Greetings!

Just a head’s up that besides the sponsor/exhibitor specials that will expire at midnight tomorrow is the special DVD set of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Keynoters that is also available until tomorrow at midnight. Just sign up for the Silicon Valley Show (April 27-30) at the link below and we will give you a 7 DVD set featuring:

Steve Forbes, Terry Jones, Tom Gardner, Barbara Corcoran, Jim McCann, John Reese plus Andrew Miller and Zappy Zapolin all LIVE as they speak to the domain industry at previous TRAFFIC shows. The set is FREE if you register by midnight tomorrow and the info is absolutely priceless. Just sign up now and we’ll take care of the rest.
 
http://www.targetedtraffic.com/NewSite2009/registration/nextTraffic.php  
 
Our incentives may be in different forms, but the lowest prices and best perks are based on how early you register. Register now and get the $1495 Early bird plus these priceless DVD’s filled with tips to change your lives let alone your businesses. Enjoy over and over again and share with your friends and family! Anyone that has already registered and paid for the Silicon Valley show (other than transfers) will automatically receive these perks.

Have a safe and Happy New Years!

Rick and Howard

Source: Email Newsletter from TRAFFIC

A redesigned system for receiving reports of inaccurate domain name registration data has gone live today.The Whois Data Problem Report System (WDPRS) has a number of advantages over the previous system, which was first introduced in 2002. Among them are:

• More detailed information is captured from complainants to assist registrars in investigating Whois inaccuracies
• Duplicate reports regarding the same domain name are not accepted by the system
• Reports concerning domains already on hold are removed
• Greater capacity has been introduced to allow for bulk submissions of reports
• Processes have been put in place to assess registrar compliance with RAA Whois inaccuracy investigation requirements

The revamped WDRPS can be found at http://wdprs.internic.net/.

Background:

The WDPRS allows the public to file reports of Whois inaccuracy regarding active domain names. The WDPRS transmits Whois inaccuracy reports, via email, to the sponsoring registrars for investigation as required by Section 3.7.8 of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) http://www.icann.org/en/registrars/ra-agreement-17may01.htm.

In 2002, ICANN developed the WDPRS to improve Whois data accuracy and to assist registrars in carrying out their responsibility to take reasonable steps to investigate Whois inaccuracy claims. Although significant system enhancements were made over the past six years to address community needs, a more comprehensive system redesign was determined necessary to realise the system objectives. This new software system also allows ICANN to make future enhancements quickly to respond to community needs.

Since its implementation in 2002, ICANN has seen a significant rise in the number of Whois inaccuracy reports filed through this system. In 2002, approximately 24,000 Whois inaccuracy reports were filed using the WDPRS. In 2008, over 200,000 reports have been filed since 1 March 2008

In an effort to improve Whois accuracy, registrar compliance with RAA investigation requirements, operational effectiveness, data processing, data recovery, and increase data capacity, ICANN commenced WDPRS redesign plans earlier this year. In consultation with the Intellectual Property Constituency, the Registrar Constituency and other community members, ICANN redesigned the system.

Through the redesigned WDPRS, ICANN seeks to address concerns raised by the Internet community regarding system irregularities, the filing of irrelevant claims and insufficient data capacity. ICANN conducted beta testing with external constituencies to ensure operational functionality and usability of the system prior to launching the redesigned WDPRS. ICANN encourages the Internet community to provide comments to ensure the continual improvement of the WDPRS.

Please submit comments at wdprs-comments@icann.org . Comments may be viewed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/wdprs-comments/.

Zapolin, who made millions from the sale of domain names like Beer.com and Shop.com, explains why the crisis is actually a great opportunity for the Internet, and why online advertising will grow rapidly.

Website owners know that on the Internet, the name of the game is traffic, that is, the flow of data. The more people regularly visit a site, the greater its chances of attracting advertisers and earning more money. Among the millions of people who have established websites with the goal of making pocket money from them, or maintaining their hobby through blogging, there are also those who trade in domain names, and generally hope for the best.
Mike “Zappy” Zapolin is one of the entrepreneurs who succeeded in profiting from the trade in domain names a market which reportedly generates $2.5 billion a year. His successes include the sale of the domain name Beer.com for $7 million, Creditcards.com for $2.75 million, and Shop.com, whose price tag hit $3.5 million.

Zapolin, who will visit Israel to speak at the “Globes” Israel Business Conference 2008, belongs to the optimistic school those who aren’t really unnerved by the possible repercussions of the current financial crisis on the Internet industry. In this market, they see potential acquisition opportunities.

Read the full story here: http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000406005&fid=1724

John Motson, domain name expert and online entrepreneur offers a complimentary e-book “Domaining Manifesto - Guide to Domain Name Success” providing detailed information to appraise, purchase, manage, trade, monetize and sell domain names with the aim of using domain names as an alternative investment option at a time of global recession and financial instability.

John Motson’s the domainingrevolution.com, committed to revolutionizing the domain name industry with a series of practical, constructive and creative initiatives that will bring mainstream exposure to an industry deserving of more attention in a time of global recession and financial instability, today announced the release of a free copy of an 86 page e-book titled “Domaining Manifesto - Guide to Domain Name Success”.

With the dire state of today’s global financial market, domain names are turning out to be a very steady and reliable investment alternative as domain names are not reliant on a singular institution, country or entity that can fail.

“I wrote the Manifesto to focus on a need by people to make a success of their online entrepreneurship efforts at a time when offline jobs are harder to find. Every day, domaining gurus are feeding us the ‘all the good domains are gone’ phrase. Why? The answer is very simple. They are afraid of the competition! The truth is very different. Domain names can provide a risk free, steady, long term source of revenue unparalleled by anything else offered online today.”

John has been an avid domainer since the year 2000. He owns over a thousand quality domain names and has bought and sold more then a thousand domain names in the past seven years and made a sizable profit on each one. He has spent countless hours putting together the Domaining Manifesto to cater for every type of entrepreneur. Regardless of whether you are a domaining pro or a novice, you will find the Domaining Manifesto full of practical information to help you successfully deal with and invest in domain names.

With the publication of this free e-book and the imminent launch of the www.domainingrevolution.com project, John hopes to reach as many people as possible and help enrich their lives while bringing mainstream attention to an industry that deserves it. “In order to succeed in the domaining world, you have to be focused and have a set agenda. My ebook helps you understand the industry and provides a practical guide to focus your efforts on the things that will bring you success both in the short and long term as a domainer and online entrepreneur. The book is free, download it, read it and start your path to success with domain names.”

The Domaining Manifesto is an e-book that has received rave reviews from some of the top people in the domain name industry. Here is what Ron James (owner of popular domain name forum NamePros.com) said about the Domaining Manifesto: “John, I’m concerned. Are you sure you want to release this to the public? You’ve included knowledge in this book that’s taken domain industry pros like us years to learn. This Domaining Manifesto of yours will give people an unfair jump start into making serious money with domain names.”

Sahar Sarid, author of Conceptualist.com and owner of a collection of million dollar domain names had the following to say about the Domaining Manifesto: “For new or seasonal investors in the domain space, I feel this eBook can help get an idea of what is going on. If we look at the eBook as a stepping stone to the domain world, it’s definitely worth reading.”

To download a free copy of the Domaining Manifesto - Guide to Domain Name Success, please visit: domainingrevolution.com.

About John Motson:
John is the owner and author of popular domain name blog www.DNXpert.com, delivering daily news and views on the domain name industry. He has been an avid domainer since the year 2000 and owns an enviable domain portfolio numbering just above a thousand domain names.

Nominet held their second annual .uk registrar conference at Wembley Stadium last week where they released their Domain Name Industry Report 2008 that highlights some interesting statistics about domain name registrations both in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.

The report also shows the importance of a .uk domain name to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) as their primary domain name. There has also been a continuing increase in popularity of country code domain names driven by strong growth in countries such as China and Russia. This has pushed the market share of country codes to 40 per cent of the 174 million domain names across the world.

With the market share of Country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) increasing, the .com market share has fallen from 50% in 2005 to 45% now according to the report, and this is evidence that the market share of Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) being eroded.

gTLDs such as .com, .net and .org, have been most affected with annual growth rates falling from over 30 per cent growth in 2006 to under 10 per cent this year to date. Meanwhile ccTLDs as a group have fared better with growth rates only falling from 37 to 26 per cent. However, this is mainly due to huge growth in certain ccTLDs such as China and Russia.

As well as focussing on the .uk market, the report also looks more widely at ccTLDs in particular, with .uk the third largest ccTLD behind .cn (China) and .de (Germany). .nl (Netherlands) and .eu (European Union) round out the top 5 followed by .ar (Argentina) and .ru (Russian Federation). .fr (France) .pl (Poland) and .es (Spain) are all big movers up in their top 20 list, while .ch (Switzerland), .jp (Japan) and .kr (Korea) all drop noticeably due to growth rates being not as high as others. .au (Australia) remains in twelfth place.

When comparing total domain name registrations in countries, the United States leads with 55.24 million registrations followed by Germany (17.25m), the United Kingdom (11.23m) and China (10.94m).

Countries with less restrictive rules on registering domain names tend to have higher rates of ccTLD registrations. Examples of these are France and Spain, however in recent years both have liberalised their registration rules. Australia, India and Spain are also examples with lower proportions of ccTLD registrations and more restrictive registration rules.

The report also has an interesting comparison of GDP and domain name registrations. A number of countries over perform considerably on domain names versus GDP, most notably Netherlands and Argentina. Japan and the United States on the other hand appear to show low levels of ccTLD registrations when ranked against their GDP. This highlights the reliance and preference in both of these countries for generic domain names such as .com.

On the distribution of gTLDs across the world, all gTLDs are dominated by sales in USA, with registrations from the USA accounting for around 50% of each gTLD.

Of all the gTLDs, the smallest proportion of .com registrants are based in Europe, with 21 per cent. The gTLD with the largest proportion of its registrants based in Europe is .info, with 37% and .biz follows closely behind with 31 per cent. The report suggests that European businesses are more open to a range of different TLDs, whilst non-European are most keen on .com, to the detriment of the other gTLDs.

Outside of North America, .com registrations are highest as a total of all registrations in any larger country in the United Kingdom with 4.7 per cent of all registrations .com followed by Germany (4.5%), China (3.2%), France (2.4%) and Australia (2.0%).

The report breaks down all of the gTLDs into regional distributions. For .org registrations, Germany has 8.2 per cent of all registrations and 8.5 per cent of all .net registrations. In other gTLDs, Germany has the most .info and .biz registrations outside the United States in large countries with 9.6 and 7.9 per cent of registrations respectively. The United Kingdom leads with 6.3 per cent of .mobi registrations .

Nominet’s Domain Name Industry Report 2008 can be downloaded from www.nominet.org.uk/go/dnir.

Russia’s media conglomerate, Gazprom Media, is now the proud owner of video-sharing site RuTube. This deal has been in the works since at least June, 2007 and is believed to be in the $15 million range.

RuTube is the YouTube of Russia. Or, rather, it wants to be. According to comScore, YouTube is actually the YouTube of Russia. In September, RuTube attracted 2 million unique visitors in Russia, versus 2.9 million Russian uniques for YouTube. RuTibe is seeing some nice growth, though. It has doubled its audience since June. (All caveats about comScore estimates apply here. Their numbers for Russia should be looked at as indicative of the trend rather than as absolutes).

Source: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/19/gazprom-media-completes-15-million-acquisition-rutube-the-youtube-of-russia/

Google released today what is calls The Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (pdf file), a 22 page document.

According to Google:

“””””Our Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide covers around a dozen common areas that webmasters might consider optimizing.

We felt that these areas (like improving title and description meta tags, URL structure, site navigation, content creation, anchor text, and more) would apply to webmasters of all experience levels and sites of all sizes and types. Throughout the guide, we also worked in many illustrations, pitfalls to avoid, and links to other resources that help expand our explanation of the topics.

We plan on updating the guide at regular intervals with new optimization suggestions and to keep the technical advice current.””””

BOCA RATON, Florida, - Erosion of Americans’ home values, retirement accounts and employment prospects in the housing market collapse shows again that individuals need to put themselves in control of securing their financial future. Many have come to realize that starting businesses may be their best, fastest and least cost path to future prosperity. One Rhode Island man who left his AT&T job and used retirement savings to buy a small business summed up for the New York Times the difference between working for others and working for yourself: “I’m creating an asset I want to be a part of, instead of just stumbling along on a career path at some big company.”

Florida-based Internet entrepreneur Owen Frager wants to help more people make that transition — but on the Internet rather than in the bricks-and-mortar world. Frager has launched Grand Names (http://www.grandnames.com), the Web’s newest marketplace for domain names.
“I created Grand Names to put people in control of their own destinies,” Frager said. “No one gets rich working for a paycheck. Real wealth and the security it brings requires ownership. I want people to see Grand Names as a key part of their exit strategy from the corporate grind”

Explained Frager: “The right name is the most important part of an Internet-based business. It can directly impact your image, instantly establish trust and credibility, and gain more recognition among all stakeholders. It makes the difference between being found or staying hidden when customers come searching. The most effective names serve as that one
element vital to the success of all direct marketing: a relevant and memorable call to action. The results they generate can strengthen a company’s online brand-building effort.”

At launch, names offered for sale included: Average-Joe.com, CandyHere.com, iNeedADivorce.com, TrackVotes.com, StudentMarketer.Com, AMatterofHealth.com, FullPriceForYourHouse.com, PayLoansoff.com, MileageBank.com, CheckSugar.Com, OneDoseToday.com, ThinkBeforeYouDie.com, Namestakes.com, Merriest.Com, ExecutivePotential.com, FindADateOnTheInternet.com, and hundreds of others.

In keeping with the site’s theme of “Great names for under a grand,” all names cost less than $1,000.

Frager says one advantage of online businesses is that people can start and run them part-time while they continue to work for a salary, a theme recently echoed in major media. Brian Martin, co-founder of Brand Connections, wrote in on AdAge.com that “the smartest pathway to small-business success in our industry is to keep your day job and start part time. It might mean working nights and weekends for a while. But ultimately you’ll find that your part time business can be your key to full-time success.”

Online businesses also offer the benefit of rapid time to market and low start-up costs, a feature especially attractive to those with limited resources after losing or quitting a job. A WSJ.com article headlined “How to Create a Successful Web Site For Nothing (or Almost Nothing)” offered a 7-step program for building, promoting and operating an online business — on an initial investment of eight hours and $10.

Frager intends to offer the same type of advice to Grand Names customers.

“Most domain business start-up solutions are robotic, self-serve, and provide no human connection at a time when people taking bold steps need handholding the most,” said Frager. “To have the support and counsel of a team like our advisory board and marketing consultants goes way beyond what fledgling entrepreneurs can find elsewhere.”

About GrandNames.com

Grand Names is a new brokerage and marketplace for domain names, where every name cost less than $1,000. The Grand Names Marketing Campaign provides members affordable access to professional copywriters, designers and marketing consultants who understand how to reach prospective buyers of their names.

For more information, contact Owen Frager, Frager Creative Group, at 561-620-8708 .

Random Sampling of Names Offered

Applenut.Com; Breaststroke.Org; Manizzle.Com; Meghan.Biz;
BlogProud.Com; Residenceblog.Com; AnalyzeRoi.Com; GolfSaudiArabia.Com;
StuffForLovers.com; CreditCardMinimumPayments.Com; Far-Left.Com;
GetReliefFromBreastPain.Com; LongRecession.Com; PayLoansOff.com;
Smart-ads.com; Webstreamer.com; 0RateLoan.com; iHaveSeniority.com;
Bright-Idea.com; MoreSexForSeniors.com; GetOnList.com; StyleTip.mobi;
PresidentDolls.Com; ReplaceJoint.Com; 800ski.Com; SantasWebList.Com;
Too-Sexy.com; Shortrecession.Com; InfoOlogy.com; Unblended.com;
LetMeTellYouAboutMyGrandchildren.com; WeSellSofas.com;
FutureDotComMogul.com: UndergroundManual.com; StuffForMakingFurniture.net;
VoteForMeSong.Com; OfficialRecession.Com;; AcapulcoBeckons.com;
MacMullens.com, GiveTheLittleGuyAChance.com; PeepShowBooth.com;
WeSellBeds.co.uk; iWantaCigarette.com; UserIdentification.com;
WorldsGreatestHits.com; Unbleached.com

Hello,

Just a quick message from the Bido team! It’s been some time since we last sent an update to the members. We’re still gearing up for our relaunch, we make progress with it each and every day. We recently put a server online that went a little haywire and sent out quite a few emails. If you were affected by the mishap, we sincerely apologize for the numerous emails that made it to your inbox. Please forgive us!
On a parallel but unrelated note, Sahar made a post to his blog (www.conceptualist.com) on the first of October, where he mentioned the following:
“A quick Bido update, we are still testing the site, added new features, spent way too much on new hardware. We expect to bring Bido back in about 2-4 weeks. Our other offerings, portfolio management software DNZoom and PortfolioHelp are up and running and doing great. PortfolioHelp, since introduction, helped a number of top domainers move around to better solutions (making more money). If not for NDA I would post those here, however, as you all know, domainers do like their privacy, and we of course must respect that.”
Thanks to Sahar for that update! On that note, though, as Sahar stated, PortfolioHelp is doing great. If you have not yet reached out and raised your hand to indicate that you would like to participate, please consider doing such. In these economic times, it’s sometimes wise to take a step back and determine how to best maximize the profits from the work and research of yesterday. If you are not yet familiar with PortfolioHelp, the main concept is to make more money than ever before with the same traffic. We offer domain name portfolio brokerage, and we also offer monetization that utilizes the collective bargaining power of numbers. Please review the full description and the current requirements for the PortfolioHelp program at the following URL:
www.bido.com/PortfolioHelp (log in required)

It was nice meeting many of our partners and clients at the Targeted Traffic show in New York! If you spot us at an industry event, stop over and say hello! We’ll be happy to do a meet and greet, explain Bido, DNZoom, and PortfolioHelp with you.
As a final note, a close personal friend of ours is looking to sell three domains. Two are paired as a set: GardenOfEden.com and EdenQuest.com, and the third domain Superstars.com is available as a single lot. Superstars.com gets about 2,200 uniques per month and GardenOfEden.com gets about 1,500 uniques per month. It’s a great opportunity to acquire these domains, and this is the first time they’re available. If you’re interested, please contact us and we’ll send along more info. You may click reply to this email to contact us!
Thanks for reading along and we look forward to updating you again soon!
Be sure to check out PortfolioHelp at the above link, as well as our domain management platform www.DNZoom.com
Regards,
The Bido.com Team

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – You can call her CutoutDissection.com, Cutout for short, but just don’t call her Jennifer. The former Jennifer Thornburg — now legally CutoutDissection.com — wanted to do something real to protest animal dissections in schools.

The 19-year-old’s new name is also the Web address for an anti-dissection page of the site for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, where she is interning.

“I normally do have to repeat my name several times when I am introducing myself to someone new,” she told The Asheville Citizen-Times for a story last week. “Once they find out what my name is, they want to know more about what the Web site is about.”

The Asheville High School graduate said she began opposing dissections in middle school after a class assignment to cut up a chicken wing made her uncomfortable. She helped create a policy at her high school that allows students who object to dissections to complete an alternative assignment.

Despite the legal change, she said most of her family members still call her Jennifer.

“It will take me a while,” said her dad, Duane Thornburg, who lives in Daytona Beach, Fla. “She’s still Jennifer to me. I understand why she’s done it. Believe it or not, I totally respect it.”

A CD showing the treatment of animals before they are dissected finally convinced him to support his daughter’s cause, he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081013/ap_on_fe_st/odd_name_change