WHAT IS A DOMAINER’S RESPONSIBILITY?
June 17th, 2010 Posted in Big Domain Doggies, Domain Appraisals, Frank Schilling, General Domain News, Name Intelligence, Rick Latona, RicksBlog.com, UDRPs/Domain Disputes(Fueled article by Lou Mindar post on Elliotsblog.com) This article was written in the hopes that some unfortunate advice given lately by someone who should know better is not taken to heart by domain investors who may not know better or do know better and need to be reminded.
As a domain investor and consultant, an environmentalist and a businessman who believes in responsible and ethical business practices, I feel the need to write this article. It might be unpopular, but it might also encourage some professional domainers to find the courage to stand up and comment here in support. Let your morals dictate your responses (NOTE: I don’t publish anonymous comments. You can use your handle if I know you and I will publish your remarks.)
A few weeks ago, a successful domain investor known to most domainers wrote an article disparaging domainers buying domains that he labeled “pigeon shit”. I’m not sure how he knows who’s buying what and how he used a scale for measuring domains to be “pigeon shit”, or even which domainers he’s referring to. To me, it seemed odd for someone who’s made millions$$$ in this business (especially as a producer of top-level domain events that many domainers paid to attend) to take the time to write a broad affront to so many domain buyers.
I don’t have to mention his name, but I am worried that hundreds of domainers may buy into his misguided advice, or even worse, the domainer-haters will use his rhetoric to fight against domainers to continue making the domain industry look like a place filled with soul-less opportunists. (Not implying that this domainer has no soul)
This issue has to do with this famous domainer’s claim that there are still “typein” or “PPC” domains to be bought as new registrations (OOTB – “Out Of The Basket”). I agree with him on this point, but where we differ is the type of domains being purchased. This important domainer’s assertions as I perceived them was: “Those who don’t agree with me are buying “pigeon shit” domains,” if I read his blog article correctly. It’s hard to fight against his comments, because he is clearly experienced, successful, and correct in some of his assessments of the financial world, including domain investments.
However, when you read these types of missives from this writer: “Don’t argue against PROOF just to argue! Time to LEARN!”, you have to wonder what the newcomers to the domain investment business are thinking: “Should I speak out? I need to make money, I don’t want to make enemies in this business, maybe I’ll just follow along and agree with this commentary, even though I have some against-the-grain questions.” Then, these new domainers, or even seasoned domainers, may make a mistake that ruins them, as El-Silver points out in one of his latest blog articles.
Many stories and comments regarding “pigeon shit” domains were discussed on this domainer’s blog in the last week or so, and there were unkind references by the blog owner about the “morons” who dared question him. Wow. Okay, I can appreciate his passion. But then this domain celebrity showed us the great domains he bought as OOTB’s for an example of what he was trying to prove regarding new PPC domains. Here’s two of the domains he bought and displayed for us:
BPSPILL[dotcom] and BPOILSLICK[dotcom]. He lists them on his blog, along with the less than $25 revenue he earned in typein traffic from those domains.
Unfortunately for his readers and domainers in general, the domains he purchased and displayed were, in at least 1 – 3 ways, very wrong choices based on simple “Do Not Do” domainer rules:
1) His domains included a clear reference to the trademark of a company “BP” (British Petroleum). This is a big no-no in our industry because we are working extremely hard to avoid being called “cybersquatters” that infringe on any company’s trademark. The stigma from this label is still prevalent, even among experienced internet experts and media tech writers. Additionally, if you are blatant in your domain registrations infringing on some company’s TM, you could be sued for $100k on each count. Ouch.
2) His domains are “time-sensitive”, which means that the domains refer to news which is limited to a certain scope of time that the domain name will be relevant. (Granted, this oil spill is the worst in history, and will be talked about for decades, if not for generations – so he might “luck out” on this no-no).
3) His domains are based on tragedy, catastrophe, suffering, sadness, horror, and so many other negative adjectives and nouns that you probably already feel. If you have no conscience making money on suffering, then go ahead and make your $100 a month off of domains that “spell out” disaster.
The above are just a few of the rules new domainers need to know when they buy a domain. Always.
Ironically, this oil spill disaster may harm some several very successful domainers because of the location of the property they own. If that happens, these domain purchases by this (in)famous domainer are not going to seem like “pigeon shit” purchases, but more like elephant feces. God forbid, if oil starts seeping onto the beaches and dead animals and ruined economies start appearing in Florida, some domainers in the area aren’t going to appreciate the exploitative domains callously purchased by this influential domainer. Imagine if you owned a house on the beach in Pensacola, Florida right now, and you knew some domain investor was making “$50 a day” off of a domain name that described the disaster that was destroying your investment and your beautiful home.
I hope sincerely that this never happens. And I hope that all domainers avoid the lure of buying any domains that make money off of suffering.
I read this article tonight written by Mark Morford of SFGate.com that summed it up for me:
“There is, you have to admit, a sort of savage grace, a tragic and terrible beauty, to the BP oil spill…
“…Like any good apocalyptic vision of self-wrought hell, the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history has its inherent poetry. You see that creeping ooze of black, that ungodly wall of unstoppable darkness as it slowly, inexorably invades the relatively healthy, pristine waters adjacent, and you can’t help but appreciate the brutal majesty, the fantastic, reeking horror of this new manifestation of black death we have brought upon ourselves, as it spreads like a fast cancer into the liquid womb of Mother Nature herself…
“…Really, it’s not just the incredible photographs of the spill that are, in turns, heartbreaking, stunning, otherworldly and downright Satanic in their abject revulsion. It’s not just the statistics that tell us how many millions of gallons might ultimately be spilled, or the stunned scientists who can only hypothesize how this unprecedented catastrophe might affect the fragile food chain and distress the ocean’s ecosystems at the very root level.”
“It’s not even the endless, heartrending tales of livelihoods lost, industries destroyed, coastlines ravaged or wildlife killed. The fact is, any one of these aspects alone is enough to poison your soul for as long as you wish to wallow in that murky state of fatalism and doom. It is nothing but bleak.”
Then the author sums it up with a telling statement of how we domainers should act:
“Finally (and a bit shockingly), I’m not hearing Pat Robertson or any of his cretinous cult of apocalypticans blame the gays, or voodoo, or anal sex, or reality TV for what’s happening in the Gulf. Oil is, after all, completely non-denominational. It mocks all religions equally — except, of course, the only one that really matters: capitalism.”
Nobody will argue that it’s “bad capitalism” as we’ve seen it in the last few years that has put us into a war based on a lie, ruined our economy by greedy Wall Street cretins, and allowed safeguards to protect Americans to be removed. I am not putting myself above anyone here. I’ve made these same domain mistakes in the first of my 11 years of domaining, but I learned and changed. We domainers can and should be responsible capitalists, with ethics and at least an apparent moral center. I’m not perfect, but I hope to follow these responsible rules in buying domains. I hope you do, too.
Pray to whatever god you worship that this oil spill ends soon. Don’t worry about those domains that this influential domainer bought and tried to convince us were “good domains” – if they lose money, we’ll know it’s easier to clean up his pigeon shit than remove oil off of a pelican.
9 Responses to “WHAT IS A DOMAINER’S RESPONSIBILITY?”
By James O'Malley on Jun 17, 2010
I love and agree with your entire post –
But, look at your asianflu.com statement
http://www.successclick.com/rick-schwartz-vs-michael-berkens-domain-breakdown_2009_05_04/
you are a hypocrite!
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Hi James,
And you’re a topnotch researcher, my friend! I don’t want to let the “cat out of the bag”, but that comment you found was supposed to be hidden sarcasm… I don’t really own any “profit on suffering” domains, unless you consider “health remedy” type domains, such as “PolioShot.com” and “YouthVitamin.com” as being in the same category as time-sensitive catastrophes that are being “promoted” by the owner as good domains to buy.
My logical mind, though, is really grinding out just how close you are in this moral conundrum with your call on my “hypocrisy”. I’m trying to weigh the difference or find where that line is not to cross in buying domains that take advantage of disaster/death/suffering. On one hand, I personally don’t sell religious domains, even though I have owned many (received in large domain portfolios from equity deals). I usually submit them to charity sales or let them expire. On the other, I buy medical domains, normally “cure” or “remedy” domains, too.
I think you may have hit on a subject that would be very interesting to debate. Your comment raising the possible hypocrisy in whether some domains even generally-based on suffering are “better” and “accepted”, over others based is an excellent one. The question to consider: “Would any domain that even represented a cure for human suffering be considered the same as criminal/human negiglence/hate domains?”
Anyone have another viewpoint on this?
By Aron on Jun 17, 2010
Not to side track your thoughts, but:
“Finally (and a bit shockingly), I’m not hearing Pat Robertson or any of his cretinous cult of apocalypticans blame the gays, or voodoo, or anal sex, or reality TV for what’s happening in the Gulf. Oil is, after all, completely non-denominational. It mocks all religions equally — except, of course, the only one that really matters: capitalism.”
That’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard… just saying.
Yes, Mark Morford, gay sex was the cause of the oil spill… all Christians think that.
(roll eyes).
Why even bring religion into this?
Freakin’ idiot.
Anyway, continue…
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Hi Aron,
Actually, there was a big uproar over the very fact that Pat Robertson (more than once) blamed catastrophes on God’s Wrath for the particular areas affected (remember the hurricane that hit the east coast a few years ago?). Robertson, who is NOT a “Christian” in my book, was also joined by several other “religious” fanatics about Katrina “punishing” New Orleans. I call myself an anarchist Christian, which is someone who doesn’t look at Christianity as a religion.
Either way, Mark didn’t mention “Christians” blaming gays for the spill, so I don’t see where you get that from. I would agree with you if I saw that in his statement, but all I saw was Robertson’s name.
Thanks for commenting!
By John Humphrey on Jun 17, 2010
When you read about these guys selling excellent domains for millions of dollars you assume (coming in to domaining these many years later) that they must have some genius about them. But typically, when you see what they actually hand-reg today, the names are not that far off what a newcomer would be registering 6 months after getting started.
I too was shocked and baffled by Rick’s list of oil spill names and agree he is sending the wrong message… or is he? If the best hand registrations the ‘Domain King’ can find are TM names that profit from a massive tragedy, maybe the real takeaway is that our time is better spent pursuing opportunities outside of domaining!
By Alan on Jun 17, 2010
I will be the first to say I don’t know why people listen to Rick anyway. This industry has grown and matured – yet he still acts like a 12 year old with almost every post.
By chris on Jun 18, 2010
Having arrived late for the domain name party and having wasted a lot of money buying pigeon shit which I let expire so I could afford to buy some more pigeon shit I have this outlook on the domain name industry.
There are still some great opportunities in geo+keyword dot coms as OOTB’s (your phrase)
Also I have found that it is easy to rank dot net’s and dot org’s as keyword specific domain names.
Something like “bad credit refinance dot net will get first page rank with relatively few back links for the search term “bad credit refinance”
A simple 5 article wordpress blog on googles or yahoos first page for a credit or financial term will bring in some nice cpc revenue.
I know these domains will never be worth millions but perhaps a portfolio of say 200 long tail keyword domains bringing in strong revenue will be worth a lot of pigeon shit when the rest of the world finally wakes up and realizes that anyone with $8 can buy a domain name.
Finally in the Boston area which could be termed college central there is a huge industry in apartment renting, unit turn over is basically yearly. One of the most populace apartment areas in Boston is Brighton. Last week I picked up Brighton MA Apartments dot com for reg fee. How long before the realtors wake up and come knocking.
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Hi Chris,
I’m curious how long you’ve been into domain investing, and what domain monetization path you prefer (seems like cpc right now) and how you arrived at choosing that path? I think you have a general grasp of the opportunities for revenue by investing in domains, especially as “OOTB’s” (yeah, that is my phrase, huh!). Have you thought about flipping your domains? Geo specifics are great, but don’t micro them down too much (like a specific community/apartment/block, etc).
Also, you should try to avoid the .net’s unless the domain is very short and concise. The .org extension is actually more recognized and promoted by almost every charity/non-profit organization with an online presence.
Have you purchased any of the domaining ebooks? They’re a great inexpensive introduction into this industry. Try the Domain Graduate.
Thanks for writing!
By Aron - XF.com on Jun 19, 2010
Stephen
Thanks for the fair response to my input.
I see your point and where you are coming from.
Many Christian preachers feel the need to overdo “the last days” topic.
I don’t feel like you should scare someone into being a Christian.
But anyway, I don’t want to take over your topic… just wanted to say thanks again for the fair and civil response.
Aron
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Hi Aron,
I love the topic of “religion and spirituality”, and can talk/debate hours about it. I feel it’s important, and I don’t think you took over the original topic. I think your comment was relevant since I included the quote about Robertson. Additionally, I agree with your premise that a lot of “nonbelievers” mistakenly think all “Christians” are nutcases, which like any other belief group, is not true. (Of course that depends on what you consider a nutcase, heh).
Thanks for writing and you’re welcome to discuss anything you like at any time on my blog.
By George on Jun 19, 2010
Very interesting post. I have been following Rick for some time and I am also relatively new to this domain game.
I do think that Rick has some very valid and sound points that he voices on his blog, and yes, he does come off as a 12 year old sometimes. I just read and analyze what makes sense to me, and if that means one sentence out of the 4 or 5 paragraphs of hype, then so be it. I feel that I have learned a lot from his blog.
But I do agree with you Stephen. I think one has to weigh his/her morals when embarking on any business venture… not only that but one must also think of the future and what their domain will be worth in a year’s time. I always try to look at the long term and be objective.
I have made a number of mistakes as well but I do feel that I have learned a lot and I am starting to acquire some really good domains as well as domains that will “ripen” in the coming years.
Anyway, thanks for your wonderfully written blog… anyone that is willing to offer their advice for free is worth the listen.
XXXXXX Stephen Douglas Responds:
Hi George,
Thanks for the nice sentiments. I think the Domain King is someone who is very passionate, emotional and young at heart about domaining, even after all his huge successes, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Although I’ve always been considered very mature and self-controlled in my own writing *cough cough* (I can hear laughter rippling all across the globe at this point), I consider any comment that interests you as an invitation to use wit, logic, experience and education– and raw zeal – to help keep everyone’s brain cells churning!
Nice to hear from you and good luck in your domaining!
By Chirag on Jun 20, 2010
I agree with him on this point, but where we differ is the type of domains being purchased.