting Conference in Paris, France June
19-20
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By Ron
Jackson
Europe's first DomainerMeeting conference was held in Paris,
France at the Hotel Le Meridien Montparnasse June 19-20.
I was unable to make the trip as my wife had to undergo knee surgery
the day before the event began but I arranged to have show
organizers send us some photos so we could give you an inside look
at the action. A special thank you goes to Xavier Buck and Freddy
Schiwek from EuroDNS.com and Melanie Delannoy
for providing
the pictures.
Click Here for Full
Story
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T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
East 2008 Review: Domainers Fall Under Disney's Spell During
Conference Week in the Magic Kingdom
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By Ron
Jackson
The 2008 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East conference in Orlando May
20-24 was different - and despite all of the past success
this pioneering conference has enjoyed that is exactly what
it needed to be. The formula that T.R.A.F.F.I.C. introduced when
they staged the first major domain show in October 2004 is now being utilized by other promoters and with all
of the competing shows spaced no more than 60 days apart
"conference fatigue" has started to set in. To combat
that, all of the promoters now have to find a way to stand out
from the crowd.
Since they were the guys who started it all, it's not surprising
that T.R.A.F.F.I.C. co-founders Rick Schwartz and Howard
Neu are also the ones who decided to start forging a new path in
Orlando in an effort to get ahead
of the curve. For Schwartz and Neu, the bad news was that attendance
at this show was down considerably from their February
show in Las Vegas. The good news is that many
people who went to Orlando, including me, will tell you that it was
the most enjoyable conference they've ever attended.
Click Here for Full
Story
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Conference
Co-Founders
Rick Schwartz & Howard Neu opened a new playbook
for T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
East 2008
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2008
Domain Roundtable Wrap Up: Networking Opportunities in Stunning San
Francisco Setting Helped This Show Rise Above Auction Woes
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By Ron
Jackson
After spending the first three years of
its life in the Seattle area, where its parent company Name
Intelligence, Inc. is based, the Domain Roundtable
conference pulled up stakes and hit the road for 2008. Show
organizers proved they could travel in style, settling into the
elegant Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco for
their April 18-21 run.
The show was sandwiched in between two other major conferences in
the City by the Bay, AdTech just before and Web 2.0 immediately
after Roundtable. The domain conference pulled some people from each
but that gain was offset by the dates conflicting with the Passover
holiday that kept some domainers of the Jewish faith at home or
resulted in them leaving early for seders (traditional dinners)
Saturday night. The net result was an attendance figure that was
about the same as 2007 but DRT drew a top notch group of
attendees.
Click Here for Full
Story
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The
elegant Palace Hotel in San Francisco provided a
great new setting for Domain
Roundtable 2008
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