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Here's
the The Lowdown from
DN Journal,
updated daily to fill you in on the
latest buzz going around the domain name
industry.
The Lowdown is
compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron
Jackson. |
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Photos
& Highlights from NamesCon Europe 2019's
Show Closing Beach Party in Portugal
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The
2019 NamesCon
Europe conference
finished its 3-day run
Saturday (June 22) with a closing
day Beach Party in scenic
Cascais,
Portugal (you can see
photos and highlights from
Thursday's opening day here
and the ones from day 2 Friday here).
The
11th annual event attracted 160
industry leaders, service providers
and domain investor/developers from
throughout Europe, as well as
others who made the trip from the
U.S., Australia, India
and a variety of other countries
from around the world.
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The
day long Beach Party centered
around surfing with many
guests getting their first opportunity
to try the sport after taking a
class led by two of Portugal's top pro
surfers. (All photos in this
article are courtesy of NamesCon
Europe).
Above:
(Left to right) Pro surfer Alex
Unwin (Moana Surf School), NamesCon President and
CEO Soeren von Varchmin and
Pro surfer Andrew Cotton at
the NamesCon Europe Beach Party
Saturday in Cascais, Portugal. Below:
Unwin and and de Macedoa conducted a
Surf Class so NamesCon guests
could get some basic tips before
heading into the Atlantic Ocean.
Above:
Internet
Commerce Association
Executive Director Kamila
Sekiewicz getting warmed up
before testing her newly acquired
surfing knowledge in the Atlantic
Ocean. Below:
School is out! Time to pick up a
board and catch a wave!
While
domain people are experts at surfing
the web I have to admit I was
expecting to see a lot of wipe
outs when our friends tried
riding real waves. Instead, a
lot of them looked just as
comfortable surfing in the real
world as they do in the virtual one.
That is conference moderator Braden
Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing.com)
looking good above - but then Braden
is from California so he
probably should be disqualified! And
Giuseppe Graziano (below),
founder of the GGRG.com brokerage,
is from Lisbon, just down the
beach from from Cascais, so he was
probably no stranger to a surfboard
either.
Above:
Morgan Linton (MorganLinton.com)
is also a California resident but I
would not DQ him because he took on
an added degree of difficulty,
shooting a video of himself while
surfing! That is Ray King
(CEO at Top Level Design) looking on
in amazement. Below:
Pro surfers Alex Unwin and Andrew
Cotton like what they are
seeing from their students so far!
Above:
Now, I am not going to try to tell
you that nobody wiped out, but the
way Mark Ghoriafi (.GLOBAL
Marketing Manager) did it, I think
you have to give him a 10 for
the unique dismount (or maybe
that only applies in
gymnastics)! Below:
Yow know the old saying - if at
first you don't succeed, try
again. Well, I think Mark may
have been the guy who came up with
that line. He will keep trying until
he gets the job done and he did that
again Saturday.
Above:
Of course, you didn't have to go
surfing. Many were content to watch
the action while hanging out on the
beach with a cold drink and friends.
Case in point (left to right): Jeff
Gabriel (Uniregistry), Alan
Dunn (NameCorp.com) and Elliot
Silver (DomainInvesting.com). Below:
Meanwhile, back out on the water Kamila
Sekiewicz proved that pre-game
stretching routine paid off in the
ocean!
Above:
Paul Nicks (VP & GM of
the GoDaddy Aftermarket) had a big
week. A couple of days before NamesCon
Europe began his company helped
close the
highest reported all cash domain
sale ever made with Voice.com
at $30 million. When the
weekend arrived Paul was still
flying high - this time on a
surfboard in the Atlantic off the
coast of Portugal. Below:
Like Nicks, Michael Cyger (DNAcademy.com)
came over to Cascais from the U.S.
Michael was so steady on
the board it looked like he could
ride it all the way back home to
Seattle!
Above:
.GLOBAL Registry Founder Rolf
Larsen looked like he was
conducting an orchestra while
surfing Saturday, but we learned today
that Rolf had just orchestrated a
sale
of the .GLOBAL registry
to Afilias,
who has been proving the registry's
backend services! No wonder he was
hitting so many high notes
Saturday!
Above:
By the end of the day only a handful
of survivors were still standing
(with the others presumably carried
away on the outgoing tide). Left to
right are Morgan Linton, Christa
Taylor (dotTBA), Ray King,
Michael Cyger and Rolf
Larsen. Below:
OK, so we made up the the washed out
to sea part - everyone made it back
healthy and happy (they just
came ashore in groups of various
sizes, just like the waves they had
spent the day riding).
If
you haven't been to a domain conference
before you may wonder what surfing
and a day at the beach has to do
with domaining. It is all
about building long term
relationships and outings like
this have proven to one of the best
possible ways to do that. Many
will tell you those relationships
(that often blossom into personal friendships)
have been the most important
thing they have gained from taking
these opportunities to meet
colleagues from around the world
face to face and spend time with
them in both business and social
settings. NamesCon
will provide another opportunity to
do that with their marquee NamesCon
Global event in Austin,
Texas January 26-29. 2020. They
have also already announced the
location for next year's edition of NamesCon
Europe. It will be in Budapest,
Hungary (exact dates still to be
set) with Rome to follow in
2021 and Cologne, Germany
in 2022.
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Photos
& Highlights from Day 2 of the 2019 NamesCon
Europe Conference in Cascais, Portugal
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The
2019 NamesCon
Europe conference
continued Friday (June 21) at Portugal's
historic Pestana
Cidadela Cascais hotel in
the beautiful waterfront
resort town just north of Lisbon
(you can see photos and highlights
from Thursday's opening day here).
The 11th annual event, that
concludes with an all day Beach
Party Saturday), has attracted 160
industry leaders, service providers
and domain investor/developers from
throughout Europe, as well as
several who made the trip from the
U.S. and other points around the
globe.
This show,
originally known as
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Domaining
Europe, was founded by Dietmar
Stefitz, who turned the
reins over to NamesCon after
co-producing last year's 10th
anniversary event with them. Here
are some photos and highlights from
the second day of the 2019
conference Friday (photos are courtesy of NamesCon
Europe except the evening cruise
shots at the end that are credited
to their contributors):
Above:
Day 2 Friday began with what had to
be a first for any domain
conference - A conversation
conducted by NamesCon President and
CEO Soeren von Varchmin with Pro Surfers
(left to right) Andrew Cotton, Joćo de Macedoa
and Alex Unwin, titled At One with the Forces of
Nature. Cascais is a center
of surfing culture in Portugal and
NamesCon always tries to give
attendees some of the rich flavor of
the unique cities that the show
visits. Attendees could take what
they learned from the pros Friday
and apply their tips in an actual
Surf Class that is part of the
agenda for Saturday's conference
closing Beach Party.
Above:
It was back to domains at 11:50am
when Morgan
Linton took the stage to
provide advice on Using Tools to
Better Track Your Domain Sales
Funnel. Below:
Next up, Pavel Ciocan, Head
of Development at Internet.bs,
drew a crowd to his session on Making
Domains Simple Again - a practical
demonstration of unique solutions to
managing large portfolios of domain
names.
Above:
In the last session before the
afternoon lunch break, another
popular Domain Sherpa Review
gave attendees insight into the key
elements that make specific domain
names valuable. This session
featured experts (left to right): Tess
Diaz (Domain Sherpa), Monte
Cahn (RightOfTheDot.com) and
broker Andrew Rosener (MediaOptions.com).
Above:
A look at one corner of the Exhibit/Lunch
area before attendees started
streaming in for the Friday
afternoon lunch break. It was also a
popular spot for one on one
meetings when the rest of the crowd
was in the adjacent Session Room
listening to speakers. Below:
Top Level Design CEO Ray
King (at right) chatting with a
friend in the Exhibit area Friday.
Above:
Back in the Session Room at 2:30pm,
a panel discussion got underway
called No Exit: How to Maximize your Portfolios Value Without Selling.
The panelists examined ways to
determine if your domains could be
more valuable to you as a source of
recurring revenue rather than assets
to be be sold off. This discussion
featured (left to right): Moderator Braden
Pollock, Dave Roberts (ProtectedParking.com),
David Warmuz (President and CEO,
Trellian/Above.com), James Tuplin
(Director of Business Development,
Bodis.co) and Yancy Naughton (Founder
at HasTraffic.com).
Above
& Below: After the afternoon
coffee break, the final business
session of NamesCon Europe 2019
brought everyone back to the Session
Hall to hear about Navigating Appraised Value vs. Market Value of Your Domain.
The experts detailed the difference
between your appraised value and the
actual market value of a domain,
helping you sharpen your
expectations if you decide to sell.
This session featured (left to right
above): veteran domain
entrepreneur/investor Ammar Kubba,
Joe Styler (GoDaddy), Andrew
Rosener (MediaOptions.com), Morgan
Linton and moderator Braden
Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing.com).
When they were done it was time to
toast a job well done and the
conclusion of the business portion
of this year's show.
Above:
NamesCon President Soeren von
Varchmin and Founder Dietmar
Stefitz took the stage for some closing
comments and to break some news.
Soeren revealed that locations have
already been chosen for the next
three editions of NamesCon Europe.
The show will go to Budapest in
2020, on to Rome in 2021
and Cologne in 2022. I like
those choices and am already making
plans for Budapest, with a pre or
post show side trip to Prague (a
short flight from Budapest, but I
will probably take the train as I
love rail travel in Europe).
Above:
While the business sessions were
done the the show was far from
over. Now the focus would be
entirely on social events starting
with an evening sailboat cruise
Friday sponsored by Lisbon-based
brokerage GGRG.com.
This vessel took guests along the Atlantic
Ocean shoreline that attracts so
many people to this part of Portugal.
(Photo courtesy of Mark Ghoriafi). Below:
LegalBrandMarketing.com Founder and
NamesCon Europe Moderator Braden
Pollock and his wife Lisa
Bloom staked out a prime spot to
enjoy the Friday evening cruise.
(Photo from Braden's Facebook page).
Above:
A view of the Cascais shoreline
from the GGRG.com saiboat. Below:
.GLOBAL Registry CEO & Founder Rolf
Larsen (left) and .GLOBAL
Marketing Manager Mark Ghoriafi on
deck. Thanks to Mark for these two
shots!
With
Day 2 in the books there was
still one day left to go at NamesCon Europe 2019
- one that would be dedicated to a
day-long Beach Party in Cascais
Saturday. We will wrap up our
conference coverage with some shots
from that event in our next Lowdown
post.
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Photos
& Highlights from Day 1 of the 2019 NamesCon
Europe Conference in Cascais, Portugal
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The
2019 NamesCon
Europe conference got
underway Thursday (June 20) at Portugal's
historic Pestana
Cidadela Cascais hotel,
located in the beautiful waterfront
resort town just north of Lisbon.
The three-day event, that continues
through Saturday, has attracted
industry leaders, service providers
and domain investor/developers from
throughout Europe, as well as
several who made the trip from
overseas.
This is
the 11th annual edition of the show,
originally known as Domaining
Europe, that was founded by Dietmar
Stefitz, who turned the
reins over to
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NamesCon after
co-producing last year's 10th
anniversary event with them. Here
are some photos and highlights from
the opening day the big event (all
[photos are courtesy of NamesCon
Europe):
Above
& below: Opening Day
Thursday
began at 10am when NamesCon
Europe welcomed guests from
around the world to Cascais.
On stage to kick things off (left to
right) were NamesCon President &
CEO Soeren von Varchmin,
conference Founder Deitmar
Stefitz, show moderator Braden
Pollock and Monte Cahn
(President of RightOfTheDot.com
who teamed up with NameJet
to conduct the NamesCon
Europe Live and Online Domain
Auction that would be
the day's final event).
Above:
In the first business session at
10:30am, Karn Jajoo, Senior
Manager at Radix,
delivered a presentation titled Five
Years and Counting. The
title refers to two things - the new
gTLD registry operator's first TLD
entered sunrise five years ago this
month and Karn joined the company at
the same time in June 2014. Jajoo spoke
about things he has learned along
the way, including the peaks and
valleys in a half decade spent
navigating this ever changing but
always fascinating business. Below:
Giuseppe Graziano, CEO and
Founder at brokerage GGRG.com.
was next up at 11am. Giuseppe talked
about Liquid Domains;
Understanding Supply and Demand of
an $8 Billion Market.
Graziano defines liquid domains as
very short .com domains (typically
made up of no more than four letters
or numbers) that are always in
demand. GGRG issues a free
quarterly report on the
latest activity in that segment of
the aftermarket.
Above:
At 11:20am, a wider view of the
domain brokerage business was
provided in a session titled On the Basis of Trust: What to Look For in a Domain Broker.
It featured (left to right) Andrew
Rosener (MediaOptions.com), Alan
Shiflett (GoDaddy), Michael
Gargiulo (VPN.com), Dave
Evanson (Sedo), Monte Cahn
(RightOfTheDot.com) and moderator
Braden Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing).
All of these experts have booked
multiple high end domain sales. Just
this
week, Shiflett's
company, GoDaddy, had a hand in the
biggest cash domain sale ever
reported, Voice.com at $30
million, and Evanson closed the
biggest non .com sale of the year -
Casinos.org at $400,000 -
for Sedo.
Above:
The afternoon sessions began with a
highly anticipated Conversation with a Domain Investing Titan:
Frank Schilling, in which Soeren
von Varchmin interviewed
Schilling, the legendary domain
investor who went on to become
Founder and CEO of Uniregistry.
Schilling was the subject of two
DNJournal Cover Story profiles, the
first in December
2007 and another in November
2012. Below:
During his session, Schilling
fielded questions from the audience.
VPN.com's Michael Gargiulo
was among those who took the
opportunity to get expert advice and
opinions from Frank.
Above:
After a lunch break, it was back to
the Main Hall for a panel discussion
on Dark Horses & Long Shot Opportunities: Where to Invest in Todays nTLD Market
that brought Jeff Sass
(.CLUB), Kathy Nielsen (Neustar),
Rolf Larsen (.GLOBAL) and
Toby Hall (MMX) to the stage. In
this shot Larsen (at left) and Hall
share a laugh with moderator
Braden Pollock (right).
Above:
While the business sessions are
always a source of useful
information, most attendees say networking
is the #1 reason they go to
conferences. NamesCon Europe
makes sure there is plenty of time
for that, including coffee breaks
at mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
During the break just before the
final business session of the day, Internet
Commerce Association
Executive Director Kamila
Sekiewicz (center) catches up with
friends in the courtyard. Below:
At the same time, conference Founder
Dietmar Stefitz (at right), was
clearly fascinated by something .CLUB
Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Sass
was showing him on a mobile device.
Above:
At 3:30pm, in a case of extraordinarily
fortunate timing, NamesCon
Europe was able to bring three GoDaddy
executives to the stage for a
session called Ask Me Anything
About GoDaddys Aftermarket or
Afternic. They were (left to
right) Paul Nicks (VP &
GM of the GoDaddy Aftermarket), Alan
Shiflett (Senior Manager) and
Joe Styler (Senior Manager,
Aftermarket Community). While this
session was already on the agenda,
it took on added importance when,
earlier this week, it was announced
that GoDaddy's Domain Broker
Service was able to help close
the biggest all cash domain sale
ever publicly reported - Voice.com
at $30 million (you can see
our list of the all
time Top 20 reported sales here).
So, that was a topic the audience
obviously wanted to hear more about.
Nicks was happy to address the sale
and Morgan
Linton captured a
five-minute video clip of Paul's
comments you can watch
here.
Above
and below: The opening day at
NamesCon Europe 2019 closed with
the Live and Online Domain
Auction staged by
RightOfTheDot.com and NameJet, with
veteran auctioneer Wayne Wheat
(above) orchestrating the live sale,
as he has done at almost every major
live domain auction in recent years
- a good thing because nobody does it
better. In the shot below Ammar
Kubba falls under Wayne's spell
and places a bid as Dr. Gregg
McNair looks on. While the live
portion of the auction is over (we
haven't yet received a list of
results), the extended
online auction continues
through July 2, 2019 with
nearly 500 premium domain names
still available.
Above
& below: After the Live Auction
ended a Post Auction Reception
was held that stretched well into
the evening. In the top shot we
spotted Sean Stafford (ThreatWave.com)
at left and Trellian/Above.com
President David Warmuz at
right. Next to David is Tess Diaz
from MediaOptions.com/DomainSherpa.com.
Below we have a great photo of Helga
Neumer (left), the Senior
Marketing Manager at NamesCon who
plays a key role in producing all
of the NamesCon events around
the world, and the equally vivacious
Dr. Hani Armstrong, the
Marketing Director at Barefruit.
Above:
So, Day 1 at NamesCon Europe 2019
is now in the books. In one of
the day's many memorable moments,
organizers rounded up a sizeable
group of guests for this class
photo in the courtyard (for a
larger version of the image, click
the photo or this
link). Tomorrow we
expect to have the photos and
highlights from day and night 2 activities
(Friday, June 21). So check back in
with us for that!
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Undeveloped.com
Becomes DAN.COM With Launch of Their New Domain
Automation Network
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Popular
domain marketplace Undeveloped.com
announced a major
transformation today.
The Amsterdam-based company has
adopted a new name - DAN.COM
- to match an innovative new
blockchain-powered Domain
Automation Network (built in
partnership with IBM) that
was also unveiled for the first
time.
Their
press release said, "The Domain Automation
Network solves the most significant problems in the domain industry by creating a
new backend infrastructure to handle both
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...is
now
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simple and complex
domain transactions and
transfers, fully automated and transparently powered by
blockchain. The domain industry nowadays finds itself in a very outdated and inefficient state. It suffers from complicated workarounds which make it inefficient. Usable and available registered domains are hard to find and have become too expensive."
It continued,
"We created a platform where making a change of control and ownership of digital brands
is easier, safer and instant. The use of blockchain technology makes it possible to automate processes required to provide trust-less domain transfers, also referred to as escrow.
Escrow automation also makes it possible to introduce new domain purchase and use models like renting domains, lease to own, fractional domain ownership and domain exchange in a scalable and frictionless way."
The
release also noted, "There are 334 million registered domains, of which
147 million are unused! The average price on the secondary market for a domain is
2,759 ($3,093) which means there are 405 billion
illiquid assets. Time for disruption, and that's what DAN.COM will bring to the
table."
You can
read a more detailed description of
the service in an in-depth
article that the company
published on Medium.com in
conjunction with today's
announcement.
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$30
Million Sale of Voice.com Sets New Record for
Highest Cash Price Paid for a Domain Name
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In
a sale that obliterated
the record for the highest cash
price paid in a publicly
reported domain sale (since we began
tracking the aftermarket in 2003), Voice.com
has changed hands for $30 million.
The news came in a press
release from seller MicroStrategy
Inc., a public company listed on
the NASDAQ (under the symbol MSTR).
The buyer was Block.one,
a company that is using Voice.com
to launch its new blockchain-based
social media platform called
Voice.
The
press release noted that GoDaddy
"facilitated" the
transaction on May 30, 2019. Paul
Nicks, the VP & GM of the
GoDaddy Aftermarket, noted on
Twitter that the company was paid an
undisclosed
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Image
from Bigstock
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commission
(above and beyond the $30 million)
to help consummate the deal via its Domain
Broker Service. Marge
Breya, Senior Executive Vice
President and Chief Marketing
Officer for MicroStrategy, said,
"Block.one has made a smart
strategic decision in choosing
Voice.com to be the internet domain
name for its new social media
platform. The word voice is
simple and universally understood.
Its also ubiquitous ― as a
search term, it returns billions of
results on the internet. An
ultra-premium domain name like
Voice.com can help a company achieve
instant brand recognition, ignite a
business, and massively accelerate
value creation." MicroStrategy
also noted it owns a portfolio with
many other top tier one-word .com
domains, including Alert.com,
Hope.com, Strategy.com, Speaker.com
and Glory.com, to name just a few. Prior
to the Voice.com sale, the highest
verified all cash domain sale we
have seen was Sex.com at $13
million in 2010.
We have seen other sources list
sales of developed online businesses
(like Insurance.com and
CarInsurance.com) or domains paid
for with stock (that in some cases
was worthless or close to it) or
cash/stock combinations (like
PrivateJet.com) as cash "domain
sales." Wikipedia's list of top
"domain" sales is full of
this kind of misinformation that
unfortunately keeps getting repeated
across the web. We maintain a list
of the top
20 verified cash domain sales
made since we began our weekly
domain sales reports in
2003.
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NamesCon
Global Announces Dates and Opens
Registration for 2020 Show in Austin,
Texas
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At
this year's NamesCon
Global
conference (in Las
Vegas last January),
conference organizers
announced the big event
would be moving to
Austin, Texas
next year with the dates
and venue to be
announced. Today
NamesCon filled in the
blanks, announcing that
the conference will be
held January 26-29,
2020 and based at
the Capital
Factory in
downtown Austin.
Adjacent sites, located
within a five-minute
walk, will also be
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utilized
for various conference
activities like keynote
addresses and the live
domain auction. An
official show hotel has
not yet been named but
there are many to choose
from in the immediate
area around the Capital
Factory, a very popular
location for tech
conferences of this
kind.
In
conjunction with the
move to Austin NamesCon
is also adopting a new
tagline - The Domain
Economic Forum - to
emphasis this is will be
a domain-focused
conference highlighting
the economy that is
built around domain
names and serving as an
invitation for the
domain industrys main
players to re-establish
themselves in the
context of a larger tech
sphere. The
announcement noted,
"Together we'll
make the most of the
entrepreneurial and
creative elements of
this tech-forward city.
Through industry-leader
keynotes, expert panels,
hands-on workshops, and
a live domain auction,
you'll come face to face
with the entire
ecosystem of the
domain-name economy like
never before."
A
view of Austin, Texas
from the NamesCon Global
website. The conference
will get
a major makeover when it
is staged in Texas's
lively capital city next
January.
NamesCon
Global 2020 also just
opened the doors for registration.
They are offering early-bird
tickets for $349.
The price is scheduled
to go up to $499 on July
31.
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PIR
Announces New .ORG Impact Awards to
Recognize Achievements in the .ORG
Community
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The Public
Interest Registry,
the nonprofit manager of the .ORG domain, has
launched The
.ORG Impact Awards,
a new program designed
to recognize .ORG domain
name owners who are
using the Internet to empower
change around the
world. From individuals
to large corporations,
and small community
groups to multinational
NGOs, purpose-driven
achievements from
members of the .ORG
community will be
honored through this
inaugural program.
Nominations
are now being accepted
from nonprofits,
corporations, community
groups and members and
will remain open
through Friday,
July 12, 2019.
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Nominations
Open
Through July 12, 2019
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The
PIR announcement noted
that "unlike other
industry award programs,
The .ORG Impact Awards
does not seek to profit
from submissions. In
fact, winning
individuals and
organizations will
receive up to $5,000
in a monetary
contribution to the
nonprofit of their
choice, and finalists
will receive two
complimentary
invitations to attend
The .ORG
Impact Awards Ceremony
at The Watergate
Hotel in Washington,
D.C. on October
10, 2019 where
winners will be
announced. Finalists in
the Individual
category also will be
offered travel
assistance."
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Achievement
will be
honored in the
following
award
categories:
Individual
Awards
honor the
contribution
of an
individual to
their
organization
or the broader
sector:
-
Innovator
Award
-
Rising
Star Award
-
Outstanding
Volunteer
Sector
Awards
recognize
organizational
and team
accomplishments:
Initiative
Awards
celebrate
achievement in
a specific
online niche
area:
-
Best
Social
Media
Campaign
-
Top
#GivingTuesday
Campaign
-
Outstanding
Online
Fundraising
Campaign
-
Outstanding
Microsite
-
Outstanding
Website
Redesign
-
Best
Integrated
Communications
Campaign
-
Best
Use of
Partnerships/Celebrity
Endorsements
-
Outstanding
Multimedia
Content
-
Outstanding
Community
Relations
Campaign
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PIR
President and
CEO Jon Nevett
said, The
.ORG Impact
Awards is an
opportunity to
convene
organizations
of all
types and
sizes from
around the
world to learn
from each
other,
celebrate each
others
accomplishments
and strengthen
the work being
done through
.ORG to make
the world a
better place.
The
mission-and
affinity-driven
.ORG community
is vast,
diverse and
incredibly
innovative in
how it
harnesses the
power of the
Internet to
improve the
lives of
people near
and far, and
were
thrilled to
shine a
spotlight on
these
accomplishments
to help
strengthen
these stellar
.ORGs for the
future.
All
award entries
must be
submitted
through a form
on The .ORG
Impact
Awards
secure online
platform
and should
highlight
activities
occurring
between June
1, 2018 and
June 1, 2019.
Nominators may
submit to more
than one
category/subcategory,
but each
submission
must be
original. All
submissions
must be in
English and
there is no
cost for
submission.
|
Jon
Nevett
PIR President
& CEO
|
For official
eligibility criteria and
rules of The .ORG
Impact Awards program,
as well as submission
requirements, deadlines
and judging information,
please visit https://orgimpactawards.org/.
|
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Final
Countdown to NamesCon Europe 2019
Underway - Here's What to Expect from
the Big Show in Portugal
|
|
Last
year was
a transitional one
for NamesCon
Europe. It
was the 10th anniversary
edition of a show
originally founded by Dietmar
Stefitz under the
Domaining Europe
banner. Three months
before the 2018 event in
Valencia, Spain
Dietmar decided to turn
the reins to his baby
over to NamesCon
with last year's event
jointly hosted and run
by both the show founder
and the NamesCon
management team.
With
the upcoming 2019
conference (June
20-22 in Cascais,
Portugal, just
outside Lisbon)
being fully produced by
the NamesCon team, we
wondered how it will
both differ and remain
true to the show's
traditions established
over the past decade. To
get the answers we
connected with NamesCon
CEO Soeren von
Varchmin, Senior
Marketing Manager Helga
Neumer and show
founder Dietmar
Stefitz for the
interview below.
Soeren:
The soul of this
European domaining event
remains true to its
origins - a close
gathering of friends and
colleagues in a
beautiful place to make
connections and share
knowledge. Were
adding some new elements
this time to mix it up a
bit, so you will be able
to learn new things and
then use them right
away!
|
Clockwise
from top: NamesCon CEO Soeren
von Varchmin, Senior
Marketing Manager Helga
Neumer and show
Founder Dietmar
Stefitz.
|
|
Founder
Dietmar Stefitz will
return to this year's
event but it will be in
a much less taxing role
this time around.
Dietmar:
I
will be in Cascais as an
Ambassador for
the event. For me the
event is usually the end
of all the work that has
to be done to produce a
conference. It all
starts a minimum of six
to nine months
earlier, with looking
for the venue, lining up
speakers and sponsors
and getting ready to
welcome guests. This
year I had an easy
task as all the work
has been done by the
team at NamesCon,
especially from Helga
Neumer, who took
over the event
organization, backed by
a crew of over 20 people
.
Helga
has never been one to
complain about her
workload, in fact the
first thing she wanted
to talked about was a
new experience guests
can look forward to in
Cascais that will be fun
as well as
informative.
Helga:
This is the first time
that NamesCon Europe
will feature surfing.
Nobody says surfing
the net anymore, but
we can do it with real
boards in Cascais.
DNJournal:
When it comes to
changes, one of the
obvious and most
exciting ones will be
having the conference
staged in the Lisbon
area for the first time.
In addition to being one
of the fastest rising
tech centers in the
world, Lisbon and the
region around it is
consistently citied by
the leading travel
magazines as one of the
10 most beautiful
places in the world to
visit. Tell us about
your decision to select
that area, and your
specific resort location
in Cascais, and how you
think that will impact
the conference
experience for NamesCon
Europe 2019 attendees?
|
Helga
Neumer
|
Helga:
We wanted a
location that
people would
really want to
visit, but
also a place
thats easy
to get to.
Lisbon is one
of the most
popular
destinations
in the world
right now.
Besides being
the home of Web
Summit and
the new home
of so many
tech
professionals,
and I guess Madonna,
its just
such a hot
place to be
right now. The
energy is
amazing!
Cascais is
only half an
hour from
Lisbon on the
train, but it
feels like
another world!
The beautiful
landscape and
ocean are
peaceful and
relaxing, and
we found that
the setting
really helped
us focus.
Attendees will
have the same
experience.
The
Cidadela
Pestana
Cascais is
different from
any other
venue weve
seen. Its a
beautiful
little world
inside the
walls of an
ancient fort,
and its
only a few
meters from
the seaside.
You wont
want to leave!
|
DNJournal:
You have once again put
together a diverse agenda
filled with expert
speakers and panel
discussions. Tell us
about some of the topics
chosen and why you are
putting them front and
center at NamesCon
Europe this year?
|
Soeren:
This time,
NamesCon
Europe is
totally
investor-focused.
We wanted to
send a really
clear message
that this
event isnt
just about the
C-Suites of
service
providers, but
rather it
welcomes the
domain
investors who
make this
whole
ecosystem
work. So we
chose topics
for our expert
panels that
would be of
keen interest
to domain
investors, and
that will
deliver
insights they
can apply
right away. So
anyone who is
serious about
making a
future for
themselves in
this industry
should join
us. Go to
NamesCon.com/europe
and register!
DNJournal:
NamesCon is
the only major
domain
conference
that is still
staging a
live premium
domain auction
and you had a
very
successful one
at this
year's
NamesCon
Global
event in
Las Vegas.
Because they
are major
undertakings,
very few of
the regionally
focused shows
have offered
them but you
are going to
be doing it at
Lisbon. What
are your
|
Soeren
von Varchmin
|
|
expectations going
into the sale
and how can
buyers and
sellers
participate
(will it be
for onsite
bidders only,
or have an
online
component as
well)?
|
Soeren:
There will be an extended
online auction, but
of course the main
action happens live.
This time the list of
names is really tightly
curated, so its
super-premium stuff
only. Names like audio.com,
thriller.com, zlz.com,
and seniordating.com are
available, and quite a
few, like alright.com
and human.info,
have already blown past
their reservesthe
game is in full swing!
Helga:
Live auctions like this
are difficult to
organize, but our
friends at RightOfTheDot
and NameJet
are total pros at this.
The catalog and auction
details can be found here.
|
Surfing
image from Bigstock
|
DNJournal:
It looks like
you are
planning to
take full
advantage of
your beautiful
surroundings
as the entire
closing day on
Saturday, June
22, will
revolve around
a beach party.
Every survey
of conference
attendees has
shown they
consider
networking
opportunities
to be the most
important
reason to
attend events.
That often
happens in the
host hotel's
hallways but
by taking
everyone outdoors
where they can
socialize in a
spectacular
environment
you may be
setting a new
standard. What
led to this
unique way to
wind up the
Lisbon event?
Helga:
When you have
a beautiful
beach right
there, you
have to use
it! The
|
|
beach
party will
also include
surfing, where
well be
joined by professional
surfers to
give us tips.
We tested the
waves already
and theyre
very good for
beginners!
|
Soeren:
Yeah, two of our keynote
speakers are Andrew
Cotton and Joćo
de Macedo, pro
surfers who have ridden
some of the biggest
waves in the world!
These guys are amazing!
Helga:
What makes NamesCon
Europe so cool is that
the networking,
socializing, and
scheduled sessions join
into one another.
You get a lot done, but
it doesnt feel like
work! Why cant every
day be like that?
DNJournal:
Good question! Is there
anything you would like
to add about what's
ahead at NamesCon Europe
2019?
Helga:
Registration is still
open at namescon.com/europe.
Hotels and flights are
still easy to get, too -
you can get a
business-class flight
for as cheap as $2,000.
There are many hotel
options within a few
minutes of walking to
the venue. Pack business
cards, sunscreen, and a
swimsuit. Increasing
your domaining skill set
is about to get a lot
more fun, and were so
happy to be building on
Dietmars fantastic
legacy!
Soeren:
Also, if youre going
to ICANN65 in
Marrakech, there are
several flights a day
between Lisbon and
there. If you join us
for NamesCon Europe
Thursday through
Saturday, there are two
short, direct flights on
Sunday! We cant wait
to see you in Cascais,
and we look forward to
showing you around and
opening this new chapter
in the events
history. Its
history that youre
all helping us write!
|
Dietmar
Stefitz
|
DNJournal:
Speaking of
history, let's
give Dietmar
the last words
as he has
lived the
entire history
of this event,
starting with
its birth in
Valencia,
Spain and
on through
subsequent
stops in The
Hague,
Netherlands and
Berlin,
Germany
that helped
turn it into a
conference
truly designed
to serve the entire
continent.
Dietmar:
When
I handed over
Domaining
Europe to
Soeren to be
NamesCon
Europe, we
agreed that
the event
should be held
every year in
a different
European
country.
Lisbon is the
first step of
this show
tour. Helga
did a great
job in finding
the venue,
which is a 17th-Century
fortress
thats been
converted into
a 5-star
luxury hotel
and arts
district. 2020
will be in
another
European
country, which
could be France,
Italy or
one of the
many European
countries.
Europe is very
different from
the USA, as
every country
has its own
domains (ccTLDs)
which are a
good
combination
with other
domains for
investors. It
is also
|
|
interesting
for investors
to meet
people from
other
countries
every year,
which makes
networking
even more
interesting!
|
DNJournal:
Thank you all for your
time and wishing you and
your
NamesCon Europe all the
best as the show enters
its second decade
this month in beautiful
Cascais, Portugal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Posted
June 6,
2019) To
refer
others
to the
post
above
only (and
not the
full
Lowdown
column) you
can use
this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2019/dailyposts/20190606.htm
|
|
Photos
&
Highlights
From
the
2019
Global
Digital
Summit
in
Xiamen,
China
|
|
China's
2019
Global
Digital
Summit
wrapped
up
over
the
weekend
at
the
Swiss
Hotel
in
Xiamen
(a
city
known
as
the
"domain
capital"
of
China
because
so
many
industry
companies
have
offices
there).
The
event
got
underway
Friday
afternoon
(May
31)
with
informal
networking,
followed
by
an
evening
reception.
International
domain
broker
George
Hong
of
Guta.com
(who
has
offices
in
both
Xiamen
and
the
U.S.)
|
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spoke
at
the
conference
and
he
was
kind
enough
to
send
us
some
photos
and
highlights
from
the
show,
assembled
by
talented
members
of
the
Guta
staff,
to
share
with
you.
Above
&
below:
Global
Domain
Summit
organizers
welcoming
domain
industry
guests
from
around
the
world
to
the
first
day
of
business
at
the
big
event
Saturday
morning
(June
1,
2019)
in
Xiamen.
Above:
The
first
order
of
business
was
a
comprehensive
Industry
Report
delivered
by
Feng
Guo
from
MIIT/ICANN
GAC.
Below:
Right
after
Feng's
talk,
Jian
Zhang
from
Baidu
Cloud
took
the
stage
to
provide
advice
on
the
intelligent
upgrading
of
enterprises
in
a
presentation
labeled
ABC
3.0.
Above:
The
Saturday
morning
sessions
continued
with
Google's
Yong
Bai
providing
insight
into
the
Intelligent
Age
of
Digital
Marketing.
Above:
In
the
final
morning
session
Saturday,
Jianou
Yan,
the
Chairman
and
CEO
of
Bizcn,
the
organizer
of
Global
Digital
Summit,
hosted
a
Forum
that
covered
Integration
&
Promotion
of
Domain
Names,
Cloud
Computing,
Cross-Border
E-commerce
Industry.
Below:
The
experts
on
stage
for
that
panel
discussion
were
(left
to
right):
Jianou
Yan,
Yitan
Yan
(Baidu
Cloud),
Shuo
Wang
(Centralnic)
and
Emma
(Socilink).
Above
&
below:
The
lunch
break
provided
attendees
with
an
opportunity
to
spend
some
extra
time
in
the
Exhibit
Hall.
June
1st
was
Children's
Day
in
China
so
several
attendees
brought
their
kids
along
so
they
could
have
a
great
time
together.
Above:
After
fueling
up
on
the
treats
in
the
Exhibit
Hall,
GDS
guests
were
ready
to
head
back
to
the
Main
Hall
for
the
afternoon
sessions
Saturday.
Below:
Those
included
a
well
received
talk
on
Diversified
Development
of
Global
Domain
Name
Investment
from
by
Matt
Overman,
Senior
VP
at
Donuts
Inc.,
who
came
over
from
the
U.S.
to
address
GDS
guests.
Above:
In
another
popular
Saturday
afternoon
session,
Guta.com
Founder
&
CEO
George
Hong
was
one
of
five
experts
on
stage
for
a
Forum
on
Trading
Trends
Shared
by
Global
Domain
Trading
Platforms.
Below:
That
expert
panel
included
(left
to
right):
George
Hong,
Jim
Wang
(Godaddy),
Yiming
Yang
(Sedo),
Jun
Yang
(West.cn)
and
Edmon
Chung
(.asia).
The
questions
the
panelists
tackled
at
this
session
included:
-
Compared
with
2018,
has
the
domain
name
trading
market
of
2019
had
any
obvious
changes?
What
are
the
main
causes
of
these
changes?
-
In
what
aspects
can
global
domain
trading
platforms
have
better
cooperation
and
communication?
Will
the
trade
friction
between
China
and
the
US
affect
the
domain
name
industry?
-
What
challenges
or
opportunities
do
guests
see
in
the
business
development
of
their
respective
companies?
The
forecast
for
domain
name
market
trends
in
the
second
half
of
2019?
Above
&
below:
Global
Domain
Summit
organizers
want
their
show
to
be
fun
and
entertaining,
as
well
as
informative.
One
way
they
did
that
was
by
holding
a
Lucky
Drawing
periodically
between
sessions
Saturday
afternoon.
Several
fortunate
guests
took
home
some
nice
prizes
to
go
along
with
their
memories
of
the
2019
event.
Above:
The
annual
Industry
Awards
ceremony
is
also
a
big
part
of
the
Global
Digital
Summit.
In
one
of
the
final
sessions
of
the
2019
event
a
coveted
set
of
awards
for
the
year's
Most
Popular
Overseas
Domain
Name
Service
Platforms
went
to
Godaddy,
Sedo,
Afilias,
Webnic
and
Guta.com.
Company
representatives
were
on
hand
to
accept
their
awards.
Below:
With
another
successful
event
in
the
books,
it
was
time
for
the
Closing
Ceremony
at
Global
Digital
Summit.
While
this
marked
the
end
of
official
business,
there
was
still
more
to
come
on
the
social
side
as
you
will
see
in
the
closing
photos.
Above
&
two
photos
below:
Scenes
from
the
VIP
Guests
Dinner
and
Show
that
was
held
Saturday
night
(June
1)
to
celebrate
another
successful
year
for
Global
Digital
Summit
and
their
attendees.
Again
our
thanks
to
the
Guta.com
team
who
provided
all
of
the
great
photos
in
this
article
-
and
congratulations
to
Global
Domain
Summit
on
presenting
yet
another
world
class
event.
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you've been out of the loop lately, catch up in the Lowdown
Archive!
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Lowdown, so please email editor@dnjournal.com
with any interesting information you might have. If possible,
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