Domaining.org.uk

A few interesting ideas on making money with domain names have appeared lately, and I thought they might be of interest.

This article on Domain Name Consultant Dominik Mueller’s Blog has some interesting advice on becoming a successful domain name investor. Dominik’s advice is very good, and includes the following ideas…….

Register lots of domains - sell them at low prices and make money through high turnover of domains

Buy names at auction

Buy names specifically for development into websites

Dominik’s article is very good and well worth reading - to inform novice domainers and to remind those with more experience as well…………

Domain king Rick Schwartz has put together a very thought provoking article on a similar theme - how timing will dictate your domaining strategy. In the article Time, it is measured in milestones not minutes, Rick explains how the point at which people begin domaining varies from person to person and that the strategy they use to make money depends on timing and taking advantage of what is going on now, not what went on in the past. Clever stuff…………….

Sahar Sarid is another top level domainer and his blog The Conceptualist is in my recommended reading list. In a recent blog post Sahar considers How to start in the domain business without any sort of funding? Great article - read, enjoy…………………..

Wired broke the news yesterday that plans to charge for access to the .name whois registry raises a number of concerns, around the ability of security researchers to police the internet and could create ‘a haven for hackers who run internet scams’.

Global Name Registry (GNR) administers domain names ending in .name which are intended for use by individuals. There will be a basic level of free access to the Whois records that will show only basic information and a ‘paid for’ level of access that will include all data. Five passwords cost $2.00.

When the news was reported on the Internet infrastucture and policy blog CircleID Hakon Haugnes, President of Global Name Registry, posted a detailed and robust defence of GNR’s actions. He concluded that

We believe this is the best possible compromise between two very different positions, one legal (EU Data Protection Act), the other legacy (Whois as a fully open tool for anyone) - on one side, that personal information should be protected, and on the other side, that bad registrations and illegal conduct should be identified and remedied.

The longer term implication of Global Name Registry’s actions is still unclear. Importantly, if this goes well how long will it be before this principle is applied to all Registries and all domains.