Web 2.0.11562 beta

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/…./2007/03/02/a1e_Freds_head_0302.html - the famous Boca Raton domainer holding domains like property.com, sugar.com, candy.com and so many more is interviewed by PB Post.

I really think the future of shopping online is gonna be an immersive experience as close to in-store shopping as possible. It’s got a LONG way to go, admittedly, but I think the compelling nature of this vision is going to make it a reality in the next few years. Read more here, in the SL insider blog

Latest domain registration stats (top 10 shown) countesy of domainnews.com:

Right away you should notice .info and .cn registrations, both up more than 60% from last year! That means they had about 2 million and one million registrations this year, respectively.

But after looking for a while, the amazing thing to me is that the king, dot COM, still somehow managed to increase registrations by more than a third. That’s more than 15 million new .com registrations in the past year. Although I can’t seem to find even a decent 4-word .com available, that brand continues to be dominant in a big way.

Somebody willing to fight back http://NoDaddy.com - gotta like this guy’s spunk, even if he runs up some serious legal bills.

Domain leasing has long been a good idea. But it’s not an idea that scales - until now. LeaseThis.com is the platform that aims to transform the ocassional lease arrangement from a hit-or-miss rarity to a viable marketplace.

Many startups need a resource like this to prove themselves with a high quality domain name. They don’t want to shell out the money to purchase a primo domain if it busts their bootstrap budget! If the business takes off, and they’ve established themselves and their brand, then the lease-buy option is going to let them follow up their initial marketing efforts by purchasing the domain at a pre-specified price. Anyone ever start a company with extra money to spend on things like a top domain? And admit it, it’s fun to shop around here for a great domain without writing a big check.

And surely domainers will benefit. I’m looking forward to having another way to monetize domains that I do not want to sell. Like most domainers, I have more domains than I can develop in five lifetimes, but some keepers are just not great performers on PPC parking sites. Besides we want to benefit from standardized leasing contracts that will be updated with carefully crafted wording based on any relevant cases that come along. And the biggest value of all is the power of having a public platform where the two sides can get together in an environment where they know what to expect.

OK the latest in my .pro experiment - WeightLoss.Pro

This site will be developed further, I just got tired of waiting so i released it in Beta!

For so long now DN Journal has been the only solid source of in-depth domainer oriented journalism. DomainNameWire and a couple others for daily headlines and that’s about it. Well the bleak landscape appears to be changing.

DailyDomainer.com looks like it’s gonna be a nice place to catch up over morning coffee. And domainersmagazine.com is a new venture intent on publishing a paper magazine every other month. This is deeper coverage than the domain industry has had to date, and bodes well for everyone involved.

Now selling city and state specific, mortgage-related domain names - all reasonable offers accepted! See the current list of domains here: http://www.namepros.com/domains-for-sale-auctions/267944-us-home-loans-domains-blowout.html

A followup post - http://language.pro This is a subsequent effort at unleashing a developed .pro site onto the world. Admittedly less challenging than Sushi.Pro, it is nevertheless a viable site and should add another data point to the desolate .pro webscape.

Here’s my experiment. I believe there’s an intrinsic value in .pro extension, when it’s used with a generic domain that makes sense. I plan to try foisting a few on the world and see if they take. Whether or not google will someday come to love them I don’t know. But I think they’re memorable and deserving. My first site to be released into the wild is Sushi.Pro. Check it out and we’ll see if it goes anywhere.