Tag: "twitter"
Twitter is going after another typo domain: Twittter.com (with an extra ‘t’)
The dispute submitted by Twitter Inc over the typo domain Twittter.com (with an extra ‘t’), comes on the heels of Twitter’s win this month in a similar complaint against the typo domain Twiter.com.
WIPO Case D2011-1973 was filed this week with the World Intellectual Property Organization.
In the case of Twittter.com, the owner is using a popular scam, like the one used by Twiter.com of luring unsuspecting users to a site that looks confusingly similar to the official Twitter site (as shown in the picture above).
The user is guided through a series of questions that attempts to gather personal information by promising free gifts like an iPad 2.
Today, the full administrative panel decision was posted in the case of Twiter.com, which involved Twitter, Inc (the complainant) vs. Geigo, Inc of Albrook Park, Panama (the respondent).
According to the factual background, prior to filing its complaint, Twitter sent several cease-and-desist letters to Geigo, but received no reply.
Twitter finally reached a Geigo Inc. rep by telephone, who confirmed that they would not transfer the disputed domain name but would consider altering the content at the website.
This apparently, never happened.
Twitter demonstrated confusing similarity, that Geigo lacked rights or a legitimate interest in the domain, and that it was registered in bad faith, which might surprise some readers since the domain was first registered in 2004.
Here’s what the panel had to say on the point of ‘bad faith’: “Had Respondent made the initial registration in 2004 and maintained ownership through 2011 the Panel would likely have reached a different outcome about Respondent’s having registered the disputed domain name in bad faith. But Respondent has not even alleged that it or an affiliate owned the disputed domain name continuously since 2004, and has offered no proof (indeed no allegation) that it is or was affiliated with any prior owner. The available evidence, not contested by Respondent, shows another owner as late as March 2011.”
Twittter.com (extra ‘t’) is currently registered to Goldberg Client Services, Inc. according to WHOIS records (privacy has been removed as of yesterday). The domain was initially registered by its first owner in 2007.
Given the track record of WIPO with Twitter, Twittter.com will likely be ordered transferred.
You can read through all the details of the Twiter.com decision in Twitter’s latest win here.
[Update 2 on January 26, 2012: The WIPO Panel has ordered <twittr.com> to be transferred to Twitter Inc. Details of the decision are available here.]
[Update 1 on November 15, 2011,: Robin Wauters of TechCrunch pointed out that Twitter has filed a separate complaint (WIPO Case D2011-1992) over Twittr.com.]
Discussion: Search Engine Land and TechCrunch
Twitter wins dispute over highly trafficked typo domain Twiter.com
Twitter, Inc. has won a dispute over the highly trafficked typo domain name Twiter.com that led visitors to an online scam survey site.
A panel with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ruled in favor of Twitter.
Twiter.com was registered long before Twitter.com became what it is today. Its first owner registered the domain in 2004, nearly 2 years before Jack Dorsey launched the site.
However, ever since filing the dispute with WIPO (Case No. D2011-1210), it has seemed to be an open-and-shut case against Geigo Inc (the respondent) who has used the web address for a malicious survey scam.
When twiter.com resolved to its own web page, it hit over 100,000 unique visitors per month according to a rough traffic estimate by Compete.
But months ago, Geigo (the respondent) began re-directing visitors from twiter.com to socialupdatepanel.com, a scam survey site (pictured above) that looked confusingly similar to Twitter’s own website. A message on the home page told visitors they had been selected to participate in a three-question survey, and for completing the survey, they would be able to select a prize like an iPhone 4 or iPad 2. The site attempted to collect personal information such as cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
In July, I wrote about Twitter taking control of twiter.biz. Twitter had originally filed a dispute with WIPO over twiter.com in June, then days after filing the dispute it added twiter.biz to the same complaint. For one reason or another, the case was eventually suspended, then terminated, but not before Twitter was able to get twiter.biz.
After Twitter took control of twiter.biz, it filed a new complaint (Case No. D2011-1210) in July targeting only the twiter.com domain name.
Now with the twiter.com win under its belt, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the company file disputes against other typo domains such as twutter.com, which uses the same type of redirect to a scam survey site as twiter.com has used.
Update at 10:34 a.m. ET on Nov. 11: The full administrative panel decision has been posted online. Twitter Inc. has also filed a new complaint over the domain Twittter.com (with an extra ‘t’).
Discussion: The Next Web, Search Engine Land, The Verge, Softpedia News and Techmeme
Twitter finally files domain dispute over typo – Twiter.com
Micro blogging site Twitter has filed a domain dispute over the web address twiter.com with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) this week.
The domain has long tricked visitors who typed in the address by sending them to a confusingly similar looking site. Currently when you type in twiter.com in your web browser, you’ll be taken to a website (screenshot above) that tries to lure you into giving your personal information.
In August 2010, twiter.com reached a high of 125,000 unique visitors according to a rough estimate by Compete. Recorded traffic dipped after the URL began redirecting visitors to other sites.
According to DomainTools, the name was first registered in 2004, nearly 2 years before Jack Dorsey launched the site. However, the registrant information has changed over the years.
The respondent in the case is currently hidden behind WHOIS privacy.
Registration Service Provided By: PBCRESELLER
Contact: +85.1234567
Domain Name: TWITER.COM
Registrant:
PrivacyProtect.org
Domain Admin
ID#10760, PO Box 16
Note – All Postal Mails Rejected, visit Privacyprotect.org
Nobby Beach
null,QLD 4218
AU
The only other case filed to date by Twitter Inc with WIPO involved twittersearch.com back in 2010, a domain dispute that wasn’t decided by WIPO, but the company still was successful in having the name transferred.
As I reported in February, though no decision had been officially announced by WIPO and the case was cancelled, the registrant of twittersearch.com is now Twitter, Inc.
Discussion: Financial Post, TheDomains, Asian Correspondent, The Next Web, and the The Inquisitr.
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.
Business incubator provides startup with capital, advice, office space – and the right domain name
AlphaLab, a startup incubator that is one of the nation’s most active seed-stage investors officially accepted Devotee into its startup program back in June 2010. Here’s how Devotee works: You earn rewards by sharing things about your visits to restaurants with your friends online through Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
For example, you’re out with your friends or family, you open the Devotee application on your iPhone or Android phone, then check into the restaurant through Devotee and tweet about it – and for your customer loyalty, earn rewards.
Devotee
Over the last several months since entering the startup incubator program, Devotee employees have been blogging about developing their mobile application, new ideas, working with a seed fund, and their day-to-day experiences.
Originally, the group was using devoteeapp.com as their web address. But it looks like AlphaLab has done a good job of providing the startup with resources and tips on building their brand, including getting the right domain name for their business: Devotee.com.
Sedo reported this week that the domain name sold for $6,950 through its GreatDomains marketplace, and the startup is the new owner.
Learning about a startup
As I mentioned earlier, Devotee has been blogging about their experiences since joining AlphaLab, and the read is interesting and helpful at times. The company talks about the five most important startup tips they learned while attending a presentation given by Sean Ammirati, the current COO of ReadWriteWeb. They also share screenshots of their mobile interface, other startups they share space with, and of course brand building.
One of the first changes for the startup was the addition of a mascot named Devo, for a little added branding as they say.
So why a dog? Matthew French of Devotee writes:
Well being that we are building a fun and simple mobile software centered around loyalty, we wanted our brand to be just as fun and simple. The core of the Devotee software is to promote brand loyalty at restaurants and small businesses through the loyal customers. Customers will be spreading word of mouth experiences with their friends and getting rewarded for doing such, all while remaining loyal to the business. This loyalty bond between a business owner and customer much resembles that strong bond between “mans best friend” and a dog owner. We wanted a branding solution that allowed users to immediately think loyalty when they saw our brand, so a dog kind of just made sense!
If you have a startup and are wondering where to get started, check out AlphaLab online. The early-stage business incubaor provides a $25,000 investment, expert advisors and mentors, educational sessions and office space as part of an intensive program in Pittsburgh.
If you spend $100,000+ on a Promoted Tweet, should you spend $10 for the matching domain?
Over on my Twitter blog, I’ve written about Promoted Tweets and domain names before, but it’s still surprising to see companies spending six-figures for a Promoted Tweet without spending a dime on the domain name that matches the hashtag included in the promoted tweet.
Earlier this month, Twitter launched a revamped version of its business.twitter.com – a site that provides the basics on how businesses can use Twitter effectively. Though Twitter’s promoted products have been available for months, they were only open to a limited number of companies while Twitter experimented with the model.
It’s now been open to the public.
Adult Swim is the latest company to buy a Promoted Tweet and include a hashtag for a domain name that wasn’t registered at the time of the tweet. Though tweets are short-lived, you’d expect companies to include a clear hashtag that promotes their company. In the case of Adult Swim, the company went with #adultswimcam, and up until an hour ago, the domain name wasn’t even registered. As I started writing this post, the name got registered.
With 175 million registered users, you’d think that a company paying for a Promoted Tweet would spend a few bucks for the hashtag domain, but that’s not the case with most Promoted Tweets that stream across Twitter each and everyday. Instead of planting a seed for users to remember, many companies are using confusing hashtags instead of hashtags that mirror their web address, or in the case of Adult Swim and Radio Shack - hashtags for domain names that aren’t even registered.
If the type in rate is low from a hashtag (which is most likely the case), it’s no big deal. But why risk losing traffic?
I still find it funny that Twitter is marketing its advertising products like Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends (which are bundled under “Promoted Products” on its Business page), without buying the domain. At the time of this story, PromotedProducts.com is available for hand-registration. So are other phrases the company is using for marketing purposes like OptimizeActivity.com.
GoDaddy uses Twitter for customer service, not just for marketing its services and products
GoDaddy, the web’s largest domain registrar, uses its @GoDaddy Twitter account to help customers on a range issues with web hosting and domain names.
Customers follow @GoDaddy, then send information through a private message (formerly called a Direct Message) to GoDaddy’s Twitter account. While helping out customers with their issues, GoDaddy is also able to build up its following, since you cannot send a direct message to a user who is not following you.
Domain Registrars on Twitter
@GoDaddy isn’t the only domain registrar on Twitter, but it’s one of the only registrars that helps customers resolve problems through Twitter. Other registrars use Twitter as a means for marketing their services.
Domain registrar Fabulous who use @Fabulousdotcom, haven’t tweeted in over a month. Messages are far and few between, and when they are posted, they usually involve messages about services or promotions. Fabulous only has around 300 followers.
Enom, another popular domain registrar uses @Enom for its Twitter account. The company uses Cotweet for posting tweets, but doesn’t publicly interact with other Twitter users often. Like Fabulous, Enom tweets about promotions and other services it provides, including tips on domain names. Enom has just under 2,000 followers on Twitter.
Moniker is one of the better Twitter users out of the bunch. The domain registration company that also runs SnapNames, tweets using @MonikerSnap. Though Moniker only has about 1,300 followers, it does provide a certain level of customer service through its Twitter account. As little as 11 hours ago, the company tweeted @PeterC saying: “I will escalate this issue and get more details. I understand your concerns-well warranted.” @PeterC had posted a blog online shortly before Moniker responded, entitled: Moniker Deactivated My Domain 26 Days BEFORE The Expiration Date” that outlined his issue.
Network Solutions also does much of the same as GoDaddy, describing itself on its Twitter account (@Netsolcares) as: “Real Person support – Looking forward to your questions and conversations! Need 24/7 help?”. The company has just over 4,000 followers on Twitter.
Which domain registrar has the best use of Twitter?
There are dozens of more registrars on Twitter, but just a quick look indicates @GoDaddy to be the heaviest Twitter user. With GoDaddy, it’s not all about marketing and promotions, it’s about customer service.
That’s not to say that GoDaddy doesn’t use Twitter for marketing, it just doesn’t use its most recognizeable Twitter account to do so.
If you’re looking for GoDaddy eslewhere on Twitter, check out @GoDaddyAuctions for hot aftermarket domain names and @GoDaddyMktplace for great products.
Have you had a good or bad experience with domain registrars on Twitter? Let me know in the comments.
Twitter files UDRP complaint against owner of domain: TwitterSearch.com
TechCrunch is reporting that Twitter is going after the domain name Twittersearch.com, that was registered by its owner in March 2007. Twitter launched its popular micro-blogging service a year before, in March 2006.
Twitter late last week filed a UDRP complaint, notably its first ever since the company was founded, in an effort to obtain ownership over the (currently parked) domain name twittersearch.com – as you can see here.
Obviously, Twitter is right to do this, since the domain is likely to cause some confusion, although we should note Twitter hasn’t managed to secure a trademark for the term ‘twitter’ in the United States so far, despite multiple attempts.
A compliance review is currently pending according to the World Internataionl Property Organization (better known as WIPO). In the same list of cases over at WIPO, Pocket Kings the company that owns Full Tilt Poker is going after typo domain names.
A look at a rough traffic estimate provided by Compete, shows TwitterSearch.com receives several thousand visitors per month.
To avoid a trademark issue, other sites like TwitterCounter.com, a site which receives over 1 million visitors per month and provides stats, graphs and widgets for Twitter users, licenses the Twitter name from Twitter, Inc. Probably a smart move short term, but long term it might be in the company’s interest to re-brand. The company also owns Twittermail.com.
Oddly enough, Twitter Inc hasn’t gone after the owner of Twiter.com (a popular typo of Twitter), who is obviously trying to trick unsuspecting visitors into clicking on ads, but as TechCrunch points out: “ Twitter hasn’t managed to secure a trademark for the term ‘twitter’ in the United States so far, despite multiple attempts.” So winning a case for Twiter, might be a lot harder than winning a case for TwitterSearch.com.
Candy.com surpasses 50,000 fans on Facebook
Candy.com, the domain name that sold for $3MM+, surpassed the 50,000 fan mark on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/candydotcom), hitting over 56,000 fans recently.
While Candy.com has many of its competitors beat in the search engines for the search term ‘candy’, there’s still some catching up to do on Facebook.
Hershey’s, the candy company that was originally founded in 1894, has over 1.5 million fans on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HERSHEYS). But considering Candy.com was only founded in 2009, it’s doing rather well thanks to its category-killer domain name.
This year, Candy.com has been getting much more social.
It unveiled its re-designed blog on its one-year anniverary. The blog has excellent articles for candy enthusiasts, written by Sue Gillerlain, the former executive editor of Professional Candy Buyer magazine and a current contributing editor at Candy & Snack TODAY magazine.
Candy.com is also on Twitter.
What’s interesting to note about Candy companies on Facebook, it wasn’t a candy company that grabbed the vanity URL ‘candy’ on Facebook. It was a person: Candy He who got to the vanity URL before anyone else.
Owners of domain names seized by ICE, using Twitter to communicate with users
TechCrunch is reporting that many of the owners of the domain names seized by Homeland Security earlier this week because of copyright infringement are now moving their web sites to alternate domain names.
And the owners are using Twitter to get the word out about the “move”.
Some have already started to migrate to other domains, though it’s likely choices like .net won’t be any safer. Torrent-Finder owner Waleed Gad El Kareem said he switched his site over to Torrent-Finder.info the moment he saw the ICE message on Torrent-Finder.com, posting the new site’s address on Twitter.
As TechCrunch points out, some web sites have switched from .com to .net, as well as .com to .info. Jamie Zoch, of DotWeekly, has a full rundown of all the domain names seized.
RapGodfathers.info, one of the sites that had its .com seized, registered the .info on Nov. 25th (see Whois Record below). The .net and .org were already registered.
Read more about Sites With Government Seized Domains Are Moving On, On Twitter.
What do you think? Should the owners have gone with .info, a different extension, a .com with hyphens, or something entirely different?
