Power.com Sells For $1,26 Million
The domain name Power.com has been sold for a whopping $1,26 million. According to whois records, the domain name was first registered in 1992.
The buyer is Power Integrations Inc. ,a supplier of high-performance electronic components. Scott Smith was the one who brokered the sale, according to DNJournal and George Kirikos was the one who gave all the details of the agreement.
This is the sixth largest domain name sale so far this year .
Congratulations to both the seller and the buyer.
The Donuts Story: From 3,000 gTLD Ideas To Over One Million Registrations. All Paid For!
It started as an idea between four people who, for the domain name world, had been involved in the space for a long long time. As ICANN discussed the introduction of new gTLDs they got together and shared their ideas. And the result to date is Donuts, a company with over one million domain names registered across 152 gTLDs and with more gTLDs and plenty more registrations to come.
The gang of four had known new gTLDs were on the road map for some time and each were intending to independently look at the possibilities, but, being known to each other and with similar ideas, they decided to work together and look at raising money from a number of investors.
Starting with 3,000 candidates they ended up with 307. After the “big reveal” by ICANN they found half were uncontested. And since then auctions commenced, with 30 or 40 contention sets now resolved while several more set to resolve. At the end of it all, company co-founder and Executive Vice President Dan Schindler believes Donuts will have around 200 gTLDs on their books.
And how do you finance such an idea? Raising money, as it turned out, was much easier than anticipated, said Schindler, following the recent ICANN meeting in Los Angeles.
In part, it was because Donuts focused on gTLDs they believe “provide a specific and meaningful choice and not long and convoluted names in a meaningless extension,” Schindler said. They have even thought about the non-English speaking world and the opportunities that lie there with four internationalised gTLDs applied for, three of which were uncontested and one won at auction. Another 20 applications were for non-English gTLDs.
But the programme wasn’t without its obstacles and headaches. One was the trademark or brand owners community who Schindler notes certainly caused regulators to be fearful about how they went about the programme.
As a result of the fear campaign run by some trademark owners and their representative organisations, years were spent building the Trademark Clearinghouse and Rights Protection Mechanisms. Schindler points out the frustration of this as they have not been as deeply used as some predicted.
“As expected it was scaremongering. We want to see the rights protection mechanisms the trademark owners so desperately wanted to be used by them.”
Much more successful though has been Donuts’ own Domains Protected Marks List. The DPML allows trademark holders to block their trademarks from being registered across all Donuts gTLDs.
So where are they today? Schindler says Donuts is more than happy with the results to date. “All of our gTLDs have outperformed our forecasts.” But some have been more of a surprise than others.
One of these that has performed unexpectedly well has been .guru, now with well over 75,000 registrations and sixth on the nTLDstats.com list of all new gTLDs.
“.guru has been an enormous surprise to us,” Schindler said. “We were really surprised and we’ve tried to analyse why. But most likely it’s because it’s fun and everyone can claim to be a .guru.”
“Also, .photography has been a very pleasant surprise. But in a world of 2 and 3 letter TLDs, it’s a surprise longer names do well.” Schindler also said .technology had been a surprise, now closing in on 48,000 registrations. Donuts also expected .email, .today and .company to do well and all three have over 43,000, 41,000 and 32,000 registrations, respectively.
Looking to the future, Schindler is confident there will be high rates of renewals and continuing success. For starters, Schindler stressed every one of the one million plus domains registered in their gTLDs has been paid for. And most were registered and paid for by early adopters, so Schindler says Donuts is confident they will have high renewal rates.
“They were registered for longer term investments. There is not enormous type in traffic so speculators haven’t entered the market on a large scale – they were bought for longer term investments,” Schindler believes.
And twelve percent of domains registered across Donuts’ gTLDs “are already living breathing sites. That is really encouraging. With more being used, use begets use.”
For now though Donuts is focusing on winning the gTLDs that are currently in contention, getting a registrar channel on board and, in 2015, boosting the profile even further of the new gTLDs past the early adopters with a massive marketing programme.
And what of the aforementioned ICANN meeting? Schindler said it had “two very significant and positive outcomes, not just for Donuts but for all operators of new gTLDs.”
“The release of two character sub-domains that have previously been withheld was an enormous success for all the registries. And it’s hugely exciting for us.”
The result is that the nxd names that were on the names collision list and were subsequently put on a do not register black list. So some phenomenal names, such as digitial.photography, could not be sold. But Schindler said they will be available in the very near future.
One area though that Donuts is disappointed by, though, is the inconsistency of verdicts as it pertains to community gTLD applications.
“This is a nonsense,” Schindler complained. “And what is familiar and what is isn’t. We need consistency and to stick to the guidebook. Let’s play by the rules we all agreed to.”
Melbourne’s Own gTLD Launched Today
The first Australian city specific gTLD was launched today (12 November) for the city of Melbourne.
As of 10:00 Melbourne time all eligible Victorians and service providers to the State are able to register a domain name ending in .melbourne on a first-come, first-served basis.
The gTLD is a partnership between the Victorian government and the City of Melbourne and with the assistance of ARI Registry Services, which will manage domain operations.
“ARI Registry Services on behalf of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne is proud to launch this digital asset for use by all Victorians,” said Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services.
“This is a major coup for Melbourne that gives our great city its very own piece of internet real estate and tells the world that Victoria is a leader in the digital economy,” said Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips at the launch.
“The name .melbourne takes our city to a new level of digital recognition on a global scale, which will see it become a quintessential part of our great city’s brand.”
“The new domain opens up a range of new opportunities for our local businesses to innovate by securing a unique online space fundamentally associated with Melbourne.”
“I’m pleased to see Melbourne’s business community including the iconic Flower Drum Restaurant, Bank of Melbourne and Melbourne Festival already enthusiastically embracing .melbourne.”
The Bank of Melbourne has been an enthusiastic ambassador for the gTLD.
“Bank of Melbourne are proud to be one of the first in the city to get a .melbourne domain name,” said Bank of Melbourne’s Head of Brand & Marketing, Jac Phillips. “We are Melbourne’s local bank, with our call centre, our branches, our head office and of course our customers all here in Melbourne. Melbourne is our place of business, so the domain name is a natural fit.”
Another ambassador Melbourne Festival Executive Director, Katie McLeish said their new .melbourne web address would further emphasise the festival as a key event on the city’s calendar.
“Melbourne Festival is thrilled to be an ambassador of the .melbourne initiative. Each Festival brings an array of dance, theatre, music, visual arts and outdoor events from renowned and upcoming Australian and International companies to Melbourne. Our new online address, festival.melbourne, will help us to better promote the Festival and cement our place as the city’s leading performing arts event.”
Successful candidates who apply for a .melbourne domain name during Landrush will be notified between 9 to 12 November and will join Melbourne Festival and other first-to-market businesses to use a .melbourne address.
Radix, Tucows and Namecheap Win .online Auction
A newly formed entity owned by Radix, Tucows and Namecheap won the auction to operate the .online registry for an undisclosed amount.
In the past year, dozens of new generic top level domains (gTLDs) from .actor to .wtf have brought meaning to the letters after the dot for niche constituencies and content. Soon, domain registrants will have one broad, intuitive, uncluttered alternative to .com for almost any initiative online.
They will also have a registry operator that is up to the task.
Radix is poised to join the largest registries in the world with applications to operate 20 suffixes and a warchest of over $30 million to ensure its success.
Tucows operates OpenSRS, the largest wholesale domain name registrar in the world, with over 14,000 resellers in 150 countries and 14 million domains under management.
Namecheap is one of the most popular retail domain name services in the world, with over four million domains under management, two million direct customers, best-in-class user interfaces and outstanding customer support.
Together, the three companies bring unparalleled domain name experience and global distribution. That is fitting for .online, which perhaps brings unparalleled global relevance and appeal.
“Online” is the most commonly used word to end domain names, with over 550K .com domain names today ending with the word “online.” In addition, the .online extension has been amongst the top most pre-registered names across registrars.
“.online is the one new gTLD that requires no explanation,” chanted Radix CEO Bhavin Turakhia, Tucows CEO Elliot Noss and Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall. On the count of three, the CEOs continued, “We are excited to leverage our joint capabilities to bring this exciting new generic to the global market.”
Each of Radix, Tucows and NameCheap will contribute $4 to $5 million to cover the cost of the auction and the initial funding of seed capital for the registry. Tucows will treat its contribution as an investment for the purposes of financial reporting.
.online is expected to be generally available for registrations in early 2015.
About Radix
Radix (Radix FZC), is an active participant in ICANN’s process to expand the internet naming system and introduce new, meaningful internet addresses. Radix is Asia’s largest new gTLD applicant under this program with applications to operate 20 suffixes including web, .music, .blog, and .shop. The company has invested over $30 Million in securing licenses to operate these new extensions and expects to play a large role in the global diversification of the internet namespace.
About Tucows
Tucows is a provider of network access, domain name and other Internet services. OpenSRS (opensrs.com) manages over fourteen million domain names and millions of value-added services through a global reseller network of over 13,000 web hosts and ISPs. Hover (hover.com) is the easiest way for individuals and small businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses. Ting (https://ting.com) is a mobile phone service provider dedicated to bringing clarity and control to US mobile phone users. More information can be found on Tucows’ corporate website (http://tucows.com).
About Namecheap
Namecheap is a Los Angeles-based ICANN-accredited domain registrar, founded in 2000 by CEO Richard Kirkendall. With over four million domains under management and two million direct customers, Namecheap is one of the top domain registrars and web hosting providers in the world. For more information, visit https://www.namecheap.com.
This news release was sourced from the Tucows website:
http://www.tucows.com/radix-tucows-and-namecheap-win-online-auction/
Bandzoogle Partnering with Rightside to Offer .ROCKS and .BAND Domains and Websites for Musicians and Bands
[news release] Bandzoogle, a company whose technology platform is used by over 20,000 bands and musicians to power their websites and online stores, today announced it is partnering with Rightside Group, Ltd., a leading provider of domain name services that advance the way businesses and consumers define and present themselves online.
Bandzoogle is offering Rightside’s Top Level Domains (TLDs) to its customers, beginning with .ROCKS, a new web extension that launched earlier this year, and .BAND, which will open for pre-registration later this month. The company will incorporate the new domains into its offering that helps musicians, bands, ensembles, DJs, and musical acts of all kinds connect with their fans and build an online presence.
“The musical community is incredibly diverse, and the .ROCKS and .BAND domains offer opportunities for creativity to flourish in new ways on the web,” said David Dufresne, CEO of Bandzoogle. “No longer limited by the scarcity of .COM addresses, we are helping musical acts from newly formed jazz bands to world-famous rock groups better define their online identity while making it easier for their audiences to find and engage with them in the digital realm.”
“We’re very excited to team up with Bandzoogle to offer .ROCKS and .BAND domains throughout the music industry,” said Dwayne Walker, SVP of business and market development for Rightside. “Bandzoogle is the ideal partner to combine professional websites with new .ROCKS and .BAND web addresses.”
Bandzoogle and Rightside plan to co-sponsor a variety of musical events and business conferences next year, and promote websites that utilize .ROCKS and .BAND through social media, online events, and music conferences around the world.
About Bandzoogle
More than 20,000 musicians and bands use Bandzoogle to build a professional website and create a solid hub for their online strategy. Bandzoogle allows them to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing digital music landscape and web design trends. Bandzoogle also gives artists the ability to manage their mailing lists and sell their digital music and physical items directly to their fans from their own websites. Artists keep 100% of their sales, something unique to Bandzoogle in this industry. Fiercely independent and self-funded, Bandzoogle is built by musicians, for musicians. Grammy-winning performers, producers, music legends, indie cult heroes and orchestras all rely on the platform to grow their fan base and have chosen Bandzoogle. With the platform’s straightforward system, users can be online in minutes, without coding or downloading any software, and can choose from dozens of themes created by award winning designers, creating a dynamic and evolving website..
About Rightside
Rightside™ inspires and delivers new possibilities for consumers and businesses to define and present themselves online. The company, with its affiliates, is a leading provider of domain name services, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive platforms for the discovery, registration, usage, and monetization of domain names. In addition to being a new gTLD registry operator, Rightside is home to some of the most admired brands in the industry, including eNom, Name.com, and NameJet (in partnership with Web.com). Headquartered in Kirkland, WA, Rightside has offices in North America, Europe, and Australia. For more information please visit www.rightside.co. (Nasdaq:NAME)
This Bandzoogle news release was sourced from:
https://bandzoogle.com/press/bandzoogle-partners-with-rightside
