For quite some time now, registrars were required to allow a 5 day grace period, in which domain names registered could be cancelled and refunded within 5 days. This process allowed large blocks of domains with popular search keywords in them to be registered, monetized (usually by Google Adsense), and if it was discovered within the 5 days that it was not a profitable domain name, cancel it, get a refund, but keep any moneys generated within the 5 days. With a large enough batch of test domains, constantly cycling through 5 day periods, a company doing this “domain tasting” could amass large amounts of money. Of course, this also meant that large amounts of domain names were taken out of circulation, and some of those had trademark issues.

So besides the registrants, who else profited greatly? Google, for one, as they generated revenues when those Adsense-enabled sites got clicks. But the surprise profiteer in this turned out to be Network Solutions, and that’s how this mighty stack of cards came tumbling down.

Three weeks ago, on January 8th, 2008, a forum thread was started by Stratagenix at DomainState.com. It read:

BEWARE: Don’t Search For Names At NetworkSolutions.com

Network Solutions has instituted a 4 day lock on all domain names searched on their site. They are effectively using phishing techniques to hijack or steal domain names and forcing domain name registrants to register their names at Network Solutions. The standard domain name registration fee at Network Solutions is $34.99 – significantly higher than the leading alternatives. I was forced to register a domain name with them today or chance losing it to another registrant. This is unethical in my opinion and should be illegal. I will be filing a complaint at ICANN.

As far as I can tell (and I could be wrong), Bill Hartzer was the first to pick up on this thread and blog about it. From there, the outrage began, and the blogosphere exploded with the news.

A mere three weeks later, and both Google and Icann have made changes that should end this practice of domain tasting forever.

First, Google took action, when they were said to be “considering banning newly registered domain names from participating in the Google for Domain Names program, severely hampering the practice of domain tasting.”

And now, ICANN has decided to not allow a grace period on transaction fee refunds, and that is likely the last nail in the domain tasting coffin. This should also end NetSol’s incentive for hijacking domains during those 5 days.

These issues aren’t new. They began long ago, and they’ve been noticed before. In August of 2006, speculators wondered if NetSol was hijacking domains, and Network Solutions denied the allegations at the time.

I spoke to someone at Network Solutions about this, and she assured me that there is no way anyone can monitor domain names researched on their site.

The blogosphere is a different place now than it was back then. It is stronger and more pervasive, and this time it had the power to break the backs of some mighty powerful people.

Remember that the next time you wonder if you should blog, because you think no one will be listening. It is amazing just how powerful one small voice can be.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bill Hartzer, blogging, blogosphere, blogs, domain tasting, Google, ICANN, Network Solutions, online communities, power, powerful, search keywords
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This network of contacts will be there if you need support, outsourcing, links, traffic, and any number of other things. Each person in this loosely-defined network has her own strengths and talents, and each person can draw upon others’ strengths to back up her own. You aren’t all in business together. You aren’t partners in any legal sense of the word. But you are all inter-connected and can usually be relied upon to augment each others’ needs on occasion. In some cases, this will be direct trading of services, and in others, it will just be the opportunity to bounce ideas off one another.

In a post about blogging, seo, and traffic, a member of my network of contacts, Eric Enge, says:

…embrace the social aspect of blogging. Relationships build success here. Make contact with the people that can make your blog a success. Deliver plenty of value to these relationships. In the beginning, plan on giving more than you get. You need to build this up slowly, and effectively. Over time, this should allow you to get a significant readership, and lots of relevant traffic.

While he is speaking about a specific subject in this quote (blogging traffic), it really applies to a much broader business sense. You, as a lone, self-employed person, working from your home (in your pajamas), don’t have a large staff to support you. You need people, even in a one-person show. Networking with others provides benefits both to you and those others in a myriad of ways. Don’t neglect the networking aspect just because you work alone. It is a key to your success, so please add the Networking key to your virtual keyring now.

Go on, go out in the online communities of your niche and connect with others. It’s vital to your growth.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2007. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contacts, Eric Enge, networking, niche communities, online communities, social networks
This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this in your news aggregator/reader or on DazzlinDonna, then the site you are looking at is probably infringing upon my copyright.

When you work from home, you no longer have an entire company filled with people with varying skills. Instead, you generally only have yourself. While some of us may be able to consider ourselves jacks or jills of all trades, most of us are skilled in fewer areas. Of course, you can always outsource projects to others for pay, but I believe shelling out money should be the last resort…not the first.

The best way to get things done is to barter or trade for the services. While there are bartering services available, that requires utilizing strangers for the work. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does involve an element of trust in someone you’ve never dealt with before. You may need to blindly trust a few strangers, especially in the beginning, but the sooner you start building up a list of bartering partners, the better off you’ll be in the future.

Start with the people you know in the offline world. Maybe your friend or neighbor speaks another language fluently. If you are looking for someone to translate your site, talk to that person. Find out if you have some talent or skill that your friend could use in return for the translation. Even something as simple as teaching someone more about using the Internet may be all it takes to successfully trade services.

If you don’t know anyone in the real world that possesses the skills you need, it’s time to turn to the virtual world. This is one of the reasons it is always good to participate in online forums. Being a regular in a forum ensures that you meet various people who may have just the skills you need. Sometimes, asking for help in your favorite forum will enable you to get that help absolutely free. This is one of those “you generally get what you give” scenarios. If you’ve given freely of your help, others will likely do the same. If you don’t get the help for free, you can simply let the forum members know that you are looking to trade services. If you belong to several forums or other types of online communities, chances are good that you’ll find just what you need.

Here are some other ideas for finding bartering partners.

Use Craigslist if you live in the U.S. You’ll find Bartering under For Sale in the city nearest you.

Use a barter service such as U-Exchange. You can find a list of services at Gigafree.

You do still have to be concerned with taxes when bartering. If you receive $500 worth of services in a barter, that’s the same as if someone gave you $500. Of course, if you gave them $500 worth of services in return, it’s a wash, but you’ll need to keep records for tax purposes. I suggest you read the IRS information on how bartering is taxed for more information.

Over time, you’ll develop an extensive network of people you can call upon when you need services. Make sure to keep your partners list current so you can easily get in touch when needed. And one last piece of advice…be sure to give as much as you get. Don’t abuse others’ generosity. If you get great service, give great service in return.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Internal Revenue Service, online communities, online forums
This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this in your news aggregator/reader or on DazzlinDonna, then the site you are looking at is probably infringing upon my copyright.