Should the government regulate the internet? (read: How much should the government regulate the internet?) June 22, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Business, Domains, Fulfillment, Goals, Inspirational, Life, Society, curious finds, internet, self-improvement, technology, trends.Tags: Domains, government, internet, regulation
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Let *THIS* be my last blog post… something to think about.
Lots of people (49%) seem to think that the government has a duty to police the digital universe, according to Rasmussen Reports (a story I “dugg” today)… The article is filled with other insightful statistics about internet usage and regulation. I’ll leave the analysis up to you.
The U.S. government already *IS* regulating the net, to a large extent. Many of you probably remember a situation where a domainer had various domains disabled by order of the government because they were pointing to sites advertising travel to Cuba. The guy wasn’t a U.S. resident, nor was he marketing to U.S. consumers. He did make the mistake of registering his names with U.S.-based registrars though (it was Enom, to my best recollection…), and our relations with Cuba are still “so-so” , to say the least.
More regulation on the way? Perhaps the Snowe Bill push was a prelude to that. Historically, a country has rarely gotten any “freer” after it established a federal government, save for revolutions and other such cataclysmic events. Deregulation rarely follows the establishment of a central government. Is China a potential counterexample to that trend? Time will tell.
What all this means for domainers, who knows anymore… too many moving parts and variables to venture any long-term guesses… as the wise man says, hope for the best, plan for the worst.
ANOTHER PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT, ENJOY THE INSPIRATION:
This is a public service announcement. June 22, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Fulfillment, Goals, Inspirational, Life, Passion, Purpose, Society, curious finds, music, popular culture, self-improvement, trends.Tags: experience, failure, success
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Give me a reason… May 22, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Domains, Life, Society, advertising, trends.Tags: advertising, conditioning, culture, Domains, lifestyle, marketing, trends, websites
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In marketing, before you can sell someone something, you must first absolutely convince them that they have a huge problem that the thing you are trying to sell them (which they may or may not really need…) is going to help solve. People have gotten pretty good at convincing other people that they have various problems with intent of selling them garbage. Consider, for a moment, how many healthy people who lead healthy lifestyles buy health insurance and never use it, or how many good drivers buy more car insurance coverage than they really need. But these are cultural, socially-conditioned product offerings by now, so everyone buys both… what I really want to know is how the first insurance salesmen got these concepts to gain momentum and take off… must have been quite a challenge.
The web, in my opinion, is a little different.
It is still a little difficult to convince someone to stay and periodically COME BACK to your website unless your website offers a clear solution to a problem that they ALREADY know they have. So, my strategy for development, is to focus on the most dire needs that people have and create topical websites that offer either physical products, or digital services and content that cater to these OBVIOUS needs and fill these PRE-EXISTING niches. Of course, I select my domains for these websites accordingly.
Some of these needs include, but not limited to the following:
Sex & Love (no-brainer)
Food (also, consider some other items that people tend to consume on a daily basis)
Jobs & Money (most people wouldn’t be able to survive without their 9-5)
Education (people need to read and write to get by, lots want to go to college, some desire Ph.D.s)
Entertainment, Travel, Leisure (Whoo-hoo! These are a little difficult for me to develop websites about, because I would much rather be DOING it)
Real Estate (whether you have a shack on the beach or a million-dollar South Beach villa/condo, you are part of this market)
Health (staying healthy to prevent disorders, or popping pills to “cure” them, either way this topic quickly gets attention)
Spirituality (I still can’t come up with a good explanation for this one, but it seems that lots of people just want to “believe”)
Of course, all of these headings can be subdivided into millions of different categories and sub-categories as you see fit, but I feel that these few form a good initial foundation to focus on.
Lastly, focus development on the topics that appeal to you the most personally. That will keep you interested in your work long enough so that you stick around until success comes and finds you.
The true value of perseverance May 19, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Business, Fulfillment, Goals, Inspirational, Life, Passion, Purpose, Relationships, self-improvement.add a comment
“Those Who Stay Will Be Champions”
Bo Schembechler, Michigan Football Coach
Let go of your need for immediate gratification. When taking up a new career path, a new sport, a new relationship, starting a new business, any activity really, do not expect success to come in the first few days, weeks, months, maybe years even. Sometimes it may, and if it does, be happy about it. And when it doesn’t… well, just make sure that whatever it is you are doing is enjoyable to you, to make sure that you can in fact enjoy the journey, even if the ideal destination you have in mind will not be reached for a long time, if it is ever reached at all. How long do you actually HAVE to stay for… well, Bo never made that very clear. However, if you are willing to give it your all, and stay for however long it takes, even if it takes the entirety of your life, you are probably doing something that you love, something that’s worth doing for YOU, and something you are probably pretty good at.
Stay on your path, pursue it with passion, and good luck to you.
Why generic domain names are even more (WAY MORE) valuable than gold and oil. April 1, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Business, Domains, Investing, Life, curious finds, real estate.5 comments
1) Domains are land. Because the name of the thing conjures up the thing itself (think about your browser’s address bar and its function), domain names ARE the landscape that they represent. The internet is truly an elegant system. As many early adopters have realized more than a decade ago, domain names are the “lots” on which “skyscrapers” (websites) can be built. This is a concept I first discovered at eRealEstate.com, I believe (one of Rick Schwartz’ hideouts…). The shorter, more generic, the more universally recognized AND understood AND commercial a name is, the higher the value of this virtual property. These parameters play the same role as location value does for land. Even better, the relative valuations of these parameters are likely to change MORE SLOWLY than the relative values of PHYSICAL LAND. For example, think about how long it would take for a name such as “Property.com” to lose its meaning and value vs. how long it took for Detroit to go from being known as “The Paris of America” to other, less dignified monikers. Think about the many run-down neighborhoods in big cities that used to be prime, ritzy, high-value, and sharp. Even if a bad website tarnishes a certain domain name’s reputation for a period of time, if the name is generic, it can be resuscitated and redeveloped much more quickly and easily… at least it would take a great deal more effort to bring some Detroit neighborhoods back to their former glory. Think about it.
2) Domains are the PIPES through which two of the most valuable commodities today flow: TRAFFIC (eyeballs) and INFORMATION. You can use domains to attract, direct, and manage traffic. Traffic and information are currently inextricably linked to the Domain Name System, and both can be very valuable when used wisely.
3) Domains are priceless possessions that can be given as gifts and retain sentimental value. This idea evolved as a result of a recent discovery I made… Both “CyranoDeBergerac.com” (17th century Frenchman and the Rostand play based on the former) and “LoveLetters.com” point to the same MySpace page. Keep in mind, these are two VERY generic and potentially highly commercial names. Another twist, the names do not seem to be registered to the owner of the MySpace page. The registrant, according to DomainTools, is one “Dave Lizmi” , a former rock guitarist turned internet entrepreneur, who appears to have at least another 700+ domains to his name. I have no idea who this is, nor do I presume to have any clue to the nature of the relationship between the domain registrant and the owner/author of the MySpace page, but this discovery got me thinking about the following…
People name stars after their loved ones… stars they will never touch or see up close… for all practical purposes, these things are as “virtual” to us as dreams and fairy tales are. Now, why not dedicate a unique domain name to your significant other instead? Could that not be just as meaningful, if not more meaningful to whoever receives such a gift? Should not the fact that you can actually make something of this domain increase its value? Cool stuff, eh?
I still maintain that everyone with a blog or a MySpace page should have a domain name linked to it. Everyone should have their own domain name on their business card, right above their email address. I believe that this may become the case soon enough in the future. This is just ONE of the many potential sources of demand for the priceless assets that our community keeps.
Thoughts? Reactions? Refutations? All I seek to do is promote a healthy and meaningful discussion. This is all.
Life as a Vicious Cycle… .or the greatest blessing? March 29, 2008
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“People all grow up to die.” – System of a Down
“The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” – Leo Tolstoy
I wish that one day, sometime soon, I would just wake up and be a billionaire (who doesn’t?). I hate having to “work” for a living. The whole concept seems totally counterintuitive to me. Why can’t I just move to Monaco already, live out my life on a yacht in the peaceful harbor, be a good host to friends and relatives, challenge strangers to battles of wits, read Balzac, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky, write more blogs such as this one, hold heated discussions about minorities and other racy issues (JUST KIDDING!), smoke cranberry hookah and drink fine Belgian beer, host lavish parties from dusk till dawn, and make this lifestyle a part of my every day reality, rather than a mere dream I keep playing over and over in my mind just before I have to crack open my eyes at 7:30AM every weekday morning. What indeed is the point of life? Many say “children.” What an evil joke, however, god is playing on us, forcing every new generation of humans to grow, learn, and practice the same boring skills necessary for self-sustenance and survival, rediscovering the same ideas, over and over again. Where is this all headed, and why must I be a part of it? I believe that we all deserve our own little piece of paradise, and deep in my heart, I trust that we can all have it, that and a quiet peace of mind for the short amount of time we’ve been allotted on this planet, to take life in with great big breaths of wonderful, instead of short gasps of suffering merely to endure, and never really to begin to live. How do I manifest my dreams… and do it quickly?
Domain names as status symbols? March 18, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Business, Comedy, Domains, Inspirational, Investing, Life, Society.add a comment
The idea of domain names having purely collectible value (that is, in addition to the obvious commercial potential) has been raised by many individuals. What I want to touch upon today though, is a possible emerging trend that will have people pursuing domain names purely to say that they own a catchy name (we all agree that meaningful word combination DOT COMs are quickly becoming an increasingly scarce resource, correct?)
I mean, if everyone has a facebook or myspace page, why do we not all have our own domain name to go with it (think of the potential market here… think of this niche!!!)?
For example, the next time a girl tells me that I’m crazy or unreliable or whatever, I can quickly retort with: “Baby, I *OWN* EMOTIONALLYSTABLE.COM” – come on now, who’s with me? heh. I could use a similar trick to bring up my domain name FairyTaleLove.com , which I am about to begin developing by the way 
What do ya’ll think???
Worthy goal: Retire by graduation. March 9, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Fulfillment, Goals, Inspirational, Life.add a comment
I will probably want to work in the financial sector or the consulting industry anyway, but I want to have enough assets and passive or semi-passive income from my private business ventures to have the option of just taking off, becoming a traveling scholar, and spending my time by exploring the world, reading books about whatever I want, and maybe doing some writing. I graduate in April 2009. Wish me luck .
Purpose of Life… March 8, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Fulfillment, Life, Love.add a comment
Erik von Markovik (aka “Mystery”) claims that the purpose of life is to “live and love” (i.e. survive and replicate… for the people less romantic than myself). Brian Tracy says that the purpose of life is to develop many “loving relationships,” that is, spending time and creating memories with the people you love and care about most.
Do both of these perspectives imply the same basic conclusions?
I should hope so.
Why do I take pleasure in watching others fail? March 8, 2008
Posted by unemployedalcoholic in Fulfillment, Life, Love, Relationships.add a comment
Do you? Be honest with YOURSELF about this, no one else really matters anyway. Do you ENJOY saying “No” more than saying “Yes” when others seek something of you? Do you take pleasure in either denying people, or watching them fall down as they strive for the object of their desire? Why? Do you think this is healthy? Were you surrounded by condescending others during crucial formatory periods in life? Were you denied love when you were younger? Why do you not instead challenge and encourage those who are not living up to their potential? Why not help them out along the way as well? It is good for the soul, is it not?
By limiting others, actively, or passively in mind, you only limit your own reach and potential. Am I wrong?
Just some food for thought, for both you and me. More on this l8r, I hope.
