2003 and 2013 Look VERY Similar.

Morning Folks!!

I can't close my eyes to what I see and what I feel. 2003 and 2013 look very similar when it comes to business, domains and domaining. But there is a HUGE difference. In 2003 the Internet was a THREAT to many. In 2013 it is a LIFELINE!

Now if you see and understand that, then you will know about how explosive business is about to get. There are GIANT deals being done. You don't hear about 90% of the REAL deals. They are well below radar and there are many. But that is going off on a tangent.

The point is if you know what is coming, then you can plan for it. We are IN the next cycle. We have LEFT the 2008-2009 crash. Now the destruction remains. The damage is very real. But just as it did in 2003, from the ashes and the embers will emerge something that I wrote about then. I wrote about how we would see huge growth and the world would change because of folks embracing the Internet.

That debate is over. The Internet hit Critical Mass DURING the crash!! Friends that were the oldest holdouts of the Internet are no longer holdouts. They are online. 100% saturation as far as I a concerned in the USA. I have watched it grow from less than 5%.  have heard the doubters each and every step of the way. There was nothing to doubt then and nothing to doubt today. The dark period is OVER! Those that were hiding under their desks can now come out. It is safe.

Financially safe that is. Socially is an entire different story. I can say that today the world is more unstable than at any point in my lifetime. That includes the Russian missile Crisis Era. There is no center of gravity. No center of power. No moral center. We can't change that and the only reason I bring it up is the Internet played a big roll in that happening. It was forseeable. Hate comes out and is easy to hide and easy to mask. It resides at every corner of the Internet.

It is what it is.

In 2008 we were in a business and financial fog. Today things are not crystal clear, but they are clear enough. Clear enough to see that the next 3 years are going to be FANTASTIC. Not for all. I can't make fantastic for you. But conditions are such that FANTASTIC things can and will happen. We have already entered that new stage. It is your responsibility to share in that.

Business stagnation is OVER. Businesses are doing big and long-term deals. Even the sale of the Boston Globe with a 93% LOSS shows that we are adjusting to the new normal instead of fretting about yesterday's normal. That era is over just like this new era is beginning. When they sold the globe for just $70 million, how much of that was for Boston.com?

Many domainers have disappeared over these past 5 years. They have not been replaced. But even that seems to be changing. We all hit bottom and most survived. The climb back up can be just as much or more fun the second time. For me, it is my 4th time.

Supply and demand. The oldest law of business. Sometimes there is too much supply and sometimes not enough. That is the cycle of business. We took a 5 year break. Supply was high, demand was low and so it was easy to predict the crash to begin with. Today, supply is low, and demand is up and so are prices.

Is it a messed up system? Oh yeah!! But they have it under control today. Control is ugly but it works. Inflation is what keeps it all working and we are about to see  that giant unleashed. Just another cycle. Another wave. It never stops. Just need to know when to make hay and when to relax and enjoy.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz