Domain Name News

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 05:26 AM PDT

Sedo’s first ever .ME auction is coming to a close today at 1pm EST, so if you’re looking to purchase premium .ME domains you better visit the auction soon.

There are 35 high quality names including Pay.me, Bet.me, Book.me, Download.me, Compare.me, Tell.me, Print.me, Film.me, Rock.me, and Add.me.

Click here to see the complete auction inventory.

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Domain Pope Defrocked Over New Orleans Controversy

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 02:27 PM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

DNN has received official word from The Papal Cardinal of Domains, Francois Doticus Comus, that long time Domain Pope, John Berryhill has been defrocked. The disheartening news came only weeks after the pontiff was caught on camera dangling a “marital aid” from a balcony in New Orleans. Berryhill likely has been under a great deal of stress with sanctification of new TLDs weighing heavily on his mind.

The Domain Pope had a large following and many friends, so the defrocking will not mean that his work will cease. Still many others have expressed outrage over the incident. One domain industry insider who chose to remain anonymous wondered “If the Domain Pope has been caught doing these sorts of things in public what exactly could he be doing at those ICANN meetings ?”

A formal statement from Berryhill is expected later this week.

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“We Just Make It All Up” Reveals Google Internal Email Leak

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 01:15 PM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

Domain Name News has received a copy of a private email correspondence between Google employees and a domain company that indicates what some in the domain space have suspected all along. The email dated April 1, 2006 between two Google employees and a domain parking company includes part of an internal conversation not meant for the parking company’s eyes. The parking company was accidentally cc’ed the internal email and has kept the email secret until now.

The email from the parking company source indicates that they were unclear of how domain traffic and clicks were being credited to some of their clients. The parking company emailed their account rep and in turn the rookie account rep turned to his superior. In responding to the junior Google employees inquiry in how to handle the inquiry, the senior Google employee tells his colleague to inform them “statistics are proprietary information not divulged per our contract terms”.

Later however in the back and forth talks about the domain name channel and statistics the junior representative asks his boss how the statistics and payouts are tracked. “Where can I find the algorithm for the domain channel statistics” ask the rep. To which his boss reminds him again, “Remember what we talked about in your training? We just make that all up. Just tell them again that it’s proprietary.”

Read the full email after the jump.

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ICANN Moves Forward with UFODN Plans

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 12:37 PM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

Now that ICANN has moved forward plans to create domain names in every character set and language on Earth, the organization is pushing forward a new plan to implement new Unidentified Foreign Origin Domain Names (UFODNs).

Outgoing ICANN President Paul Twomey stated “These new domain names will pave the way for alien species and extra-terestials to set up their own internet presence in the future. We see a future on the internet where bored nerds on planet RErOn49 can blog about their boring lives in their own languages and have domain names that match.”

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Andrew Alleman Leaves Domain Name Wire for DNN.com

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 11:48 AM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

A big welcome to Andrew Alleman, who has left his editorial role at DomainNameWire.com to join the growing team at DomainNameNews.com. Andrew comes to us with over 10 years of experience in the domain industry and much success as a writer and publisher at DNW. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Sausage and a number of other publications and is expected to continue his professional growth as a member of our team, albeit in a much smaller role than what he has grown accustomed to.

“Andrew is obviously a very accomplished writer, contributor, and analyst with a keen interest in the domain industry,” said Adam Strong of DNN.com. “We’re excited to have him on our team.”

Andrew Allemann explained his decision on DomainNameWire.com earlier today:

“By joining Domain Name News, I’m partnering with a great team that can help take the load off my back so I can sit back, relax, hang out in Vegas all week and enjoy a bit more freedom while still staying in touch. I’d like to thank Adam and Frank for giving me the chance to work with them in the upcoming months, and hopefully long into the future.”

[see DomainNameWire for more details]

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Twitter Set to Apply for .TWEET TLD

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 10:57 AM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

Minds + Machines, a full service consulting firm for new top level domains, has announced that Twitter, the micro-blogging social network that has taken the internet by storm, is set to apply for a “.tweet” TLD.

“Abdur Chowhury of Twitter approached us with his idea to apply for a new TLD in early February,” said Antony Van Couvering of Minds + Machines. “To apply for a new TLD you must, of course, have a community - and the folks at Twitter quickly pointed out that Twitterers are just as relevent of a community as anybody else. After looking at the financing and feasability aspects of applying for a .tweet TLD, we worked with Twitter to create a powerful ICANN application. Now it’s time to wait and see.”

Click here for Twitter’s official “tweet” regarding their ICANN application.

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Bido charity auction starts shortly

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 09:31 AM PDT

The Bido animal rescue auction for an animal shelter in Arizona will be starting in 30 minutes. All proceeds of the list of domain names and other items sold in the auction will go directly to the shelter, but you can also donate directly.

Kentucky to Pass Law Forbidding Parked Pages

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 09:21 AM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is at it again - and this time he’s targeting parked domains.

Beshear, who is infamous for attempting to seize 141 poker and gambling domains because they were accessible within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which does not allow gambling, is now fighting to pass a law forbidding parked pages because of the unregulated content that so often exists.

“Parked domains often have content that promotes products and services that are considered illegal in the state of Kentucky,” Beshear said in a press conference earlier today. “Because of the fact that their content is not controlled by the actual domain owner, which limits our ability to press charges, we believed they should be made inaccessible within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

We are currently looking to work with domain parking companies to prevent parked domains from being accessed within the state. If this issue is not resolved in an agreeable manner, we are willing to pursue other options.”

Beshear later said in a press release that he would be confident in the state’s case if it were to go to court.

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Canadian Government Rejects New .eh Extension, Loyalist Group Joins California Governor

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 08:34 AM PDT

Please note that the following is a parody intended for April Fools day 2009.

Canadian government officials confirmed with DNN that the government will be attending the upcoming Sydney ICANN meeting to block the progress of a proposed new CCTLD. As previously reported, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing to have the .ca delegated to the state of California and .eh to become the new Canadian ccTLD.

The long standing battle over the new domain name extension came to a head this week as the Canadian government released their official statement. “In no way will we allow this travesty to occur”, explained Jean Luc Remole spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Canadian domainers remain split. Loyalist leader and Dot Eh company President, Shaun Pilfod believes the group has a large enough following to turn the tables on this battle and help Schwarzenegger pass the reallocation. “We’re very proud Canadians and this confusion in the marketplaces needs to be fixed,” explained Pilfold.

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