Here’s the thing: the Web is still in its infancy, so it’s easy to jump on the “this business model is dead, make room for the future” bandwagon. Is this principle usually valid? Yes. Is it ALWAYS valid? Nope, not by a long shot.

Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals

We need to always see right through hype and analyze the fundamentals of each business model. Figuring out if we’re talking about an over-hyped fad or a fundamentally sound business model is really not all that complicated and no, I’m not going to bore you with a “from A to Z” lecture.

If you’re armed with a bit of common sense, you’ll be just fine. While I don’t want to bore you by stating the obvious (again, I’m definitely not a fan of “from A to Z” lectures), I’ll ask for a few seconds of your time and will refer to maybe the single most important indicator:

The Test of Time

Let’s go back to the original question: do forums have a future? Well, let’s see what “history” tells us. The first applications which could be considered web-based message boards appeared in 1996 (we’ve had applications which could, in one way or the other, be considered forums even way before 1996 but I want to be fair and only refer to those which can definitely be considered web-based message boards). Fad or not?

We’ll, let’s assume that we’re in 1996 and decide to wait it out. Are forums still popular in 1997? Yep, they’re becoming more and more popular. What about 1998? Yep! 1999? Yep? 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and beyond? Of course! Almost everyone who is currently reading this blog post is probably a member of at least one forum at the moment of writing and that alone says a lot. The same concept is valid when it comes to email and even blogs.

Does Jogging Have a Future?

We’ve invented the car, right? In that case, jogging is history! Who needs it, waste of time! What about spoons? Who needs them when a few years from now, we’ll all be eating astronaut food!

All in all, this much is certain: it’s extremely important to understand that we’re still pioneers. We’ll be able to see a lot of innovative stuff this year, next year and beyond but that doesn’t mean that none of the business models which will emerge will end up sticking, not by a long shot!

iPad.com = iReport.com 2.0?

Is the domain name iPad.com worth a LOT of money at this point? Yes, nobody can deny that.

If Microsoft decides to rename “Windows 7″ to “Please Buy These Socks”, will the domain “PleaseBuyTheseSocks.com” be extremely valuable? Yep.

Look: cases such as these are extremely rare. Of course, all of us would be thrilled to find out that a motivated corporation (after all, a million bucks is peanuts to a company such as Microsoft, CNN or Apple) launched an “ABCDEFG” product and that it desperately wants the “brandable” ABCDEFG.com domain we bought or hand regged without even thinking that something like this could happen but the odds of something like this happening are slim to none.

Should we all start buying or hand regging brandables like there’s no tomorrow just because we read about an isolated incident? Of course not!

There’s a fine line between being rational and daydreaming, we as domainers should know this better than anyone else. A top dollar sale is always beneficial to our industry but we should definitely not make the mistake of thinking that buying or hand regging lots of brandables in the hope that a major company will eventually launch a TV show or a product with the exact same name is a viable business model.

Webmasters, Webmasters, Webmasters

In my opinion, this category of end users is not receiving enough attention, not by a long shot. Do you think there’s not enough money on the table? Think again, I personally know at least one person who earns 4 figures per day via affiliate marketing.

And wait, it gets even better. Setting things in motion when it comes to corporate end users is not easy at all, while webmasters are an extremely “hungry” bunch. They want money so bad they can taste it, they have that “hunger” which most corporate end users lack and that makes them a lot more willing to take chances.

Do I Want to Fight This Battle Alone? Nope, I’m Counting on You Guys!

I have a LOT of contacts who earn a living online. Some of them by chasing after organic traffic, some of them by paying for traffic. That’s a good starting point IMO and here’s the thing: most webmasters actually understand the value of a great domain.

Here’s an example: I’ve written a guest post for DailyBlogTips.com earlier this month, click here if you want to check it out. DailyBlogTips.com has almost 40,000 RSS readers and is present on the AdAge “Power 150″ list, that alone says a lot. The guest post had to do with domaining, it was a smashing hit and here’s why: domainers and webmasters have a lot in common, we’re all here to make money online and if that’s not a solid foundation, I don’t know what is.

Remember that project I told you about, remember the case study I’ve promised? Well, it’s coming and it will definitely make my vision when it comes to the future of the Internet clear, a future which involves domainers as well as webmasters.

We can’t afford to overlook this category of potential end users in my opinion, most domainers don’t even realize just how much money webmasters are willing to put on the table and that needs to change. In fact, I’m going to make sure that things change and need your help. 2010 will be an extremely exciting year and if you have any suggestions or are willing to help me build a bridge between domainers and webmasters, shoot me an email (office at billiondollarmedia dot com)! Attracting corporate end users is a long-term battle, attracting webmasters is a short-term one in my opinion (we’ll see results a LOT faster) and we can win ‘em both. Can I count on you?

1) Tia Wood posted about Adam Dicker’s “intention” of shutting down DNForum (again, the post was a joke – not a brilliant one but still, it was obviously a joke – and again, it even ended with a “dummy disclaimer”)

2) A few people actually took the post seriously (for the third time, leaving the fact that pretty much all DomainGang posts are jokes aside: the post ended with a disclaimer!) and Adam Dicker started a thread about it -> LAME

3) People started to go all “Oh noes! DomainGang’s attitude is inexcusable! The HORROR!” -> LAME (please, do us all a favor and stop taking the Internet seriously)

4) The post ended up being removed -> LAME (removing a post simply because a few people got their panties in a knot is just as lame as being pissed off after reading something which was obviously a joke IMO)

5) Acro posted a “public apology” -> LAME (seriously, what did you apologize for? The fact that a few people didn’t read a disclaimer and took a post which was obviously a joke seriously?)

The whole situation is so lame that it’s not even funny. Why did I post about it? Because it paints an extremely clear picture when it comes to domaining forums:

• waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much noise
• waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much drama
• a waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too “all sunshine and butterflies” perspective on an industry which ( just like the Internet in general) is extremely shady

In case you haven’t read the DomainGang post I’m referring to, you check it out via Google cache. Perform a search for the term “domaingang dnforum shutting down” (the “notorious” blog post will appear as the first result) and click on the “cached” link

Look, your situation is what it is. You can’t change the past but you CAN work your ass off in order to make things happen now! This series of articles will cater to the needs of domainers who:

1) Don’t own lots of domains which receive hundreds of type-ins each day

2) Don’t own lots of domains for which they receive at least an offer each week

3) Don’t have a huge amount of money in the bank

4) Are interested in a long-term approach to investing in domains but, at the same time, need to put food on the table

… and the list could go on and on. Most of my readers have not been around 10-15 years ago but that doesn’t mean that they should give up, not by a long shot.

I’ll teach you how to generate traffic, I’ll teach you how to monetize the traffic you currently have a lot better and most importantly, I’ll teach you how to set and achieve long-term goals as an investor yet still put food on the table. In other words: I’ll teach you how to up your game!

Observing Doesn’t Put Food on the Table

On the one hand yeah, observing is kind of fun. Lots of folks like to think that they know absolutely everything and forums are great examples. They’re full of people who know everything… maybe in theory.

Their attitude towards Rick Latona (I’ve noticed a thread on dnforum about him a while back and found it pretty funny) is a great example: “dude, this guy sells expensive minisites which suck… what a joke”, “yeah… and remember when one of his auctions had almost no bids! LOL WTF!” and the list could go on and on. But while they’re laughing their asses off:

Rick Latona Is Making Bank

A classic example of a “throw lots of shit at the wall and see what sticks” way of thinking, plain and simple. And guess what: it works! He failed with AEIOU.com, right? Yep, he did. But what about his newsletter? He makes a nice commission whenever a domain is sold and even if he doesn’t sell hundreds of domains each month, he is still making some decent cash without working all that much via his newsletter.

And let’s not forget about his auctions. People used to laugh right from the beginning, it’s like they were waiting for him to screw up just so they could have their 10 seconds of “I told you so” pride. Talk about an attitude which doesn’t get you anywhere! Rick made lots of mistakes and then gradually started upping his game. Anyone with half a brain will figure out that he will probably make some decent coin in 2010 thanks to his auctions. And with his new platform and everything, things seem to be going in the right direction, wouldn’t you agree?

Wait, You’re NOT Criticizing Him?

Look: DomainingTips.com is all about being realistic. If I think that a concept sucks, I’m gonna “say it out loud” through this blog. If I think that a person’s behavior sucked, expect me to blog about it. But not everything sucks, seriously!

What I’m trying to explain is that Rick Latona has an approach which puts money in his bank account. Sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he fails miserably but after drawing the line, you can rest assured that he’s not disappointed with the way his bank account presents itself.

Don’t be afraid to throw shit at the wall and see what sticks if your budget allows you to, that would be the conclusion of today’s post. What everyone else is saying doesn’t matter, just do your thing and make bank!

What bugs me the most is seeing people who have never even used SnapNames go all crazy, they’re literally investing hours upon hours of their time by posting on forums like there’s no tomorrow.

But Aren’t You Wasting Time by Blogging about This?

Well no, my goal as far as DomainingTips.com is concerned is generating as much traffic as possible. How do I do that? By providing value and in this case, I’m providing value by explaining that most people are just wasting time instead of doing what they should be doing… making bank.

Look, if SnapNames.com owes you a significant amount of money then yes, it makes sense to try your best in order to obtain as much from them as possible. But even if that’s the case, going crazy won’t solve anything. Be rational and make informed decisions, don’t let emotions get the best of you because that makes you WEAK. Period.

But… but… the “Industry” Is Hurting… the HORROR!

Seriously? I’ve mentioned this again but feel the need to repeat myself: do you honestly think that this is the only situation when something shady happened? I can guarantee that there isn’t even ONE company out there without skeletons in its closet.

A lot of people who should know better are getting all emotional and everything when the situation is as simple as it gets: a SnapNames VP did lots of shady stuff and now the company is trying to cover its ass. WOW… “UNBELIEVABLE”!

Did you think that it’s all sunshine and butterflies? Well it isn’t, it never was and it never will be. No matter what “industry” we’re talking about, there will always be people who want to make a quick buck (or a quick million… whatever) by doing something shady. I’ll go even further and say that this incident simply makes it clear that:

People Need to Stop Living in Fantasy Land!

I read a post (I have nothing against Rick and as I’ve mentioned when I’ve referred to Alan’s article: I’m criticizing the post, not the person who wrote it) the other day about how the domaining industry is all about trust and how that trust has been broken… come on Rick, seriously?

The domaining industry is all about trust and all of a sudden this incident is the most important thing working against its credibility? Are we talking about the same industry? The industry where lots of people made serious bank by registering TM domains? The industry where a lot of people make money by hand regging domains related to terrible tragedies? The industry where most people would tell an end user (or a fellow domainer) absolutely anything in order to secure a sale? Again, seriously?

I don’t know about you but as far as I’m concerned, things such as the ones mentioned above have done and will continue to do a lot more damage than the fact that a VP was up to no good. Please, let’s stop lying to ourselves. People lie, people deceive and this industry does NOT represent an exception. It sucks, I know, but that’s just the way things stand.

Go Make Some Money… NOW!

Lots of companies have been scamming people for a long time and I seriously doubt that things will change. Will someone try to scam you at one point or another? Yep. Will someone eventually manage to scam you? Probably, who knows.

Does this mean that you’re better off giving up? NOPE! Just do your thing, making lots of money is definitely possible despite all of the things which seem to work against you. This much is certain: constantly considering yourself a victim will get you nowhere!

But hey, if you desperately want to live in denial and think that (for example) NameJet or someone from NameJet would NEVER try to do something shady because they’ve sent you a shiny email after the SnapNames incident, be my guest

OK, The Internet Is Shady. DUH!

Look, do you want to live in fantasy land or face reality? I know, reality tends to suck sometimes but seriously: are you actually shocked after you’ve found out that lots of people are up to no good online? Or that fraud is one of the main reasons why PPC income went and will continue to go down the drain? Or that people steal personal information online?

The commercial Internet has been around for like 20 years, what did you expect? We’re still in the “Wild West” stage and no, domaining does not represent an exception. As I’ve mentioned on a few other occasions, I keep in touch with a lot of people from outside the domaining world and guess what: the domaining industry is shady, the affiliate marketing industry is shady and the SEO industry is shady. Is this really breaking news? Come on!

We Want Regulation! We DEMAND Regulation!

Oh really? So you want the FTC to be more involved, for example? You know what they say, be careful what you wish for! After you’ve seen governments screw up time and time again, do you really think that demanding regulation is the best approach?

We as domainers (or affiliate marketers or let’s say people who earn a living online, in general) have one huge advantage: freedom! We don’t have to deal with as much bureaucracy as people who run offline businesses, one click and bam… we’re good to go. Most people take this advantage for granted and that’s just plain wrong. Again, be careful what you wish for!

Maybe (Just Maybe) Making Informed Decisions Is a Better Solution?

Before we ask entities which have screwing up as their business model (governments) to fix everything (guess what: they can’t and they won’t), why not use our BRAINS for a moment?

Ok, so “halvarez” was up to no good. But come on, most people who were active SnapNames players already knew that. Did halvarez force you to up your bid? Did halvarez force you to pay a huge amount of money for a domain? I didn’t think so. You’re the one who ultimately has to push the button.

If this SnapNames thing shocked you, here’s something even better:

You Ain’t Seen NOTHING Yet

Do you honestly think that everything else is squeaky clean? Do you honestly think that this halvarez drama was just an exception? Get real! There’s way more shady stuff going on than you can even imagine BUT that doesn’t mean that you can’t make lots of money online.

I’m sorry but I can’t just leave simple logic and common sense aside by jumping on the “wow… I can’t believe something THIS shady exists” bandwagon, that’s now how I like to do business. Just do what I do: assume that absolutely everyone wants to screw you over, you can’t go wrong!

Does this mean that you should give everyone the suspicious look from now on and treat people like dirt? Of course not! Be polite, be professional, don’t burn bridges but on the other hand, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!

You have no idea just how fortunate you are that you’re able to make money online, seriously. Again: the commercial Web is only about 20 years old, we’re pioneers. Oh, would you have preferred being a pioneer without dealing with any cons whatsoever? Sorry, that’s not how things work. Adapt or GTFO! Sorry if it sounds harsh but that’s the way I see the Web. There’s a little place called reality where I like to hang out: it’s not the best establishment ever but at least it’s… real. If fantasy land sounds like a better alternative sure, feel free to do your thing and deal with one disappointment after another. But, as a word of advice: you might want to give reality a chance, it’s not as bad as it seems

I’ve Seen It All Before

I have a completely different background than most domaining bloggers, mainly because I come from the “development world” which most people see as the best thing since sliced bread (which it isn’t, just like domaining isn’t the best thing since sliced bread either). And believe me, I’ve seen it all before.

There was this “the death of SEO”/”the death of Internet Marketing” gimmick which dominated the Web a while back, it basically had the same principle as its foundation: “it’s too late for the average Joe to join the party”.

Let’s take “the death of SEO” as an example and compare the concept to “the death of domaining”, shall we?

The Death of SEO: “In the future, the SERPs will be dominated by major brands, see Wikipedia(1)… there’s just no room for the average webmaster(2)… SEO is dead(3)”
The Death of Domaining: “In the future, the rich (Rick/Frank/Kevin) will get richer(1)… there’s just no room for the average domainer(2)… domaining is dead(3)”

Here’s the thing: part one of both statements is true. Yes, major brands will end up dominating the SERPs more and more. Yes, the rich (Rick/Frank/Kevin) will get richer (assuming that they don’t go crazy and invest everything they have in LLLLLLLLLLL dot coms).

But does this mean that parts 2 and 3 are also true?

Nope!

The Web is what it is, plain and simple. Yes, people will have to adapt but that does not mean that industries like SEO and domaining will disappear just like that. Not by a long shot.

Let’s leave SEO, Internet Marketing and everything else aside, let’s refer strictly to domaining. Here’s an attitude I just don’t get, an attitude I see more and more frequently on forums (and also the attitude Alan from NewfoundNames seems to have): development is king, we all have to start learning how to develop. Tomorrow. Now. Yesterday.

Ok, so what I should understand is that domain investing in its purest form will disappear? Should I understand that investing in domains without having development as a part of your business model is something which can only have failure as a result?

Says Who?

Look, I consider myself a developer first and only then a domainer. But that’s just me, my choices and my business model. I think that it works best for me but who am I to say that it also works best for everyone else?

1) What if “company whatever” decides to invest 1% of its huge net worth (let’s say a total investment of $10 million) in domains and have “buy and hold” as its business model? No development, nothing. Let’s assume that they don’t even want to worry about parking optimization for whatever reasons. Again: strictly buy and hold. Let’s assume that they spend $9 million on a total of 10,000 domains and the remaining amount on renewals (let’s say $100 for 10 years per domain, so 1 million bucks would be enough to hold 10,000 domains for 10 years each).

Who am I to say that they won’t succeed? Who am I to say that they won’t make CONSIDERABLY more than what they’ve spent? Yes, their business model is different than mine but that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. They have a lot of money at their disposal and can afford to buy 10,000 decent to great domains as well as hold them for 10 years each without even blinking. What’s wrong with that? Maybe they’ll succeed, maybe they’ll fail. NOBODY (not me, not Alan, nobody) can tell for sure.

2) What if a successful athlete/CEO/whatever decides to invest 10% of his net worth in domains with “buy and hold” as his/her strategy? Again, strictly buy and hold. They’ll continue to put food on the table by doing what they do best (competing, running companies and so on) and domains will represent an investment. Nothing more. Are you telling me that an athlete (for example) who earns $10 million yearly should start learning about building links effectively just because he wants to invest in domains? Seriously?

The list could go on and on. What Alan and others fail to understand is there will never be just ONE decent business model. “Ok people, as of tomorrow, all of us need to start building links”… seriously?

Concepts which have the idea that other concepts are dead as their foundation are DEAD… happy?

What if the people behind “company whatever” don’t want to do that? What if CEOs/athletes/whatever who want to invest a percentage of their net worth in domains don’t want to do that? The Web is evolving and this also means that all sorts of “exotic investors” will start milking it.

Maybe they’ll succeed, maybe they’ll fail. Maybe I’ll succeed, maybe I’ll fail. Nobody knows for sure, that’s what makes the Web exciting in the first place!

Domaining Forums – Wow, Just Wow

I generally stay away from domaining forums (waaaaaay too much noise) but now that I’m a blogger and everything, I’m forcing myself to spend 10 minutes or so per day on the two major ones.

Going through some of the threads is like a rollercoaster ride. You go from being mildly amused to being shocked and then right back to being mildly amused. Again: wow, just wow!

Commonly (Mis)Used Phrases

Here’s how things stand: a lot of people have read Frank Schilling’s blog or Rick Schwartz’s blog and ended up “adopting” certain phrases. There’s only one huge problem: after everyone uses one of those phrases again and again (and again and again and again… and again), its value gets diluted.

Diluted up to a point when it’s not even funny anymore! Something along the lines of “I hand regged a 4 word dot com domain with only one hyphen, then emailed a bunch of people I found via Google search but nobody wants to buy it for $15,000: I can’t believe people still don’t >>get it<<”

Get What?

The fact that your domain sucks? The fact that you adopted a phrase without actually understanding what it means and when it should be used? Believe me, all of them “got it”.

Please do us all a favor and wake up! Stop considering yourself an expert after reading a few threads, stop living in denial, stop registering crap and start making some money!