Friday, March 20, 2009

MakeItRight.ca sells at Afternic

DomainReport.ca - The following domain sold in the past week at the Afternic DLS.

makeitright.ca - $2,300 US

At first look, this is a brandable type of domain that can be used as a slogan. I'm not sure what the buyer will use it for, but it looks like a 'call to action' type of phrase. We'll check back with this domain and see how it ends up being used.

Though it's a fairly common phrase, it sold for a lot more than I would have expected. I'm not sure I would have even hand regged this domain. But value can sometimes be a hard thing to judge, and maybe this domain was an exact fit for someone's plans.

What do you think of this sale?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Country Code domain portfolio sells for 3.1M US

DomainReport.ca - Just wanted to add a quick note about a post at DNN.com that reports a country code domain portfolio, made up of 475 .de (German country code) domains, has sold for 3.1 Million US through Sedo.

Some of the domains that sold, with english translation in brackets, are:

wertpapiere.de (securities)

devisen.de (foreign currency)

lohnsteuer.de (income tax)

As I've noted before, .de domains (along with .co.uk) seem to sell the most out of all country code domains in the aftermarket.

Full story here:

http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-sales/cctld-portfolio-sold-for-31m/4412


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Sunday, March 15, 2009

AIG - This is what's wrong with the Economy

DomainReport.ca - This is what's wrong with the economy, AIG company receives $170 Billion dollars in bailout money from the US government and pays out $165 million in bonuses to executives.

I don't know how American tax payers can stand it.

This is a company that lost 62 Billion dollars in the last quarter of last year. What kind of company pays out $165 Million in bonuses when they lose billions of dollars? A bonus for what?? I don't care if the contracts call for it, the people getting these bonuses should be ashamed and decline them.

The greed in these times is simply astounding.

It shows that even though Wallstreet is going down in flames they are throwing more gasoline on themselves. I say enough is enough. Executives in the finance world have been getting huge bonuses for years, and look at what they have created - a meltdown in the world economy as a result of their shady practices and easy credit.

The expectation of reward and bonus despite poor performance, what other industry rewards pitiful performance with over-the-top payments?

How about adding a condition to the stimulus package - "Bailout money can't be used to pay executive bonuses".

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Full story - AIG to pay $165 Million in bonuses

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090315/ap_on_bi_ge/aig_bonuses


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Friday, March 13, 2009

New website for CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority)

DomainReport.ca - CIRA is sporting a new web look these days.

If you go to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority website at Cira.ca, you'll notice a fresh new look. The intro page lets you choose English or French, then you go through to see all the content.

I especially like the Why .CA page at: http://cira.ca/why-ca/

The new site serves as a good introduction to .ca, and has loads of information for anyone looking to register a .ca domain name. I also think the website looks more modern, while being simple and clean with a better layout of information than before.

If you have any interest in the .ca name space I'd strongly suggest checking out the Cira website to learn more about this country code extension.

Here are some of the benefits of using a .ca domain as listed on the site. Interesting how they compare .ca to .com in one of their points.

Identify yourself as Canadian: Dot-ca is Canada's Internet identity, reserved for Canadians, recognized and trusted worldwide.

Get the name you want: You'll have a short dot-ca name that says you're Canadian, not a long dot-com name that says you're one of almost 70 million organizations that most Canadians view as American!

Reach Canadians where they shop: Over 60% of Canadians prefer dot-ca for online shopping—it's under Canadian law, with no customs or exchange rates.

Keep your identity secure: Dot-ca domain names are kept safe and secure in an independent national registry.


I wonder if the group running .us for the USA is watching this, because many American domainers complain that they don't do enough to promote their country extension.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

New Country Code domain forum launches Contest

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Check out today's domain deals at Godaddy!
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DomainReport.ca 

Just recently launched, ccTLDs.com is a domain name forum specifically tailored to country code domains. There are subforums for .ca, .us, .in and all other popular country codes. I joined this week as the 26th member.

The forum was created by Rick Latona, who has taken a recent interest to country code domains and like many others, sees a good investment opportunity in these types of domains.
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Another great domain name forum to check out is DNForum - click here to see it

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Here are the details on the contest that was just announced today:

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We would like to invite you to participate in the 1st ccTLDs.com Contest!

To push an already successful launch further, we are coming out of the gate with a great set of contests for our new community to participate in.

Contest #1 - Most Posts by May 1st

Pretty simple, whoever makes the most posts by May 1st, 2009 will win a free T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ccTLDs Amsterdam registration (valued at US$1995)

Contest #2 - Most Referrals by May 1st

Time to put your downline to work for you! Have the most referrals by May 1st, 2009 and you will win a free T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ccTLDs Amsterdam registration (valued at US$1995)

After you join, get your personalized referral link to ensure you get credit:

Click here to join now

Contest #3 - 10,000th Post

We are off to a great start and we feel that 10,000 posts is a great goal to shoot for. If you are the one that makes it, you will win a free T.R.A.F.F.I.C. ccTLDs Amsterdam registration (valued at US$1995)

The basic board rules apply. If you are caught making useless posts, spamming for referrals, or anything shady - you will be instantly ruled out of the running. This is a great community in the works - let's keep it that way.

We appreciate everyone's support thus far and this is just the first of many ways we will be giving back to the community!

Best of Luck to Everyone!


Check out today's domain deals at Godaddy!
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Monday, March 9, 2009

Politician's domain expires and gets picked up for dating page

DomainReport.ca - This story broke over the weekend and is making the rounds in domaining circles. It's a good example of the type of registration that can bring more trouble than it's worth. The person who bought this name was probably thinking that the domain gets visitors, and has now put up a page to make income off these visitors. But the visitors are not looking for a dating site, they are expecting to find information on the politician when they arrive. Most people are probably clicking away as soon as they land on the page. I don't know all the details, but it isn't the kind of registration I like to make. Even without the bad press, the traffic on this domain would likely die down over time, it isn't targetted to dating, and the effort spent on this domain would be better used to build something with more long term value. The other issue is that this domain is very specific, a person's name that isn't common. Domains of previous websites get dropped all the time, but if they are generic terms that could have other use or value, then there is no problem with someone registering it for another purpose. Sometimes domain buyers get faulted for picking up expired domains they have every right to, but I don't think that is the case here.

MP facing 'virtual extortion' over his former website

A Liberal MP is a little red-faced after an expired website of his was bought and now links to an online dating service for seniors looking for younger partners.

Rodger Cuzner, the MP for Cape Breton-Canso, was informed this week where rodgercuzner.ca is now pointing to and he was also told that the new owners want $500 before they will give it back.

Cuzner had owned the domain for years but said someone purchased it on Feb. 25, two days after its registration expired.


Full story here:

http://www.theprovince.com/Life/facing+virtual+extortion+over+former+website/1365840/story.html


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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

PreventiveMedicine.ca sells at Afternic

DomainReport.ca - Just a short post to report that on March 3 the domain PreventiveMedicine.ca was sold at Afternic for $1,800 USD.

Some .ca domain sales reported today

DomainReport.ca - DNjournal released their weekly domain sales report today, and there were many country code domains that sold, including a few .ca's.

twister.ca - $1,000 US

BU.ca - $1,650 US

TicketAgency.ca - $1,250 US

TicketStore.ca - $1,250 US



The top country code domain sold was FlatRate.de for about $200,000 US. It's surprising how english words can sell well in a German country code, but they do.

.de and .fr (France) had the most domains in the top 20 for country code sales.

Thanks to Ron Jackson for another great weekly sales report!


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Live Current Media Sells Two Domains for $1.65 Million

VANCOUVER, BC – March 4, 2009 – Live Current Media Inc. (OTCBB:LIVC), a media company built around content and e-commerce destinations which owns more than 800 domain names, today announces it has entered agreements to sell two more of its non-core domain names for $1.65 million. Live Current previously announced in February the sale of one of its non-core domain name for CDN $500,000.

“We believe the recent sales of three of Live Current’s non-core domain names for a total of over US $2 million is a testament to the inherent value of our domain name assets, especially in this challenging economic climate,” said Live Current Chairman and CEO Geoff Hampson. “Together with the cost-cutting measures previously announced on February 5th, the proceeds from these sales should provide for Live Current’s working capital needs without diluting current shareholdings. These sales form part of management’s strategy to achieve the goal of cash flow positive operations by the end of 2009.”

To this end, the Company further announces that CEO, Geoff Hampson, has agreed to defer all salary and other compensation indefinitely. The length of such deferral will be solely at the discretion of Mr. Hampson and the Board of Directors. Management is continuing to identify further cost-cutting and revenue generating opportunities and is considering various strategic alternatives for its cricket business.

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Unfortunately the press release doesn't mention the two names!


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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

.CA market slows with economy?

DomainReport.ca - I've been looking for a reason to post since Feb. 12, and unfortunately there hasn't been one! No new developments in .ca domains and no sales to report in almost a month. Today I logged in to add a .CA Godaddy banner to my blog page, so just a little housekeeping.

I'm thinking something should happen soon that will be newsworthy, but in the meantime it seems like the overall down economy is affecting the .ca market. From watching forum activity, many seem to be concentrating on renewing their good names and trying to sell a few to make a little income. There are good quality .ca domains to be had at decent prices at places like dnforum.com

Once the economy starts to show signs of improvement, I think the domain market will rebound well. Even now, it doesn't surprise me to see names like Forums.com sell for 399k, or Toys.com sell for 5.1 million, because people know the internet isn't going anywhere, and you need a good domain name to mark your presence online. Along with .com, country code domains are a good choice. Many businesses are behind in getting online, and need to do so to find another way to earn revenue and increase their market reach. Newspaper companies are filing for bankruptcy all around, and online advertising is still growing. These trends bode well for holding good quality domains.

So my advice is to hold on to your best names and weather the storm. Let your poor names expire if you have to. Sell a few names to renew others if you have to. But come out the other end with some quality remaining in your portfolio.

Since I have no .ca news to report, I'll leave you with some trends/ideas I've noted so far in 2009.

- Despite fewer .ca sales, other country code domains continue to sell well, especially .de and .co.uk - in fact, many .de are selling with dashes in them every week, which continues to surprise me.

- Micro blogging site Twitter.com seems to be making news everywhere. With only a few million users, there is still a chance to get a decent username, and there are ways you can use Twitter for business and personal reasons. If you haven't checked it out, I suggest you do so.

- Domains are still selling every week, just check DNjournal.com! The two big sales I noted above occurred within the last couple weeks, while the economy still hasn't hit bottom, so my read is that companies are positioning themselves with good domains for the future.

- You can get some good deals on domains. Search the domain forums and you'll see that the quality of domains for sale has improved, while prices are lower (in general). Maybe this is a chance to get some quality generics, some LLL, and other good quality names. I don't think the deals will be as good when the economy turns.

- Don't watch the news so much! Until things start to get better, find other things to do like sports or watch a movie, even better, start building some websites for your domains. The economy will correct in time, so you might as well do something enjoyable while you wait.