Archive for February, 2011
Chatr.com updates website – lots more to come from Frank Schilling’s social networking app
Earlier this month, I did a story about several new changes to Chatr, a social networking application that is syndicated across thousands of NAMedia’s websites. One of the key changes to the website involved registering for a username - like fusible.
Over the last few weeks, a lot more changes have come to Chatr (which originally went by the name Note.com). It’s becoming much more of a social networking “application”, than an experiment, with the latest round of improvements. In fact, nowhere on the website will you find the word “experiment” anymore, which hints that Chatr could be going more public soon.
Here’s a look at some of the improvements that NAMedia has been making to its not-so-public social app, that is seen across thousands of websites on a daily basis.
Account Page
After registration, you can now maintain your setup information including: email, password, and notifications.
Notifications
Members can be notified via email when someone has replied to a message they have posted. Notifications also allow you to stay updated on changes to Chatr.com.
Grouping Popular Topics
Like Gmail’s “conversations”, Chatr groups all replies with their original message, creating a single “topic”. To see all the replies for a message, just click the Topic button.
Private Reply, Add as Friend, Ignore User
You can send private messages to other Chatr users, add them as your friends, or ignore abusive users.
There are a slew of improvements I haven’t even covered, so if you’re interested in watching the social networking app evolve, pay a visit to Chatr.com.
The latest updates on New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill, gambling domains, sales, and more
There’s been a number of headlines this past month about internet gambling and gambling domains. Here’s a roundup of news and gossip from around the web, with stories ranging from the New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill and ongoing negotiations for the sale of gambling.com, to 2011 domain sales and predictions.
New Jersey Internet Gambling
I wrote earlier in the week how The New York Post was predicting New Jersey Governor Christie would veto the state’s Internet Gambling Bill. Though it was thought Gov. Christie had until Feb. 24 to sign the bill, veto the bill, or veto the bill with conditions, otherwise it would become law if no action was taken – it appears he has longer.
According to PokerNews, “Christie has decided that he actually has until March 3 to make the decision. The governor’s office claims a legislative recess in New Jersey gives him the extra time, according to Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association chairman Joe Brennan Jr.”
Another issue that was brought to light in the PokerNews article, is that the NY Post story that claimed the Governor might veto the bill, appears to be false. PokerNews quotes Brennan: “I’ve heard people say they heard the governor is going to veto the bill,” Brennan said. “Our people are as close to the governor as anybody and they don’t know what he’s going to do because the governor hasn’t indicated to any party of this what he’s going to do. Anyone saying they know, they’re not involved in anything but rumors and prognostication.”
And while New Jersey could be the first state to legalize internet gambling, California could follow shortly thereafter. Steven Stradbrooke of CalvinAyre.com has more on California legislation.
UPDATED: Turkish casual game producer Gamegos is rumored buyer of $500,000 domain Gamesforgirls.com
Gamesforgirls.com is taking top honors as the top-selling domain name in 2011 so far to date, nearly doubling the price of the next highest ranking sale - Action.com – which sold for $270,000 in early February.
While the owner of the domain name gamesforgirls.com is guarded behind Private Whois after Sedo completed the transfer this week, a reader who goes by the name “Anthony James” tipped me off earlier today about who the buyer might be.
I eliminated Bill Kara of Hallpass Media as the buyer, after speaking to Bill last week over email.
It’s rumored that the mystery buyer who paid $500,000 for the casual games domain is Gamegos, a Turkish game producer with more than 30 million monthly active users across its network of websites.
I contacted Gamegos to ask for more information, but haven’t received a response. So it remains speculation at this point.
According to the Casual Games industry news site, casualnews.com, Gamegos owns casual gaming portals like oyunlar1.com, games2girls.com and didigames.com. Games2girls.com, based on a rough traffic estimate provided by Compete, receives well over a half a million unique visitors per month. Same with didigames.com and other sites belonging to Gamegos.
It’s only a rumor for now, but Gamegos seems to be one of the best candidates.
Updated: A spokesman for Gamegos using the email address ‘info -at- games2girls.com, wrote me early this morning and confirmed the company purchased the domain. There was no personal info provided in the email, but Gamegos appears to be a fairly private company, so you can judge the email for yourself below.
About GamesForGirls.com
Games2Girls.com, the first popular free girl games website, online with the
title “Games for Girls” since 2006, bought the domain name “gamesforgirls.com”
for $500.000.
Being the pioneer of girl games market, Games2Girls.com already has hundreds of
exclusive games for girls and keeps developing new games continuously.
The domain gamesforgirls.com will be used for a new project targeting young
girls. It will aim to expand the girl gaming market discovering new joys.
Regards,
Games2Girls.com
Worldwide Media sells nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in domains
In total, of the most recent domain name sales which are not subject to a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), Mike Berkens’ Worldwide Media has sold $725,300 worth of domain names. This is the total for just the publicly reported sales. Sales are probably much higher for Worldwide Media, because as you may well know, some of the biggest domain sales never get reported due to non-disclosure agreements between the buyer and seller, that protects information one or both of the parties wants to remain secret.
The website, located at wwmi.com, which launched in Dec. 2010, is the new corporate face for Mike Berkens’ Worldwide Media, which owns and operates over 75,000 domain names.
Operating costs for Worldwide Media
If you recall, back in early January Mike Berkens wrote a story about what it costs to operate such a large portfolio of domains.
“We own around 75,000 domains and with a carrying cost of lets just call it an average of $10 a year meaning that we will owe $750,000 in registration fees in 2011,” wrote Mike on The Domains.
However, if the numbers are right, Worldwide Media is already off to a good start with the cost of registration fees just about covered based solely on publicly reported sales.
Worldwide Media’s Recent Sales
The biggest sale to date of the recent domain sales (many of which go back to Dec. 2010), is VisitBerlin.com for $230,000. Worldwide Media turned down several offers on the name, including offers for $100,000 and $150,000, before agreeing on the price for the domain which was purchased by Germany-based Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH. The name which changed hands earlier this month, now re-directs to VisitBerlin.de.
Other sales included PeacefulProtests.com for $10,000, at a time when protests are spreading across the Middle East world. Smokebreak.com sold for $20,000 to Dr. Carl E. Olson who is helping to market a quit-smoking device.
Here’s a complete rundown of sales not subject to a NDA.
VisitBerlin.com $230K
VisitStockholm.com $77,000
DiscountBags.com $50,000
BornRich.com $42,000
MyRecovery.com $40,000
ReverseMortgageCalculator.com $40,000
TheTour.com $34,000
Holland.net $32,000
TheMeditator.com $30,000
SmokeBreak.com $20,000
MakeupyourMind.com $17,500
OnlineCollegeRankings.com $17,500
GotoCanada.com $13,500
BostonLuxuryApartments.com $11,500
TalkOver.com $10,000
PeacefulProtests.com $10,000
Tyrian.com $7,500
KillerPrice.com $7,500
HornyGoat.com $6,500
ChicagoFuneral.com $6,000
TradeTunes.com $5,500
indianheadpenny.com $5,500
MonsterSquad.com $5,000
21seconds.com $3,800
OperationalExcellence.com $3,000
If you think these are interesting sales, check out some of the other sections on Worldwide Media’s website, like Recently Rejected $10K & Above Offers or the Monthly Report – Offers At Or Above Minimum ($2,500).
Who paid $500,000 for Gamesforgirls.com, the top-selling domain so far in 2011?
One thing is for sure: Bill Kara of Hallpass Media didn’t pay $500,000 USD for the casual games domain name, gamesforgirls.com.
While the buyer may not be known as of yet, the seller is. As pointed out by Jamie Zoch over at DotWeekly, what is known, is that the domain name was sold by Garry Chernoff, of NetIncome Ventures Inc, an established domain investment and web development company.
Casual gaming domain sales create buzz
Like the buzz the domain industry had in early 2010 after cookinggames.com sold for $350,000 to Bill Kara, the price paid for gamesforgirls.com in early 2011 is sure to be the topic of many discussions after the owner is revealed.
I contacted Bill Kara, the CEO of Hallpass Media, which operates one of the largest networks in the United States ) including Girlgames.com (a site roughly estimated by Compete to receive nearly 400,000 unique visitors per month), to see if he was the buyer - after speculation by many that he may have purchased the domain despite owning girlgames.com.
And the answer was as I expected: No.
So who paid $500K for gamesforgirls.com?
At the time of this story, the domain name still remains in Sedo’s Domain Transfer Escrow Service according to Whois, so we won’t know anything until the name is in the hands of the new owner.
But you can bet after the new owner or website is revealed, it’ll be reported quickly.
Readers: Who do you think purchased the domain?
New York Post article predicts NJ Gov. Chris Christie vetoes online gambling bill
Online gamblers have waited patiently in New Jersey for Governor Chris Christie to sign a bill for internet gaming legislation that was passed by the New Jersey Senate in November 2010. Now, an article in the New York Post entitled All bets off(line) is predicting that Gov. Christie will veto the bill, rather than sign the bill into law or do nothing and let the bill automatically become law in March.
Online gambling, if passed, even at the state level, could be a boom for the domain industry with respects to gambling domains. Although, gambling domains didn’t need much help in 2010, with two domains in the Top 10 Domain Sales of 2010 totalling nearly $7 million; Slots.com and Poker.org.
So, what’s happening in New Jersey’s Office of The Governor?
“The first-term Republican has six days, until Feb. 24, to veto the bill or it becomes law.”, writes the New York Post.
“Christie is being pushed in both directions,” a source close to the situation said. “My gut tells me he is not going to sign.”
Lawmakers passed the bill on Jan. 10, hoping to breathe new life into the state’s 11 casinos — which, because of stepped-up competition from Delaware and Pennsylvania, saw monthly revenues fall by $100 million over the last two years.
Internet gaming would bring in roughly $10 million in added revenue a month, one lawmaker estimated. The cash-strapped state, which will tax online gaming revenue at a 23 percent clip, expects to pocket roughly $28 million in added revenue a year.
Critics have not been happy and speculation on what’s driven the Governor to possibly change is all over the spectrum. An article on Calvin Ayre’s Tablog shows a photo of Gov. Christie with a gun pointing to his head.
Read more of the story in the New York Post.
Image Credit: (Governor Photos)
Twittersearch.com turned over to Twitter, after domain dispute filed back in Dec. ’10
Back in Dec. 2010, Twitter Inc. filed a case against the owner of the domain Twittersearch.com with WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization. As TechCrunch first reported, the UDRP complaint was the first ever since the company was founded.
The disputed domain is now registered to Twitter Inc, according to the latest Whois information and data provided by DomainTools. News of the ownership change has not been reported by any other blog or news site.
The web address continues to resolve to a GoDaddy parked page as it had before the UDRP complaint.
The UDRP complaint, case number D2010-2073, is still active with WIPO. And though no decision has been officially announced by WIPO as of today, the registrant is now Twitter, Inc.
Will Twitter go after more Twitter domains?
While Twitter hasn’t filed any new cases with WIPO, it’s possible that some degree of precedence has been set on twitter domains.
Robin Wauters suggested that Twitter-search.com might be the next disputed domain, but my money is on Searchtwitter.com. According to a rough estimate by Compete, Searchtwitter.com receives just as much type-in traffic (often more) than Twittersearch.com.
And the owner of the domain, even has a For Sale page online suggesting the domain is available for purchase.
Dirt.com owner releases website teaser
Five months after purchasing the domain name dirt.com for $100,000 at Go Daddy auctions in Sept. 2010, the buyer who goes by the handle yessman on Flippa, has released a teaser trailer for the website.
Although the owner had put the domain name up for auction on Flippa with a $3,000,0000 reserve price so that as he says could “travel and focus on Foundation and Charity Work”, a website was unveiled days later that hinted at a celebrity gossip site.
The domain name is still up for sale at Flippa and yet, construction of the website is still underway.
I’ve received a number of tips from readers about Dirt.com. One rumor was that NewsCorp might purchase or partner with Dirt.com. Another reader tipped me off that Dirt.com had staff at Sundance trying to get access badges.
Whatever the case, it’s clear that Dirt.com is using a variety of channels for marketing and has big plans for their celebrity gossip website.
WIPO proceedings over BlackberryTablet.com suspended, domain now registered to RIM
Last month, Research In Motion filed a complaint with WIPO over BlackberryTablet.com, a domain name that was first registered over 1 year ago on January 24, 2010.
While details haven’t been released, it appears both parties have reached a settlement. The case has been suspended at WIPO and as of yesterday, the domain name re-directs to the Playbook Tablet page on the Blackberry web site.
And, as of Thursday, Feb. 10, the domain name is now registered to Research In Motion Limited according to Whois records.
Although RIM has had to file literally dozens of complaints over the years at WIPO in order to win web addresses that are clearly abusive registrations, the company does own BlackberryPlaybook.com and Playbooktablet.com. But despite RIM expecting to be a major player in the tablet market, it doesn’t own all the domain names that could potentially help its online marketing even further. Perhaps the best name for its tablet product, Playbook.com, is operated by Playbook Publications which runs a web site for sports handicapper Marc Lawrence.
The Blackberry Playbook is rumored to be launched some time next month or at the latest, by April.
Get a vanity name: Frank Schilling’s NAMedia updates its social networking experiment Chatr.com
Frank Schilling’s company NAMedia is still building up Chatr even though the company is not sure where the social networking app, which is syndicated across tens of thousands of small websites, will end up.
In the latest batch of updates to the web site, the addition of vanity names has been added. As of today, you can now register now to receive exclusive access to your own display name, such as fusible. While a vanity URL hasn’t been offered yet such as (chatr.com/fusible), Chatr is taking steps to personalize the website by allowing you to register and sign in.
There are a few other enhancements to Chatr, like a fresh new logo that includes a dolphin, which I’m guessing has to do with the way the way dolphins “chatter” possibly.
You can also thumbs up/thumbs down chatr topics by other users.
Chatr regularly updated
In the last month, Chatr has undergone a number of significant changes, including a name change from Note.com to Chatr.com.
Frank Schilling’s NAMedia even registered a domain name that matches a term displayed on the Chatr web site – Chatrpad – registered January 7, 2011.
Even though a message at the top of the site reads, “We are ^still^ not entirely sure where it will go…” expect more from Chatr in the near future.
