Well, come on… It is isn’t it??
Is it me or is the whole business of being a domainer just become the most boring occupation / hobby on the planet?
For the past “i dont know when” I spin by all the boards everyday, spin by domaining.com (and all the blogs), spin by my parking revenue stats, spin through Google news using a few select domain-like keywords and yet, despite my efforts, there’s nothing going on apart from the same old bloggers regurgitation something theyve read on Google news or another blog, the same whining about parking revenues and the same people talking the same BS as they have for the past few years. Yawn central!.. A few years back id make a dozen posts on the forums each day, read something i didn’t know about and look to pick up a few domains.. Nowadays, nothing could be further from the truth.
DomainerMeeting is next week in Paris and, despite the fact that the city is beautiful (aside from the smell and the French [did i just say that]), I just cant be bothered to go. Normally, Id be looking forward to such an event – as I have done with TRAFFIC, domainfest (despite my controversial comments I made previously about the event in January) and Domain Roundtable et al in the past… Nowadays and maybe its because i’ve gotten too long in the preverbial tooth or, its the fact that I will be there talking to the same old people about the same old stuff (a mere month or so ago albeit on the other side of the world..) this time, I really just cant be bothered. No offense to anyone intended.
With all these conferences coming around and coming around so quickly, its become groundhog day in the extreme. Ive read the format for DomainerMeeting and its the same old crap. Parking companies talking about monetizing your domains, networking parties and an auction.. Why bother..
Ive nothing against domainsponsor or eurodns for that matter but I think what with this credit crunch and the current global network economy as it is, regular old domainers (such as I) cant afford to spend a couple of days and several thousand dollars attending these events as frequent as they now come around.. Just look at latest TRAFFIC conference recently.. Despite all the pontificating by Rick and co as to how there was some serious players at his latest gig, the fact remains that it was highly undersubscribed and this, i believe, was due to the fact that the number of domain conferences have now tipped the balance in the overkill stakes..
Fact remains, domaining isnt that an interesting a subject to have so many conferences per annum and I think people have gotten tired of yet another shin dig with the same old faces. Here’s Ron Sheridan in a photo with Ammar Kubba, here’s what Frank Schilling had to say about the price of milk and here’s Kevin Ham shaking hands with president of Oman where hes just gotten the license to resolve the wildcard searches of the .om domains to his Yahoo fed parking page.
It’s become like the bubble of all bubbles. Supply exceeds demand and its full steam ahead with no regard for the icebergs.
In an age where Google are working towards the day when they can drop the domain channel, Yahoo are doing their best to self implode and domainers havent even thought about drawing up any contingency plan, we fly about the world merrily talking the same talk as we did in ’03.
Were doomed I tell ya, doomed…
/rant
It’s just you. Domaining is exciting and very fun in my opinion. Ok, so the data mining and repetitive stuff can be boring but buying and selling and developing domains is far from boring. PARKING is boring.
Stop paying attention to the conferences and domainer “celebrities”. You can not emulate their success but you can create your own success.
Domain blogs have a ton of original content, ideas, tutorials and strategies… I like to think that I am not “regurgitating” stuff that has been said for years.
Try development. Honestly brings me more money than parking by a long shot and fills those gaps between sales and such. Plus when you get around to selling those domains you developed over parking, they tend to sell for 5x more than if you had sold them just through parking revenue. Plus its FUN to watch a domain grow rather than hibernate.
You should try .mobi- that’s where the action is. No one wants Grandma’s .com! It’s not the economy.
Its not about simply making money Ross!
Domaining used to be about finding that unregistered diamond in the rough, buying a reg fee domain and selling it for many multiples (not get rich multiples) a mere few months later, learning, speculating and riding the wave..
Of course i develop, of course i make unique and compelling websites and YET, the fact remains, domaining is stagnant, its so fat as an industry its creaking at the seams.. Every single weird and wonderful collection of unrelated terms are now registered together as a .com.. most of which with no chance of earning a single cent in parking revenue.
Gazillions of domains are owned, most with no chance of a resale. The whole industry is reliant solely upon Google and their support of monetization in the domain channel. Good luck on that one.
And how have we metamorphosised?? We’ve simply held more and more domainer conferences and made platforms that are a carbon copy of whats there already.
So no, its not just me (for once).. Its me saying what a lot of others are already thinking. And Im sorry for the few that have a vested interest in this wave lasting forever, it wont, and please dont confuse the terms “domainer” with “developer”…
All good
[...] Excerpted from:Domaining is boring… [...]
Julia… and Mark Cuban?
Could this be a perfect match made in Internet heaven???
Julia: Domaining is boring…
Mark: The Internet is…Boring
Source:
http://snurl.com/InternetIsBoring
Mrs. Julia Cuban…hmmm!
Patrick
P.S. I hope this reply isn’t boring.
Domains is one thing that keeps me going every day. It’s terribly fun and exciting, even half way through 2008 and after spending nearly ten years dealing with domains! Some people spend their time on Facebook, others spend countless time building MP3 collections. For most of us domainers, we’re constantly engaged by making our portfolio bigger, better, and turning more profit from it. It’s not something that happens overnight, and in fact takes YEARS, I would guess in the range of 5 years to build an amazing portfolio for most people. (if you don’t have $20 million extra cash sitting around)
But, people getting bored is good for many of us! It means good opportunities and prices right about now.
I agree with you Jules – I should have written this post myself after the last Vegas traffic, although I couldn’t have been as feisty as you. And I agree with Mark that some of it is a matter of perspective. We shoud all be charting our own course with the blinders on so we don’t get sidetracked from achieving our own personal goals.
There is lots of neat stuff coming in this business (real innovation) but I would say that we are definitely in a cyclical slow-spot as the economy has softened and as the available/expiring name pool has dried up somewhat. The sizzle is gone and the steak remains. Traffic still comes and does what it does. It still has value irrespective of the way the ad markets count it.
So it has become time to branch into investing, aggregate existing portolios, build small sites, invest in side ventures, experiment with new ad marketplaces, hire more staff, fire some staff, or to simply take a vacation .. I’m off on mine this Monday
One thing I know for sure, the best way to shake the funk or malaise off this industry is to be honest with yourself as you’ve done here. Kudos to you for that.
Dear Julia:
Interesting blogpost… you sound a bit jaded. Anyhow, the domain indiustry is alive and kicking and far from boring! Traditional newspapers are boring. You can’t listen to a newspaper or watch a video with a newspaper unless it is an online newspaper. And with Tv you are stuck with the Tv guide’s schedule right? That is clearly why traditional media is dying. Welcome to the promising future of geo-domains, local search and the future of a customized webcast at your fingertips! And it all starts with a domain name to get to your choice online destination. A domain name is the foundation of infinite possibilities. Domain names are not limited to parking. Domains are not limited to trading or development for that matter. Domain names can be used for online and offline marketing. Domains are not limited by time, location, distance or distribution. Domain names are everything that you want to put your imagination to make them and if you find that boring then expand your mental paridigm. Most people are stuck in traditional false beliefs. From radio we got to Tv to cable, satellite and now the Internet which is still very much in its infanct stage. So where do we go next? Technology is a race and domains will win the race because the names that are generic are the foundational elements of the Internet like land is to improved real estate. With land there is a limit to the highest and best use and zoning laws, etc…. however, with a website the development oppotunities are virtual and unlimited. Our future is online and growing faster than you could ever imagine. The mobile web will take domaining to a level that no one can comprehend now or ever. Keep your head in the sand and it is boring but look at the possibilities and domaining will always be exciting!
Sincerely yours, Steve Smith
@ Jamie
No
@ Patrick
No.. Thanks
I don’t mind it being boring, as long as I can pay up my house and car loans on domaining, i am happy
I agree with Julia on this one – at least in the sense of the English language and in the sense of plain domaining by scanning the drops. It has gotten tough to find the diamonds anymore at bargain prices, but you can still find plenty of rough gemstones. That is just not as fun as it was and I think it may never be again, sadly, unless Google drops the domain channel. Then it will be like running buffalo over cliffs.
However, there are still diamonds to be found in the foreign hills if you know any foreign languages that can still be exciting.
The Good Ol’ Days sure where fun.
Julia, if that’s the real FS who no longer posts (even) on his own blog, then your ‘street cred’ has just gone stellar. I’ve no doubt you can dine out on that post in the foreseeable.
I thought it was just me. Great post!
Of course domaining is boring… as it is primarily comprised of obsessive, boring people who don’t know what else to do with their lives. People who like to talk about their financial success ad infinitum, people who like to talk about their portfolios… I mean, I can handle a few seconds of this type of chatter, but a day long conference? You might learn one new thing over the course of a couple of days, I suppose, but remaining switched-on enough to notice it is a real challenge.
Hey Julia, I think you are in a wrong business. Domaining is not for every body. Just like trucking or stocks is not for every one..Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. In any business there are fluctuations. If you can’t rock the boat, it is never late to go back ashore and try a new vocation. You understand
can something be boring and fun at the same time?
now that there is a real industry with real conferences and a zillion blogs, it is a whole ‘nother animal. Back in the old days (2006…lol) it still felt like things were under the radar, you could still snap a good name etc. There are WAY too many conferences, too many blogs and not enough names.
Now everyone is rushing to develop, and it will be really interesting to watch them try – because a lot of people don’t realize that you need knowledge to do it. Trying to develop out of the blue is like watching some random guy show up at dnforum wondering how to make money in domains. Very few make it very far very quick.
“Of course domaining is boring as it is primarily comprised of obsessive, boring people who don’t know what else to do with their lives.”
– great line jaimie. Reminds me of a party in NY at a bar /club during traffic last year. It was a pretty cool place filled with domainers, most of whom (besides me of course :; ) wouldn’t get in the place on a regular night. Some of the crowd was getting looks from the regular attendees, and all I could think was “these people have no idea that a lot of these dorks make more than their investment banker wannabe boyfriends”
Thanks for stopping by Jamien (again
) and Gordon.
Lets recap about the NY club. There were these guys (excuse me, dorks) in Hawaiian shirts that are obsessive and boring! Your words guys, not mine..
Pardon me for saying so but only the shallowest of shallow types would want to be with such a person, regardless of how rich they are. Don’t get me wrong, I know a few girls that would… But im sure most domainers are already paying enough alimony to not risk being saddled with a bunch more – you know who you are mr domain cougar
tee hee
and yet some of the clowns give off a lot of attitude…(a few, not most…and one in particular )…
Thats why I call it ” dumbaining”.
Computer nerds that couldnt get laid in a cathouse become millionaires over renting words. What kind of a business is this? Good luck in your quest for the ultimate dumbain!
Julia it sounds to me reading your post that you need to set yourself NEW goals.
When purpose is lost then new goals have to be set.
Why don’t you form a group online and / or offline and meet with the people on a regular timeframe and exchange ideas and talk about life in general.
True Success in life is when you balance your personal life with your business activity.
Good Luck
“To be honest, it seems that you completely captured the truehearted core of the position close at hand. While many another seem to have obscured the primary concept of the whole thing, what you expressed higher up is unimpeachable and consice. I am avoiding articulating that I harmonise on all details; however, I admit that you managed to have rendered me grounds to reconsider many of the main ideas that I considered that I reserved as unshakable opinions in that regards. Well stated, and time for myself to think a some more on a few of the most important items. Summarizin I would have to say you have have added a little thoght to the World.”