More on VeriSign Auction Proposal
Bret Fausett from LexText/ICANN Blog has more information about the VeriSign proposal for auctioning deleted domains, and where it fits into the secondary domain universe:
Verisign made a presentation on this at the GNSO meeting in Mar del Plata. It’s not WLS. It takes place after the deletion grace period ends — which means after the registrar-level deleting name services have had a chance to do their thing — so it strikes me as fairly non-controversial. This is an auction for names that didn't sell during an earlier auction.
Posted by RichM 
April 29, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter
April 29, 2005
The Speculating Senator
From The Hill (via Domain Direct News):
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has "no intention" to run for president in 2008, but a media communications firm that represents him has registered a slew of relevant domain names in case the senator changes his mind.But why's this story appearing now? The domains were registered in Feb. 2004. Could it be ... politics? They seem to have missed santorum2008store.com, which was scarfed up immediately after the November elections. They'll probably need that one if they want to sell campaign stuff. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Posted by RichM April 29, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter
April 28, 2005
VeriSign Plans Auctions of Expired Domains
Via ICANN Watch: VeriSign has notified ICANN of its intention to start auctioning expiring .com and .net domains. ICANN has not put the document online as yet, but the letter is posted at Michael Arrington's blog. (UPDATE: In fact, a summary can be found here on the ICANN site). An excerpt:
A core element of the Program would consist of a shared exchange platform that would enable all ICANN-accredited registrars to acquire deleting registrations through an online, auction-style process. The shared exchange would enable registrars to acquire deleting registrations relatively inexpensively. The use of a widely available, easily accessible exchange would also promote the fair and efficient acquisition of deleting registrations, while at the same time minimizing strains on the domain name registration infrastructure.A centralized registry would marginalize many existing auction sites, limiting them to less popular TLDs. While VeriSign claims "broad support" among registrars, Tucows has announced a similar proposal. Still other registrars are working with SnapNames or other services. And yes, some supporters of a centralized auction may not trust VeriSign to manage the process (remember SiteFinder?).
Posted by RichM April 28, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter
April 27, 2005
The Planet Confirms ICANN Registrar Status
Dallas web host The Planet has belatedly confirmed that it has been approved as an ICANN-accredited registrar and is selling domains to customers for $5.99. New .com and .net domain names are immediately available, with .org, .info, .biz, and .us to follow soon. The $5.99 domains are only available through Orbit, The Planet's online customer portal, and are not being sold to the general public. The announcement is no surprise to readers of Netcraft, where we noted that The Planet began selling domains on March 22.
"We’re pleased to give customers more control over this dimension of hosting," said Sam Fleitman, VP of Information Systems for The Planet. "By making their domain management easy and integrating it with their entire solution, we’re helping them concentrate their resources and attention."
Posted by RichM April 27, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter
April 26, 2005
Go Daddy Passes NetSol as Top Registrar
Go Daddy says it has now passed Network Solutions to become the world’s top domain name registrar, citing the latest data from Name Intelligence, Inc.
On April 17, Go Daddy passed Network Solutions, finishing the day with 6,830,420 domains under management to NetSol's 6,822,496, according to RegistrarStats. The leadership change, which has been inevitable for some time given the trajectories of the two providers, nonetheless marked the end of an era.
"GoDaddy.com’s rise to the preeminent domain name registrar is a watershed event in the history of the domain name industry," said Jay Westerdal, CEO, of Name Intelligence. "This is the first time that any registrar, other than Network Solutions, has ever held the No. 1 position."
Posted by RichM April 26, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter
PopeBenedictXVI.com Sells for $150,000
The domain name PopeBenedictXVI.com has been sold on eBay for $150,000. The sale by the Bahaman company Total Interest Ltd. (which registered the domain Feb. 1) puts an exclamation point on domain speculation on the election of Pope Benedict XVI.
The outbreak of "popesquatting" has cast the media spotlight on technology author Rogers Cadenhead, the owner of BenedictXVI.com. Cadenhead, who has been profiled in The Washington Post and interviewed on The Today Show, has been blogging about his experience.
I know in a higher sense I did the right thing by donating the domains to Modest Needs, a great charity that continues to get record traffic. But now that my gesture has actual market value, I think I'm going to spend the rest of the day curled up in a ball saying "$150,000 dollars" over and over and eating Chunky Monkey directly out of the container.Meanwhile, the owner of Benedict16.Com has declared that pornographers and online casinos are welcome to buy it from him.
Posted by RichM April 26, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter
April 25, 2005
Free Domains for Life (Sort Of)
Web hosting company Brinkster is seeking to attract signups with a one-week promotion offering up to seven free domain names for life to customers who sign up for one of the company's paid hosting plans. The promotion, which runs only until April 30, allows customers to register between three and seven domain names (depending on the plan chosen) in popular top-level domains (TLDs)including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us, and .ws.
The fine print: to get the free domain names, you need to prepay one-year on hosting plans that range from $3.95 to $17.95 a month. The domains can only be used with a Brinkster hosting plan, so the deal is only "for life" if you plan to host with Brinkster until you die. Still, it's an interesting promotion in that it grabs your attention and holds the possibility of locking in a long-term customer relationship.
Posted by RichM April 25, 2005 | Permalink | Newsletter