Domain Investors are Used and Abused!! ICANN NEEDS to be FULLY Investigated!


Morning Folks!!



Hey Domain investors, aren’t you sick of getting used and abused? Whether it's ICANN as Konstantinos wrote about yesterday or is registries, registrars, auction houses, Mechanical Valuations, PPC companies, Google, Yahoo or anyone else, DOMAIN INVESTORS will always get the shaft. Ya know why? Because they can, and we aren't organized. Like I have said there is NO DOMAIN INDUSTRY! There are just thousands of soloist renegades that can't see past today. They party like drunken sailors regardless of the leaks on the ship and the threat at hand.



You know what the worst part is?? We are the ones that enriched these people. We are the ones that helped grow their companies and gave them the power they have. We are the ones that have been taken advantage of at every stage.



We are not the bad guys. We are not cybersquatters. We are the capitalists that create wealth and opportunity for us and others. We are the people that invest our time energy and money into something selfish, but that’s what opportunity is all about. But this selfish opportunity is very widespread. It's a worldwide opportunity. Why don’t they look at a person in Nigeria that had perhaps no chance at a decent life and he’s making his fortune on the Internet. With domain names. With many domain names. It’s a passport out of the wilderness and into the mainstream. Why would anyone mess with that??



The Internet has probably lifted more people out of poverty than every governmental program in history combined!! It's so obvious. Why mess with that??



The Internet and domain names have been the greatest equalizer the world has ever known. Never before in world history have so many benefited so quickly. As bad as things are there has never been more opportunity worldwide than there is at this very moment. NEVER!!



As domain investors we created an ecosystem that many companies have made a lot of money with. I believe without what we did as investors and risk takers the entire picture would have looked quite a bit different than it is now. We made people very rich!!



Now, unfortunately, there’s a lot of bad apples in what we do that go over the line and abuse the privilege of what they have. Like I have said many times, some people can be put in a diamond mine full of diamonds for free and they’re still steal something or do something that’s not right or otherwise abuse something that shouldn’t be abused.



I am proud to be a domain investor. I’ve never ever been ashamed of it for a moment. I did something that was taught to me all of my life: become successful. And many of us have found that same success. And of course in time they would want to take that success away from us. They did that in American history, it’s nothing new. They've been doing it in Europe for centuries. Governments seize land that it wants. That's valuable.



Of course this will be happening with domains I saw that. the day I got online. I’m just shocked and surprised that it took a quarter of a century. Thank goodness for that!



But that’s also why I’ve been very conservative with domaining. To me, it's like "Musical Chairs". The music will eventually stop. Those that are overextended will be destroyed.



See what happens, you are flying along and then SMACK! You are dead meat. You owe a lot of $$. You had a fantastic year. But then after the income stops, the tax man cometh. Many have been destroyed cuz the good year was followed by a terrible year and they can never dig out of that tax debt and what they owe on cars, mortgages and toys.



So expect to get it up the arse as time goes by and prepare. We did have a lawsuit at one time that may have prevented this fiasco, but it was not supported and eventually we had to give in. That's what happens when an industry has no organization and has no purpose. And it's even worse when there is no industry to fight back and make their case.



The price of pigeon shit farming is about to go up so maybe time to focus on prime domains. Remember, 10 really good domains make you a domain investor. 1000 silly names, will make you go broke and you are a pigeon shit farmer. The only good thing, farmers will ALL be washed away!



I got into this when domains were $100 a pop. If they go back to $100 so be it! All I know is for $10 you can be worldwide in a moment and change your destiny forever! It's the greatest bargain the world has ever known. It's the greatest opportunity the world has ever known. It's just amazing!



BUT!



In my STRONG opinion, ICANN is a corrupt racketeering organization. It's a crime syndicate that advances interests of a few insiders at the expense of the masses and the general good. They have abused their power and their role.



Racketeering refers to crimes committed through extortion or coercion. A racketeer attempts to obtain money or property from another person, usually through intimidation or force. The term is typically associated with organized crime. The law defines 35 different offenses that constitute racketeering in the U.S.



I think ICANN and each member should be investigated FULLY and I would go back to the origins of the new gTLD program. The demolition derby of corruption. ICANN leaders profited from their conflicts of interest, and they never did it for the purpose they were chartered to do. They abused their leadership roles and profited PERSONALLY many millions of dollars. To me, that is corruption at the worst!



Is ICANN Corrupt??? Many think so! Count me in that camp!



Rick Schwartz


Rick’s Asheville Meetup Grows to 70 and About to be SOLD OUT!!!


Morning Folks!!



Perhaps The most compact but most qualified domainer show ever is surpassing all expectations!!



The appetite for a professional domain show is more than I ever anticipated. And to add to that they have to come to Asheville. Definitely a place not on the beaten track. You have to make an extra effort to get there. That’s what it’s all about. A commitment to make something happen. A commitment to have some success in whatever form it takes. When you have the right ingredients and you have the right people, great things happen. When you have skin in the game, you actually force it!



I can now say this is the most potent group of domain investors in many years and perhaps ever. 



They say you can’t go back to the future? Nonsense! This will end up being as a time marked as TRAFFIC 2004 and armed with 15 YEARS of knowledge and progress, maybe even more important.



The main topic will be "Acceleration" and how we accelerate the use and understanding of Domain names. How to take advantage of our assets in OUR lifetime.



When it’s over it will be compared to some of the historical events that we all refer back to in our history of domaining. Collectively we own billions of dollars in Internet assets and tens of millions of domain names.



Again, we keep the noise out and the business in. Break bread, compare notes, shake up the world. There’s nobody better to rock the domain world than the Top domain investors in the world.



We are talking some of the top investors in the world now plus the sponsorships of Fabulous Directnic and GoDaddy. Making this a true landmark event.



They will ask were you at Ricks Asheville meet-up in 2019? And interestingly enough the overlap of people that attended TRAFFIC 2004 is remarkable. The same people saw something special back then and they see that same special thing now!!



We can all feel it. What’s going to happen in Asheville is going to be eventful. News will emerge, partnerships will be forged, and new companies will be born. More news than the big shows which have had no news because everyone is running, running running. My model slows everyone down so there is actually time to do business.



So those coming to Asheville, please come with high goals and high expectations even if there’s not a thing you can articulate about it right now. The energy that will happen when you take domain investors that now have combined hundreds of years of experience will be interesting. So, expect to experience something bigger and better than ever before.



Have faith in the ability of high-powered Type-A personalities put together in the most relaxed and wonderful atmosphere will come away doing something of significance. And if not it’s going to be a hell of time anyhow. A memorable time that none of us will ever forget. That I can promise you. That you can take to the bank. That’s going to be a reality no matter if only 6 showed up



Now as we approach 70 attendees the breakdown goes something like this



50 Domain Investors



15 spouses



4 Sponsor Associates



There is but ONE TICKET left at $399 as I write this. Then 6 tickets at $599.



Then we are SOLD OUT!!



Then: You can apply for a ticket. Must add value to qualify.



When you come you will immediately see the difference. I keep the NOISE out and the BUSINESS in! Time wasters have many events to choose from. This isn't one of them!



There won't be dozens of folks on stage making promises they will never keep or telling you why they have the next big thing. We will have domainers share thier stories and their dreams.



Just back to basics before this industry got hijacked!



Again, this is a "Dutch Treat" event. Those that acted early got rewarded. There are NO DISCOUNTS! There are NO FREE TICKETS! Please don't even ask!



I was asked about why different ticket price levels?



It means we have more options for expansion of more/better meals and/or events. You are watching an evolution from start to finish. If 6 people showed up we would have 1 dinner and be done. As it grows, we get to evolve into something more dynamic w/o losing the purpose.



It's part of marketing and creating a successful event. Just because something is not for profit does not mean you shoestring everything on the cheap. It means you raise the money and you spend it all. The more you raise, the more you can do! We are going to have an exceptional event with exceptional business men and women and we wull make history!



This has been a dream for well over 15 years! They said it would never work. They said nobody would ever show up in Asheville. Not only are the showing up, they are coming from all over the world!



ON February 8th with this post, the dream started to be put in motion. I had no venue however I picked out the ONLY place I would hold the event back in 2004. Once I made that post I cont5acted the hotel and within the same week, we had a signed contract!



So my biggest job now is to control the size of this gathering without turning qualified investors away.



I also want to give Michael Berkens a special thanks for allowing me to bounce ideas off of him including having the show in Asheville, to begin with! I only expected a dinner with 6-18 folks at most! WOW!



So, we won't be the biggest, but Asheville will damn well be the BEST show ever focusing on DOMAIN INVESTORS and our futures.



Hard to imagine that we are less than 100 days away from August!



Here is the link to REGISTER
Here is the link for HOTEL RESERVATIONS



Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda, make it to Asheville OR WILL? The biggest part of being a Domain Investor is recognizing opportunity before it passes.



Rick Schwartz


The GTLD Fakeout. Domainer I Caught Misleading or Worse w/Fake Sale Today on Twitter!!


Morning Folks!!



Today I caught a domainer that I believe outright lied, but at a minimum mislead. All in an effort to pump up GTLD's which is in collapse mode.



This happens ALL-DAY long!! I am sick of it! So I am going to post the Twitter thread and you can see for yourself and decide. Did he lie? Did he mislead? Or is that perfectly ok with you?



Just make sure you mulitply it by all the others doing the same CRAP! That influences others under false pretenses. PUMP and DUMP!!



It started with this quote that I challenged.



"I owned one of the best gtlds it was bought by one world's 40 biggest legal firms So it must have good"



My Response:



"Perfect Example of someone spouting stuff won't give us the domain name won't give us the price. It's just nonsense! Give us the details or it doesn't exist."










He is on twitter now trying to explain himself. Trying to say





So folks, stop swallowing their .horsesh*t! They are lying thru their teeth. They are in collapse mode. Out of 500 extensions, only a handful has daily gains and HUNDREDS have daily losses.





Rick Schwartz