I am in the process of reaching out to the companies with whom I do the most business. I am thinking about only doing business with companies who are members of the Internet Commerce Association. Is this a drastic measure? Perhaps, but if we don’t stand up for our rights, do you think anyone else will?

This is the email I am sending to my partners:

“Is xxxxxx a member of the Internet Commerce Association? The recent Anti Phishing Act proposal has some scary language for domain investors, and I think the ICA is our best chance at making sure it isn’t passed as is. I am toying with only doing business with members of the ICA. Please let me know if xxxxxxxx is a member of the ICA, and if not, when they might become a member.

Thanks,
Elliot”

I am auctioning PuertoRicanVacation.com on my blog with ALL funds going to the ICA. Highest bid submitted to my blog by this coming Wednesday, March 5th at 3pm EST will get the name. Bidding will start at $1.00 and there will be $10 increments. Buyer will send payment to me and I will send funds to ICA.

Some recent sales:
CanadianVacation.com - $4,126
CaribbeanVacations.com - $130,000
EuropeanVacations.com - $85,000
IrelandVacations.com - $17,250
AustraliaVacations.com - $16,000
AsianVacations.com - $15,000
BudgetVacations.com - $10,300
CanadaVacations.com - $9,600

I am in Florida for an extended weekend and a meeting, but I wanted to post a couple of links for you to see while I am away.

From DNJournal:

“There are parties searching for a way to change laws so they can more easily take domain assets they have no right to away from their current owners. The easiest way to do that is to get language favoring their agenda slipped into an otherwise well-intentioned bill like this that would normally sail through the legislative process with little scrutiny. The dangerous language gets inserted in such a bill through lobbying efforts by people who want to remove current barriers that keep them from grabbing domains they are not entitled to. Combating this sort of legislative sleight of hand is exactly why the Internet Commerce Association was formed and why we think it is critical for domain owners to support the organization. Your very livelihood could be at stake in the legal battles over your assets that are just now getting underway.“

Also, Mike Berkens posted the ICA response to the proposed Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act of 2008. As stated above, the language in the Act could pose a very serious and very real threat to the health of the domain industry. I am not one for blowing smoke or taking political action, but this is something we should all take seriously.

Whether you have great generic domain names or average domain names it doesn’t matter. If super generic domain names become a target - as many people believe will happen if this bill is passed as is - the value of all domain names will drop significantly due to the risk of owning them. The problem I see is that this language is lumped into a consumer and election-friendly bill that will surely be passed. Who doesn’t want to stop phishing? HOWEVER, we need to make sure this bill is changed before it is passed. We need to protect our assets. If some of the big chips fall, you better believe this will impact your business (assuming you own domain names).

I am a Professional Member of the ICA and I will continue to give what I can. I am still selling my two Australian beach domain names with the $5,000 margin going entirely to the ICA from the buyer (who can get a deduction for it). No matter whether you can contribute $100 or $25,000, you need to join the ICA and help protect your domain ownership rights.

Last week I sold a nice Australian Beach domain name for $8,000.

Yesterday, I listed CoogeeBeach.com and BalmoralBeach.com for $10,000 each or $18,000 for the pair. As I blogged, Coogee Beach and Balmoral Beach are more popular beaches than the beach name I sold last week, which is why they are priced a bit higher. In light of the recent situation, I am even more committed to the ICA.

I pledge to give $5,000 to the ICA upon the sale of this pair of names if they are bought within the next week. I will make it even better for you - the buyer can make the contribution on his own for a tax deduction.  I know this pair is going

Thank you to Larry Fischer at DirectNavigation.com for analyzing and posting a link to this CNET article about the proposed new Anti-Phishing legislation. Essentially the CNET article discusses the reasons why this legislation is redundant and unnecessary. It doesn’t touch on the fact that the language in the bill could be detrimental to generic domain owners and could subject them to harsh penalties.

As I said yesterday, the Internet Commerce Association is working on a response to this. As far as I am aware, they are the only group working on behalf of the domain investment community. At first glance, the bill looks like it will be helpful to consumers, but upon close review, the language could and probably will hurt the domain industry. We could be in serious trouble if the bill passes as is.

There is time to make a difference, and I am sure the ICA will lobby hard to amend the bill to eliminate some of the gray area that exists and could hurt us. I don’t like to promote a cause on my blog or use this as a soapbox, but I strongly urge you to join the ICA. Although most of the “big guys” are helping to support them, they need the support of everyone. I joined as a Professional Member and intend to give as much as I can afford.
Domain owners own almost priceless virtual assets. I think this bill could lead to outsiders coming in and threatening (or taking) legal action to secure our valuable assets. If this threat becomes real, which will probably happen if the bill passes as is, our assets could become liabilities, and the values of domain names could go down. We need someone to take the side of domain owners and domain investors, and the ICA is the best organized group to do it.

I want to thank everyone for coming out to dinner last night, and I would like to give a special thanks to Domain Capital for surprising us all and picking up the tab. It was very nice of them to “quietly” and unexpectedly sponsor the dinner, and we are all appreciative.

The turnout of 23 was strong despite the poor weather, and we had a good chance to network with others in the industry. We had a diverse group involved in all aspects of the domain industry, which made for good conversation. Even nicer was that I had the chance to network with people I didn’t know before the dinner, and I expect to stay in touch. We work in a small industry, and it’s nice to have an opportunity to socialize with like minded people who live in the same area.

Details about the next get together will be posted soon. If you would like to be added to the list, please let me know. Thank you again to those who came to dinner and to Domain Capital.

I just read Mike Berken’s blog post about the proposed Anti-Phishing Bill I blogged about earlier this morning, which upon full review, goes much deeper than simply fighting phishers. Mike goes into much further depth and really sounds the alarm regarding the proposed legislation.

If you are invested in the domain industry, I would advise reading Mike’s Blog today. Those invested in domain names domain industry need to stand united to ensure that the bill (as currently written) isn’t passed into law without modification. I know the ICA is working on a response to this, and I think supporting them is important.

I went live with Salinas.com yesterday, and I wanted to share some information about the development process for those of you who have good names but fear developing them. First off, I would like to thank a few people who helped me develop the name and/or who gave me some fantastic advice on development. Without the help of Brad, Mike, Anna, Kim, Janis, Perry, David, and Michael, I wouldn’t have been able to build the site. I sincerely appreciate their help and advice. I have little to no technical expertise, so development is new to me.

In my opinion, Salinas.com is more of a mini-website than a fully developed site. Eventually I hope to develop Salinas.com into a directory site, but I am planning to test this development model first with Lowell.com - which should launch in the next 3 weeks. Although revenue is important, my current goal for Salinas.com is to increase traffic and provide a value for visitors. Revenue generation will be more important to me with the fully developed website.

Content is king for Salinas.com. I hired Read More »

I wanted to share a concern I have with a potential piece of new litigation sponsored by Senator Olympia Snowe and cosponsored by Senators Bill Nelson and Ted Stevens. The Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act (APCPA), which is being publicly supported by the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA), sounds like a consumer and business friendly Act, but I have a concern about an implication of some of the language that makes up the bill.

The goal of the bill is to protect consumers from “phishing,” defined as an “attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.” While this is something we would all like to see stopped, I believe some language in the bill may be detrimental to generic domain owners.

According to CADNA’s press release, part of the APCPA aims to address the “practice of using deceptive Web site domain names, which appear confusingly similar to well-known businesses’ Web site addresses, and may be used to facilitate phishing attacks and deceptive spam attacks, or to divert consumers from their intended online destinations to Web sites peddling unrelated or objectionable goods and services, including those harmful to minors.”

I am concerned that this is Read More »

Last week I sold a great Australian beach domain name on my blog less than 12 hours after listing it. Today, I would like to present two more great Australian beach domain names. I am looking to sell CoogeeBeach.com and BalmoralBeach.com for $10,000 each. If you buy the pair, I will reduce the price to $18,000 for both. I haven’t visited either of these vacation hotspots, but here is some information about each location:

Coogee Beach:

According to the Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach:

“Coogee Beach is what life by the ocean is all about. Its culture is urban and cosmopolitan, yet relaxed. Street cafes put the scent of coffee on the sea breeze. Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach is directly opposite Coogee Beach with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.Known affectionately as ‘Sydney’s Seaside Village’, Coogee Beach is a tranquil environment. Surrounded by one of the East Coast’s most breathtaking beaches and headlands, it embraces a relaxed, casual setting and is only a short drive to the city. Its location makes it convenient to catch a round of golf at the nearby green, do a little shopping, take in a film at The Entertainment Quarter or place a bet on the ’sport of kings’ with the world-famous Randwick racecourse.

Opposite Coogee Beach, 6 kilometers to the airport and 8 kilometers to the Sydney central business district.“

From Science and Technology Conference:

Another photo:

Balmoral Beach:

From Wikipedia:

“Balmoral Beach is arguably one of the most picturesque beaches in Sydney. It is a harbour beach facing East by North-East and is sheltered from direct ocean waves by Middle Head. Balmoral has four separate beaches along a crescent of white sand, with a large horseshoe-shaped swimming area within a shark net. The usually placid waves make it appealing to a wide age range for swimming. The area has a laid-back vibe, with pleasant parkland, cafes, fish and chips, and two top restaurants (also serving brunch). Activities include a walk North along the rocks to Chinaman’s beach (not advisable if the tide is coming in) or South up the hill to Georges Heights.Deservedly one the most-loved “secrets” in Sydney.

Balmoral has views to North Head, Manly, and Clontarf and is situated at the mouth of Middle Harbour.
The famous Balmoral Rotunda is the home of Shakespeare By The Sea a summer outdoor event held at Balmoral Beach. Other notable events include the annual Mudgee Wine Festival.

The Rotunda and Rocky Point Island are also popular for wedding ceremonies and photographs.

Between 1924 and 1951 Balmoral Beach was the location of the Star Amphitheatre.”

From Sydney100.com:

From the The Wedding Decorator