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Domain Investor Elliot Silver Makes Front Page News on .CO Registry Homepage

".CO Founders Program"
On his blog, Elliot Silver writes, "I’ve been excited about this for the past few days, and I needed to make sure a few things were in place before announcing it. After reviewing my Founder’s Program application for a web development project, the .CO Registry has awarded my company the geographic domain name Bahamas.CO. I love the Bahamas and I plan to visit sometime this winter, and I will be back there again in March for Domain Roundtable."

It was announced earlier today on ElliotsBlog.com, that Silver Internet Ventures, LLC run by Domain Investor and Blogger Elliot Silver was awarded the domain name Bahamas.co as part of the .CO Founder’s Program.  The program, which is now over, according to the .CO web site is an initiative designed to engage early adopters, also known as .CO Founders, to proactively develop and maintain domains with the .CO extension.

The .CO registry has launched Opportunity.co, a page that will be updated with the websites created by .CO Founders. 

Though lean right now, the .CO registry is eager to update the website in order to showcase how .CO Founders have developed their names.  

The clock is ticking is down on .CO Founders to meet their end of the bargain.

The news of Bahamas.co being licensed to Elliot Silver’s company made front page news on the .CO website just hours ago, after being tweeted by @dotco (the company’s Twitter account).

Check it out – noted domain investor and blogger announces Bahamas.co – http://retwt.me/1NYhm @elliotsblog – Go Elliot! #cofounder  

Some 279,000 .co domain names have been registered to date, for what could be a domain with a lot of staying power. Companies like Twitter and TechCrunch have jumped on board as early adopters. 

The Fine Print of the .CO Founders Agreement

You must use your best efforts to launch your site within 30 days of signing the .CO Founders Contract, and in any event before July 20, 2010.
 
You must agree that your site will remain in good working order, with unique, meaningful content; user-friendly interfaces; and broad user appeal, for a minimum of 2 years (potentially longer for domains considered “Super Premium” by .CO Internet). Use of each .CO Founder domain will be licensed to the winning applicant until this commitment has been met (subject to all other program terms and conditions), at which point the applicant will be permitted to register their domain name with an accredited .CO registrar of their choice (standard registration fees will apply).

During the license period, you must agree to actively market and promote the .CO domain in a manner that is likely to produce widespread awareness of your site based on industry best practices.

Sites currently using .CO now as part of the Founders Program include:

t.co
URLs don’t get shorter than t.co. Twitter is now using t.co as part of a service to protect users from harmful activity. Links on Twitter pass through t.co and are checked by a list of dangerous sites, in order to warn users and keep Twitter a trusted environment. Short, safe and to the point!
(source: Opportunity.co)

IWNY.co
Internet Week NY is the annual festival dedicated to innovation, creativity and growth in the internet. IWNY.co is the place to see what’s happening, as it’s happening, through livestreaming video.
(source: Opportunity.co)

Disrupt.co
TechCrunch Disrupt stages the Startup Battlefield. Who is bringing the most innovative ideas to the internet? Visit disrupt.co to find out.
(source: Opportunity.co)

GetSighted.co
Are you properly protecting and caring for your eyesight? Transitions Optical has teamed up with television star Erik Estrada as a Healthy Sight Officer, to keep an eye out for citizens who are “breaking the law”! Be careful, or you might just get a “Sightation”…
(source: Opportunity.co)

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.CO Domains, which ones did you register?

.co domain names
To date, nearly 250,000 .co domain names have been registered. But is it just a bunch of specualtion?

.CO domains are now open to all.  Must have keyword domains are registered, but like many other domains such as .mobi and .me, many keyword domains remain largely available in several different categories. 

Memories of Failed Domains

The memories of failed domains and investments like .MOBI, have left many avoiding new domains, or at least avoiding hefty upfront investments. 

How did Music.mobi ever turn out after the buyer paid $616,000 for the name?   Or games.mobi for $401,500?  Or flowers.mobi for $200,000 purchased by Rick Schwartz in 2007?

The last notable .MOBI sale for over $50,000 that was public, was Casino.mobi in September 2009 for $135,000.

Domain investors are increasingly wary about new domains.  Although the flood of new domains presents challenges, some organizations and individuals are finding creative ways to use alternate domains.  It’s just a matter of marketing and money. 

For anyone who invests in domain names, owning the best .COM domain is an important part of a portfolio, but taking some risks can pay off.

If .CO domains turn out to be successful, it could serve to be a smart investment for those who added .CO domains to their portfolio early.

All that said, which .CO domains did you register?

We are conscious about our budget and don’t have the money to speculate, but we registered a handful through GoDaddy including LaborDay.co, MemorialDay.co, IndependenceDay.co and a few other holidays.

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GreatDomains Sells Idol.com for $155,000 USD

Simon Cowell American Idol
The keyword "Idol" was made even more popular by the success of the T.V. Show American Idol, which owns AmericanIdol.com

Sedo GreatDomains is reporting the sale of Idol.com for 120,000 Euro (which converts to about $155,000 USD).  Earlier this year, Idol.com along with other killer domain names like Strawberries.com and Mad.com went up for auction at Adam Strong’s Domain Madness 2 auction, but the name failed to get a buyer.

American Idol season 9 which aired its Finale in May, helped send plenty of type-in traffic to the domain name Idol.com.  Each season the show sends thousands of visitors to Idol.com, which at the time of this story sits on a parked page with ads – including American Idol ads paid for by advertisers with video recap sites and tickets for sale. 

American Idol Season 10 auditions started this past week across the U.S.

Past “Idol” Domain Sales

Idol.com isn’t the first Idol keyword to sell. 

According to NameBio, Idols.com sold for $19,000 in 2007 via Moniker.  Even typos of AmericanIdol.com have sold in the hundreds – Aericanidol.com and Amerciaanidol.com fetched under $500 a piece through Sedo in March 2007.   Neither misspelling receives any significant traffic, according to Compete.

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Rick Schwartz’ domain names come with a hefty price tag – PunchBowl.com

CNN ireport
Rick Schwartz sold the domain name iReport.com to CNN for a whopping $750,000. The URL now re-directs to ireport.cnn.com

While the amount of the price tag for PunchBowl.com sold by Rick Schwartz is undisclosed, it is almost certain that the final sales price is a multiple 6 figure deal plus other considerations.

Multiple 6 figure deal + other considerations likely means some sort of long term deal that includes a one time payment and recurring paychecks based on company profits – similar to the deal he brokered for his Candy.com domain name which sold for $3 million plus other considerations.

Rick Schwartz received his first dividend payment from Candy.com this month, though not his biggest check to date, with Candy.com sitting nicely atop of the Search rankings and enjoying type in traffic, if the terms of dividends are for years down the road, his dividend payments are certain to improve.

Last year, Rick Schwartz wrote in one of his blog posts about the pending sale of PunchBowl.com to MyPunchBowl.

In the not too distant future I will be announcing my 12th domain sale is PunchBowl.com. Another multiple 6 figure deal plus other considerations. There should be a press release forthcoming and the buyer will decide how much of this to go public with as there will be a confidentially clause .”

While I may not always agree with Rick’s opinions and often have difficulty understanding the point of his blog posts – I always find his sales amazing. 

Take a look at the press release issued earlier today.

Purchase and acquisition transaction of Punchbowl.com between Punchbowl Software Inc. and “Domain King” Rick Schwartz

Framingham, Mass., July 19, 2010 – Punchbowl Software, Inc. today announced the acquisition of the web domain Punchbowl.com from legendary domainer Rick Schwartz. Punchbowl Software Inc. develops web applications for start to finish party planning. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

With Punchbowl.com, the company plans to re-launch the domain as a leading consumer site for party and event planning. With new technology and a new look, the party planning site will be ready to launch in time for the holiday season of 2010. At Punchbowl.com, consumers will be able to plan a party from start to finish. The service will offer unique features including the innovative “Date Decider” which enables users to find the best calendar date for their event, beautiful Save the Dates and digital invitations, photo and video sharing after the event and other services that will help consumers throw an unforgettable celebration.

“A punchbowl is the center of any great party,” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl Software. “The acquisition of Punchbowl.com will allow us reach new customers and expand our growing customer base.”

Rick Schwartz, aka the “Domain King,” is one of the early domain pioneers. Domains he has sold include iReport.com to CNN for $750,000, Candy.com to G&J Holdings, LLC for $3 million plus dividends, and Men.com for $1.3million back in 2004.

“During my domain career, I’ve sought prime, recognizable domain names that were easy to spell, easy to remember and could be developed into a major brand in their respective industry” said Rick Schwartz. “I was the first to see the intrinsic value in Punchbowl.com and knew that it could be developed into a huge brand in the social expressions and celebrations industry. I’m thrilled that Punchbowl Software will now develop the domain to its full potential.”

The party planning industry is ripe for a new entrant to provide a service for party hosts. Whether it’s a mom planning a birthday party for her five year old daughter, a friend planning a baby shower, a family planning their annual reunion, or the company Christmas party, everyone has multiple reasons to plan a party every year. As the industry moves from traditional offline sources to online, the market will consolidate. A new brand will emerge – Punchbowl.com – that will define this new industry.

Stay tuned for frequent updates and milestones for the new Punchbowl.com. While you can visit the Web site in its current appearance, the complete re-launch and re-branding will not be official until sometime this fall.

“Working with Rick Schwartz on this domain name acquisition has demonstrated to me that he’s not only a visionary in the domain industry, but he’s a savvy businessman who understands how to extract the most value from the Internet” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl Software. “I couldn’t be happier to be the new owner of Punchbowl.com.”

About Us: About eRealEstate.com
Rick Schwartz, aka “Domain King” and “Webfather,” is the CEO, President and Cofounder of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. found at TargetedTraffic.com– the premiere domain conference for the domain industry. It is both the oldest and largest and attracts over 500 of the top professionals in the industry in what was a by invitation only event until 2009 and now open to all. As one of the early domain pioneers dating back to 1995, Rick has a knack for predicting big trends and getting it right. He may have been the first to recognize the value of “type in” traffic which is now commonly referred to as “direct navigation” — the most potent and targeted traffic on the net. Rick has a prime portfolio of some 7000 one and two word domains, and is considered by many to be among the leading experts on domain names, traffic, Web site flow and valuation. ‘http://www.erealestate.com & ‘http://www.ricksblog.com

Contact Info: Media Contact:
Matt Douglas
Punchbowl Software Inc.
[email protected]
650 814 3393

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Group Buying can make starting an online business, low-cost: with Domains and Development

If you haven’t noticed by now, the Group Buying industry is continuing to heat up – and with the local city focus and websites with less-than-premium domain names ringing up business, it’s an online industry that offers cheap entry to the smaller companies and individuals trying to get a piece of the pie.

"Townhog"
TownHog.com was registered in October 2009. In April, the website had nearly 20,000 visitors according to Compete.

I’m not here to tell you it’s easy to build or maintain a website, or even cheap, but for some evidence of the claim that the online group-buying business can attract the startup masses, see some of these recent and past highlights.

Group Buying Startups using Hand-registered domains – and being successful

For startups on a budget, the availability of category-killing domain names isn’t plentiful, so companies are turning to hand-registering domain names for their online businesses.   It’s alot easier to not get swept up in having-to-own a premium .com, especially when competition in the Group Buying industry is still relatively small. 

 The number of group buying sites offering local deals as of June, was about 80 websites.  Kevin Ham, who owns some of the best domain names in the world, even launched his own group buying startup using GoodNews.com.  Now, take a look at the names other companies are using to enter the market with:

CrowdSavings.com registered in July 2009 recently hit 12,000 visitors per month.

There are plenty of group buying websites who plucked their hand registered domain names in the past year, here are just a few.

LocalGroupDeals.com was registered in october 2009.

GetGrouby.com was created in March 2010.

Youvegottagetit.com registered in April 2009.

WordPress Developers busy developing Group Buying Themes and Plug-ins?

Surprisingly, there still doesn’t appear to be any WordPress themes available yet to help webmasters launch their own group buying websites quickly.  But plans are in the works, with people already posting projects online to have developers build plug ins and more that mimic sites like LivingSocial.

I found this project, posted on FreeLancer.com:

As most of you know the “Group Buy” craze has caught on like wildfire. Along with the craze comes countless clones of both groupon and livingsocial. Instead of trying to create our own site we want to help others buy providing “Group Buy Script” available for purchase.

Right now we are seeking a programmer who is well versed in WordPress. Ideally we would like for you to develop a WordPress plugin which is simple for someone to enable. The plugin should have all the features of a site like group and live social.

China Group Buying Sites Gaining Steam

An article that appeared in Information Week, quoted people, including one person who happens to be involved in the group buying business.

The manager of Chinese website Fenpier.com, Ye Fei, said that it costs around $737 a month to run one of the sites, with about two-fifths going toward renting a server and the rest to promote and run the Web site. Ye added that manpower requirements are low, especially in the early stages. “As far as I know, there are some group-buying sites that are being run by just one person,” Ye said.

The low entry barriers and relatively simple business model have led to a large number of competing sites. In China alone there are already more than 300. Small sites are able to thrive by focusing on one area. In large cities, successful sites usually have different offers for various neighborhoods.