I’ve heard a few horror stories before, people had called up another registrar to check the availability of a domain name only to have the registrar take the name and try to sell it back to the person who was inquiring in good faith for a premium. Illegal? Not according to ICANN. Unethical? You betcha. …
Garrett SaundrySpam! We all know it, and we all hate it. Some start out offering miracle cures for baldness, weight loss or magic pills for any other ailment you can think of. Others are from famous lawyers in another country, who would like to introduce you to one of their clients, most of the time disgraced…
JuliannaRecent reports indicate that China has surpassed the United States in Internet use. The Pew Internet and American Life project estimated the number of American Internet users to be between 165 and 210 million for July 2007. According to internal research by Charles Zhang, CEO of Sohu.com (the website ranks among the top 5 trafficked sites…
The Globe and Mail published an interesting article this about the Whois and whether or not it should be scrapped. ICANN Members are set to vote on whether or not to scrap the Whois today at the organization’s meeting in Los Angeles. What is the Whois you ask? It is a group of databases that…
Cybele NegrisAs COO of Webnames.ca, board member of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and a former President of Wired Woman, I attend a lot of business and networking events. I have met a lot of successful entrepreneurs, executives of large corporations and owners of startup companies alike. One question that I get asked more than any other is…
This week the Internet and ICANN took a big step forward by launching 11 test sites in languages that don’t use the Roman alphabet ( eg. the 26 letters used in English and most European languages). ICANN aka the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a privately held, non-profit organization which reports to the U.S. Department…
JuliannaIt’s no surprise that as a domain registrar, one of the things we are experts at is managing domains. So if I tell you that purchasing and transferring an aftermarket domain is easy, you might think it’s just because I work with Webnames.ca, but I recently had a chance to experience the process from a…
Steve SmithThe CIRA Board Elections are upon us once again. Voting takes place online from 6:00 pm (18:00h) Ottawa time on September 6, 2007 to 6:00 pm (18:00h) Ottawa time on September 13, 2007. Final candidates and their statements are listed at https://elections.cira.ca/2007/finalslate/list/en. This year, it will be an extremely tight race so anyone who has…
JuliannaJust a reminder that the 2007 Domain Roundtable Conference is happening next week, August 12-15 in Seattle, Washington at the Sheraton Hotel. (Just a hop, skip, jump and border crossing away for all you locals.) With 40+ different sessions scheduled, DRT’s organizers are touting this year’s conference as the most informative domain industry event ever…
JuliannaCIRA is asking that all dot-ca domain name holders complete the membership enrolment process to become or remain a CIRA Member. July 30, 2007 is the date all current CIRA memberships will expire, and you will need to complete the new authentication process to renew your membership. Benefits As a CIRA Member, you will…
JuliannaCircle ID published an article this week about the state of .eu, the European Union’s Top-Level Domain (TLD). A full year has passed since the sunrise and landrush periods, and the first wave of renewals has come and gone. So what does the .eu look like a year later? In one word – underwhelming. A…
JuliannaLast month we asked the question “Is Business.com worth $400 million dollars?” Today I can tell you the answer – almost! The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that a deal has been made to sell the web-based business directory, and domain, for between $340 and $360 million dollars. The Web’s original high-price domain…
JuliannaLate last month the dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) signed an Industry Alliance Memorandum – a fancy term for agreement – to support one another’s initiatives. Why is this significant? By signing, the CWTA – Canada’s authority on wireless issues, trends and developments – has agreed to promote the…
JuliannaThe Internet is a buzz with talk of last week’s T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference and the potential value of the domain business.com. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscribers only), business.com is now up for sale – for $400 million dollars! If this sale goes through for even considerably less than its asking price it will become…
JuliannaNew York City was host to the most recent T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference with hundreds of domain investors, service providers and industry professionals in attendance. For those who haven’t heard of T.R.A.F.F.I.C., the conference is devoted to exploring trends in the domain name industry, specifically domain monetization, investment and traffic acquisition. In addition to exhibits, seminars and…
