Domain Name Wire Podcast

How can you defend yourself against claims of cybersquatting and what's Reverse Domain Name Hijacking? Jason Schaeffer and his firm ESQwire.com have won lots of reverse domain name hijacking cases on behalf of clients, and he gives the details on today's show. Also, Stahura's move and Tucows buys eNom.

Will AI, voice-activated devices and non-visual web browsers reduce the importance of great domains in the future? Frank Schilling comes on the show this week to respond to my prediction for the future and discuss what he thinks the drivers of domain growth and importance will be. Also: Escrow.com verification process, Sony's new sites, stolen domains.

On this week's Domain Name Wire Podcast I reveal the top 5 most-downloaded podcasts of 2016, as well as the ten most-viewed stories on Domain Name Wire (and my thoughts on them).

Monte Cahn has been in the domain name business for 21 years. On today's show he discusses what he sees happening with both new TLDs and .com, as well has his upcoming auction during NamesCon. Also: Oversee.net and more Chinese approvals.

It's our annual predictions episode! This week, 14 domain name industry experts provide their take on what will happen in 2017. Some of the predictions may surprise you!

Chris Sheridan has been in the domain name business since the late 90s and is now head of channel sales for Weebly. On today's show, he gives his opinion on what's going on in the domain business, and then we'll talk about the domain-centric vs. web presence-centric approach service providers are taking. Also, news from Neustar, GoDaddy, Super Bowl ads, Donuts, .sucks, Amazon, .Tel and more.

The domain name and webhosting businesses are tightly entertwined. This week, TheWHIR editor-in-chief Nicole Henderson comes on the show to talk about GoDaddy's acquisition of Host Europe Group, what's going on in the domain business, and discuss which comes first -- the domain or the website? Also: GoDaddy's big bet and domains in China.

When Oliver Stone's domain name expired recently, Name Ninja Bill Sweetman came to the rescue. He bought OliverStone.com on NameJet and returned it to the movie producer. Hear the story on today's podcast. Plus: domain transfers, .web and .at.

Do big companies get it when it comes to domain names? Jamie Zoch closely tracks company domain name registrations and works with them to buy and sell domain names. On today's podcast, Jamie discusses the mistakes they make and how you can transact with these big companies.

This is an important episode for all domain name investors. A new domain name transfer policy goes into effect on December 1. If you don't want your domains to be locked for 60 days, you should listen to what Endurance International Compliance Officer Darcy Southwell has to say on today's episode. Also: Drop catching arms race, new TLD premiums, an expensive c.at, and a win for PIR and Afilias.

Fred Mercaldo has built Scottsdale.com into nearly a $1 million-a-year business. His company City Brand Media is building out hundreds of other city.com domain names into fully functioning websites. Hear Fred's vision and how he might be able to make your city.com domain name more valuable.

Shane Cultra has had his share of success and failure in the domain name business. On today's show, Shane gives his assessment of how you can still make money with Chinese domain name investors, and his public mistake with .Ws. Also: Botched defensive domain name registrations, an app based on a new TLD that's tearing up the app store chart, and more.

Lonnie Borck, one of the friendliest and most caring people in the domain business, passed away earlier this month at age 47. This special episode of the Domain Name Wire Podcast is dedicated to Lonnie and the many lives he touched. We hear from Elliot Silver, who recalls the time when Lonnie correctly predicted a home run at an Orioles game. Scott Ross talks about his somewhat unlikely relationsh...

You've developed one of your domain names into a website, but how do you get traffic for it? Today's guest has lots of experience driving traffic to his web business, and he hasn't paid a dime to do it. Josh Elledge, founder of SavingsAngel and UpendPR, has been on TV and radio more than 1,500 times and writes a syndicated column to over one million readers. He's generated over $8 million in free...

Page Howe is best known for his $1 million+ sales of Seniors.com and Guys.com. But he says those were anomalies; his domain business is a lot like yours and mine. He focuses on selling domains to end users for four figures and domainers at wholesale prices. Page discusses trends he's seeing in the market, how he's attacking he wholesale market and if his new TLD investments have panned out.

Bob Mountain, Chief Revenue Officer of Afternic, reveals insight derived from data on millions of domain names that will help you sell more domains. From how to list your domains for sale, pricing insights and key elements of your For Sale landing pages, this is an episode you don't want to miss. Also: .Com pricing, .US in the news, and a retro domain name.

What's going on at ICANN that could affect domain name investors and .com prices? Phil Corwin is founder of the lawfirm VirtuaLaw, counsel to the Internet Commerce Association and co-chairs some ICANN working groups. On today's show he discusses some activites at ICANN that could affect domain name investors and what Verisign's contract extension to run .com means for you. Also: The 'Cruzade' turn...

The U.S. is "giving away the internet"? Hardly. On today's show, journalist Kieren McCarthy explains what the U.S. government plans to do with its role in the internet at the end of this month, why it will have no affect on free speech, and why we need not worry about Russia or China taking over the internet as a result. Kieren, who rights for The Register, has been covering ICANN for many years a...

GMO Registry paid $41.5 million for the .shop top level domain name. How will it make its money back? CEO Hiro Tsukahara discusses why he believes the price was justified and reveals some major sales that have already occurred. He also explains why the company chose a new global brand (it paid nearly $7 million for Z.com). Also: the latest news including Ted Cruz, ICANN and a stolen domain name.

Google is giving some ranking juice to sites that are secure with SSL, but what exactly is it and why should the domain name industry care about it? Today I talk with SSL expert Kevin Johnson from The SSL Store to get a crash course in SSL. Kevin explains the two main functions of SSL, whether a site like Domain Name Wire (that doesn't sell stuff) should get one, how much work it is to get add SSL...

This week we're celebrating 100 episodes of the DNW podcast, and what better way to do it than having Paul Mockapetris as our guest. Paul invented the domain name system back in the 80s. On this episode, he talks about the early days, new uses for DNS and security. Also, a recap of the news from past week including Frank Schilling sparking a busy day for Rightside, .Shop's launch and more.

Ray King has a long history in domain names, and is now working hard to promote three top level domain names his company Top Level Design owns. Learn about how he's getting people at tradeshows to register domains on the spot and other approaches he's taking to building top domain names. Also: a Bigfoot-in-the-mouth, Div's $900 million payday, Escrow.com's numbers and a Chinese investor ditches th...

Escrow.com GM Jackson Elsegood shares data about how the domain name market is shaping up in 2016 (it's a mixed bag), and also explains what the company is doing to improve customer service. Also: NamesCon acquired, Namecheap's revenue, .com prices and some questionable domain-name related trademarks.

Frank Schilling returns to the program to talk about interesting developments in the domain name business, what's been happening to aftermarket domain sales this summer and what he predicts for the future. Also: Rightside, Donuts, StartingDot news.

Today we talk about one of the biggest new top level domain name success stories, and I'm willing to bet you've never heard about this top level domain before. Ken Hansen will tell you about a domain that has generated a staggering amount of income despite appearing far down the traditional new TLD "leaderboards". Ken also discusses his 15+ year in the domain business including .biz and .co.com.