ICANN Decides Kenya is Safe Enough

I’ve been pretty hard on ICANN over the last few years only because I just don’t feel they look out for anyone but themselves.  To prove they don’t look out for anyone, they’ve decided that Nairobi Kenya would make a nice venue for their latest meeting.  According to Rod Beckstrom “Security is a concern for every country but Kenya has its own security issues to sort out,”.   “The guns and security issues make the meeting exciting, dangerous and add a “buzz” missing from many corporate meetings”  OK the first quote was real and the second I made up,  but you get my point.

I get the fact that this is a big world and that ICANN has to represent every country and continent , but hosting the meetings in countries that offer safe travel should be a prerequisite.  According to ComputerWorld, people are having joint meetings in other cities to coincide with the meeting but in safer venues.  Of course ICANN doesn’t acknowledge the other meetings and despite 90% of all revenue coming from North America, used the meetings in Africa to show support for the up and coming African Internet system.  All 4000 users (just kidding).

Now that the meeting will go on, they will go over two problems from previous meetings.  Why they dumped the .xxx tld so quickly and why China was not put on the fast track for IDN names.

Self Domain Appraisal: Written in 2002 and Still Valid Today

Lately a few friends and I have been discussing mathematical models for predicting domain values. More for fun than profit but during the discussion a friend sent me a post written by “Lisa” on WebmasterWorld.com wayyyy back in 2002. Although I’m not sold on this as an estimator or agree with her points system, the guts of what she is saying are very important when it comes to the value of a domain. As always, parts of it are up for debate but in general, she is hitting on key things that give a domain value. Here is the post

I have outlined 13 metrics to judge a domain name in a self-appraisal.

1) Marketability
2) Phone Test
3) Name Length
4) Brand Recognition
5) Development Value
6) Dot Value
7) Site Traffic natural Site Traffic by Search Engines
9) Industry Strength and Positioning
10) Search Engine Popularity
11) Grammatical / Linguistic value
12) Revenue Generating
13) Comparable sales value

———–

1) Marketability
How many parts make up the name?

A part is classified as a word, a hyphen, or a number.
Example.com has only 1 part, the word “example”.
JoeTheFisherman.com has 3 parts, the parts “Joe”, “The”, and “Fisherman”.
Joe-Fisherman.com has 3 parts, the parts “Joe”, “hyphen”, and “Fisherman”.
1Fisherman.com has 2 parts, the parts “1”, and “Fisherman”.
eFisherman.com has 2 parts, the parts “E”, and “Fisherman”.

1 part award 100 points
2 parts award 10 points
3 parts award 2 points
4 parts award 1 point
5 parts or more award 0 points

2) Phone Test
Try giving out the Domain Name on the phone. How does the domain name sound on the phone.

Does the domain use a hyphen or a number?
Do I spell out a number inside the name ex: (“one”)?
Does the domain use a miss-spelling at all?

If the answer to these questions is all “no” then multiple current score by 5.
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes” then divide current score by 2.

3) Name Length (doesn’t include the length of “www.” or “.” or the ending extension)

Find the highest rule that applies.

If 1 part and the name is less then or equal to 8 characters, then multiple current score by 6.
If 1 part and the name is less then or equal to 15 characters, then multiple current score by 3.
If 1 part and the name is less then or equal to 19 characters, then multiple current score by 2.

If 2 parts and the name is less then or equal to 10 characters, then multiple current score by 4.
If 2 parts and the name is less then or equal to 16 characters, then multiple current score by 3.
If 2 parts and the name is less then or equal to 19 characters, then multiple current score by 2.

If 3 parts and the name is less then or equal to 12 characters, then multiple current score by 2.

4) Brand Recognition
Do people know what the site does even before they even go there?
Either through the meaning of the name or by advertising.
An example of advertising is everyone knows Microsoft.com or ATT.com.
Normal people will need to use the domain meaning to score on this point.

If name has Brand Recognition then multiple current score by 3.

5) Development Value
How much work as been put into Developing the site?
Just a Splash page then multiple current score by 2.
Something more then a Splash page then multiple current score by 3.
Has the domain ever hosted a website that received more then 1000 visitors a day then multiple current score by 25.

6) Dot Value
If .COM extension multiple current score by 3.
If country extension multiple current score by 2.
If country extension is now generic no bonus (example .CC, .TV, .WS)

7) Site Traffic Natural
10-39 natural type-ins multiple current score by 4.
40-100 natural type-ins multiple current score by 8.
100+ natural type-ins multiple current score by 25.
Natural type-ins means (Unique IPs without referrers)

Site Traffic by Search Engines
10-39 Unique IPs multiple current score by 2.
40-500 Unique IPs multiple current score by 3.
500+ Unique IPs multiple current score by 4.

9) Industry Strength and Positioning
Does the domain have a calling? If the domain has a targeted industry how crowded is that industry? Does the domain accurately and generically describe what it was registered to do. Here is an example, For a travel agent, FlyCheap.com is a score 3. For a travel agent TravelCheap.com is a score 7.

Describes generically the industry then multiple current score by 7.
Describes specifically something in the industry then multiple current score by 3.

10) Search Engine Popularity
How do the terms in the domain name rank in Search Engines?

“Great”, then multiple current score by 7.
“Good”, then multiple current score by 2.
“All Right”, then no bonus.

11) Grammatical / Linguistic value
Does it sounds correct? Does it read like a human normally speaks. For example: ShoppestMall.com, this sounds wierd. But ShoppingMall.com sounds correct. The plural form verses the singular form makes a huge difference.

If the name sounds correct, then multiple current score by 2.

12) Revenue Generating

Multiple yearly income of the domain by 2.5, add this dollar value to your final price.

13) Comparable sales value

What other domains have sold at that price. Is your name the same score?
Market analysis on your domain price is very important. Being able to justify your price against other domains selling price is key. Don’t do marketing analysis off of list price. Only selling price will work. To find prices of domains that have sold use Afternic or other domain auction sites.

The highest score possible is something huge like 6,615,000,000
Score doesn’t correlate to actual price very well, You need to use percentiles to figure out what the price is.

Total score:
Lowest = $15 (40 percentile)
Low score = $25-$40 (30 percentile)
Mid score = $100-$300 (25 percentile)
High score = $500-$1000 (3 percentile)
Extreme score = $1000+ (2 percentile)

Now if I would have just followed these rules back in 2002 I would have much better domain portfolio

Today’s DDD: Daily Dropping Domains

Seemed a little light on drops today and quite a few “wish list” domains on NameJet meaning they were renewed in the last redemption period.  Here are today’s finds.

HeidiFleiss.com She’s made her way back onto TV by being on Dr. Drew’s Rehab show and with her money problems I guarantee you outbid her.  I can only imagine what you could trade it back to her for

RecordVideo.com I think this would be good for a ………..recording video site?  1900 searches  and $3900 estibot

Bipod.com It’s a two legged tripod and evidently used for guns.  4400 searches and a nice valuation.  Unfortunately already at $500

FreeScholarships.com My first thought FREE scholarships?  As opposed to paid scholarships but 10,000 people are searching for these and the org works for educational things

It’s easy to find a lot more good names using DomainStryker.com

Domains For Sale

kidneydiseases.net  $200

Happa.com $1200

labradoodlepuppies.net  $200

Email me if interested in purchasing domains.  Feel free to make offer

Proof There is No Regulation In Domaining: YourSiteCan.be

I’ve received a lot of deceiving emails and letters in my years of domaining but this is the first actual site that has drawn my ire.  YourSiteCan.be (not going to give link) is a site that sells “information” regarding the registrations of new TLDs.  The problem, you can make up your own TLD.  Any TLD.  Here are some recently “ordered” domains

• make.money
• grandrapids.auction
• order.takeout
• find.boats
• motorcycle.brake
• air.filter
• greenbay.packers
• microsoft.cmo
• mobile.phone
• superior.liquidnatrition
• texas.football
• leather.jackets

According to their website,

By Ordering with us, your domain name will be stored in our database and be displayed as “NOT AVAILABLE” to other users looking for the same domain name. Purchasing our service will keep you in the know before the gerneral public as ICANN releases and permits new domains.

In reality, this is very deceptive.  Sure,  they DO state several times that this does not guarantee that you will get this name but merely provides information about it.  The problem, as I see it, is that it is set up exactly like a domain registration service and gives the feeling that you are really registering a domain.  Anyone with the slightest bit of knowledge of domains realizes only ICANN can release a new TLD and that exactly 0 of these “registered” names will ever exist, but some people may not. They are playing the same game as the fake IDs sold in the back of Cracked magazine in the 70’s and 80’s.  You were pretty sure they were going to be terrible but it was worth a shot.

The fact that people are paying $8 dollars is a shame.  I’m sure that yoursitecan.be has hired a bunch of lawyers to make sure they are legal but that doesn’t make it right.

I Missed a Chance of a Lifetime Opportunity for Great Advertising

A young lady recently had an ebay ad announcing the recent availability of advertising space on body.  Not just an part of the body, her butt. Here’s the exact ebay sale

If you win I will tattoo your name on my ass in hand written font, 1cm high. You will receive a photo for your personal records. I have no other tattoos on my butt, so it will be very prominent.

The no other tattoos is like have a non rotating banner that is up for life.  I would have bid but she wouldn’t guarantee that someone like Elliot would come by and get his site right above mine. It also doesn’t help that the picture on her ad is actually that of Demi Moore so we’ve lost the trust factor in our relationship.  Don’t ask me how I know instantly that is Demi Moore. Now you may say, “How many people are going to actually see her behind?”  Sure, it’s not a great value if you measure “per eyeball”.  I guessing not many, but those who do will NEVER forget my site.

A Few Nice Domains Dropping This Morning ($17.63 CPC)

Monday, Monday.    I had a big weekend.  Got a plant website up (heucheras.com),  ran 28 miles, and got a few hours of work in as well.  I hope this week is as productive.  Now on to the dropping names.

FavoriteRestaurants.com A little long but for $10 you really can’t go wrong

ChinleArizona.com Under 10,000 people in Chinle but like above, I’m pretty sure you can flip this for more than you’ll end up paying.

BabyAnnouncements.net 40,000 plus searches and a CPC over $2.

Searchngive.org A valid PR 5 and not a ton of bidders

ChildSupport.net Not going to go cheap but a very nice name

uHotel.com Could be a nice travel related site with this name

It’s easy to find a lot more good names using DomainStryker.com

Domains For Sale

Owpy.com  $100

Bragn.com $200

400r.com and 400e.com $500 for the pair

Email me if interested in purchasing domains.  Feel free to make offer

A Few Nice Domains Dropping This Morning

I accidentally left a “0″ off one of my domains for sale and in the life of new blogger…..nobody noticed.  Here are the names that are dropping

It’s easy to find a lot more good names using DomainStryker.com

CheapLCDs.com Valuate has this at $3600 and 1612 searches so the present $15 bid is a good deal

ELCU.com I don’t like acronyms but if I did I would buy this one.

ICheated.com Ohhh the things you could do with this name

EggEgg.com In some cases a repeating name in the domain make sense and would be good for an end user.  I don’t know who would ever buy this but I do like saying eggegg

HHF.org A three letter dot orgs….. Those can be nice

Domains For Sale

PurpleScarf.com   $150

uWere.com $250

Email me if interested in purchasing domains.  Feel free to make offer

10 Reasons Why You Need to Go On The DnCruise.com

You don’t have to be 75 or a gay man to enjoy a great cruise.  Especially when it’s the DnCruise, put on by Mr. Flash himself, Chef Patrick.  Patrick pays attention and that’s what I like about him.  He caters to the big domainers and small domainers as well and his first conference will prove that a domaining conference can be a personal, fun, and informative for all comers.  There are a ton of reasons why you should attend the cruise but here are 10 reason you may not have known until now.

1. Rumor has it that there will be a re-enactment of ‘Love Boat’ starring Greg McNair as Captain Stubing, Rick Latona as Gopher, Jodi Chamberlain as Julie, Jason Thompson and Isaac, Ron Jackson as Doc, and Tia Wood as Vickie. They’ve been rehearsing for weeks but have gone on hiatus while Greg climbs for waterschool. Should be a good show.

2.  It’s the first domaining conference where spouses are encouraged meaning that your wife is going to figure out that it’s not a bunch of geeks comparing type-in rates.  Rather, that we’re a cool bunch of geeks comparing type-in rates.

3. They will be showing the movie Titanic on night one and The Poseidon Adventure on the second night.   DiCaprio is so good in the first one.

4. Chef Patrick realizes he’s already the center of attention at this conference,  so he’s agreed to ditch the flashing glasses, the sponsored shirt, and the t-shirt with his giant picture airbrushed on it and simply wear a bowling shirt that says  “Chef P”

5. It’s cheap.  Less than you’d pay for a sold two word generic dot com.

6. Free booze, free photos.   Chef and the sponsors are covering the booze and Ron Jackson takes so many photos you really don’t even need a camera

7. To save time Chef is going to have all the girls kiss Merlin Kauffman as they board the boat.  They were inevitably going to making out with him later anyway and this way they get it over with.   (Just playing with this one, he’s young and has a hell of a portfolio, I’m just jealous on both accounts)

8.  The first ever session completely dedicated to monetizing domain blogger aggregation sites.

9. No non-payers will be sneaking into this one like some of the other conferences……guaranteed.  They’re easy to spot if they try, they’ll be the one’s approaching in a dingy

10.   If it’s anything like The Love Boat,  the conference will go like this.   Everyone will be happy when the board, there will be problems or a big misunderstanding sometime during the cruise,  the crew gets involved and everyone leaves happy…..then they go to Fanstasy Island

A Few Nice Domains Dropping This Weekend (Swamp Donkey?)

A lot of good names dropping for a Saturday.  Will be a ton of people out playing this weekend with the first weekend of nice weather around the nation for the first time a while.  Here are a few names I though were interesting.

Guna.com Going to go for $3K plus but under $5K still offers room for a flip.

OldTowne.com There are hundreds of places named Old Towne.  End user sale is high possibility here

SwampDonkeys.com A website waiting to happen.  A Swap Donkey is a heavy set girl that waits around the bars to pounce on a drunk guy that normally would never get with her.

Tradelink.net Doesn’t get much love from estibot/valuate but I like the name.  14,000 searches and certainly a good link related domain

ShanghaiChina.net A very nice geo and little pre interest (interest right before the deadline when everyone normally swoop in)

It’s easy to find a lot more good names using DomainStryker.com

Domains For Sale

PurpleScarf.com   $150

uWere.com $250

Email me if interested in purchasing domains.  Feel free to make offer

The Results from “Guess Which One Sold for More” Contest

Looks like I won’t be doing this again.  Only three entrees.  I guess it was one of those, cool the first time, old the second. Maybe it was the prize of the leftover filet mignon of the Southern California domain meetup.  Either way, I think I’ve proven my point that nobody truly can tell what a name is worth.   The “other” Patrick won the grand prize this week with 7 correct.  Congrats to him and I will be sending the meat over later this week.   Thanks to the other guys for playing along and I’ll be buying you both beers if I see you in person. Ask Chef, I’m good for it.  Here are the sales prices of the domains below

1. Practica.com ($5532) Vs. Hortica.com ($1100)

2. RapidPorn.com ($2000) Vs. TravelZone ($15,000)

3. PeopleSearch.org ($5250) Vs. Requested.com ($2700)

4. Tuto.com ($15,510) Vs. Neclace.net ($10,145)

5. RedApples.com ($3000) Vs. Blabr.com ($5010)

6. StayingAlive ($6900) Vs. ElectricalFences.com ($4500)

7. Kulu.com ($25,000) Vs. iPal.com ($59,000)

8. MadridAirport.com ($8819) Vs. TreasureMap.com ($3101)

9. Jawa.com ($20,000) Vs. Pipi.com ($100,000)

10. Wizzle.com ($2200) Vs. BikeRacks.net ($5400)