If you’ve always wanted to have your own website with the address written in your own non-Latin script languages, it may soon become a reality as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is set to allow domain names in non-Latin script. Continue reading
Originally posted on October 26, 2009 @ 9:55 am
Recently, one of the few domain registrars that I trust with my money (especially for .ca domain names) has launched a new feature: registration via Twitter.
You send a Direct Message to Netfirms via Twitter asking us to register a domain name for you. If the domain name is available we will register it for you and automatically add it to your existing Netfirms Control Panel and bill to your current billing profile. The only prerequisite is that you add your Twitter username to your Netfirms Control Panel. Please visit our tutorial with full details on setting yourself up for domain registration via Twitter. The instructions should be completed once only and you’re good to go after that.
1. Log in to your Twitter account (You can use any of the available Twitter apps)
2. Send a dm to @netfirms with the following: reg mynewdomain.com
3. We will confirm by replying to you via direct message at which point the domain will be added to your Netfirms Control Panel. The domain is now ready to be used.
To celebrate the new feature, Netfirms has launched a contest (see the Netfirms Contest here) that runs until October 7th. You can win a MacBook or one of four iPod Touches just by doing one of two simple things:
If you are going to tweet about the contest, they ask that you use the following:
“Win a #free iPod Touch or Macbook from the @Netfirms #contest. Domain registration services via Twitter http://bit.ly/yJfJK”
To make it easy, just head on over to the contest page, and scroll down until you find “Click here to post this to your Twitter account”. Makes it easy, quick, and earns you an entry.
Don’t forget, you have to be following @Netfirms to have a shot at winning a prize, so don’t just push out the message, or you won’t qualify.
One retweet equals one entry per day. One domain registered equals one entry.
What does having more routes to register domains mean? Well, for me, it means that I’ll be spending even more money on my domain buying hobby. (I sometimes swear I should be banned from buying domains unless I have the content and design ready to go live.)
Originally posted on September 14, 2009 @ 11:45 pm
Recently, I was called by Godaddy. They wanted to see how I was doing, if I had any questions or concerns, and ask what I was using my domains for.
My initial reaction was a positive one. Being contacted by a big company to see how I am doing is nice. Asking me what I am up to and if there was anything I needed was also very nice.
Of course the conversation didn’t end there.
After asking how I was doing, the gentleman from Godaddy let me know about all sorts of value added services that I could take advantage of for one nominal fee or another.
Naturally, I wasn’t very interested at this point, and it sort of tainted the phone call, changing it from a friendly connection into a sales call.
I would have loved to have been given some free product or an ultra discount.
I didn’t find the sales call to be very high pressure which was very nice for someone like me, as I really hate the strong sales tactics that some businesses do.
Overall, I was left with a positive feeling. Godaddy didn’t have to reach out and contact me. I do business with at least four other domain registrars and none of them have contacted me for any purpose.
Also, being able to give feedback on a service to a human is something that is becoming an increasing rarity in our world today, and so I valued the opportunity.
Customer support is more and more important as we see and truly interact with less and less people every day and that is why, despite the sales angle of the second half of the conversation, I am still awarding a +1 to Godaddy today.
Originally posted on August 26, 2008 @ 1:14 pm
At a recent London Blogger Meet-up, someone asked us all what we thought of domain squatters, and the first reaction that most people gave was “I hate those guys”, and it sort of threw me for a loop.
I could understand where they were coming from, as it can be quite difficult to find a domain, and when the domain you want isn’t even being used, it can be even more frustrating, but people forget the simple fact that domain registration is an even playing field. You had just as many opportunities to register the domain as the person next to you.
My suggestion to everyone was to become more creative. There are so many tools that can help you quickly run through a series of ideas and find out which domains are available, and which ones aren’t.
The one that I depend on is the Instant Domain Search, and I have mentioned it before. While it doesn’t give you any suggestions, it makes it easy for me to go through a list of thoughts and ideas I may have. While playing with words, don’t forget to look around, consider your competition, and look through books, as the right idea can come from anywhere.
Two other sites that are similar to the Instant Domain Search include Ajax Whois, which allows you to quickly check domains in a larger variety of extensions like .ca and .us and Domize, which shows you searches based on each letter you add giving you a quick visual history of your searches and their availability.
Make Words seems to also be an interesting way to get quick suggestions if you have an idea of keywords you want in the domain. You enter the keywords you want, and they generate a list of available domains that include the suggestions. The only issue I see with a service like this is that they end up generating some fairy long domain names, which might not be very easy to remember.
In the end, if you really want a domain that someone else has, contact them and offer to buy it, but don’t be surprised if they come back to you with a ridiculous figure. This is just the start of what I consider a long bargaining process. Domains, just like any other online property are only worth what people are willing to pay for them.
*Word of Warning* – I have heard that some tools, especially those by certain domain registrars, might only lead to your searched domain being taken before you have a chance to. Some people monitor searches in hopes of coming across a great domain, so once you have found that amazing, high quality domain that you want to use for your next project, your best option is to register it sooner, rather than later.
Originally posted on May 10, 2008 @ 11:01 am
So many people have been wondering what I have done that makes me worth following online, and that’s really a hard question to answer. I fell into my position with Jacob and Bloggy Network thanks to being in the right place at the right time, and my new job with Splashpress Media is all about the connections and impressions I have made over the last two years.
One thing I will talk about today though is how I sold a twelve character domain that had no keywords for $500 US dollars.
Before I was a teenager, I enjoyed super hero movies, and one of my favourites was Phoenix from Marvel’s X-Men. She was very powerful, and also a very conflicted character. I empathized with her and also thought the alias was very interesting. The myth of the Phoenix was also very powerful and interesting to me.
I took on the name Phoenix as my own personal symbol online, and used it in pretty much everything I did. Even my first websites created on Geocities used my Phoenix code name in one way or another. As I grew up, I finally decided to get my own domain name, and I registered Phoenixrealm.com.
I worked really hard on that blog, and as I continued to grow up, I felt less and less like the “Phoenix” name suited the online persona I wanted to portray. So one day, I decided to sell the domain. Not the content, or anything else. The domain didn’t have any keywords really, nor any other major marketing points. It was a personal blog about my life, and my work online. From time to time I would post a smart article about something I was passionate about, but I was taking that content with me. I figured that I might only get a bit more than the registration fee on the domain, but I tried to talk about all the great things I had done with the site. The traffic I had brought in, the back links, and even my Technorati rank. Anything I could do to make the domain seem valuable.
Thankfully Gary, a great guy, saw the site and what it could be used for and decided to purchase it for $500. He turned the site into a great SEO blog which is still around today. I moved on to DavidCubed.com, and continued to write about my life and everything in it there.
While it might be pretty common place to sell a domain for three figures, I doubt too many domains without keywords usually do so well.
The lesson you can all learn here is that value really depends on the buyer. If you can find a buyer and can convince them of an items value, you will make more money than those that just continue to lower their prices to please buyers.
Originally posted on November 7, 2007 @ 9:51 am