Interesting story at SearchEnginePeople.com this week about the coming boom in local search on mobile devices. In the piece titled Local Search Predicted to Be Killer App for Mobile Phones author Tom Tsinas wrote "According to a new Juniper Research report, 1.3 billion 

mobile users are expected to use local mobile search services by 2013. While the trends bode well for for the mobile search industry (agencies and marketers alike) the report goes on to caution that these numbers are based on a good user experience. Mobile devices however appear to be catching up to user expectations with the iPhone getting 50 times the amount of searches than the other leading handsets!"

Since the iPhone (and other products in the pipeline) can deliver readable versions of current websites, this news, from a domain perspective, will probably further fuel the debate over how much need or demand there will be for the scaled down websites prescribed for developers in the .mobi extension aimed at mobile devices.

In any case, the Juniper report said that local search is expected to account for 43% of cumulative mobile search advertising revenues between 2008 and 2013, reaching total revenues of $4.8 billion by 2013. User response rates to advertising which supports mobile local search are expected to be significantly higher than for advertising on general mobile web search.
(Posted May 8, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/05-08-08.htm

You've got to hand it to Skip Hoagland and Steve Morales. Less than two weeks after they announced their ambitious Simply Geo LLC partnership, they've already rolled out one of their 

first major projects, a new social networking site for geodomainers at...where else... GeoDomainer.com (these guys don't scrimp when it comes to domain names either). They also have GeoDomains.com which is slated to become the new home for the SimplyGeo.com blog.

In the largest .ca (Canadian country code) sale on record, Ogopogo Media Inc. announced today that it has acquired the domain name Jobs.ca from Domed Technologies, Inc. of Montreal for $600,000 (USD). Ogopogo Media executives said the company will develop Jobs.ca as the core property of a planned job network, which will include JobSearch.ca and Resumes.ca that will cover all the needs of both job seekers and employers.  

Ogopogo CEO and co-founder Robert Montgomery said  “Jobs.ca is unquestionably the most intuitive, typed-in domain name for Canadian job seekers. It gives us a huge competitive advantage to hitch our brand to the domain name that defines the industry and the marketplace." Montgomery said Jobs.ca routinely receives thousands of valuable type-in visitors each day. 

Ogopogo President Shaun Pilfold added “Our first order of business was to 

Ogopogo CEO Robert Montgomery (left) 
and President Shaun Pilfold

search for a seasoned Job Board  professional to lead our entry into the Canadian job services marketplace. To that end, Mark Huttram, former VP of Sales and Customer Satisfaction at Monster.ca, will lead the team. In the coming months, Jobs.ca will be searching for other key staff experienced in the online job segment, including sales and customer service.
(Posted May 6, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/05-06-08-3.htm

As our Sunday night bulletin told you to expect, Thought Convergence officially announced the acquisition of Name Intelligence, Inc. this morning. Thought Convergence, a privately held company based in Los Angeles, thus combines its popular domain industry services and 

technologies, including TrafficZ,  LeaseThis.com and Idea.Net, with Name Intelligence staples DomainTools.com and the Domain Roundtable conference. Thought Convergence officials said the acquisition paves the way for them to realize their vision of a unified Domain Ecosystem.  

“We are proud to welcome Jay Westerdal, Ray Bero and the entire Name Intelligence team into the Thought Convergence family,” said Kevin Vo, Thought Convergence Founder and Chief Executive Officer.  “The addition of Name Intelligence further strengthens our industry-leading technology platform and lays the groundwork for the continuing expansion of our comprehensive suite of tools and services for domain professionals.”  

In our Lowdown posts May 1 and May 2, as well as in our latest newsletter that went out to email subscribers over the weekend, we talked about how the current downturn in the general economy is affecting the domain business (which is joined at the hip with the Internet advertising business). A major article from Silicon Valley's MercuryNews.com released last 

The general economy may be 
in a downward spiral but the 
Internet economy is still going up.

week is among several recent reports that agree there has been no economic slowdown on the Internet. 

Frank Davies, who is based in Mercury's Washington D.C. bureau, wrote "Internet commerce continues its robust growth, defying a sluggish economy that's teetering on recession, Google's chief economist (Hal Varian) and several analysts said Friday (April 25) at a forum on the state of the Internet economy at Google's new Washington office... Ed Garrubbo, chairman of the Electronic Retailing Association, said online sales jumped 17% in the first quarter of this year."  "The lesson here is that the economic slowdown is not an Internet slowdown," Varian said. 

Davies went on to write "Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-partisan tech think tank, predicted continued growth for online commerce as high-speed connections increase and "the core technologies are becoming faster and cheaper." "The absolute growth has been steady now for several years. The Internet economy is almost counter-recessional," Atkinson said. He added that comparisons with past slowdowns are difficult because this is the first downturn in which online commerce has played such a big role." 
(Posted May 5, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/05-05-08.htm

Recession? Not in the Ad Biz - that's the headline of a story I just came across at Conde Nast's Porfolio.com, that reinforces what we reported yesterday about a Forrester Research study showing that the online advertising business continues to hold its own despite disruptions in the general economy. Author Willow Duttge wrote "Sure, the U.S. could be in a recession.

Consumer confidence is declining. Food and gas are so expensive it’s more cost-effective to stay home and diet. But the advertising business (of all things!) is actually benefiting from the painful spectacle of the traditional media landscape fragmenting into shards. The internet is continuing to oust broadcast TV, print, and radio from their once-secure position as the automatic repository for ad dollars, and the complex environment that’s been rattling the advertising and media industries could actually function as an economic buoy during these hard times."

Online advertising continues to 
fly above the economic clouds

Duttge added "Clearly there’s pain; but it’s not being evenly distributed right now" then went on to give examples of the ongoing boom in web advertising. That is the key point - even in hard times there are sectors that do well and we happen to be fortunate enough to be in one that is positioned much better than others. It is easy to get caught up in all of the despair and predictions of doom that are heard every time the general economy heads into a downturn, but those who are old enough to have lived through these cycles many times before know that things will rebound and that there are always opportunities if you know where to look for them. We think those who are looking at the Internet (and the long term value of domains) right now are looking in the right place. 
(Posted May 2, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/05-02-08.htm

With the general economy continuing its downward spiral those who are fortunate enough to be in healthy industries (as we are with domains) are keeping an eye out for any signs that our business will be severely impacted by the malaise on Main Street. Of course, online advertising is the primary driver of the Internet economy. Many domain owners depend on it for pay per click revenue and those who have developed websites on their domains depend on it for revenue collected directly from advertisers (or through monetization programs for publishers like 

Google AdSense). So, the continued willingness of advertisers to spend online is crucial to the continued health of our industry. 

That's why it was nice to see a note at Online Media Daily today citing a new report from Forrester Research that found that online advertisers plan to keep spending their money on the web. OMD columnist Mark Walsh wrote "A slumping economy is not curtailing online spending plans, according to a recent study by Forrester Research. The firm found that 72% of 333 interactive marketers surveyed expect to keep their interactive spending on plan or increase it in a recession. Advertisers are especially committed to performance marketing, with more than 80% planning to maintain or increase investments in e-mail and search engine marketing channels." 

Obviously, there are a lot worse places to be than the domain business these days. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference co-founder Rick Schwartz had a lot to say about this topic in the exclusive T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Orlando preview article we just published today. In addition to giving us the inside scoop on the upcoming May 20-24 show at Disney World, Schwartz talked about how the general economy might impact the Moniker live domain auction in Orlando as well as the industry in general. It's very interesting reading from someone who has a good track record for predicting future events in this business.
(Posted May 1, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/05-01-08.htm

Another note from the recently concluded Domain Roundtable conference San Francisco - at a press conference held just before the show opened April 18th, Charleston, South 

Carolina domain investor/developer Stephen Webb announced the launch of a new shopping portal with a charity component at WeAreCity.com. The site, which will serve as the front door to a network of more than 125 related sites, has color coded districts for Shopping, Travel, Entertainment, and Health and Beauty. Webb said that a charitable donation will be made for each purchase made from one of the network's merchants. Those who shop on the site will vote each quarter to choose the charity that will receive that quarter's charitable funding (the first donation is to be made July 1). The current ballot lists the American Cancer Society, Doctors Without Borders and the ASPCA among the organizations shoppers can vote for.

Webb said, “We have been working on this project for almost three years. Our goal has been to enable everyone to give back, no matter how little they have. When I was young,

Stephen Webb (WeAreCity.com) 
at the Domain Roundtable conference
in San Francisco (April 2008)

we would have penny drives in school.  This enabled all the children to be able to participate in raising funds. It gives me great pleasure to say, WeAreCity.com is a penny drive on a global scale.”   
(Posted April 30, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/04-30-08.htm

Several tidbits for you today. In case you missed it when it went up yesterday, our comprehensive review of the Domain Roundtable conference that ended last week in San 

Auctioneer David O'Shaughnessy directing 
last week's Domain Roundtable live auction.

Francisco has been published here. In that article we mentioned a minor flap had developed between organizers of the Roundtable live auction and new appraisal firm DomainConsultant.com who was called on to help select domains for the sale. After the auction concluded with a large drop off in total sales compared to last year's event, DomainConsultant offered their view of what went wrong in an article on their site published April 23. Today they followed up with another article. 

Though the auction didn't go as well as last year (for a number of reasons) there was still a lot to like about the DRT show, including a great venue, strong educational program and excellent networking opportunities. We take you through the conference hour by hour in our exclusive wrap up article.

Following the LH.com fiasco yesterday, it was good to get news today that the British owners of MySpace.co.uk are getting their domain back. Even though they registered the name six years before MySpace.com even existed, Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) took the domain away from them in January. Now, an independent appeals panel has stepped in and reversed that poor DRS decision. 

I have to join the chorus of boos aimed at a UDRP panel's outrageous decision to take a generic two-letter domain, LH.com, away from its rightful owner, Future Media Architects,

and hand it over to Lufthansa Airlines because...well because Lufthansa is a big corporation I guess. There is no logic behind this decision - just further evidence of extreme bias against domain owners in the UDRP process (85% of decisions go against domain owners).

FMA is known for both developing domains and not selling domains they own. They refused to sell to Lufthansa so the airline decided to try a reverse hijacking instead and, at least at the UDRP level,  they succeeded by a 2-1 panel vote. To his credit, one panelist, David Sorkin, showed some common  sense and tried to do the right thing. The good news is Lufthansa hasn't gotten away with this theft yet. FMA

has filed suit against them in a New York federal court and if there is any justice in this world, they will win the suit and keep the domain. It's just a shame they have to spend a massive amount of money to keep what is rightfully theirs but that is the world we live in.
(Posted April 28, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/04-28-08.htm

This has been a very busy week, so apologies in advance for email and phone calls that have not yet been returned. I didn't get back from Domain Roundtable in San Francisco until Tuesday night, then spent Wednesday and part of Thursday getting our weekly domain sales report out. The past 24 hours have been spent clearing away some of the backlog that built up while I was away and starting work on our comprehensive Roundtable wrap up article that we 

expect to publish no later than Monday (my weekend will be spent writing it). I'm going to close the Lowdown week with a variety of items that have came in over the past few days that I haven't been able to get to before now. 

First, congratulations to Steve Morales and Skip Hogland from Simply Geo, LLC who just announced their acquisition of GeoDomain.com and GeoDomains.com. They released their plans for the domains on the SimplyGeo.com blog today. 

Despite that good news, Hoagland's day was marred when he learned that some con artist had placed his Atlanta.com up for auction at Sedo. Hoagland took quick action and had the auction deleted and the offender's account removed at Sedo. He also called on the auction house to more carefully vet the identities of those who sign up to bid on their platform. This is actually a problem across many of the auction venues. Deadbeat bidders and other miscreants slip through the door much too easily and face few if any consequences for their behavior. 

Skip Hoagland
Simply Geo, LLC

The enterprising folks at Pingdom.com just posted an exclusive inside look at Google's domain portfolio that is worth taking a look at. It turns out the search giant owns thousands of

domain names of their own and, if you thought some of your domains were bad, it should make you feel good to learn that a lot of Google's are even worse! Their inventory includes such gems as az-on-url-je.com and 1p0g0og1e.com.

Pingdom neatly breaks highlights from the Google collection into categories including Typos (a la glougle.com), Names Totally Unrelated to Google (i.e. TheSecretOfBurritos.com), Possible New

Services (GoogleAuction.com among others), Possible Offline Services (GoogleGym.com), Potential Merger Partners (GoogleWarnerBros.com) and many others.

Check it out - Pingdom even offers a free Excel file download with the whole list! Might help you while away a few hours the next time you are stuck at the airport waiting for a delayed flight!
(Posted April 24, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/04-24-08.htm

Domain Strategies, a Monster Venture Partners company that partners with domain owners, entrepreneurs and capital investors to develop high quality domain names has named three key

executives to new positions on their management team. Scott Fasser moves up to President and Chief Operating Officer and Natalie Grinblatt replaces him as EVP of Corporate Development. The company owns or manages thousands of domain names and recently acquired Wifi.com, with John Maffei selected as CEO of Wifi.com. Other names that Domain Strategies is building into successful businesses include HealthCare.com, Patents.com and Alerts.com.

I met Scott Fasser at the Domain Roundtable conference in San Francisco this past weekend. He has over 16 years experience in building successful businesses. Prior to joining Domain Strategies, Fasser led the development of the paid search and SEO programs for RealNetworks through his consulting company, Brand Digital, and is considered an authority on SEM, website development & optimization, 

Scott Fasser, Domain Strategies President and COO at the Domain Roundtable conference last weekend
in San Francisco.

traffic acquisition, customer retention and developer relations. Scott received his MBA from the University of Washington and BA from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas .

Mr. Fasser and John Maffei will be based in the company’s Bellevue, Washington offices while Ms. Grinblatt will initially be located in Phoenix, co-located with IDN Options, a company she co-founded that gained Monster Venture Partners backing earlier this year. IDNoptions has one of the worlds largest IDN portfolios and is involved with IDN consulting and IDN business development. Grinblatt has both her MBA and BA from the University of Michigan .
(Posted April 23, 2008) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL:
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/04-23-08.htm

I'll by flying all day tomorrow (en route to the Domain Roundtable conference in San Francisco) so there won't be a Lowdown post Friday. However, starting Saturday I will post a daily item from the show at the Palace Hotel. The event runs through Monday with a big live auction scheduled for the closing day. 

Soon after Roundtable ends, the spotlight shifts to London where the UK's largest web related conference, Internet World will be held April 29 - May 1. The domain business will be represented there by Sedo, Nominet and Edwin Hayward's MemorableDomains.co.uk. Hayward, who has one of the best .co.uk portfolios, plans to put 2,000 of them up for sale at Internet World, including such gems as Britain.co.uk, SearchEngine.co.uk and Maps.co.uk.

Earl's Court - London
Site of the Internet World show starting Apr. 29

In a press release issued today Hayward said "A generic domain name is an investment that can bring more online visits, leads and sales by driving recognition and recall of a company's web address, building credibility and market presence, improving website usability and lifting the results of search promotions." If you're going to the show you can visit Hayward at Stand E277 in the Earl's Court exhibition hall. 

Elsewhere, Sedo's latest monthly GreatDomains.com