Morning Folks!!
I have been involved in some 55 industries in my life. The core of most industries are the same. How they run is very similar and the back biting is pretty much universal.
But most of those industries had associations that were widely supported. That offered group discounts and were powerful by their sheer numbers. They had standards of conduct. Most associations charge up to $99 for annual dues that are easily offset by the benefits. Some are higher some are lower.
But with all the grandstanding and all the talk about all the bad companies out there that hate domainers etc. None have done more damage than domainers themselves.
Obviously the big one is trademark infringement. Let's make it easy. If you have a company name inside your domain without a specific "Free Speech" twist or agenda, then your domain has a high likelihood of infringement. But I am not a lawyer. I just know the difference and so should every domain investor.
Maybe before we have a "Bill of Rights" (Which there is no reason not to support) we need to set STANDARDS of what WE stand for. Standards of OUR OWN responsibilities and even self-policing. Who we are as professionals and clearly separating ourselves from the MASSES OF ABUSERS that DEFINE domainers!
I will never apologize for investing in domains. They set the rules and many of us simply played by the rules and have found all levels of success.
That said, NOBODY on the planet gives a rats ass about domainers except us! We are TOE JAM at best! We are looked at as some of the lowest forms of life by those heavily involved with the Internet. Cockroaches! And some of it with good cause! Most domainers are an embarrassment! Infringers to the nth degree!
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Shill bidding. Scandals swept under the rug. Widespread abuse of all types of things. Clawbacks. Auction houses with disgusting business practices. Add your own in comments!
The "Domain Industry" is a Dirty Rotten industry such as it is. And again, let me state clearly, there is no industry. There is no association that represents rank and file domainers. There are no standards of conduct.
I appreciate the work the ICA does but my point of contention from the get go has been "Inclusion". There is power in numbers. One $5000 member does not have the power as 100 $50 members. One $25,000 member does not have the power that 500 members have. There should be TENS of thousands of members and THEY (the ICA) should be putting on the "Industry Show" for the overall good like other industries do. Serving and representing an entire industry vs 20 SELF SERVING wildcatters with an agenda!
In the way I saw things and how it SHOULD have unfolded......it would have been my desire and long term vision to turn TRAFFIC over to the ICA to run. That was what I had hoped for. It was just not possible with the makeup of the ICA as I saw it and decided to just pull the plug instead and preserve whatever history we had.
And to be honest, the window of opportunity on this has all but closed. There is no domain industry and there never will be! Domainers are very charitable but charity starts at home. When the money was flying around we helped many causes but we never cemented or protected our own cause in an effective, meaningful and long lasting way. That window of opportunity is gone.
Just sayin'
Rick Schwartz
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