Hello people. I am proud to be a domainer and my guess is that you are too, however the present and persistent happenings in the industry has given me cause to sit back and ponder. Every week great sales are announced. We all enjoy reading about those, don’t we? While theyare great news of hope, fact remains that the very cancer (Heaven forbids) that will destroy this industry continues to grow. Myself like the rest of the domaining industry look the other way, each of us concerned only of our own piece of virtual real estate(s). I am going to focus on the resent issue of Ad.com, AOL , Overseas and Skenzo.
Here is a brief recap of the issue: Skenzo commits to buy Ad.com from Overseas, AOL raises dust and claims that Ad.com infringes on their Adverstise.com mark. Skenzo panics and backs out; Overseas is pissed and takes Skenzo to court. Now this post is not about the merit of the case but the very fact that we are an industry fighting amongst ourselves. Should Overseas and Skenzo even be at war? Should the battle not be between AOL and the entire Domaining Kingdom? How about calling Overseas and Skenzo to a round table conference (webference) and pointing out to them that they should not be fighting each other; we all should be fighting AOL the masked maruader in this case.
For how long will we all sit aside while stuff like this continue to happen. In most established industries, when you touch “one” unjustly you have provoked all. This holds true in virtually all industries except in domaining. We are provoked all right but we bark like toothless dogs and hide back in our trenches. Is it because no clear champion has risen, is it because we yearn for a true leader? Yes within us might be great warriors but even the best warriors still need to be lead.
Here is a few cases to tickle your mind
2 Globe Media International Vs ForSale.ca
I choose this 3 cases out of hundreds mainly because of there diversity and nothing else. Again I will reiterate that the point I am trying to make is this things happen weekly but we all sit and watch. It reminds me of a saying ” they came for my neighbours, I did nothing, when they came for me, there was no one left to help”
Until something is done, we are an industry in danger of extinction. We are an emerging industry but we do not really have a strong voice. What is that organization that we are supposed to belong to? I can’t remember.
As the industry continues to face obstacles, we all have excuses why we each do nothing.
For some it is; “I do not have enough resources”
For others it is ” it is not my domain”
For most, it is “what am I supposed to do”
For me it is “All of the above plus, I am just a blogger’
What is yours?
Citations
1. Vincentnguyen.com
http://www.vincentnguyen.com/motorola-resorts-to-reverse-domain-hijacking-of-motorazr-com-2006129.php
2. DomainNameNews.com
http://www.domainnamenews.com/cctlds/globe-media-international-guilty-ca-reverse-domain-hijacking-decision/4905#comments
3. The Register.co.uk
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/01/07/dvla_fails_in_reverse_domain/
All domainers have to become the solid organization, but I think not like ICA with its huge membership fees.
I like the title of this post, and I think it says a lot. There really isn’t anyone in charge and no one to lead the rally cry. Domaining is sort of the ultimate entrepreneurial activity. Unfortunately, those that made millions in the early years can fight with cash reserves and lawyers. The rest of us who are just trying to get started can’t afford to fight. As entrepreneurs, we don’t have any pooled resources.
So far ICANN’s goal has only been to promote the rights of trademark holders, no matter how often those rights conflict with common sense. If we don’t find a leader, we’ll all be drinking from the same empty cup.