1. Robin Wauters of TechCrunch.com has confirmed that Microsoft have acquired the premium domain name, Office.com. The purchase price was not disclosed. Microsoft seem to be positioning themselves for a strong move forward after years of playing catch up to Google. Personally, I would like to see Microsoft recapture some of the greatness that opened wide the doors of 1980′s technology and innovation. That is a tall order I know. Practically speaking, Office.com is a logical brand reinforcer for their suite of Microsoft Office products. Premium rules again …  as always.

2. A superb domain name, America.US , has been launched. This premium domain is registered to domain investor & developer Christian Zouzas who owns a high quality portfolio of top domain names. DNJournal.com write that Christian has partnered with a company called Local Matters who developed the site in a revenue sharing arrangement. Local Matters specialize in local search technology, media publishing and search marketing.

The America.US site focus is clearly represented on their homepage, and states …

America.us has hotel, apartment, restaurant, event information and more for cities all across the country.

3. In a drama that just won’t die, the new “Domaining” page was thankfully published at Wikipedia after a time intensive effort by this writer to consolidate lots of domain industry information and links into a single, succinct resource. “Domaining” went live on Wikipedia just a day ago along with appropriate redirects of “domainer” and “domainers” to the domaining page.

Quite sadly, an envy driven troublemaker launched a formal request to have the new domaining page deleted. This individual, despite monumental evidence of domaining as an ongoing industry, posted juvenilish smears and accusations in an attempt to discredit the entire domain name industry.

The process at Wikipedia is bizarre, if not astounding. It’s as if anyone can say anything, and pull the rug out from under any entity with whom they disagree. What is occurring at Wikipedia raises serious questions about the parameters of free speech. Defamation typically applies to harming an individual or a well-defined corporate entity via slander or libel. However, there appears to be no recourse in America for impugning an entire industry, race, or group of people.

And so “domaining” has been attacked. The baseless first weapon of choice appears to begin with calling anyone who registers a domain name a “cybersquatter”. Childish name calling such as this fizzles out very quickly and empty criticism runs its course. Perhaps we as domain name investors & developers should regard this attention as some mark of success.

In the end, the critics of domaining must be ultimately angry with themselves. They don’t have the wherewithal to succeed, to educate themselves beyond their limitations, or to achieve personal honesty. Finger pointing and whining are their stock & trade. A very cheap commodity no doubt.

4. Parents.info sold at Sedo.com for US $8382 earlier this week. This is a nice .info domain name. It appears the name is resolving to a Parent’s Guide with numerous articles on parenting.

Internet Domains

Patrick Ruddell is a domainer who publishes a popular domain industry blog at ChefPatrick.com. Patrick has distinguished himself quickly in the online arena being one of the first domainers to include informative videos on his blog site which focuses on domain industry news and events.

While Patrick is self-admittedly rather new to domaining, he has shown incredible focus, creativity, and entrepreneurship in his approach to becoming a part of the greater domain name community. He recently wrote about registering his first .US domain name, SuicideHelp.US.

Using this quality generic domain, Patrick has built a valuable resource for those suffering from depression. The site contains emergency phone numbers and useful links for individuals who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts, and are in search of help. The site can also be beneficial to loved ones, friends, and family in search of options, and can function as an excellent launch point for people needing quick answers & resources.

The SuicideHelp.US website, which is very easy to navigate, is built on WordPress (a favorite of domainers and domain developers across the internet). Personally, I very much like the domain name. It is clear, descriptive, and logical. Easy to remember and easy to communicate verbally. The .US web address is also very fitting for the subject matter. In my view, Patrick has taken a great domain name and paired it with content that exactly matches the domain name focus, thus creating an end result that offers true value.

In closing, it is rewarding to see the domaining community have so many bright, business-oriented people within its ranks. As is so often the case, domainers demonstrate professionalism, produce legitimate accomplishments, and are educating the world that domainers are not cybersquatters.

Domainers are everyday investors, developers, and entrepreneurs who simply enjoy working in the realm of domain names.

Internet Domains .us, domainers

Update: Hello again. Last night I uploaded to Wikipedia a comprehensive article on domaining and the domain name industry. I attempted to explain how rich and diverse the industry is, and that the majority of its members were good people doing good things.

My article, which contained abundant resources and links, has been pared down to about 10 or 20% of its original content. However, there is now a good chance that domaining and domainers will no longer be redirected to “cybersquatting”. Below is my letter to Wikipedia admins on their renewed interest in working with me on defining “domaining” and representing more accurately the reputation of those who work in and around the domain name industry. Please help me, if you will, to get the message out.

My Response To Wikipedia Admins & Content Reviewers

I would like to respond with a few comments. I do understand that the number of links I submitted in the Domaining article was excessive. I was trying to provide a picture of the domain industry, and domainers, as a legitimate group who are ethical, well-organized and who do not deserve to be associated with the crime of cybersquatting. While my comments were perceived as “biased” by one Wikipedia commenter, I can only say that his perception is a projection, and a gross overgeneralization which itself cannot be justified.

We all know that cybersquatting exists and is wrong, but if one were to visit the domainer sites and tradeshows, reference our trade associations, and work within the greater industry, then you would see just how unjust it is that the whole domain name industry has been characterized at Wikipedia as cybersquatters or scammers. Ironically, I find those statements to be born of extreme ignorance of our industry and heavily injected with personal bias against all people who invest in domain names for whatever reasons.

I know that what I am sharing here is factual and objective, not merely subjective, but it is hard to prove a negative, i.e. that the majority of domainers don’t engage in cybersquatting. This is why I tried to provide so many links … so that I could provide Wikipedia staff, and eventually their users, with the names and faces of real people, real businesses, and a greater context around our industry that has absolutely nothing to do with cybersquatting.

An example for the reviewers of Wikipedia which will hopefully illustrate my point. Suppose one Wikipedia administrator was convicted of a terrible crime, and by association all wikipedia admins suddenly began being accused of the same terrible crimes and were castigated publicly. For one, we know that you are not responsible for the bad acts of another person, and ultimately his poor choices do not reflect on you personally or negate all of the good will and collective hard work done at Wikipedia. This parallels the damage that was being done by redirecting domaining and domainers to cybersquatting. The bad acts of a relative minority were being used to humiliate and disparage a large group of people who have worked ethically and responsibly for years, and always within the law and within their rights of domain name registration.

Thank you for being willing to work with me on this important subject. Domainers, as a large group, are basically investors, internet enthusiasts, and people who have careers in a variety of fields. They are reasonable people with families, the same hopes and dreams as everyone else. And moreover, have notable achievements in life. The extensive list of domainers I provided to you, and their associated websites (in my original submission), are a small representative sample of the quality of individuals involved in the domain name industry. One of my investment partners is a licensed psychiatrist working everyday to help people with mental health disorders. Another of my domainer friends heads a non-profit fund raising organization. Yet another is a professor of economics at a major university. Many of my peers are attorneys, stay at home moms, realtors, high-level techies, college students, you name it. This diverse group of people interested in domaining are everyday people with intact values and a guiding set of principles that govern their choices in life. And they have specifically avoided internet crimes and cybersquatting. I know this on a personal level which is why I was so incensed and outraged that a couple of Wikipedia admins took it upon themselves to publicly denigrate so many reputable people.

Thanks again for considering these comments, and for allowing me a voice on this critical issue.

Addendum: Another reason I included so many industry links is I want the Domaining page to be an actual resource for anyone who searches on domaining and is interested in learning more about it. The links I provided you are high quality, relevant, and central to understanding the domain name industry. Please consider allowing me to perhaps place the links at the bottom of the article such that Wikipedia users will have a great resource guide for learning.

Internet Domains domainer, domaining, wikipedia