New TV Show For Domain Investment – Episode 1 [HD Video]

It give us great pleasure to announce the very first episode of Domainer Income TV.

The show is unlike anything you have seen before. Its run by professional domain investors who are raising standards and are bringing a new level of education and transparency to the marketplace.

Given the scale of tv series, the show will be run on its own dedicated site at http://www.DomainerIncome.TV (yes, we are putting a .TV domain to good use).

Domainer Income TV could not have happened without our team who worked tirelessly to put this together, especially Tristan on Pre Production, Aaron on Post Production, the musical genius of Sebastian our Composer and Eric with our great Set Design.

Most of all we would like to thank all the people who will appear in the series and those behind the scenes that made the interviews possible. All of these people have given up their valuable time to help educate and grow, the domain investment industry.

Episode 1

Our first guest is Oversee CEO and President Jeff Kupietzky. Oversee owns over 950,000 domain names making it one of the largest owners of Internet Real Estate in the world.

Mobile Support

For those on mobile devices, we have FULL browser support for:

* iPhone/iPod Touch / iPad
* Andriod
* Touch-Based Blackberry
* Nokia S60 series and above

If you have any of these devices, you are going to love the new site – it has been designed and optimized especially for mobile browsing! So head on over to Domainer Income TV and check it out!

Brief Introduction To Domainer Income – Video

Over the past few days, people have written to me asking for two things.

1. A brief overview of Domainer Income

2. Specific details on different parts of the system.

The reality is, Domainer Income has so many advanced features, we simply cant squeeze into a short video. So I’m going to do a series of videos, focusing on specific features and how YOU can PROFIT from them.

I have just posted this general overview up on Youtube.

I love hearing your feedback, so please leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see.

Domainers Go Wild

Two days ago we went public with our Domain Investment Platform. The response was more than we could have imagined. People have been pouring in – signing up day and night. In fact, I stayed up to 3am just answering emails and talking to people who called us on the telephone or jumped on Skype to have a chat.

The great thing for me personally is knowing that people are already reaping the benefits from Domainer Income. I’m not going to mention names, but I thought I’d share some things:

This morning I spoke with a guy who develops domain names in a particular niche. He wanted to know how to use Domainer Income to find specific keyword domains. e.g. weight loss. When I told him he could search our database of 1 million+ domains that are for sale/auction, and showed him how to do it in just 2 clicks, he was blown away. “OMG – there is nothing like this – LOOK how fast THAT is!“.

Last night I had a call from someone who couldn’t believe he could find and buy domains with high PageRank. He went crazy – REALLY over excited – it sounded like he was jumping for joy! He just couldn’t believe it! In Australia, we call it a eureka moment.

As I type this, its 6pm on Friday night – I just got off the phone with another customer who has 5,000 domains – he wanted to know if Domainer Income could help him track his portfolio. Absolutely! Excel spreadsheets are a thing of the past – we keep track of expiry dates, DNS records – the LOT! I think I just got him his life back!

I was also appreciative of the kind comments offered by people on Facebook and Twitter.

Over the past couple of days, *many* people have reached out and shared with me their stories and frustrations with existing tools. The thing is – I agree! We created this investment platform well before anything else was out there. Now the cat has been let out of the bag. We have raised the bar considerably and we are going to keep raising it!

Out of all the people I’ve talk to, chatted with and received emails from, one common theme has emerged. Its the the lack of information sharing in the domaining industry. People just can’t believe we have published the information we have on Domainer Income. In fact, pretty much everyone I’ve spoken to has said “thank you”. One prominent domainer (who will remain nameless) cautioned me that many domainers might feel threatened that we have “levelled the playing field“. My response was “too bad, so sad“. I used to have the scarcity mindset, but not any more.

One final example: one of our Free Members emailed me personally to say he would love to upgrade to the Professional membership and get all the analytics and metrics from domain auctions, as well as the portfolio management tools. In the email he said thanks for creating the Free membership as it gave him access to our Expired Domains database (which we update daily). He said that he is going to work his way up to participating in larger auctions. That was really nice to hear because I know $$$ can be tight for some people.

To see which membership is right for you, go here.

Getting Ready To Change Domaining Forever!

Very soon, we will be launching a new and exciting Domain Investment service. It will set the standard for the industry.

Our email subscribers will be given both advanced notice and priority. If you haven’t signed up for “7 Tips For Profitable Domaining” (see the box on the right) – do it now. Consider this advanced notice, so you don’t miss out!

For The Technical People

After 497 days of uptime, we are decommissioning the main Domainer Income webserver that has served you over the past 2.5+ years. For the techos  amongst us, here is a little “top” statistic for you:

The Domainer Income website will be migrating to the new server in the next few days. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.

See you on the other side!

Domain Thief Arrested & Charged By Police

Detectives from the New Jersey State Police Cyber Crimes Unit have charged Daniel Goncalves, aged 25, of Union Township, with:

1. Theft by unlawful taking or disposition
2. Theft of identity
3. Computer theft

The charges relate to the theft of the domain name P2P.com from their GoDaddy account in May of 2006.

After moving the domain name, the investigation found Goncalves again waited the mandatory 60 days and listed the name for sale on e-Bay in September of 2006, where it was purchased for just over $111,000. The purchaser, was professional basketball player Mark Madsen, a Los Angeles Clippers forward who did not know the name was stolen.

Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police stated:

“The domain name industry is in some respects still like the wild west. Many of the rules are not yet codified into state laws, let alone federal or international laws”

“There is no deed for ownership of a domain name.  In most cases they are protected solely by a login and password for the site through which they are registered. Nevertheless, theft is theft, and that law that can be applied whenever possession of an own-able thing is improperly transferred for gain.”

Source: New Jersey State Police Cyber Crimes Unit.

I’m Not Participating In The Recession

Hi, I’m Simon and I have a problem. Its been 10 days since my last blog post and I’ve got a confession. I have relapsed and went back to reading Domaining blogs!

I know what you are thinking…. how could he do this? It’s betrayal of the highest order! But you know what? I’ve discovered something…. the usual people are continuing to post drivel (some think its “ohhhh so controversial”) many others appear to actually believe the world is coming to an end.

Its the GFC! No, its not KFC, its got a G in it… no its not the Georgia Football Club either… its the Global Financial Crisis. Global, being stuff outside America? Think of it as all the ccTLD’s, but not .us! Got it now? Good.

This week I went on a bit of an auction binge and purchased a few great names including roses.us. Why? Because people are selling them!

That’s right, its time for the rest of the world to sweep up some quality domain names. With €1 Euro being worth more than US$1.35 – now is the time (although so was mid 2008 when €1 was worth US$1.59).

Here at the Domainer Income Corporate World HQ, I’m sitting by this lake pondering all those opportunities that arise in a recession.

For example, people buy more lottery tickets, they actively seek out cheaper goods. Its not that people arent buying, its just that how some people make those purchases has changed. They might buy less expensive items and expect a greater, faster  ROI. All of this creates opportunity.

Crisis? Recession? Meltdown? Not in my part of the world.

Domaining Companies Breached: Why Changing Passwords Is Not Enough

Early last year I posted my Top 10 Tips For Keeping Your Domains Safe. Tip #9 covered password protection and recommended that you use a program such as Password Safe and use the random password generator. If you followed that advice, then its likely that you only have to change one password. If you didn’t follow that advice, you could be in a world of trouble.

Over the past week I’ve received far too many notices from parking companies telling me to change my password. At first I thought I had been transported back to 1990 or a scene out of the Matrix whereby someone types in a password and gets access to “the mainframe”. Here is why changing your password isn’t enough.

Identity Theft

Your parking accounts provide valuable information such as your name, address, telephone number, credit cards etc.. While there are legitimate reasons for companies asking you for this information (such as to verify your identity when you sign up), if the information is stolen then it can be combined with other information so that:

• Loans can be taken out in your name.
• Credit cards can be obtained in your name.
• Other identity documents can be issued.
• Someone else can become you!

Domain Theft

Just when you thought that getting your identity stolen was bad enough, your portfolio is being transferred. I’ve already written about how you can secure your domain names before, so I won’t go into it here – just read the article.

Money Laundering

Change your passwords on your paypal account and bank account. Paypal have a Security Key that costs you $5. It provides extra security on top of your password. It’s not fool proof, but will help deter the dumb crooks. I suggest you use it. The last thing you need is for your paypal account or bank account to be emptied and/or used to transfer large sums of money on behalf of criminals.

Next Steps

1. Use Password Safe and randomly generate a passwords for all your accounts.

2. Change your EMAIL (pop3/IMAP) passwords. These are often used to reset passwords. eg: people click on “Reset my password” or “I’ve forgotten my password” and an email is sent to you. Of course, the crooks know your ISP (from your domain name in your email address)and can probably login your your email via webmail and get that password reset email before you. Didn’t think of that, now did you?

3. Change your server, blog, paypal and any other passwords.

I hope this has given you a few things to think about. Your domains are valuable assets. It’s time to treat them that way.

Code Of Ethics

In many ways the domain name industry is still the wild west. We have:

• Trademark infringement
• Cash for comment
• Advertising sponsorship on forums and blogs
• Conferences, drinks, corporate schmoozing..

With the various information sources available such as blogs, forums, review sites, how do you know that what your reading is accurate? How do you know that someone hasn’t been paid to:

• Talk up the share price of a public company?
• Post positive comments about a product or service?
• Link to other blogs, so they can win a competition?
• Recommend products (which they know to be useless), based on high affiliate commissions?
• Paid product placement

Where is the line between monetizing a blog and checkbook journalism? What if your whole model is based of freeconomics – giving stuff away for free.

I’d point out that this doesn’t just apply to the domaining industry, it can apply across the Internet, from blogs to forums. The point being, should the domain name industry have a code of ethics similar to the Journalists Association? For example:

1.  Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts.  Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis.  Do your utmost  to give a fair opportunity for reply.

2.  Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

3.  Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source.  Where confidences are accepted,  respect them in all circumstances.

4.  Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

5.  Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism.  Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.

6.  Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

7.  Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

8.  Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material.  Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast.  Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

9.  Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate.  Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

10.  Do not plagiarise. - If I had $1 for everytime I posted something and another domaining site just happened to post the same thing 20 mins later.

11.  Respect private grief and personal privacy.  Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

12.  Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to post a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Traffic Down Under 2008 – An Exclusive Interview With Fabulous

Traffic Down Under 2008 is being held from November 18-20 at the Gold Coast in Australia. It’s going to be absolutely huge!

For Aussies, it’s the first real domaining conference to be held in Asia/Pacific. This makes it especially attractive for those people who have not previously attended the US Traffic conferences.

For International guests its a great opportunity to get to know the Australian domaining market and enjoy one of Australia’s best holiday destinations. With beaches and ocean views like this, you can see why the Gold Coast is so popular.

In an exclusive interview with DomainerIncome.com, Mike Robertson (Business Development Manager for Fabulous) and Andrew Wright (Marketing Manager for Fabulous), cover everything you need to know about the conference. A full transcript of the interview will be made available shortly.

I hope you enjoy it.

What The Future Holds For Domainers

The domaining industry is still in its infancy. With that, comes a variety of issues that impact upon private domainers, domaining companies and those that feed from the industry. Some of the issues that come to mind include:

• Lack of understanding of the industry amongst the media and the general public.
• Introduction of legislation by governments.
• Trademark and copyright issues.
• Lack of active industry associations.
• A few bad eggs….

Over the next few weeks I’ll be discussing these issues at length and what we can do as individuals and as a group, to combat these threats.