On Friday, the Moniker/TRAFFIC Live Domain Name Auction was held. The highest closing price was for computer.com, which sold for $2.2 million. The runner up was investment.com for $900,000.
Although the bidding for wallstreet.com appears to have reached about $3 million, the high bid did not meet the seller's reserve price so the domain name was not sold. Before the auction, there was some speculation about whether the wallstreet.com would "shatter" the $9.5 million price paid for porn.com.
Here is a link to the unofficial results, which include the high bid price for domains which did not sell.
Here is a link to the official results from Moniker .
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The 100 Oldest Domain Names
I stumbled across this list of the 100 oldest domain names.
It's very interesting to see which public companies were way ahead of the curve, or at least proactively protecting their brands.
It's very interesting to see which public companies were way ahead of the curve, or at least proactively protecting their brands.
Stocks.us launches new Archives feature
As some of the readers of this blog know, I am also the creator of the stock news aggregation site Stocks.us. The site automatically filters, aggregates, and sorts financial news to provide a snapshot of what's happening now in the US stock market. Stocks with the most important news stories appear on the home page with links to articles and related blog posts. Stocks.us was previously profiled on TechCrunch.
Today Stocks.us launches a new Archives feature. The archives section will allow you to find out what happened before in the US stock market. Each archive page will provide a run down of top stocks in the news for that date, along with links to all of the articles and blog posts detected by Stocks.us. The archives pages are not meant to be all-inclusive, but provide a hit list of stocks and headlines. For example, here's what happened on October 9, 2007.
Please check out the new feature. I hope you will find it helpful for keeping up with the stock market!
Today Stocks.us launches a new Archives feature. The archives section will allow you to find out what happened before in the US stock market. Each archive page will provide a run down of top stocks in the news for that date, along with links to all of the articles and blog posts detected by Stocks.us. The archives pages are not meant to be all-inclusive, but provide a hit list of stocks and headlines. For example, here's what happened on October 9, 2007.
Please check out the new feature. I hope you will find it helpful for keeping up with the stock market!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Google tries again with YouTube
Today Google took another stab at monetizing YouTube. Website owners can now place selected YouTube video content on their site and share a portion of the advertising revenue from accompanying Adsense units. Om Malik points out several challenges and limitations of this offering and I agree with him.
The best idea that I have seen for monetizing YouTube was from Peter Cashmere of Mashable. He wrote about the idea nearly 6 months ago when Google first started testing some monetization strategies for YouTube.
Basically the idea is to include sponsored videos in YouTube's related videos sections. For videos watched on YouTube, the sponsored videos would be shown in the Related Section. For embedded YouTube videos watched on other websites, the sponsored videos could be shown after the video has been completed at the bottom of the screen.
This is basically an implementation of Google's Adsense model for videos. It is the same model that is responsible for the bulk of Google's revenue. Why re-invent the wheel?
Here's why this model would work:
1.) It does not degrade the user's experience. Pre-roll makes them wait to watch their video. Overlay ads, block a portion of the video. By showing sponsored results in the related video section beside or after the current video, the user's viewing experience remains undisturbed.
2.) Users are shown ads when they are most receptive. Adsense works so well because it helps fulfill the users intent. When searching or viewing content, Adsense provides a supplemental set of well targeted sponsored results. Particularly for search, these sponsored results might be exactly what the user is looking for. In a similar light, after a user finishes watching a video on YouTube, his next impulse is to watch another similar video. Targeted sponsored videos are there to fulfill the need.
3.) Just like Adsense, this type of system would match the user's intent to a specific action. The user would have to click to view a sponsored video. Pre-roll, post-roll, and overlays are passively viewed and easily ignored. Clicking to view a video shows a specific interest, which is much more valuable. Instead of paying half a cent per view, advertisers might pay dollars per click through competitive bidding.
4.) Advertisers have the ability to gauge responsiveness to their ads. They would have metrics available for impressions, clicks, and conversions.
5.) Finally and most importantly, since the ad is not part of the video, Google sidesteps the sticky issue of showing ads on copyright infringing content. Google's ad efforts have been focused on monetizing the small slice of content from their approved providers presumably for this reason. With an Adsense implementation for video, Google could monetize all videos on YouTube, as well as all YouTube videos embedded on other websites around the internet.
Google: There are bigger opportunities for monetization. Don't turn YouTube into a Skype.
The best idea that I have seen for monetizing YouTube was from Peter Cashmere of Mashable. He wrote about the idea nearly 6 months ago when Google first started testing some monetization strategies for YouTube.
Basically the idea is to include sponsored videos in YouTube's related videos sections. For videos watched on YouTube, the sponsored videos would be shown in the Related Section. For embedded YouTube videos watched on other websites, the sponsored videos could be shown after the video has been completed at the bottom of the screen.
This is basically an implementation of Google's Adsense model for videos. It is the same model that is responsible for the bulk of Google's revenue. Why re-invent the wheel?
Here's why this model would work:
1.) It does not degrade the user's experience. Pre-roll makes them wait to watch their video. Overlay ads, block a portion of the video. By showing sponsored results in the related video section beside or after the current video, the user's viewing experience remains undisturbed.
2.) Users are shown ads when they are most receptive. Adsense works so well because it helps fulfill the users intent. When searching or viewing content, Adsense provides a supplemental set of well targeted sponsored results. Particularly for search, these sponsored results might be exactly what the user is looking for. In a similar light, after a user finishes watching a video on YouTube, his next impulse is to watch another similar video. Targeted sponsored videos are there to fulfill the need.
3.) Just like Adsense, this type of system would match the user's intent to a specific action. The user would have to click to view a sponsored video. Pre-roll, post-roll, and overlays are passively viewed and easily ignored. Clicking to view a video shows a specific interest, which is much more valuable. Instead of paying half a cent per view, advertisers might pay dollars per click through competitive bidding.
4.) Advertisers have the ability to gauge responsiveness to their ads. They would have metrics available for impressions, clicks, and conversions.
5.) Finally and most importantly, since the ad is not part of the video, Google sidesteps the sticky issue of showing ads on copyright infringing content. Google's ad efforts have been focused on monetizing the small slice of content from their approved providers presumably for this reason. With an Adsense implementation for video, Google could monetize all videos on YouTube, as well as all YouTube videos embedded on other websites around the internet.
Google: There are bigger opportunities for monetization. Don't turn YouTube into a Skype.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Will public companies step up to the plate for domain names?
The full live auction list including reserve price ranges for the live auction at the upcoming TRAFFIC conference has been released.
Some of the best generic dot com domain names are held by public companies. Some are used in relation to a particular campaign or product like open.com or baby.com, while others simply forward the owner's main website like gift.com or books.com. Here is an extensive list of generic domain names owned by public corporations.
For fun, I've put together a matchmaker list of domains up for auction and corporations that would benefit from buying them. I've also included the listed reserve price range to show that many of the names could be picked up on the cheap (well, relatively).
Amusement.com ($25-$50K) - Cedar Fair (FUN) or Six Flags (SIX)
Banners.com ($250-500K) - Google (GOOG) for banner advertising
Choppers.com ($500-$750K) - Harley Davidson (HDI)
Computer.com ($1-$5M) - Dell (DELL) or HP (HPQ) for selling computers. CNET Networks (CNET) to complement their ownership of computers.com
DigitalCertificates.com ($10-$25K) - Verisign (VRSN)
Ethanol.com ($750K-$1M) - Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Pacific Ethanol (PEIX)
GlobalPositioningSystem.com ($25-$50K)- Garmin (GRMN) or maybe Nokia (NOK) to go with the Navteq acquisition.
Idols.com ($10-$25K) - News Corp (NWS-A) for American Idol.
IncomeTaxReturn.com ($10-$25K) - H&R Block (HRB), Intuit (INTU) for TurboTax.
Newlyweds.com ($50-100K) - TheKnot.com (KNOT)
News.mobi ($1-$5K) - CENT Networks (CNET) to use for news.com mobile offering, or News Corp (NWS-A) why lose out to CNET twice?
StockQuotes.com ($1-$5M) - Interactive Data Corp (IDC) they operate Quote.com .
SportsScores.com ($50-$100K) - Disney (DIS) to use for ESPN.
Taxes.com ($1-$5M) - H&R Block (HRB), Intuit (INTU) for TurboTax.
WallStreet.com ($1-$5 M) - TheStreet.com (TSCM). Or perhaps the upcoming, unnamed Dow Jones and IAC joint venture personal finance site?
And on the lighter side...
Bad.com ($250-$500K) - Motorola (MOT) to hedge their acquisition of Good Technology, aka good.com.
EmergencyLoan.com ($5-$10K) - Bank of America (BAC)
USTrademarks.com ($5-$10K) - Vonage (VG) or Research in Motion (RIMM)
Some of the best generic dot com domain names are held by public companies. Some are used in relation to a particular campaign or product like open.com or baby.com, while others simply forward the owner's main website like gift.com or books.com. Here is an extensive list of generic domain names owned by public corporations.
For fun, I've put together a matchmaker list of domains up for auction and corporations that would benefit from buying them. I've also included the listed reserve price range to show that many of the names could be picked up on the cheap (well, relatively).
Amusement.com ($25-$50K) - Cedar Fair (FUN) or Six Flags (SIX)
Banners.com ($250-500K) - Google (GOOG) for banner advertising
Choppers.com ($500-$750K) - Harley Davidson (HDI)
Computer.com ($1-$5M) - Dell (DELL) or HP (HPQ) for selling computers. CNET Networks (CNET) to complement their ownership of computers.com
DigitalCertificates.com ($10-$25K) - Verisign (VRSN)
Ethanol.com ($750K-$1M) - Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Pacific Ethanol (PEIX)
GlobalPositioningSystem.com ($25-$50K)- Garmin (GRMN) or maybe Nokia (NOK) to go with the Navteq acquisition.
Idols.com ($10-$25K) - News Corp (NWS-A) for American Idol.
IncomeTaxReturn.com ($10-$25K) - H&R Block (HRB), Intuit (INTU) for TurboTax.
Newlyweds.com ($50-100K) - TheKnot.com (KNOT)
News.mobi ($1-$5K) - CENT Networks (CNET) to use for news.com mobile offering, or News Corp (NWS-A) why lose out to CNET twice?
StockQuotes.com ($1-$5M) - Interactive Data Corp (IDC) they operate Quote.com .
SportsScores.com ($50-$100K) - Disney (DIS) to use for ESPN.
Taxes.com ($1-$5M) - H&R Block (HRB), Intuit (INTU) for TurboTax.
WallStreet.com ($1-$5 M) - TheStreet.com (TSCM). Or perhaps the upcoming, unnamed Dow Jones and IAC joint venture personal finance site?
And on the lighter side...
Bad.com ($250-$500K) - Motorola (MOT) to hedge their acquisition of Good Technology, aka good.com.
EmergencyLoan.com ($5-$10K) - Bank of America (BAC)
USTrademarks.com ($5-$10K) - Vonage (VG) or Research in Motion (RIMM)
VMware, EMC Redux
I had written previously about the disconnect between the value of VMware (VMW) and its 86% owner EMC (EMC). My first post on this had been before the VMware IPO, when the VMware IPO price range had been increased to $27-$29 per share. At the time EMC shares were around $19.
Part of the reason for the VMware IPO was to unlock some of the value of this new growth engine for EMC shareholders. This has hardly happened. Today VMware shares trade hands above $90 per share, with EMC around $21.
Eric Savitz brings this continuing disconnect to its ridiculous conclusion today, wondering whether VMware's market cap will reach parity with EMC.
Analysts and bloggers have been pounding the table to buy EMC, waiting for the situation to adjust itself. However, so far it shows no signs of letting up.
Today, again, VMware is up and EMC is down.
Part of the reason for the VMware IPO was to unlock some of the value of this new growth engine for EMC shareholders. This has hardly happened. Today VMware shares trade hands above $90 per share, with EMC around $21.
Eric Savitz brings this continuing disconnect to its ridiculous conclusion today, wondering whether VMware's market cap will reach parity with EMC.
Analysts and bloggers have been pounding the table to buy EMC, waiting for the situation to adjust itself. However, so far it shows no signs of letting up.
Today, again, VMware is up and EMC is down.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
