Domain name theft made it on MaximumPC's Most Important Tech Event List at #99

New Jersey Resident First to Be Arrested for Domain Name Theft

On August 3, Daniel Goncalves, a 25-year-old computer technician, allegedly hacked an email account, stole login information, and falsified PayPal transaction records in an elaborate scheme to claim ownership of P2P.com, a domain valued at $160,000.

This arrest marks the first for domain theft, which has been difficult to prosecute because of the technical and legal complexities of the domain registrar system. Unfortunately for Goncalves, the owner of P2P.com was a former prosecutor for the Justice Department with a background in Internet payment processing.

See the entire list at MaximumPC.com - The Most Important Tech Products, Events, and People of 2009 (28dec09)

BTW, Domain Name Theft Protection is FREE at 1oasis.net!

AT&T is 100-million dollar serious with Yellow Pages business!

The Domain Name YP.com was Acquired by AT&T / YellowPages.com for a Substantial $3.85 Million in Cash

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today internet history has been made with the acquisition of the domain name YP.com for an eye popping $3.85 million. Little is known as to the traffic volume to the site; however the web site rating service Alexa ranked YP.com at roughly 70,000 implying that it was in the top 70,000 sites on the planet with roughly 1,000 to 3,000 visits per day.

"That kind of daily volume does not substantiate a nearly $4 million cash purchase price, especially with the current state of the U.S. economy," said Matt Panella of Domain News.

According to SEC filings and various news releases, AT&T (NYSE:T) acquired the domain name YellowPages.com in 2004 for $100 million then followed up by acquiring the two toll free numbers 1-800-YellowPages and 1-888-YellowPages in 2006 for a cool $1.6 million. In 2008 they acquired the assets of TollFreeYellowPages.com which included the last 2 remaining toll free numbers 1-866-YellowPages and 1-877-YellowPages for a reported $500,000. The AT&T Real Yellow Pages telephone book is considered the most popular telephone book in the United States. With recent acquisitions to date, AT&T has assumed the very popular YellowPages brand through acquisition.

"So, if AT&T has paid a premium to buy all of the YellowPages domain properties and toll free numbers in the United States, what’s left?" Panella said. "More importantly, who's next? The last remaining property which seems to be growing as far as traffic is a site called www.YellowPages.travel. I received an email ad from them awhile back with a pretty cool 30 second TV commercial that was strikingly similar to the YellowPages.com commercials. With AT&T’s obvious intentions to dominate the YellowPages brand within the U.S., they may fall into a snag if the travel site grows in popularity as it obviously is doing according to Alexa. With AT&T branding itself as the dominant player in YellowPages, if not the only player, while YellowPages.com and YellowPages.travel both carrying tremendous branding power amongst consumers, YellowPages.travel may be getting a free ride on AT&T’s coat tail being able to use this multi-billion dollar brand for free."

SOURCE: Business Wire - YP.com Domain Name Acquired by AT&T for $3.85 Million

The $20-million domain name man...

Zapolin, who made millions from the sale of domain names like Beer.com and Shop.com, explains why the crisis is actually a great opportunity for the Internet, and why online advertising will grow rapidly.

Website owners know that on the Internet, the name of the game is traffic, that is, the flow of data. The more people regularly visit a site, the greater its chances of attracting advertisers and earning more money. Along with the millions of people who have established websites with the goal of making pocket money from them, or maintaining their hobby through blogging, there are also those who trade in domain names, and generally hope for the best.

Mike "Zappy" Zapolin is one of the entrepreneurs who succeeded in profiting from the trade in domain names a market which reportedly generates $2.5 billion a year. His successes include the sale of the domain name Beer.com for $7 million, Creditcards.com for $2.75 million, and Shop.com, whose price tag hit $3.5 million.

Read the full article at Globes Online: "Domain name guru Mike Zapolin: The Internet is a ray of light" by Noa Parag (10 DEC 2008)

SELECTED INTERVIEW QUESTION:

Globes: As someone who survived the last Internet bubble of the early 2000s, how is the present situation similar?

Zapolin says, “The situation is quite similar. Then, too, valuations on Wall Street were exorbitant and out of proportion. People began to lose faith in the Internet. In practice, more and more people came online and began to feel more comfortable in the Internet environment, whether by using e-mail or buying something online.

“In 2001, I wasn’t worried about the bubble, and I continued to buy domain names from companies that had given up on the Internet. We saw that situation as an opportunity, and the same is true today. It’s important that people neither panic from the recession nor make the same mistakes as in the previous crisis, and believe that nothing will work. They should seek out categories that can profit from the current situation.”

Mike Zapolin’s big deals:

Beer.com sold to Interbrew for $7 million

Shop.com sold to Ultra International Ltd. for $3.5 million

Diamond.com sold to Odimo Inc. for $6 million

Telephone.com sold to an investment firm for $2 million

Zapolin was also involved in the sale of College.com, Computer.com, and Timeshares.com for undisclosed amounts.

Read the full article at Globes Online: "Domain name guru Mike Zapolin: The Internet is a ray of light" by Noa Parag (10 DEC 2008)