Small businesses continue to make the move online as they have discovered they get much more for their marketing dollars.  It is amazing how much of their marketing dollars have moved online in such a short period of time.  I hope that many geodomainers are receiving a small part of this increase.  Effective development and building a community is the key to  recruiting  a portion of these advertising dollars. I am interested in hearing from established geo sites if their ad revenues have increased since last year.

A report released by local advertising research company Borrell Associates concludes that local advertisers are moving their marketing funds toward Internet campaigns to the tune of $13.1 billion this year, a 50% increase from 2007.

The report also predicts that local online ad spending will grow another 40% to $18.2 billion in 2009. Spending will eventually slow down and plateau at about $23 billion in 2012, while averaging 15% growth over the next four years.

(Via webwire.com)

I have decided to rethink how I am going to word my part 2 article I was going to publish today. There is a reason for this. The post I made, Industry Chaos, was the third most read article since I started blogging and only 2 people left a comment. This is an indicator that many domainers are not willing to comment on such a controversial topic.

This is definitely a sensitive subject to discuss in an open forum. I find it very strange that an industry that demands transparency refuses to discuss sensitive topics as outlined. Everyone is quick to complain about the unethical practices of companies, but are not willing to unite and do things to make a difference. This is not a shot at Michael, Andrew and others, but the industry as a whole. I believe my statement about uniting and causing disruptive change was way off target. I thought domainers would keep it going for at least 2 weeks. However, I was dead wrong. It only lasted 3 days. No more talk about it in the industry and this amazes me. This is why the industry will continue to be threatened and at risk.

The people in power who can make a difference, fail to unite and lead the small time domainers into an organized front. I just do not understand this way of thinking in the domain industry. However, we will continue to hear about the injustices that occur to them in the future and others, as they rile up everyone again.

There is a couple of ways to decipher this lack of interaction with this topic. One is that many are guilty of unethical behavior as individuals, and the other is I am plain crazy to even bring this into the limelight. I think it is a mixture of both. This is why I am going to take my time to strategically word the part 2 post. Maybe, just maybe, domainers will be willing to communicate on the core issues at hand. It all begins with the individual changing their own unethical practices and then uniting to make a difference. This honestly speaks volumes of the current state of the domain industry. My rail analogy still holds up with individuals looking out for number 1.

The good ole boy network is not going to save or improve the industry. Amazing that over 700 people have read that post in 2 days, and only 1 comment was made. Are domainers that set in their ways that they will leave things to be solved by others?

It took only person to start a movement in 1955 that changed a nation. The movement was called the Civil Rights Movement. The person Rosa Parks. Change can only occur when you unite into a powerful force. A united front speaking with one voice is the only thing that is going to improve and protect the domain industry for the domain entrepreneur.

The following universal domain Dickinson.com has been placed on the market for $24,000 and is being brokered by Mr. Rob Sequin. I have placed the information he has submitted for your review. You can contact Rob through his website if you are interested in Dickinson.com. SearchDomainsForSale.com

*Dickinson.com*

Great geo domain, family name and Emily Dickinson related domain
opportunity.

Emily Dickinson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson

Nine results for cities or towns named Dickinson in Google maps

and…

Dickinson College http://www.dickinson.edu/
Dickinson County Iowa http://www.co.dickinson.ia.us/
Dickinson County Kansas http://www.dkcoks.org/
Dickinson Hospital http://www.cooley-dickinson.org/splash/
Dickinson Marine http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/
Dickinson North Dakota http://www.dickinsoncvb.com/
Dickinson Press http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/
Dickinson State University http://www.dsu.nodak.edu/
Dickinson Texas http://www.ci.dickinson.tx.us/
Dickinson Theaters http://www.dtmovies.com/
Dickinson’s Specialty Foods http://www.dickinsonsfamily.com/
Dickinson’s Witch Hazel http://www.witchhazel.com/

Becton Dickinson is a medical supply company http://www.bd.com/

ICANN just announced its approval of new gTLDs which will more than likely lead to a new online goldrush as suggested in the article. But this time it will be corporate America and Traditional Media making the move to become the new owners of elite extensions and not entrepreneurs. While many domainers have their opinions on this recent announcement, I for one am glad that ICANN has opened the flood gates. There are many Pros and Cons to new gTLDs or as David Castello has coined vTLDs on ElliotsBlog.com. But, I do not want to get into that can of worms at this time. I will leave most of that stuff for the experts to discuss and give my opinion on their blogs. There are plenty of topics already in the industry on this announcement if you are set on learning the pros and cons.

So why am I excited about this new announcement? Well, the Geo Domain Industry just grew 10 fold with this new announcement of vTLDs. We can anticipate the following geo domain extensions such as .nyc, .paris, .london, .chicago, etc…… to come soon enough. And the amazing thing is many of these will not be launched by small time companies. Major media companies are going to to jump at this opportunity since they missed the boat on geo .coms. True value will unfold in the industry as gTLDs are embraced by corporate America. This is a lot of geo domains when you look at how many countries, cities, states, and regions there are in the world.

The timing could not be better with all of the internet going local. It is really wide open for solid growth in the geo domain industry. Even generic name .TLD will still use city, state, country, and regions in their website addresses as well. The possibilities and opportunities are endless. Our geo network being built is center mass of all this growth.

These are exciting times, and of course those who own elite .com geo domains will be in a great place as those consumers who are confused will end up at the .com address from time to time. What will separate sites, is what I, and many others have said from day one, Content. Quality content will bring that visitor back to your site regardless of the extension. Love the term coined by David as well, Vanity TLDs (vTLDs). Makes Perfect Sense.

AssociatedCities.com has announce that you can now place your online vote for the geo domain awards that will be presented at the GeoDomain Expo on 12 June in Chicago.  This is a chance for geodomainers to select those who they believe deserve awards for their hard work building out their geo domains.

I would also like to encourage as many geodomainers as possible to attend the event.  If you are going, please make sure to hit me up at the event. Here are the award categories:

Best Monetized GeoDomain
Most Economic Impact
Most Influential GeoDomain
Best GeoDomain Technology
Best US City GeoDomain
Best Us State GeoDomain
Best US Destination GeoDomain
Best Intl City GeoDomain
Best Country GeoDomain
GeoDomain Hall Of Fame

If you have any questions, you can contact Patrick through the AC site.

Before I begin this controversial 2 part post, I would like to ask readers to keep an open mind.  As many of you already know, I am not one to steer away from controversy to expose the truth and I believe in laying content on the table for others to digest when they are ready and for the history books.  This often does not make me the popular guy in upper circles.  However, I have never been one to compete in popularity contests. This post is in regards to all the news in the industry about companies with unethical practices.  My comments may ruffle some feathers, but they are necessary to “assist” in building the next challenging level for domainers in the industry. A unified front, that so many have refused to build over the years. Perhaps, positive disruptive CHANGE can occur now. Of course, this is a very optimistic statement when talking to domainers who are set in their ways, with so many having egos bigger than the domain industry itself.

These are great articles to read and absorb to understand why I am blogging on this topic today. A wealth of knowledge is contained in each of them, especially in the comments sections. Here is a run down for you to read before reading the rest of my post.

Expired Domain Services Let Employees Bid Against Customers (DomainNameWire.com)
Ethics of Domain Drop Auctions (TheDomains.com)
Tucows Response to our Post: Not Good Enough And Here’s Why (TheDomains.com)
I’m Just Saying….Something You Might Not Know About Afternic DLS (Dotweekly.com)

In the last 7 days, a lot of information has surfaced in the domain industry on unethical behavior and practices at many of the top domaining companies in the industry. These practices are nothing new and have been happening for years, but they are finally getting the attention they deserve and are mainstream.  You can anticipate that there will be much more of this stuff to come as domains continue to increase in value and domain service companies consolidate to take up larger market share. (more on this in part 2)

Without industry regulations in place to enforce standards, companies in the emerging domain industry will continue to abuse the system and conduct unethical behavior. If you want examples and answers, look at history. History has proven this with the rail companies during the wild wild west days.  They had vision and understood the future of rail to man kind.  They did what ever it took to build their empires acquiring land and to remain in a position of power.  Individuals (ranch owners) who were only interested in making money empowered these rail companies to continue to grow and cross the lines by killing, stealing, and threatening land owners for their property in the rail companies path.  Eventually, regulations were passed and standards enforced because land owners were fed up with the unethical behavior and United as one voice that was heard.  Rail became the dominant mode of transportation for over a 100 years and rail companies still remain very powerful today. All because of individual players.

History has many answers to those who have their minds and eyes wide open, does the above example sound familiar? Though there is no killing(yet), there is stealing and threatening happening in the domain industry on all fronts. Welcome to the Wild Wild West of the domain industry!

This is only the tip of the iceberg of future problems that will arise if domainers continue to do business as usual and do not cause disruptive change.

In this world of the “Me” era, it is near impossible for domainers (past and present) to be held accountable and admit they are at fault for what has occurred throughout the years with all domain companies. Many domainers are outraged because of recent unethical events, but no one with power has done anything about these actions that have been ongoing for years. This is because most of those with power in the domain industry have working relationships with most companies.  They would not dare battle those who provide great incentives to their livelihoods.  It took this happening to Major/Serious domainers with an industry voice to finally deliver the outcry of the domain community because now they are being affected.  Many of these companies may suffer major reprocussions from the community due to their recent activities.

There is so much more to this unethical arena that has not been discussed so openly by major players. PPC Companies are a whole other animal of unethical practices.  Insider trading at its finest. Special deals with for those with elite portfolios, but not for those with crappy ones.   We do not hear major players complaining about this unfair advantage of insider trading.  This in itself is an unethical practice by major domainers, yet they cry wolf when wrong is done to them. It is all about the money and double standards can not be used as a defense. Funny how things work in this industry. The list goes on and I will discuss all in Part 2.

The small time domainer has complained about these same issues for years and many more, but few have paid any attention to them. Why, because they were small time domainers and of course, it could never happen to the major/serious players. Instead of acting at this early stage, seasoned domainers formed private forums, niche dominance, secretive discussions on domain opportunities, limited education on domain strategy, to include drops, exclusive conference events, closed circles, private ppc deals with these same companies, and the list goes on. Keeping the small time domainer and industry growth crippled to bring more money into major players pockets.  All of this focusing on the individual, instead of the industry that provides all the opportunity and wealth.  An industry with a solid moral foundation will deliver opportunity and wealth for eternity. This does not exist in the domain industry, and this is why the industry is at risk from corporate america and lawmakers.  Additionally, it is the same reason why companies will continue to do unethical practices.  The domain industry was built on unethical practices. More on this in part 2.

Now domainers want to rally and make a disruptive change, but how long will this last?  My guess is this will last 2 weeks max before the same “Me” mentality and Ego’s kick back in and business as usual continues.  Some say vote with your wallet, but this is a temporary fix to a problem that will continue.  Why? Entrepreneurs will take advantaged and exploit any opportunity that presents itself due to a movement.  If 100 major players stop buying drop domains at Tucows.com, guess what, 1000 other small time domainers will move in to make up the difference because there is limited competition from major players.  It is a vicious cycle of entrepreneurship.  However, if domainers unite, promote and support regulations and get them passed, these will have lasting effects for the life of the industry.  Which one makes more sense to do?

How did we get here? That is the question that demands to be addressed and will reveal the correct courses of action to embrace to make change. The second question I have for you, What are you willing to do to cause disruptive change? I am interested in hearing your comments and will stop here and post part 2 tomorrow after hearing your comments.

I will hit on 5 key controversial areas tomorrow after hearing your thoughts.

In announcement published today on DNJournal.com’s lowdown, Snapnames.com has started to make some beneficial changes for domainers.  One of the things of interest to geodomainers is that they will now offer lists focused on Geo Domains. I assume this list will include both aftermarket domains and drops.  This is big news if you read between the lines.

This is just another indicator that the geo domain industry is about to go mainstream.  We additionally have some insider information on what other companies are going to be announcing in the coming months to deliver to this industry.  All great stuff that will bring value to the geo domain industry.

If you are interested in additional geo domain lists, I recommend signing up with our advertiser, GeoDomainList.com.  It is another service taylored to you that offers geo domains for sale at great prices.