Domain Name Wire Podcast

It's been just six months since I had Fred Hsu, co-founder of D3, on the podcast. The company has made many announcements since then, and it's becoming clear that it will be one of the more significant portfolio applicants in the next round of new TLDs.

Back on episode 456, Hsu explained how he wanted to bridge web2 and web3 in the right way. We're not talking about alt-root domains. We're talking about helping web3 communities get ICANN-accredited TLDs.

Since then, D3 has announced it will apply for .shib, .core, .gate, .near, .ape, and many other top level domains in agreements with web3 communities.

On today's show, Fred talks about how some of these deals came about, including its unique deal for .ape, in which it received the equivalent of $5 million in ape coin.

Fred also talks about an event D3 is holding in Vegas later this month.

Also: Woo-oh, X's fumble, stolen domain judgment, NamePros landers and an argument about domains

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Domain investor Richard Lau joins me on today's show.

We talk about his $1 million sale of gld.com, and how a domain buyer broker was able to help seal the deal.

Richard also explains why he hopes his sale of passes.com will turn into much more than the $70,000 purchase price, and what he's telling companies that use .ai domain names.

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Oh, Canada! This week I chat with domain investor Frank Mardian, founder of the DN.ca domain name forum popular with Canadian domain name investors.

Frank talks about becoming interested in websites when he ran a Mercedes Benz dealership, and how he started collecting domains.

We discuss some nuances of the .ca domain name extension, how Frank avoids domain sales commissions, and much more.

Also: .IO domains, price caps, and Handshake.

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Jeff Neuman has just about seen it all in the domain business over the past few decades. The former VP of Registry at Neustar currently serves as a lawyer and policy consultant and is the chief legal officer of Dot Hip Hop.

Jeff has attended 72 (!) of the 79 ICANN meetings and was in Puerto Rico this month for the latest meeting. On today's show, Jeff shares what happened at the meeting regarding the next round of new TLDs, registration data requests, and what went on behind the scenes.

And with another one of his hats, Jeff talks about what it's like being a UDRP panelist.

Also: Temu, RDNH, top keywords

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Last year the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr. Beast, changed his merch store domain to .store and promoted the switch in a video viewed nearly 200 million times.

On today's show, Radix CEO Sandeep Ramchandani explains how his company worked over many months to strike a deal with Mr. Beast.

We also discuss other influencer and other marketing campaigns Radix has run and how it calculates a return on the investment.

Additionally, Sandeep sheds some light on how Radix's top level domains performed last year.

Also: A golden domain, sales landers blocked, Squadhelp features and more.

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Chris Koerner reminds me of a lot of people in the domain business: he has his hands in multiple businesses ranging from tree trimming to cryptocurrency to reselling Buc-ee's goods.

He partners with lots of founders to start businesses, and recently paid $65,000 to acquire cofounders.com to promote this opportunity.

On today's show, Chris talks about why he acquired the domain and what the process was like buying it through Godaddy. He also discusses the time he pitched John McAffee on a crypto project. That experience will show you his grit and determination.

Also: My domain sales/acquisitions in 2024, Squarespace, .Food, and more.

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This week I interview Helmuts Meskonis, who organizes the Domain Summit conference in London and owns DNForum and AcornDomains.

Helmuts had a bit of a rough relationship with some in the domain name community early on thanks to his association with a controversial person, but I had a chance to chat with him at the Internet Commerce Association meeting last month and learned about some of what he's doing in the business.

We discuss this background, why he rebranded London Domain Summit to Domain Summit (and how he bought the corresponding domain from Mike Mann), and how he's trying to breathe new life into DNForum.

Also: Trader Joe's, Tucows, No Labels, Ethereum and more

Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers

Once a year, domain investors Mark Levin and Logan Flatt join me on the show to discuss their sales results from the previous year.

On today's show, you learn how many domains they sold in 2023 compared to 2022, a breakdown of which top level domains they sold, how they are acquiring domain names, and what they are trying differently in 2024 to try to improve their results.

Also: Mar-a-Lago, .com price increase, Epik's owner, Namecheap v. ICANN, GPT.

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Most domain investors are passive. They list their domains for sale on marketplaces and put of "for sale" landers and wait for buyers to come to them.

A subset of investors do outbound marketing, contacting businesses that might be interested in buying their domains.

One such investor took this on overdrive recently. Ryan Ewen, founder of DomainManage.com, contacted 25,000 prospects and sold $300,000 of domain names.

On today's show, Ryan explains how he did it and what he learned.

Also:

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Have you ever typed an email address into a web form and it wasn't accepted because your address ends in a new top level domain? Or noticed that a domain name wasn't linked on social media because the network didn't recognize the top level domain?

These are examples of a lack of Universal Acceptance of all types of domain names. Universal Acceptance means that all valid domains and email addresses work in all software applications.

ICANN and the internet community have been working on Universal Acceptance for a long time, but there's a long way to go.

On today's show, I'm joined by Sarmad Hussain, Senior Director IDN and UA Programs at ICANN, and Nabil Benamar, a professor in Morocco and chair of the UA Steering Group Measurement Working Group. The pair talk about what has been done and the road ahead.

Also: UDRP stats, Epik controversy (again), closed generics and more.

Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions