There was a big spotlight on domain names last week in a place where you wouldn't expect them: The U.S. Supreme Court. The court heard oral arguments in a dispute over whether or not Booking.com should be able to trademark booking.com. It was fascinating to listen to the court drill both sides in the issue. On today's show, Internet Commerce Association general counsel Zak Muscovitch and I discuss the hearing and the role the ICA might play in the court's decision. We also talk about ICANN's decision to block the sale of .org to a private equity company and what it means for the future of ICANN.

Also: Domain registrations soar, GoDaddy reveals acquisition prices, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine jokes about domains.

Sponsor: Donuts

Many domain investors talk about building their domains into websites and selling them. Today, I interview Marc Andre of VitalDollar, who has done just that. Marc has built four different websites and sold them for over $1 million total. Marc explains how he created the sites, monetized them, and sold them. You’ll also learn about metrics and considerations when selling a website.

Also: .Org bombshell decision, Covid-19 and more.

Sponsor: DAN.com

In January I interviewed domain name investor Nikul Sanghvi about his domain name journey. He had lots of great stories and takeways. He’s back on this week’s show with some lessons he’s learned about domain name investing and business in general. You’ll enjoy this interview.

Also: Done.com, abandoned domain, AWS and more.

Sponsor: Donuts

There was a time, not so long ago, when people went to movie theaters to watch movies. They were subjected to 30 minutes of previews before the movie began. And these previews included domain names for each movie. Bad domain names. Why do people that pick domain names for movies choose such bad ones, like CrazyMovieTitle-TheMovie.com? Today’s guest has investigated this, and even published a blog breaking down movies’ domain names. Bill Sweetman explains why Hollywood is so bad at domains, and how he helped people like Phil Collins, Stephen Colbert, and Darth Vader get “their” domain names.

Also: .Org delayed again, GoodRX, Amazon’s domain plans, impact of the coronavirus on domains and websites.

Sponsor: DAN.com

Eric Borgos has had a lot of hits. He sold millions of dollars worth of domain names, including a set of sites for $4.5 million back in 2008. But what he did back then doesn’t work the same way today. On today’s show, Eric shares what he’s been doing over the past 5-10 years to try to make money, what hasn’t worked, and how he hopes Bored Humans and artificial intelligence have better results.

Also: GoDaddy goes vertical, free domain, latest Covid-19 impacts

Sponsor: Name.com

Domain names can be difficult to liquidate. We all hold out for the end user to buy our domains, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could easily sell domains to other domain investors, too? That’s the idea by Domain Name Wholesale Exchange (DNWE). On today’s show, DNWE creator Joshua Reason and his business partner Joshua Schoen discuss how the site works and its success to date. I was surprised by how many domains have sold over the nascent platform. I even bought a domain while we recorded the show.

Also: ICANN and CentralNic personnel news, Facebook’s coronavirus domains, and .crypto

Sponsor: DAN.com

Domain name investor Page Howe returns to the program this week. Page talks about how he’s managing his portfolio in light of the coronavirus bust, and how the shift to web-based work could change things. He also discusses an upcoming virtual domain name conference he’s organizing.

Also: Verisign gets its price hike, coronavirus domain names, and it’s not all doom and gloom on the domain sale front.

Sponsor: Name.com

Warren Coughlin has been through a lot of downturns. On this week’s show Warren, who is a business coach to entrepreneurs, shares his experience steering a business through the dot-com bust in order to help business owners survive the coronavirus bust. He has some great, actionable advice to make sure your business makes it to the other side. It’s relevant for business owners with employees as well as solopreneurs.

Also: More event cancellations, domain parking money

Sponsor: DAN.com

Last week was unlike any I can recall in my lifetime. People are understandably scared and anxious. This was obvious to Shane Cultra, who saw an immediate drop in aftermarket domain sales through his daily list last Thursday. On today’s show, Shane discusses what he saw from his vantage point, what it might mean for the domain aftermarket, and how he’s also coping as a small business owner with dozens of employees.

Also: Lotto Sport’s own goal, Fox’s domain choices, and more.

Sponsor: Name.com.

When I went to a podcast conference last month, one thing stuck out: .FM. It was everywhere. Many companies in the industry, such as podcast apps and monetization companies, use the country code domain name extension. This week’s guest, George Bundy, is CEO of the company behind commercializing .FM. Bundy explains how .FM wasn’t a success out of the gate and how the company has embraced adoption from the podcast business.

Also: Coronavirus promotion, Donuts’ new CMO, Radix’s revenue, a new patent and more.

Sponsor: DAN.com