Today is Friday and I usually like to end the week on a lighter note. Nothing serious so if you do not have 3 minutes right away to read this post, you can always come back to it.  I won’t be mad. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. That is the popular lyrics from the old TV program “Cheers”.  There is something I like to do once in a while. I often Google my name, yes my birth given name (First and last name, not SkyDomains or any of my other domain names) just to see what comes up. From this simple and somewhat elementary action, I can often learn a lot. Mostly  it lets me know what Google feels is most important to my name, what domain, what event. Some years back, I had to put my name in quotation marks or Google will return every Frankie and all the Latin associations with the ALADI acronym before it gets to me. Over the past 3 years, my relationship with Google has improved and we are now on first and last name  basis without quotes.

Last week when I found out someone had lifted my domain name as the title of his typo site, I was so furious aftwerwards that I miss typed my name while I was trying to make sure non of my brands or worse my name have been polluted. (I did not do my name typo intentionally, I am a natural bad speller) but Google’s reply had me grinning from ear to ear. It was a simple bold captioned question in red “Do you mean Frankie Aladi” I felt like I have arrived or at least boarded the train. For most of  you this is no big deal but I celebrate the little things in life and hopefully you did not mind my sharing.  Great will be the day when you type in “Frankie” and Google returns ” Do you mean Frankie Aladi’

Now lets go out and have a fab weekend. To all the fathers out there, I wish you an amazing spirit filled weekend.

Here I go again. I am sure you are wondering what is this leading to. Well stay with me here. I recently had a site developed. Hearing dogs(dot)Com. I felt the need to add a “for sale sign” on the website so that people will know that the site is also for sale. It reads “HearingDogs(dot)com is for sale” Well well well, will you believe I have gotten a good couple of requests but not for the domain name and site but for hearing dogs. Yes requests for hearing trained Scooby’s!. In case you are wondering,  hearing dogs are specially trained dogs for the hearing impaired. A couple of days ago I had another  $700 dollar offer for you guessed it, a hearing dog.

These offers don’t bother me what bugs me is the stories  they come with. I do not know if I can take it anymore. The stories of this people just breaks my heart and I feel even more pain that I cannot do anything for them. There is information on the site on how to get a hearing dog but apparently the waiting list is so long that they are trying to get it from me. I have tried to contact the owner of the .net who claims to breed and train hearing dogs but got no response. The .org is where the waiting is at.  I can not  donate the domain as it is an integral  part of my pet portfolio.  Short of becoming a breeder myself, I don’t know how else I can help.

Anyone have such or related experiences?

Each time I have a brush with a potential end user, it is always exciting, When that end user is the Executive Vice President of a Multi-Million dollar Company, excitement reaches a whole new dimension.
Last weekend I was introduced to a gentleman who  is the Executive Vice President of a multi-milion dollar  company. Some of there products deal with defense and other high tech stuff. After all the pleasantries, he gave me his business card. The domainer in me took over immediately. I noticed that the URL of there company is  TheLLLGroup.com (LLL substituted for actual name) so I asked why not LLL.com and his reply was simple “We don’t need it that bad”

When it was convenient I checked to find that  LLL.com was being used but not by his rival. The interesting thing was that LLLGroup.com is parked and still available for sale but they made no move to purchase this name. His company actually goes by LLLGroup so why add “The” to the URL instead of spring for LLLGroup.com?

Here is the body of this post.
Most end users still do not care. Most will add “The, Go, Our, Now, My ” or whatever comes to there mind rather than spring for a name. Look at our biggest registrars (GoDaddy.com, enom.com )

This is not the first time I am seeing this type of scenario.

The end user just does not care for domains as much as we do.

May I add that this particular end user did not have his company URL on his card. I deciphered the URL from his corporate email on the card.

My question is why don’t they care? What can we do? This  particular end user is no novice to domains, he is even aware of the prices they command but just feels they do not need it that bad.

I must  add that I do not own any of the names referenced.

Have you had any experiences like this?

Ever wonder how a great one worder ends up on the delete list and finally in auction? Sometimes the owners are not stupid or too broke to renew it, they probably just can’t. They are probably dead and no one even knows that they owned such a domain or that they even owned domains at all.

By now every breathing person who owns a TV or a radio and hopefully speaks English, already knows about the passing of “King of Pop” at the age of 50. Events like this somehow reminds one of his own mortality. Death is a future tense. It is going to happen but we just do not know when. This topic has already been beaten to death but the fact still remains that a good majority of domainers need to tidy there affairs.

There is always the basic option of putting things down in a will, however at the foot of this post, you will find  links to some websites that can send email to your next of kin after you kick the bucket. This email can be anything but having it email details of your domaining empire to your next of kin is the goal of this blog post.  You could have a list of the domains and where they are then with a note to where the passwords can be found at home if you do not want to keep that online with the message.

You can become creative and even give suggestions and advice on market values of your domains, names to keep or names to drop based on certain points you establish.

youdeparted.com, letterfrombeyond.com, mylastemail.com and postexpression.com

I am not affiliated in anyway to any of the sites listed above. There links have been provided here as a coutesy to my readers.

As some of you know, I am a big  fan of OLED which stands for An organic light emitting diode. I also own a good number of  OLED related names. I thought I should share this youtube video I ran across while checking up on OLED news and update.

What is  your best OLED domain? I own P-OLED.com which is another form of OLED and when rightly spelt, it comes with a dash just like my domain.

This is truly awesome. Click here for Video

I have a feeling this post might ruffle some feathers on both aisles so why don’t I start by apologizing to those  whose feathers I might ruffle.  To those who simply do not agree with me. It is OK, we both have a right to be wrong .

When you are a domainer, you see domains in almost anything. A couple of days ago, I was watching a documentary on the Harvard Business School. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between generic domains and the salient points  enumerated by the Harvard MBA’s  shows presenter.

Most business schools wish they are Harvard
Most domainers wished there domains are generic

Most MBA holders wish there MBA is from Harvard
Most non generic domain end users wish there domains are generic.

A Harvard MBA cost a boat load of money
A category killer generic domain cost a ship Load of Money

Doors open more readily for you with a Harvard MBA
Doors open more readily for you with a   generic domain

Employers pay more attention to you when you have a Harvard MBA
Investors and advertisers  pay more attention to you when you have a  generic domain.

OK fair and square, I have made both sides of the aisles happy. You can go on and on with this analogy to no end.

Now lets talk about when the rubber meets the road. While there are numerous super successful Harvard MBA holders, some of  the worlds top business men never went to Harvard. Bill Gates, The founders of Google, Amazon.com’s Jeffrey Preston Bezos– close but not quite – Princeton University. Even our own Domain King, Rick Schwartz does not have a Harvard MBA
Even without  a Harvard MBA these  gentlemen  have stood a pace ahead of there peers proving once again that “The race of  life is not won by the fastest or the strongest but by the man who thinks he will”

The same scenario applies to generic domains. While there are lots of  very successful generic domains out there online, yet the top businesses are by no means generic. I will list a few here:

It is ebay not auction
it is  GoDaddy not Domains
it is Google not Search or Ask
It is Amazon not Shop (Close again but not quite– See earlier mention of  ”Princeton”)
It is Craiglist not Classifieds
it is YouTube not Video

I can go on and on and  am sure so can you.
This post is not intended to diminish the significance of a Harvard MBA or Generic domains but instead to let you know that you can still succeed  in this business of domaining even if you do not have either of them.

“…..for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth….”, Deuteronomy 8:18

I am not by any  means advocating buying worthless names but if you cast your hopes in God, the domain in your portfolio that everyone overlooked might become the gem of tomorrow. God is still in the business of giving ideas. With one great idea you can be catapulted to a level beyond your wildest dreams.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding“. Proverbs 3:5

Finally think of these words when next you hear a bad news about the economy this year

 You crown the year with your bounty and your carts overflow with abundance Pslam 65 : 11

I was watching CNN yesterday like most people. I however did notice something interesting. I noticed that a lot of the ads on TV now centers on these themes ” We, Together”. Everything seams to be community oriented and how you can make the world a better place by getting involved. Notable mentions are the following ads, Starbucks ad, I rate this ad excellent for imagination and originality. Pretty cool ad. Pepsi also had something going with the Slogan “Every generation refreshes the earth” Then there is the clean coal people, the MedicAid people , the Responsible Energy Use people and so on and so forth.

Well as a domianer, if this is the direction the world is going, by the world I mean USA in particular, then it bewho’s me to get involved on a domain level. My point is how does this affect us as domainers? A couple of days ago I read in a blog about the sale of 360.org, that is the kind of thing I am talking about.

I do not want this “We” thing to pass me by.

Now here is a pace setter. I totally dig this news. It is not often that a registrar gets it but it seams fab does. When last did someone especially a registrar go out of there way to give you something for free?

When all this go into place, Fab accounts will probably be one of the most protected in the industry.

Below is part of the email in my inbox this morning from fab.

“Additional Account Security

As you will no doubt realize security on the Internet is paramount. Fabulous has always strived to be leading edge when it comes to protecting your domain assets and as part of our ongoing efforts we are implementing an additional level of account security; Introducing the Fabulous Security Key.

The Fabulous Security Key is an innovative USB device that provides additional levels of security to sensitive areas of your account. Sections of your account that can be protected by the Fabulous Security Key include:

• Sales
• Transfers
• Name Servers
• Pushes

With one touch, it sends a unique one time pass code, ensuring that these actions are only performed by the authorized holder of the Fabulous Security Key. The Fabulous Security Key is an additional authentication mechanism that is used in conjunction with your account password.

If you are interested in using the Fabulous Security Key, let your Account Manager know and they will arrange to have one shipped to you.


Whois Privacy

By popular demand, Fabulous is now offering Whois Privacy Services. Rather than your private information being displayed anytime someone does a whois lookup, domains using our Whois Privacy Service will return unique details to protect your personal information.

Every domain using our Whois Privacy Service will be given a unique identifier and all email and phone messages related to your domains will be automatically redirected to you. What’s the cost to use Whois Privacy? Nothing! You can protect all your domains at no additional cost. *


The Fabulous Security Key and Whois Privacy Service will be available as of July 1. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your Account Manager or myself.”

This is cool.
Have a great day everyone. The weather man says we are going to roast today  in SC

Most of us have watched the video by the 3000 dollar a day domainer. One of the reasons I waited this long to post my views is because I really do not want to influence any one’s decision. However if you care to know what I personally think, then here it is.

Do I believe it is possible to make a lot of money from Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLD).  The answer to this is  a “yes” but with a caveat. ccTLD is not for everyone. They are usually more expensive to get into and are less forgiving of a mistake. You might be able to unload some bad .com regs on some other novice but it is usually much harder to do the same with ccTLD.

One of my readers asked me if I was attending the conference on ccTLD and I said “No” and he wanted to know why. I said “I am not interested”. He replied “but Rick says he is betting the farm on ccTLD”. I replied him “it is easier to bet the farm if you have more than one farm” lets face it most of us are no Rick Latona.

Growing up my mom often told me “When the rat goes to play in the rain with the lizard, long after the lizard is dry, the rat is still wet”  The moral of this story is to ask yourself are you a rat or a lizard? Can you afford to stay wet  for a long time (being wet in this story is a bad thing) . If things don’t pan out, how long can you survive the damage or will this bury your empire before you even start.

Some years ago during the time of Greatdomains of old. There was a very big fuss about .cc domains. When beauty.cc was reportedly sold for 1Million USD, we all went crazy.  They claimed .cc was the new dotcom or more rightly put, the .com crown prince. What most people did not know was that the so called 1Million dollar sale was somewhat shady. It was more of a publicity stunt. I had registered Jot.cc  My plan was to build it into a sort of live journal. The exact phrase I had in mind then was an “online diary”. This was the plan for Jot.cc if  I did not sell it of course. Well I never sold it. I held this domain for 2 or 3 years and finally let it expire. It was a small price to pay for the lesson I learnt. I watched the popularity of .cc drop and within a short time it was nothing. However some people made some good sales at the time.  Some people are still making good sales on .cc but the probability is statistically smaller.

In all this blah blah. I draw some exceptions. .us, .co.uk, and .de
I am one of the few that believe that .us will be popular in future but that future is really far away and that popularity is really for the one worders or strong generics. The type that sells this days for x,xxx
I have never really classified .co.uk  and .de with other ccTLD because they already have a strong following and it is pretty strong.

One other problem you will face with ccTLD is language. Just because you can translate does not mean that is the right term for the people who will be searching for that product or service. This is the only example I can think of now so bear with me – ( I am a pet lover) When you say “Oh he is such a pussy” In England it means he is such a darling, in America it means he is spineless and in most countries it will mean he is just a baby cat (kitten). I use this sentence because it is different from the example where Britain calls Truck Lorry and Hood Bonnet.

In summary ccTLD is not for everyone. I will revisit this topic in another post if need be. I am trying to keep my post short these days and this one is allready too long.

So what do you think? What are your views?

Whether you have read my blog in the past or not,  you need to read this post if  this title does not ring a bell. More importantly you need to know what may determine about 90% of your happiness or misery. I will share with you  the words of  H. Jackson Brown Jr. These words have  hung on my old home office for years now. They applies to domaining because domaining is part of your life.

 I officially  moved to a  new home  office a couple of minutes ago. My new home office is called the “Rectangular Office” It has been ready for about a week now but my wife and I decided to wait for this historic day ” The inauguration of  President Barack Obama”  to move into the new office. Noting grandiose, I simply  cut my garage into two, completely finished it with doors, windows  and all.  I needed the old office room  for a nursery. The old office used to be called “SkyDomains Command Center”

At  the bottom of 21 suggestions for success, you will see the names submitted by some of my readers. I had asked for each reader to submit two of there best names and they did.

 21 Suggestions for Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

Now you know the 21 suggestions for success, here are 24 domain  names from some of my readers.

internetpaymentoptions.com $1000
daycarecenteronline.com $ 1000
SpeedBag.com  $8500
TravertineTiles.com $12,500
LoveStories.com $75,000
MyPoems.com $25,000
Compcore.com 
NamesMonitor.Com
DealsForStudents.com $1500
CellService.com $8500
AirAndHotel.com $2000
JoinSuccess.com $1500
Commenters.com $2500
CommerceDepartement.com $2500
PontoMoney.com
ShowMeTeens.com
UnSoldDomains.com $3000
RealtyRemodeling.com $5000
NYC-Property.com
GranCanaris.com
marinebattery.com $3500
samoyeds.com $4500
placesdubai.com £3.000
solicitorsdubai.com £4.000

I have a feeling this post might ruffle some feathers on both aisles so why don’t I start by apologizing to those  whose feathers I might ruffle.  To those who simply do not agree with me. It is OK, we both have a right to be wrong .

When you are a domainer, you see domains in almost anything. A couple of days ago, I was watching a documentary on the Harvard Business School. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between generic domains and the salient points  enumerated by the Harvard MBA’s  shows presenter.

Most business schools wish they are Harvard
Most domainers wished there domains are generic

Most MBA holders wish there MBA is from Harvard
Most non generic domain end users wish there domains are generic.

A Harvard MBA cost a boat load of money
A category killer generic domain cost a ship Load of Money

Doors open more readily for you with a Harvard MBA
Doors open more readily for you with a   generic domain

Employers pay more attention to you when you have a Harvard MBA
Investors and advertisers  pay more attention to you when you have a  generic domain.

OK fair and square, I have made both sides of the aisles happy. You can go on and on with this analogy to no end.

Now lets talk about when the rubber meets the road. While there are numerous super successful Harvard MBA holders, some of  the worlds top business men never went to Harvard. Bill Gates, The founders of Google, Amazon.com’s Jeffrey Preston Bezos– close but not quite – Princeton University. Even our own Domain King, Rick Schwartz does not have a Harvard MBA
Even without  a Harvard MBA these  gentlemen  have stood a pace ahead of there peers proving once again that “The race of  life is not won by the fastest or the strongest but by the man who thinks he will”

The same scenario applies to generic domains. While there are lots of  very successful generic domains out there online, yet the top businesses are by no means generic. I will list a few here:

It is ebay not auction
it is  GoDaddy not Domains
it is Google not Search or Ask
It is Amazon not Shop (Close again but not quite– See earlier mention of  ”Princeton”)
It is Craiglist not Classifieds
it is YouTube not Video

I can go on and on and  am sure so can you.
This post is not intended to diminish the significance of a Harvard MBA or Generic domains but instead to let you know that you can still succeed  in this business of domaining even if you do not have either of them.

“…..for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth….”, Deuteronomy 8:18

I am not by any  means advocating buying worthless names but if you cast your hopes in God, the domain in your portfolio that everyone overlooked might become the gem of tomorrow. God is still in the business of giving ideas. With one great idea you can be catapulted to a level beyond your wildest dreams.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding“. Proverbs 3:5

Finally think of these words when next you hear a bad news about the economy this year

 You crown the year with your bounty and your carts overflow with abundance Pslam 65 : 11

Almost every domainer who has been through 4 seasons of domaining already has a favorite registrar. While I have not sampled all the registrars, I have however tried most of the popular ones over the years. I think I probably started with Network solutions at 70 bucks or 35 bucks a domain, I can’t really remember now. From network solutions, I remember being with Joker.com, no this is not a joke, It is a real registrar for real. From Joker, I have some how ended up at enom and have tried GoDaddy, Fabulous and 1 & 1.

Let me start from the worst. I did not have a good experience with one and one. Nothing dramatic happened but I just totally hate their interface and never really fell at home there.

A lot of  domainers use Godaddy but I must tell you that I am not a fan. I still have 2 dot info domains there because I have transferred everything thing else to either Fab or enom. I especially loath the inconsistency of their pricing structure. One dollar today 18 dollars next year. Not cool. Also I dislike all the offers you  are bombarded with while trying to register a simple name. Not cool. It reminds me of the gas station near my house that asks me about 5 questions including if I need a car wash. I just want some gas, make it snappy!
While there interface is not bad, I have however seen better.

Enom is one of the most customer friendly registration interface out there. Simple and with a lot of useful tools for free. Fwd, url redirect and what not are all bundled in for free. They are also easy to navigate. One of enoms strongest point is its stability with price. You know what you are going to be paying at any giving time. Price is also one of there biggest downfall as they are not always the cheapest and will charge you 3 percent for using paypal or credit card. Not cool!  Wake up enom.
In spite of all this, I feel safer and most relaxed with my enom domains but enom just did not make it as the best registrar in the world. Maybe 4 years ago it would have been but things are different now.

Fabulous.com, Well what can I say this is fast becoming a really cool place for the domainer. If you want to register a .com .net or .org, Fab is the place. There price is not always the cheapest but at least it is consistent just like enom but without the 3 percent fee. If you park with them you can also pay with your PPC earnings. There interface is simple and easy to follow. There support is as good as it gets with a registrar. Overall all I have to say is good things about Fab. I know some of you do not even know that you can register your domain names at Fabulous. You need to check it out.

I hereby confer to Fabulous.com the title of “The Best Registrar in the World”

PS: I have not been compensated in anyway to write this review. At press time, this page was published without any affiliate links. I currently have 1 domain registered at one and one, 2 at Godaddy, some in Fabulous and the rest at enom.