Domainer's Gazette-Home

“Domain Name Investors”. “Diversified Technology Holding Company”. “Next-generation Internet Media Company”. “Digital Real Estate Business”. “Online Media Network”.

Sound familiar? Those are a few of the taglines domaining companies use to describe their businesses.

No doubt, they go by tons of monikers. So many, though, it can get confusing to identify who the actual players are…

I’m a domainer, and it even confuses me.

So, this afternoon, I thought I’d try to assemble a nice concise list of all the domain name investment & website acquisition companies out there. I’m sure I’ll miss several, so please drop me a comment if I missed a glaring one (and I’ll add it to the list as well..) And I’m not referring to “Lou & Stew’s” domaining business - I wanted to simply list the (somewhat) big players out there.. ones that seem to control quantity and/or quality.

So without further adieu:

A
A.Waller & Co. (ok ok - I admit it, this is my company. I’m not “big” per se, but hey, it’s my blog, so I get to be listed : )
Sample domains they own and/or operate: AppalachianTrail.com,
OxfordMississippi.com, StKittsNevis.net

C
Castello Cities Internet Network
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Daycare.com, Nashville.com, Whisky.com

Communicate, Inc.
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Body.com, Numbers.com, Stereos.com

D
Dark Blue Sea
Portfolio of over 400,000 direct navigation domains

Demand Media
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Trails.com, Run.com, eHow.com

Digimedia
Sample domains they own and/or operate:PeopleFinder.com, FantasyFootball.com, Dress.com

E
eRealEstate
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Candy.com, Tradeshows.com

F
First Beat Media [Added 3/13/08]
Sample domains they own and/or operate: AdManager.com, CelebrityGossip.com, Unsigned.com

G
Geosign
Sample domains they own and/or operate: GolfCourses.com, Hockey.com

I
Internet Brands
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Loan.com, Autos.com, DoItYourself.com

Internet Landrush
Sample domains they own and/or operate: SpinalCord.com, Romania.net

Internet Real Estate
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Patents.com, Phone.com, Chocolate.com

iREIT
Sample domains they own and/or operate: English.com, RentalHouse.com, CreditReports.com

iVenture
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Swimsuits.com, Yachts.com

M
Main Street Online
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Asheville.com, Greenville.com, Spartanburg.com

Marchex
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Yellow.com, 90210.com, Cuisine.com

Most Wanted Domains
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Grapes.com, LuxuryBedding.com

N
Name Administration
Sample domains they own and/or operate: PersonalLoans.com, Triathlons.com, JingleBells.com

Name Media
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Puzzle.com, Driving.com, JobFinder.com

NetShops.com
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Binoculars.com, Telescopes.com, Daybeds.com, Sleds.com

O
Oversee.net
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Low.com, LowFares.com

P
Pasagra (site not live yet) (full disclosure here too - I’m half owner)
Sample domains they own and/or operate: RentalCondos.com, RentalVillas.com

R
Recall Media Group
Sample domains they own and/or operate: FuneralHomes.com

Reinvent
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Laptop.com, Religion.com, VC.com

T
Telepathy
Sample domains they own and/or operate: Medical.com, BountyHunter.com, Brisbane.com, Retirement.com

W
Washington VC
Sample domains they own and/or operate: SEO.com, HappyBirthday.com,

… that’s all I can come up with at the moment.. again, if I’ve missed a glaring omission, drop me a note in the comments.

Also, this is a living document (last updated 1/11/08)..email me an additions you notice I’ve left off..

hope this helps anyone researching our industry!

I work in a home office, and prior to about 3 months ago, worked by myself.

Now I have a partner. He’s relentless. Focused. Driven. Loyal.

That is …

Relentless in asking for food in the morning.

Focused on any moving object outside the house.

Driven to attack bottlecaps, plastic twist ties, and milk carton caps.

and loyal enough to keep me company every day.

Here he is, in all his glory, asking for a little help digging a bottlecap out of my shoe:

(we rescued him from a shelter outside of Atlanta)

… for listing me in your index…

I promise to be a faithful steward of the domain blogging business.

It makes me sick to my stomach when I lose a domain at auction. A domain I covet. Makes my stomach sink.

(I promise this blog won’t turn into a rant session..

but..)

It was bad enough losing HamptonsWedding.com to Kevin Ham.

but today I lost TackStrip.com (sold for $2K - not sure who the winner is yet).

Don’t know what tack strip is?

Well, chances are, you walk around it all day long.

One of my first working gigs was as a carpet wholesaler. We basically sold carpet, plus carpet padding, hammers, nails, glue, and …. tack strip (it’s the stuff carpet latches onto when laid on the floor).

It’s a big business. No, actually, it’s a mammoth business.

And I wanted it. Had a very strong opportunity to sell to several tack strip producers..

but I chickened out. I admit it. Why?

Uncle Sam.

The winning bidder is lucky, cause if I hadn’t talked to my accountant today, and realized how much taxes I’m gonna owe next year, and in turn how much I need to start stockpiling, he’d a lost.

eh, another day, another domain.

Since I went to Ole Miss, I do my part and stay on top of Ole Miss football.

Our most recent season?

“Not so good”, as my wife likes to say..

So we fired our coach, Ed Orgeron, and went out, 4 days later, and hired the recently departed Houston Nutt of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

So…

being a domainer…

Guess who owns HoustonNutt.com?

Not Ole Miss.

HoustonNutt.com is still owned by his previous team, the Arkansas Razorbacks, and it still points to the Arkansas football website, HogWired.com.

I doubt this makes the Ole Miss football program happy, cosidering they had to drop a few million in salary to get him to committ.

I doubt it makes Houston Nutt happy, as he’s the rightful owner.

It sure don’t make me happy, and I’m a fan.

Such an odd and crazy situation, so many questions swirling around my head..

1. Did Ole Miss request, and Arkansas refuse to transfer ownership of the domain name due to the competitive nature of SEC football?
2. Or, did Houston personally request the name be transferred to his own personal registrar account, and Arkansas refuse due to their soured relationship?
3. Does Houston know to file a UDRP case to regain control of his name?
4. And actually - even a step back, can he file a UDRP case to take control of his name? (I’d say yes)
5. Was transferring the domain part of his initial contract with Arkansas, and they simply haven’t gotten to it yet?
6. Does Houston Nutt even care who controls his domain name? Does he know what domain names are?
7. Has Ole Miss realized this yet?
8. HottyToddyGoshAlmightyWhoTheHellAreWe.com?
9. FlimFlamBimBamOleMissByDamn.com?

And on a side note,

Being the ham domainer I am, I tried to register olemissnutt.com..

nope. already taken.

Hats off the Mary Wall of Jackson, MS on that grab.. you dont realize it, Mary, but you’re a domainer : )

and if you want to soak in an outstanding Ole Miss related read, grab ‘The Blind Side‘ by Michael Lewis. One of the best books I’ve read in a while..

I’m here at Pubcon Vegas, meeting some great folks..

had a small epiphany last night at dinner over the domain name Cowboys.com

In my opinion, you wanna know an appropriate buyer for the domain, other than the Dallas Cowboys?

How about the their most hated NFL rival, The Washington Redskins?

Imagine the damage the Redskins front office could inflict if they owned the domain?

The humiliation..

They could photoshop pictures of cowboy players in diapers..

They could embed youtube clips, like this, of touchdowns scored against them..

They could post scores of every Redskin victory over the Cowboys..

the list goes on and on..

imagine the press they’d get.. I can visualize ESPN covering it..

I think the Cowboys would realize the value of that domain after that type of exercise..

my two cents..