While conducting some research today on local advertising, I came across a great article that exposes the almost sold out local advertising spots for Superbowl.  Superbowl XLII will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.  The price of advertising has skyrocketed for local advertising during the Superbowl because it is the first time in 7 years a New York team has made it to the Superbowl.  Additionally, this will allow TV Stations in the area to raise advertising rates for 2008 because of the surge of viewers watching during this time.  And this does not include the future increase in pricing if the New York Giants win. 

So I went to Phoenix.com and Glendale.com as any good geo domainer would do to see how they were taking advantage of this lottery location from the football heavens.  And low and behold, they are operated by companies.  Nothing on their sites selling any merchandise, hotel reservations, car rentals, or advertisments for this unique event.  Millions of visitors are typing Phoenix.com and Glendale.com into their browser bar for additional information on the local area and the Superbowl since the location was announced.  What do they find, nothing, absolutely nothing.  It is expected that there will be over 90 million viewers watching the superbowl.  Just imagine how many consumers are typing these addresses into their browser bar.  I imagine record breaking traffic for a city.com name. 

While it is great for the two companies who own these elite names to get exposure on their services, it is plain stupid to not capitalize on this once in a lifetime event to take in millions of dollars in advertising revenue to add to their bottom line.  It is safe to say that if a geo domainer owned one of these geo names, they would have earned a couple of million dollars just in the month leading to the Superbowl.  Of course advertising revenue would increase after the event as consumers found what they needed on the site and would return.  Additionally, some other major events are taking place at the same location that will draw thousands more to the same domains; Fiesta Bowl, as well as the BCS National College Football Championship

Simply amazing how millions of dollars have been left on the table for this once in a lifetime event.  City.com owners are siting on gold mines.  With the right blast of dynamite, they will hit the jackpot and scream “EUREKA, I/WE STROKE GOLD!”     

(via cranesnewyork.com) 

The first Super Bowl in seven years to feature a New York team is expected to score even higher than the usual blockbuster ratings. The matchup between the underdog New York Giants and the unbeaten New England Patriots has already increased the number of listeners of sports radio programs and sent television station managers scurrying to add more game-related coverage.

But the big winner in the local Super Bowl advertising sweepstakes will be WNYW, Channel 5.

In addition to its extensive pregame coverage, the Fox-owned station has inserted four hours of specials leading up to the game in Phoenix on Sunday.

Media observers say that with the writers’ strike causing a shortage of first-run shows, advertisers are more eager than ever to take part in Super Bowl programming. Having the Giants in the game is more icing on the cake.

“Fox is in the right place at the right time,” says Mary Barnas, director of local media at Carat. “We have a local team that hasn’t been in the Super Bowl in a while, it’s first-run programming and it’s exciting.”

Channel 5 is making no secret of its glee about the Giants.

“It’s like hitting the Lotto,” General Manager Lew Leone said in a press release announcing the programming changes, which include moving anchors and reporters to Phoenix for most of the week.

As you may have already read, Google.com is finally taking action against domain kiting/tasting.  This is long overdue and Google’s enforcement will set new standards across other platforms and registrars.  ICANN can no longer evade/put off this issue as it has done so in the past.  New standards are going to evolve for registrars and many of the livelyhoods of those conducting this “black eye” industry practice will finally be put in place.  It will only be matter of time before the politicians interact and pass laws to enforce the internet because of the lack of enforcement by ICANN.

What registrars have failed to realize is that they have losts millions of dollars by allowing domain kiting to occur.  I would guess out of all the domain names registered during this 5 day grace period by “tasters”, that approximately 3-5% of them get registered.  So the other 95-97% of names registered are just being held hostage until the grace period expires.  During these 5 days in the real world, there are thousands of individuals looking to register a name they needed or wanted and found it taken already.  So they end up not registering a name at all, because all the possible discriptions of the business or idea have been registered already.  Most will never check back to see if the domain is available again.  Little do they know, there is a chance that the domain will be available again in just a few days.  To put it bluntly, many registrars do not have the consumers best interest in mind.   

How do you feel about Domain kiting/tasting and the lack of enforcement? 

You can read the full articles on this practice at the below links.
(via InfoWeek)   (via SPN)

Google’s Statement
“We have long discouraged domain kiting as a practice,” Google (NSDQ: GOOG) said in an e-mailed statement. “In order to more effectively deter it, we are launching a new domain kiting detection system. If we determine that a domain is being kited, we will not allow Google ads to appear on the site. We believe that this policy will have a positive impact for users and domain purchasers across the Web.”

As of Feb. 11, Google plans to begin blocking AdSense for Domains ads from appearing on kited domains. The company did not provide further details about how its kiting detection system will work.

***UPDATE***
I did really good at the game last night.  Thank you for the luck you all gave me!  It was a great time whomping on them guys and gals.  A bit of advice, never play poker hungry.  All I could see was the poker chips looking like chicken nuggets.  j/k

I am out for the night. I am headed to play some good ole Texas Hold’em with the big boys in the city.  I have been working on a few articles, portfolio sale posting, and postings that will be published in the upcoming days.  I have answered most of the comments left, so please go back and check to see if I answered yours.  Additionally, I have answered most emails.  If I have not, send me a comment and I will.  Please feel free to use the forum to discuss domain related topics.  It is finally growing with new members daily.  Thank you for visiting the blog!  Wish me some luck tonight on the game! 

It is important for an individual to grow their mind, body and spirit at different intervals weekly.  It is not until we fullfil these three elements to the fullest that we find ourselves truly happy.  All the money in the world will not bring you happiness.  Just look at all these movie stars who have taken their own lives in the past 2 years.  Make time for yourselves to grow in these areas my Dear Friends.  They are as important as putting gas, oil, and fluids into your car to work effectively.     

Mind:  Domainers grow their mind daily via development, the internet, blogs and communicating.  This has never been a problem, however, most will not worry about the key funamentals; body and spirit. 

Body:  The dreadful, scary word that starts with “E”, exercise.  A healthy body can make for a healthy mind.  The internet/domaining has prevented so many from establishing an effective fitness plan.  Time flys by when you are on the internet as we all know.  And if we do have time, we come up with excuses why we can’t do the “E” word.  However, physical fitness and good eating habits are essential if you are planning on going the distance.  They build endurance, stamina, keep you fit, and emit a professional appearance.  All are needed in this industry and in life.  Furthermore, it extends your life, and can prevent health issues from arising.        

It is the start of 2008, a perfect time to establish new goals.  Eat healthy and Make time for exercise, whether in the gym or just walking around the block. Your body and mind will be better for it.  Additionally, you will have more energy and motivation to complete those things you have been putting off. 

 Spirit:  Religion, Yoga, Meditation, and Pilates are some of the multiple ways you can fullfil yourself spiritually.  Our friend Albert, says it very well:

“A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

- Albert Einstein

What are some things you do to fullfil your Mind, Body, and Spirit?  What is not growing in us, is surely dying. 

Today, I have been busy trying to resolve an issue that has been ongoing with the blog.  This is why I have not posted anything all day.  I discovered this problem when I was reporting the DomainFest Auction Results Live.  There was a large amount of traffic to the blog and I started to get errors with the blog loading.  

It appears for the past week or so, my blog has been targeted in a malicious attack.  I am sure alot of you have tried to visit the blog at some point, only to find the site not resolving with an error page.  What is happening is an attack is being launched every 3-6 hours for 1-2 minutes denying access to the blog.  They are scanning every single page 3-5 seconds apart keeping the word press database from running properly.  What I have been told is it is individuals ripping content from blogs they wish to monetize. 

I am still trying to find a resolution, so please bare with me until this issue is resolved.  Just keep trying every few minutes if you are not able to get the site to resolve.  If there are any tech gurus, please send me an email.  If you own a blog, scan your logs to see if it is being done to you as well.  It happens without you knowing until you have a large surge of traffic and service is denied.  This really sucks!

“The easiest way to keep track of what’s happening on your block, in your neighborhood and all over your city.”  This is an interesting platform I came across today while visiting Greg Sterling’s blog and following link trails.  Greg is an expert in local technology and finds some of the most interesting platforms coming to market.  I think Geo domainers could benefit greatly from this platform as it continues to add new features and spreads into other cities.  Currently, it is only being offered in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.  You can learn a great deal on this platform on EveryBlock’s Blog.  

The Domainers Choice Awards were announced last night as the final event of DomainFest 08′.  Domainers voted for Michael and David Castello to receive awards in two categories.  They received awards for Domainers Rising Star and Domain Ambassador Award.  Well deserved by two professional leaders in the industry who are always willing to help others become successful.  Make sure to check out their recent interviews with SimplyGeo.com if you haven’t already.

Congrats to both of you and thank you for sharing your knowledge! 

Elliot Silver also took home the Best Domainers Blog Award.  He has done an outstanding job keeping his blog updated daily with useful information for domainers.  Great job Elliot and Congrats!  I hope to accomplish this goal this year, and will do my best to reach it by providing useful tools and information for readers.

It is great to see these Geo Domainers in the limelight.  They have worked hard for it!  Please make sure to congratulate these industry professionals.  You can view the complete results of the Domainer Choice Awards at DNJournal.com.