PremiumDomains.biz usually write about high demand generic domain names since these are the stock-in-trade of the domain industry, command the highest prices, and they also fuel a good portion of internet commerce.

However, there exist creative and fanciful domain names which are so “catchy” that they can take on a unique life of their own, such as Yahoo or Google. I recently ran across a website for a company that provides online personalized greeting cards. Their name is MoonPig! I had to laugh as the name caught me so off guard. I repeated it to myself several times and it stuck.

MoonPig’s official site is located at MoonPig.com. The company are a UK-based outfit who opened a branch in Australia in 2004. They have a hi-tech production facility located in New Jersey, USA. Moonpig.com allow users to fill out greeting cards online with a personal message or caption, and the card is then mailed directly to the recipient.

The company have a standard sized card which costs $3.99 and a large card which runs $7.99. There are many cute greeting cards to select from on their site and a number of neat mock-ups in which you can embed your friend’s face on the cover of a magazine or some other comical picture.

Catchy domain names can be successfully branded in the marketplace. While they may not receive natural direct navigation traffic or describe the product being sold, they can become synonymous with a product such that the consumer instantly knows what is being offered. Like McDonald’s with hamburgers, Zappos with shoes, UFC with martial arts events, or GoDaddy with domain name registration.

Domain Name, Humor catchy domains, domain value, fanciful domain names

This is not a joke, though I wish it were. The Federal government is now offering a “cash for clunkers” program for old appliances. To the tune of $300 million dollars of the taxpayers’ money. Here’s a link to the story just released on Yahoo finance news.

Perhaps we can get some government bailout money for our domain registration renewal fees (sarcasm intended). Where does the government bailout money end, and personal responsibility and good fiscal management begin? I would really like to know.

Humor

I used to participate in domain drops religiously. Now, I might scan the lists just every so often. Drop-catching is a skill. And requires the use of good judgement!

I was dumbstruck the other day as I hopped from one drop registrar to another searching on a few select keywords. I saw huge, massive, enormous lists of expiring domains for some of the worst keyword combinations ever. My first reaction was “WHAT ARE PEOPLE THINKING”? I could not believe that people had chosen these domains to register at one time or another. That they were being dropped was really no surprise.

But then I paused to think about all the new, budding domain enthusiasts who have just discovered the domain industry within the last 1-2 years. “Domain fever” is what it’s called. I had it once, and recovered … thankfully.

The other consideration is that you, the veteran domainer, probably have much more knowledge than you realize based on years of trial & error, research, analysis, and actual business experience. I take for granted how much I know, and have stored away in my aging memory banks. Sometimes speaking to young people, their relative inexperience comes through immediately and causes me to pause. Which makes me feel a little old.

Back to the topic. If you are new to domaining, then you are likely excited about the many possibilities you have read about in the domain world. I will suggest to you that you not get in a hurry. Commit yourself first to learning about the industry. Learn to crawl before you walk. And then examine your options. There is no undiscovered pot of gold out in the middle of the desert waiting for you.

DO NOT go wild hand-registering large numbers of domains with your credit card. You will regret this. Be selective in your choices. With time & self-education, you will be much better able to invest your money, and not throw it away on an ocean of bad domain names. It is better to have one true quality domain name than 20 domains with no viable future.

Protect your money, protect your investment. With knowledge & good decisions. Build your domain empire –> one domain at a time!

Humor domain registration

Domainer, definition: an individual who invests in and monetizes internet domain names.

And that’s it. People have a tendency to over-explain the term, domainer. Domaining encompasses many activities associated with domain name utilization. Not just resale. Not just parking. Definitely not cybersquatting (though that exists). Domaining can include full-scale web development, or any combination of approaches. Domainers are diverse, and in my experience, often ethical and intelligent people.

Side note: Whoever wrote the current Wikipedia page on “domaining” needs to erase it and start over. The page contains too much misinformation and personal bias.

Most domainers became interested in domain names as an extension of enjoying the internet, and embracing some element of the net that was fun and exciting. Still others happened up on domaining, somewhat by accident, as a result of taking their company online and exploring things like website design and webhosting. What’s your story?

My story began with songwriting and recording music. I purchased a digital hard-disk recording system in 1992 having been a multitrack reel-to-reel guy for a number of years. In the mid-1990′s, I was recording area musicians’ CD’s, guest playing on their songs, and writing my own material which eventually led to my own CD. The internet was being discovered … usually via AOL over slow 28k modems (made only to test your patience and sanity).

I began designing a promotional website to market my music, and eventually needed to register something called a “domain name” (so people could access my music site over the net). Naturally enough, I registered my own name. Things began to take off after joining MP3.com, Billboard Music Net, and Soundclick … who all provided me featured spots on their internet charts. After some local newspaper articles on my music exploits, I decided to resign my position and take some time to move things further forward. This resulted in an unexpected detour.

As I was finishing two more songs, learning html and graphics editing, I had the proverbial epiphany (like many others!) when I heard about the multi-million dollar sales of Business.com and Loans.com. I became fascinated with the concept of what a domain name could represent, and how it could become a portal, or magnet, for people interested in a particular subject. I had been a pretty active member of music forums, and had seen the incredible way in which people separated by continents could connect. This was futuristic, and exciting. I wasn’t sure how the opportunity would take shape, but I knew something important was looming, and I wanted to join in.

Domain names seemed the most perfect, single vehicle for accessing this incredible future technology called “the internet”. But it was happening now! My local phone company was literally laying broadband cable day-after-day in the rural area where I lived. Something special was coming to America, and to the world. My innate curiosity really took off.

Having pretty much missed the boat in 1999 on true premium .com domains, I geared up & strategized to take the .info world by storm. dotINFO was the first “post-modern” .com alternative and it captured considerable attention. It made sense: .info for “information“. I got it!

So much has happened in the domain name industry, in so short a time it seems. But here we are today, 2009. And despite all that has passed, we are still near the beginning. The internet was not a fad. It’s a prolific, planet-changing technology. The .com “bust” was not some final end, but only a small hiccup in what appears to be a truly once-in-a-lifetime trip. I’m not done domaining. Are you?

.INFO Domain Names, Humor, Internet Domains domain investments, domainer

I hate to say I told you so. Because good people work at America’s newspapers in every city across the country. And that’s the part that bothers my heart about the slow disintegration of the black and white.

The flip side is that some of the most ruthless, cutthroat competitors you’ll ever meet in the world of business work for these same newspapers. I consider myself a generous and fair individual by most standards. But often in the business world, generous and fair, will get you nothing but a bloody nose.

I’ve had my fair share of let downs and hurt feelings trying to work with my local newspaper. If nothing else, they fed me a dose of reality. If they want to shut you out, they’ll shut you out. And your journey of 10 miles becomes 50. Lesson learned. But times change, and tables turn. Perhaps there is a thing called karma after all.

Reality check: There is a steady decline occurring year after year in newspaper circulation and advertising revenue. The paper is a static, somewhat outdated rendering of news that occurred yesterday. No video or sound, no hi-definition picture, no reader comment or interactive component … at all.

Hello, internet technology! Just as the 8-track surrendered to the cassette tape, and the horse & buggy gave way to the automobile, such is the fate of the traditional newspaper company.

Now, it’s not like they didn’t have fair warning. In fact, some of the age-old papers secured their city’s geodomain. Take Boston.com (The Boston Globe) for example. Nearly 4 million visitors per month and a 52% increase in online viewership in the past year. That’s saying something. The shift is more like an earthquake and approaching tidal wave.

All of this leads to one conclusion –> geo domains. To have the city in .com is a literal gold mine of opportunity. No question about it. Now, it won’t be cheap either as city geodomains in .com are like owning the holy grail.  But, there are several excellent alternatives that will also feed the dream and perhaps still leave one above water financially speaking. My favorites for geodomain development are .biz (business), .US (United States), .info (information), and .TV (television/online media). Also for the mobile phone market is .mobi which provides standards for displaying the internet on mobile phones …  growing in popularity by the minute.

Some domainers have looked ahead, made the investment, and laid the proper groundwork for becoming the center of the universe in their corner of the domain world. Hard working domain investor & blogger, Elliot Silver, acquired Burbank.com recently and launched into development. He holds the keys to the city, as do brothers Michael & David Castello with PalmSprings.com, or Skip Hoagland with Atlanta.com. Let’s not forget state geodomains and even countries such as Spain.info. These geodomain websites are the future. They are connected to the entire world via the internet. And unless my dog eats through my internet cable, they’ll be receiving my patronage, my business, my revenue, and my recommendation. Will there still be a newspaper floating about in those cities 5 years from now? Perhaps, lining the parakeet cage.

Goodbye newspapers of the world. I no longer need you. I have my own media empire at my disposal. Strange irony.

Almost forgot to post the story that fueled tonight’s writing. It is the bankruptcy declaration of the Minneapolis Star Tribune who presently are claiming $661 million dollars in debt. Something about a “severe decline in advertising revenue”.

I read all about it … on the internet!

Humor, Internet Domains advertising, geodomain, newspaper