It’s been a long time since I had such a good laugh. The domaining community exploded today after SnapNames announced that yes, “halvarez” is actually their VP and has been up to no good since 2005. Here’s why I find the entire situation hilarious:
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 š
November 4th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Harsh but true! We’re humans and for that reason it’s a part of our nature to always blame outside factors even though we’re actually more at fault than everyone else. 50 years from now, I doubt that there will be so much obvious fraud but I also doubt that there will be as many opportunities as there are today. Like you said, we’re pioneers in a way and I’d rather deal with more scammers and have more opportunities than deal with less scammers but not be able to make as much money.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I personally came across halvarez more times than I’d care to remember but I knew there was something fishy. Regardless,I bid when I think it’s a good buy and that’s it. How am I supposed to know who is hiding behind a screen or an username..aside from people I met on other occasions and who told me their usernames.For all I know halvarez may be one out of a dozen..am I supposed to lose sleep over that now? This is the first blog post with a rational attitude, finally..
November 4th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Now that I’ve found the guy that bid up all the domains, I need to find the guy that keeps sniping them away at the last second. I’m hoping this is the last article about the snapnames scandal but I’m guessing the entire page tomorrow on domaining is going to be more repetitive BS
November 4th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
The PPC water is muddy right up to the Googleplex. Some day some disgruntled ex-employee will spill the beans about the real AdSense and parking revenue shares, uncounted clicks that are actually counted, fraudulent click refunds that were never issued, savage scalping periods to boost quarterly reports, etc… I have a $500 bottle of champagne reserved for that day.
November 4th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
So true, so true š If it weren’t for all of this controversy surrounding it, the net would probably not be nearly as fun as it is now.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Right! Because if you were duped for over 5 years and screwed out of mone and lied to by a coleague you would just have let it slide and not posted anything. You probably would have just said cest le vie
November 6th, 2009 at 2:38 am
@Domainer: I’m lied to on a daily basis, people try to screw me over on a daily basis but that’s just how things work and that hasn’t stopped me from making money. Life’s not all fun and games: you get betrayed, you end up being disappointed a lot. It’s just how things work, adapting is the only option if you want to stick around.
Look, halvarez is not the only person who screwed you over. I don’t know who you are but I can guarantee that LOTS people have or are trying to screw you over. He’s the only person who got caught, do you actually think that NameJet (for example) are all innocent and everything? Seriously? Why? Because they sent you a nice shiny email telling you that something like this could have never happened to them as soon as things started to go crazy over at SnapNames?
Ok, feel free to trust everyone and live in fantasy land if that’s what you want. I can’t force you to change your way of thinking, I can only offer an opinion backed by arguments which have common sense as their foundation. This blog is all about seeing things for what they are. Again: it’s true that reality sometimes tends to suck but it’s really not that bad š
November 7th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Some customers will likely receive large payouts.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Great articles & Nice a site
November 20th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Oh dear, I loved reading this article from start to finish. You really took some interesting approach to tackle this topic! Thanks.
November 26th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
yeah…you aint seen nuthin yet huh?
http://domainnamewire.com/wp-content/snap-classaction.pdf