With that statement made, its worthy to note there are (without question) some incredibly smart, talented and professional people but when you weed these out I can only assume many people buying domains are quite dumb.  Possibly even rich, dyslexic and easily inspired to order anything seen on a late night infomercial.

How can I say this?

Logical conclusion is the only way.

Have you seen the names that sell daily on drop lists?  How about those domains which have multiple bidders screaming to get in on the double hyphen auction or those “great” domains on NameJet’s most “active” auction list (this single email every day reassures me that even with an IQ of 70 its not hard to make money if you have a brain here)

Who are these people buying these awful names?

How much money do they lose before they realize all their purchases are worth less than the amount of toilet paper they used this morning?

We are talking about somewhere around 80% or more (in my estimate) of all names that get sold everyday while great names sit on buy it now venues such as Snap, Afternic, BuyDomains etc.

So whats the business plan here?

The more shit you buy the greater the odds the poop will turn to Gold. Maybe they are all part of a cult where the leader chants this mantra every morning. I’ve been confused since the late 90’s about this and expect to be so for another decade or more.

How about advice?

Why are people looking towards the names of this industry to see whats hot?

Most of these people who sell names are … oops… domain SELLERS – not your best friend, development partner or financial advisor. Just because a few names with an I or E in front of them sold for a pretty penny doesn’t make the whole freaking sector worth $500 or $1,000 per name or more.  In fact, they are pretty much all worthless yet people still listen or get excited to get a “deal” on a name that comes with a dream.

Stop right there.

“A name that comes with a dream”

Holy mother – listen to this quote and understand this

Every name has a dream. Every name has a story. Every name could be something.

The only thing that matters is what YOU DO WITH IT.

Doesn’t matter if I owned it, some cowboy owned it or Mother Theresa herself.

Once you pay the bill its yours – Mother Theresa is gone to say prayers, the sellers are back to selling names and you are alone.

So How DUMB are you?  Really dumb if you get caught up in the world of buying names from people and think they have a resale value for more than what you paid just because some “domain celebrity” owned the name before you.

You have to do something with the name to maximize its value.  Truth be told not everyone wants to maximize a name but rather just sell for a profit but if you buy a domain that has NO exact search, a stupid extension, a random collection of keywords that really make no sense used together, have i’s and e’s in front or back to sound cool or a number of other stupid valuation factors many domainers use to put their “pitch package” out for other stupid investors to buy then you’re pretty dumb for not learning how to advance faster in this industry

As for Development and SEO – why are you listening to people who blog day after day about domains and only have a few projects that have never transpired into anything more than Adsense sites.

How DUMB are you?

Pretty dumb if you are typing in a domainers blog to understand SEO when there hundreds of SEO blogs, forums and experts online dedicated to providing more knowledge than 99% of domain investors could ever give you.

Look – this industry is great with many great people like the Castellos, Michael Berkens, Chef Patrick and more

but if you are someone who wants to make a living, create something from nothing, supplement income and/or secure a piece of the internet you always wanted then its time to act smart and look for information from the sources who have resumes to back it up, invest in assets that provide value after the sale and in general – stop following the herd.

Just remember – those who are great sellers are many times not great builders.

Something to think about.

©2010 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

We are all brand builders at the end of the day.  Whether it’s the Newfound Names brand, the PrivateNames brand or any brand – all domainers with blogs are trying to carve a niche in the world.  How many domains do we all own? from the hundreds to the hundreds of thousands, just depends on who you ask.

So, when we all started blogging we all had big ideas about how everyone would know our company name.  Some have kept up with the hard work required to punch good articles out while others have disappered in a dark alley.  However, for those still standing who are buying, selling, flipping, developing, writing about domains – whatever your fancy is – how many have looked in the mirror and said lets spend another $7 to build your brand.  Of course, many have not done what I’m about to say because of choice and that’s cool but those that forgot to check or simply missed the idea then here it is.

Wait…..

Don’t be jerks here people – only take what is yours….. some could be trademarked.

Now, the punch line….

Available names as of today……

bestblogintheworld.net
bestblogintheworld.org
criticalpost.net
criticalpost.org
dmueller.org
dnblogger.net
dnblogger.org
dnbloggers.net
dnbloggers.org
dnblogs.net
dnblogs.org
dnexpert.org
dnexperts.net
dnexperts.org
dnunderground.net
dnunderground.org
domainingtips.org
fka2000.com
fractionaldomaining.org
fragerfactor.net
fragerfactor.org
goodurlbadurl.net
goodurlbadurl.org
insidedomaining.net
insidedomaining.org
justdropped.org
michaelberkens.net
michaelberkens.org
michaelgilmour.net
michaelgilmour.org
mikeberkens.net
mikeberkens.org
namewiser.net
namewiser.org
ricklatona.org
simplygeo.org
supernaturalagency.net
supernaturalagency.org
tcattorney.net
tcattorney.org
thebestblogintheworld.net
thebestblogintheworld.org
thecriticalpost.net
thecriticalpost.org
thefragerfactor.net
thefragerfactor.org
traverselegal.net
traverselegal.org
trenddomainer.net
trenddomainer.org
trenddomainers.com
trenddomainers.net
trenddomainers.org
trenddomaining.net
trenddomaining.org
ygrab.net
ygrab.org

Enjoy and remember to sign up for the PrivateNames.com newsletter

©2010 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Domaining is relatively new – the word domainers even more so – and the core of this industry is small – extremely small.  It’s not hard to enter this market and make a buck today and we all should be happy as it will only get harder as the industry grows but at this moment in time – you are still not a domainer.

What am I smoking? Unfortunately, nothing good at the moment.

Traverse Legal had a great article earlier today entitled

Do Domainers Deserve Their Reputation As Cybersquatters Because They Fail To Police Their Own?

Very rarely do I post articles that have already been published but as I began to comment on the question asked I kept wanting to write more about the “domaining” title.

First, I would define a “domainer” as someone who makes his/her living buying and selling domains.  Anybody who develops is really not a domainer … (devlops more than those silly made for Adsense sites or websites with such little content that the whole idea is to put up in one day and never change) …  A true “domainer” by my definition is somebody who makes all his living flipping names.  A developer can take part in domaining but they are more than just a domainer at that point.  In the stages of evolution developers are higher than domainers.  Again, in our minds.

Do you know what a landowner means?
Can you explain debt collector?
How about telemarketer?

These are all definitions of careers that are publicly known, accepted and stereotyped.  Many jobs exist where only a small portion of the world can define the title but the industry behind “domaining” is something more than just a small corner of the world.  Our assets represent the land of the internet – not window blinds, designer sunglasses or body lotion.  Domain names are the single element most small businesses on the web are built around.  Without our assets these products can not work.

This comparison will not hold when compared to global brands, companies built long before the internet and a few other types but in a world that has seen unprecedented growth of small business building true, solid, brick and mortar business around domain names we have all become much more than domainers.

Yet, I’m still not a domainer and nor are you.

Public opinion and public acceptance of your title is the most important asset to qualify an industry.  Many of us love teaching people about the business, explaining how you can turn $7 in $1,000’s practically overnight but what happens when we explain “domaining”.

Is it so easy people have to freeze up since it sounds too good to be true?
Is it the pure hatred many have for popup ads and windows that they think we are simply trying to sell them something?
Is it because many people who have tried to do good for the industry often sound like car salesman trying to move an asset to meet this month’s quota or build a website that looks like just another get rich quick scheme – remember, if it looks like spam – its spam?

These are just questions – I don’t know the answers… but I do know, for the landowners (domainers) of an industry whose growth has surpassed any industry before in terms of social reach, usage, branding ability, revenue etc.. (the internet) we may have become so complacent and self reliant that the future of this industry is only seen through by a single pair of glasses by many.

How many times have we talked about the opportunities which exist that can yield 10’s of millions in profits annually such as an advertising platform outside of Google & Yahoo, a faster way to find end users, education of domain names to small business and their importance role in helping to build memorable brands.

Venture capitals, banks, private investors – lots of people have money to take advantage of these and other ideas.  When opportunities exist that can possibly yield 10’s of millions in profits then in most all other public industries – people are lining up to get in – yet…

Can you go to a traditional bank and apply for a loan as a domainer?
Ask a venture capitalist if they will fund domainers?
Do your friends even understand what you do – except just buy and sell some words?

Stereotypes exist and they always exist for a reason.  It’s not a matter of prejudice, racism, ignorance or media hoopla – its a matter of common perception.  Go anywhere in this world and you will find common stereotypes that exist for different colors, religions, citizenships and more.  By no means do I agree with any (nor will I mention them here) but as an industry as smart as I hope we have put little effort in creating the basis for a truly positive sterotype – In fact, we are slowly pushing ourselves in to a corner for a bad sterotype – which can not by undone.

It’s still early and we have time to stop the negative stereotype from building.

We are more than squatters of PPC revenue from obvious trademark typos!

We are more than auction houses collecting money from the sale of obvious trademark names!

As a community we have a responsibility to take leaps (not steps) to avoid the stereotypes and help build a positive feeling of excitement, success and belief in the possibility of living the “American” dream by becoming a landowner (domainer).

Larger companies have greater responsibilities and should respect the industry more than it’s sales volume for the month.  It may be great that someone made a million dollars from parking domains but as soon as someone sees just $20 of that million coming from a typo of verizon.com or google.com then the person (and the industry) loses more than we gain.

Like anything in real life – people love to hate those who succeed and since most people do not understand this industry then we must clean up, educate and put those silly suits on to present ourselves in the fashion that traditional, respectable industries understand albeit for a limited time.

Give them an inch and they will take a yard – whatever the expression is – the $20 from trademark typos overshadows all the work, all the talent, all the money spent in accumulating a great portfolio because a spammer is a spammer – emails or trademark typos – the public does not know the difference.

We have to fight and educate.

In any other industry Frank, Kevin – many of us would be asked to be on popular TV shows like Oprah, Regis, local TV, McGyver (ok maybe not that) and tell the great story of finding this business and its riches – all the shows that are credible with popular opinion. 

Maybe we are all too smart and realize that popular opinion is not always the right opinion.

Doesn’t matter – I haven’t watched any of these shows in years (maybe decades) but I do know when the plumber Joe Smith down the street thinks about how to quit his job and make a fortune his reaction is probably going to be to try something that people are talking about.

It’s the common perceptions by common people which build industries

catering to a few only builds a brand.

Positive public opinion is the key to making this industry more than a relatively small group of people who preach to each other but very rarely preach to the masses.  Get Frank on Larry King, Put Rick on CNN – doesn’t matter who, there are quite a few to choose from, just get someone – but wait…..

If that were to happen at the moment you can bet it’s a great side story about the small guy (yep, we are all small compared to the billion dollar companies) that’s taking advantage of the money from typos than the dream we all awoke to one day and found ourselves in.  Side stories are fine – if they are in the past.

In our case, NO ONE would have a single reply to such obvious violations and why they are still happening – we look like the bad guy again unless…

Yes – WE CAN ADMIT there are members of community who disrespect everything we are trying to build and continually accept today’s pennies in exchange for losing tomorrow’s dollars.  Get involved and set the rules we would like to see.  Even the newest domainer must understand obvious trademark law so let’s stand together and not park those names, not sell those names, designate an attorney to create an account where we hand over all those names and move on.  I do not know the answers but we can opt to provide positive news on our efforts to clean up and a show a side to the outside world.

Positive popular opinion is the single most important element that will cause this business to rocket faster than any one of us could imagine but will we just all wait it out and continue to hold conferences for each other hoping to catch a few more outsiders each time?

Again, I don’t have the answers.

Funny enough that we all own the internet – yet the internet is moving faster than all of us combined.

So are you a “domainer”?

Depends on the circle but don’t spend time thinking about how I would answer the question.  How would your next door neighbor, your children’s teacher, your soccer coach or your barista at Starbucks look at you after you said you were a domainer?

Once that look of confusion leaves their face we have won.

I just hope the good stereotype prevails.

In the meantime, my name is Alan and I am (am not) a domainer??

Food for thought….

©2010 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.