Sex.com auction postponed for online bidders

The auction of Sex.com, which was due to happen in New York on Thursday, has been postponed and the auctioneer is now accepting online bidders.
Maltz Auctions, which is handling the sale, posted a link to a ProxiBid.com page and the slogan “Online Bidding Available – Call for Details!”, neither of which were there last time I looked.
ProxiBid describes itself as “the World’s #1 provider of live webcast auctions”. The service webcasts and allows remote users to bid on live, in-person auctions.
The company press released its Sex.com coup on Friday.
You’ll still need to put $1m into escrow in order to bid.
It appears that legal action may be the reason for the postponement.
The ProxiBid page still reflects the March 18 date.

1 Comment Tagged: maltz auctions, proxibid, sex.com

Internet ‘villain’ to headline ICANN Brussels

It’s a date! Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, has accepted Rod Beckstrom’s invitation to attend ICANN’s meeting in Brussels this June.
Reding is a mildly controversial figure in the domain name world.
Notably, she is the recipient of a UK Internet Service Provider Association Internet Villain award over the launch of .eu, which happened under her watch as Information Society commissioner.
ISPA nominated her in 2007, for “foisting the most arcane set of rules yet seen for prior registration of .eu domains, requiring UK-registered companies to submit legal affidavits to justify the authenticity of their business.”
Arcane rules? At an ICANN meeting? Shurely shome mishtake.
It’s not clear whether Reding will be speaking at the meeting. She’s agreed to attend on June 22, the same day as the Governmental Advisory Committee meeting.

Comment Tagged: .eu, brussels, ICANN, rod beckstrom, viviane reding

Is Go Daddy’s size a competition concern?

Go Daddy is undoubtedly the runaway success story of the domain name industry.
It may not be as big as VeriSign, but unlike VeriSign it was not simply handed a multi-billion dollar resource to manage. It was essentially scratch-built. It didn’t even have first-mover advantage – Register.com and Network Solutions had that, and Go Daddy’s been eating their lunches for years.
The company has got where it is today through, in my opinion, a combination of cheap prices, decent customer service and populist marketing. Mainly the cheap prices, but I doubt that putting a great big pair of boobs on TV during the Super Bowl can have hurt sales.
But how big is the company? And with the introduction of new gTLDs, is its size now a cause for concern? …continue reading

5 Comments Tagged: go daddy, ICANN, new gTLDs

Secure64 offers DNSSEC for $20k

Secure64 Software has released a budget version of its DNS signing software, Secure64 DNS Signer.
The $19,995 package promises to automate DNSSEC key generation, management, and zone signing. It’s compatible with BIND, Windows and NSD.
While Secure64 is currently targeting smaller government agencies, due to the security mandates they have to abide by, I expect these types of products to pick up enterprise traction over the next few years.
Deploying DNSSEC is hard, but pretty soon it will be a must-have. With root signing currently set for July, and .com signing due in less than a year, Secure64 will probably do pretty well when enterprises start asking for more secure DNS.

Comment Tagged: DNSSEC, Secure64

Canon to apply for .canon

Japanese printer maker Canon has become the first global brand to throw its hat into the new gTLD ring.
The company said in a press release today that it will apply for .canon as soon as ICANN finalises the process for doing so.
From the release:

Canon has made the official decision to begin necessary procedures to acquire “.canon” upon the introduction of the new system. Following approval for the new gTLD system, which is expected to take place after the latter half of 2011, Canon will make full use of the new domain name to increase the convenience and effectiveness of its online communications.

Medieval battle recreation societies are unlikely to provide much competition for the string.

7 Comments Tagged: canon, ICANN, new gTLDs

Big claims from small registrar

You’ve got to admire the cojones on Domainmonster, an upstart registrar from the UK.
In a delightfully hyperbolic press release out today, the company reveals it is “the world’s largest new domain name supplier” and compares itself to Go Daddy.
Because I think it’s funny, I’ll post the meat of the press release before de-constructing it. …continue reading

Comment Tagged: .museum, .tel, domainmonster, godaddy

Happy Birthday .com!

Today, March 15, marks the 25th anniversary of the first ever .com domain name registration, symbolics.com.
VeriSign is running a marketing campaign to celebrate at 25yearsof.com.

Comment Tagged: .com, verisign

ICANN: .xxx is not approved

ICANN never makes a decision if it can make a process instead, and that seems to be the case with the board’s latest call on .xxx.
The board voted this morning to kick ICM’s proposal until after the Brussels meeting in June, on the basis that it needs a process by which it can approve .xxx.
While this is mixed news for ICM – it’s not what it hoped for but the company still has a pretty good chance of getting what it wants – the language used in the resolution clearly indicates that the board believes .xxx is currently in an unapproved state: …continue reading

Comment Tagged: brussels, ICANN, icm, nairobi, xxx

Three-digit .coms fetch high prices

A few short, meaningful, numerical domains have shifted on Sedo today.
Among them is 313.com, which sold for $25,000. Its end-user value mostly likely lies in 313 being the area code for Detroit, a city of almost a million people.
Similarly, 949.com has sold for $13,560. It’s the dialing code for Orange County in Southern California, as well as being used in various radio stations’ frequencies.
Meanwhile, 421.com has sold for 8,955 euros ($12,229).

Comment Tagged: .com, numerical domains, sedo

Beckstrom: DNS is under attack

ICANN chief Rod Beckstrom has come in for a bit of criticism over “inflammatory” comments he made at the Government Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday.
The headline quote: “The domain name system is more fragile and vulnerable today than it has ever been. It could stop at any given point in time, literally.”
Beckstrom described a DNS on its knees, then pointed the finger at unspecified nations for DNS abuses allegedly happening within their virtual borders, and said he would be writing to GAC members for more information and advice.
It was part call to arms, part Chicken Little.
If you missed it, here’s a full transcript. …continue reading

Comment Tagged: ICANN, nairobi, rod beckstrom, security