Over the past few months ParkLogic has been working closely with Domain Advertising (DA) on how to best monetise traffic on their platform. I should state up front that as well as writing whizzbangsblog.com I am one of the owners of ParkLogic. At ParkLogic, we believe that working closely with our upstream monetising partners on behalf of our clien...

When you look at domaining history over the last few years you can see that there has been a migration from a revenue to a profit mentality. If you are unsure if this is the case then just take a look at the increase in the number of drops and the subsequent high level of interest that Verisign now has in the space. More drops equals less registrat...

I've had a number of requests for some of the presentations that I've put together for the various shows that I've spoken at. Here are links to a couple of presentations that outline the state of the domain industry in 2009. I hope that you find them useful. TRAFFIC Silicon Valley - Google and Yahoo (images/stories/presentations/traffic_silicon_val...

As has been my habit over the years I'm sitting in the Qantas club at Melbourne airport typing away another blog before my flight is called. It's a little strange being back on the road after a 9 month rest from travel and conferencing but I must admit that I'm feeling pretty energised about the domain industry. TRAFFIC and other domain conferences...

I'm really looking forward to heading to TRAFFIC this Friday - it's been a while since I've attended a conference and it will be great catching up with everyone again. For the last little while the team at ParkLogic (http://www.parklogic.com)and I have been working on what we believe will potentially be a domain industry game changer......so what ...

Although I love living in Australia (I wouldn't live anywhere else) travelling from the country is such a pain. What many people don't realise is that travelling from Melbourne to Europe means that you're flying over Australia for 4-5 hours of the journey.....it's a big country. So here is what I'm debating. Fly around the world for two weeks takin...

Have you ever been trapped by your computer? I sometimes think that my PC is like some prehistoric creature with tentacles growing out the side that suck me in. I find that I say that I'll only spend a couple of minutes working on the weekend but the hours just seem to slip by. I think that domainers are really guilty about forgetting that work is ...

It's been a while since I really got motivated over an issue and write my thoughts down. I just received an email from Sedo suggesting that their upstream advertising partner (ie. Google) was going to force everyone to use the Sedo nameservers when they park with Sedo rather than sending the traffic via a redirect. The biggest question I have is wh...

I find that in the midst of all the trees that I sometimes forget that I'm in a forest. What do I mean by this? I get so busy doing stuff that I forget why I'm doing it. Do you ever get this problem or is it just me? My wife Roselyn normally notices that I've managed to get myself into this situation before I do. I end up being grumpy and generally...

I took my son down to get his hand X-rayed today. You may ask whether he has a broken bone or there is some other problem with his fingers but you'd be completely wrong. The problem that he is having has to do with braces and teeth.....so what does the doctor ask for? An X-ray of his hand. Go figure? This reminds me of the way domains traffic is ha...

This is the fourth article in the series on building out domains. The other three can be read at.....Part 1 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=616 catid=49 Itemid=156), Part 2 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=617 catid=49 Itemid=156), Part 3, (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=618 catid=49 Itemid=156) Part 4 (inde...

This is the fourth article in the series on building out domains. The other three can be read at.....Part 1 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=616 catid=49 Itemid=156), Part 2 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=617 catid=49 Itemid=156), Part 3 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=618 catid=49 Itemid=156) OK, I admit i...

I've just returned home from a game of Netball that my two daughters play each week....it's sort of like basketball without bouncing the ball. I'm sitting at my desk, staring outside and as normal my mind begins to drift to the topic of domains. I've noticed that there have been a number of auctions recently that have suggested that domain sales ar...

This is the third article in the series on developing out a domain. The first two articles can be read by clicking on the following links; Article 1 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=616 catid=49 Itemid=156), Article 2 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=617 catid=49 Itemid=156). So what's happening on the traffic and revenue ...

Whether you have a portfolio of ten domains or ten thousand you need to think about your domain portfolio in terms of value and thereby business model. If you don't then I can guarantee that you're leaving a lot of money on the table. Each domain needs a business model applied to it that will assist you in extracting the maximum value. The primary ...

This is the second article in the series on what I did to build out Downwind.com.au. Click on the follow link to view article 1 (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=616 catid=49 Itemid=156). The best part about Joomla is that it has a very powerful area called "components". These allow you extend the functionality of the system enormously ...

I've had a number of people ask me how I built out downwind.com.au and what software I used to do it. The technology for building out a website is not difficult to use and doesn't involve a degree in computer science from some expensive university. It's actually all quite easy to do. The other day I went to an Internet show and noticed that every s...

This week for me started off on a bad footing. I was feeling a little bad on Sunday night as I went to bed and woke up in the morning in probably the worst cramping agony I think I've ever had in my life. Being a strong (ie. stupid) Australian male (even more stupid) I elected to ride the abdominal pain out and for the next few days I got worse the...

I was recently asked to assist a client of ParkLogic in a domain sale of com.au domains. Unlike .com domains com.au domains have some very peculiar rules about them that if broken could end you up in hot water via the governing body AUDA. Many registrars take advantage of these rules to exploit their customers and generate huge fees for little to n...

It's been a while since I've written about my development experiment, downwind.com.au so I thought that I'd relate some of my more recent experiences. I hope that it helps you in your own developmental efforts. As many of you know Downwind (http://www.downwind.com.au)is a site that I developed for the aviation community in Australia and it now rec...

I've been looking at the list of domains for sale in the Sedo travel auction that ends in just over 15 hours time. There are some really great domains going for bargain prices! For instance, at the moment you can pickup pyramids.net (http://www.downwind.com.au/avdir/rd.php?id=7302) for $750 or france.org (http://www.downwind.com.au/avdir/rd.php?id=...

I was taking a look at the upcoming movies being released later this year and noticed that "Wall Street" is making a comeback with Michael Douglas reprising his role as Gorden Gecko. He was the character that coined the term "Greed is good, greed works." I don't know much about the new movie other than what the shorts depict but it has caused me to...

It's been another week and as normal I find myself sitting at my desk reflecting on what has been achieved. It seems an age since my last "Saturday Musings" which covered a domainers hunt for a particular domain name owner and the subsequent "kill".So what's been going on in my world in the last seven days? For a start my aviation website, "Downwin...

The road is where you are, it covers where you've been and where you are going. It's the place of meeting, it's the placing of going and the place you're yet to go. This road is not like other roads, it's full of twists, turns, ups, downs and potholes as it meanders through a tortuous terrain which is one minute jungle, the next desert and even sub...

I just received this announcement from Oversee.Net regarding the winners of the recent PitchFest held at DomainFest in Santa Monica. Enjoy the read as each of the winners was very deserving. Congratulations to each and every one of them. --------------------- PITCHFEST CONTEST WINNERS SHINE AT DOMAINFEST GLOBAL 2010--adMarketplace, RapidDomainBuild...

Why is it that there never seems to be enough time to do everything that needs to be done? Time seems to slip by faster and my "in-tray" continually grows and it's tempting to let the weekends become a time where I catch up on all of the work that I didn't get done during the week. It's crazy but it's a fun kind of crazy! This week I decided the so...

Much of the risk associated with domains revolves around under what business model they were purchased under. For example, if I purchase a high value domain and I'm looking at building out a site then the investment is more in the business behind the domain rather than the domain itself. If I purchase a domain as a part of a large portfolio that I'...

Here I am once again sitting in the Qantas Club at LAX waiting for Qantas Flight QF94 to head back home to Melbourne. The last five days have been an absolute blur of meetings, presentations and of course, like any good domain conference, a chronic lack of sleep. At the moment I feel like I?m running on adrenalin and even a shower didn?t manage to ...

Just over a week ago I decided to head across the Pacific and attend DomainFest. The first problem I discovered was my passport was about to expire so after a mad dash to fill in the paper work, pay the ?rush? fee it turned up in the mail a couple of days later. What?s even more amazing is that it was a government department that managed to pull th...

A lot has been written about domains and how you can buy, sell, develop them or even treat them as stock items. I plan on taking a different approach and dealing with domains as an unique asset class that is investable by the professional investment community just like any other class of asset such as stocks, land etc. If domains can be legitimised...

It's summer holidays here in Australia and I naturally found my kids (aged 16, 14 and 11) glued to the television, WII or playing computer games. Don't get me wrong, I love playing games or watching a good movie but day after day was getting a bit much......it was then that I had an idea. It struck me that school is a great basis for education but ...

Just before Christmas I'd received the following comment from a reader when I suggested that during the Christmas break we should contemplate what we are doing with our businesses and lives: "Some of us are dealing with the tasks of survival as a possible record breaking blizzard engulfs parts of the country, already gvt workers are taking to t...

So what do China and Australia have in common? Yes both their flags have stars in them but Australia has a nice calming blue background representing the oceans around the nation while China has a lucky red colour that seems to resonate with the vibrancy of its cultural heritage. Many geographically challenged people would say that they are both on ...

I received the following comment regarding the last article that I wrote about the Snap Names Saga and I thought that it would be worth answering. For a start let me thank the person that wrote this as they fully expressed themselves without becoming derogatory or abusive. In such an emotional issue as this one it takes a certain kind of restraint ...

The whole domain industry has been reeling under the Snap Names revelations over the last few weeks. Is this really such a bad thing? The life-cycle of almost every industry has resulted in the ejection of undesirables and bad practices as the industry begins to clean itself up. From my perspective the Snap Names saga is really where men of conscio...

I just received an email from Mike Robertson at Fabulous.com which I think could be of interest to all domain owners. -------------------------------- Just a quick reminder that our $6.99 .com new registration promotion is only valid until the end of November. That's right, you still have just over two weeks to take advantage of this special. It's ...

For the past couple of weeks I?ve been reading about all of the incredible things happening at Oversee.Net and the Snap Names employee that bid up the auctions. When you think about it, the domain industry is less than transparent so this sort of event should have been expected by everyone. There is just too much money at stake. Employing people is...

This is the second in the series of articles on the GFC and domaining. The first may be read at:Revenue to Profit (index.php?option=com_content view=article id=562:revenue-to-profit catid=51:domain-valuation-a-sales Itemid=217) The GFC has had a dramatic impact on the whole domain industry. For example let?s take a look at the poor domainer that en...

Traveling is an amazing experience. You stand in a queue to get checked in followed by yet another standfest at security this is subsequently followed by extended periods of sitting. Miraculously after all of this activity you arrive at your destination on the other side of the world. Voila! It sounds so simple to say this but as we all know travel...

Just over 100 years ago Jules Verne wrote the famous book ?Around the world in 80 days? and in 2009 I planned on doing it in twelve. The challenge was to link the multitude of schedules for aircraft, hotels, business contacts and a conference into a seamless and hopefully flawless plan that had every chance of breaking apart. The journey started a ...

It?s that time of year where it?s necessary to spend a few hours searching through my domains for those I?m looking to sell. Let me say at first that it?s been a rare event when I?ve sold any domains with only one or maybe two transactions completed each year. Given this is the case I?ve decided that it was about time I got off my backside and put ...

What is it about alarm clocks? The whole concept of an alarm clock is to shock your body out of the wonderful stupor associated with sleep and kick start the heart so that it immediately pumps blood around the body thereby forcing your happily sedated brain from a state of sleep to wakefulness. When you really think about it there is little differe...

I recently received an email from Simon Johnson regarding the fact that he was applying to be on the board of the Australian Domain Name Administrator (AUDA). Simon is a domainer and is putting his efforts where his mouth is when it comes to trying to bring positive change to the com.au namespace for domain owners. I gave him a call and was really ...

Many of my friends believe that domainers are boring. According to them, given their experience with me this is not a statement up for conjecture and discussion but one of fact. I of course beg to differ. For example, the other day I was at a party and everyone was having a great time except me. I was bored. I couldn?t help thinking that there were...

What happens when you?re away! I?ve been away in Thailand on holidays with my family for a couple of weeks and it looks like it?s all going down for?Dark Blue Sea (DBS) which Photon officially announcing a takeover. Photon Group announced yesterday its intentions to takeover DBS and made an offer of 30 cents a share for 50.1% of the company. Photon...

Here I am sitting in an armchair typing away on my laptop while pondering what life is all about. Like many of us in the domain industry I?d initially thought that it was about the whirring of bits and bytes as they shot around fibre optic networks at the speed of light. But I was sadly mistaken. What brought my reality to a screeching halt was the...

This article continues directory on from the first two in the series, you can read them by clicking on the...

Be sure to read the first article in this series as part 2 continues directly on where the previous article...

I just received a notice that in the middle of all of the various corporate manoeuvring that is happening between...