Big Changes for Internet Commerce Association
Monday, January 25th, 2010
ICA to be replaced with new organization.
This past weekend I caught word that Internet Commerce Association, the non-profit representing domainers’ interests, was effectively shutting down the overarching organization.
I caught up with board member Jeremiah Johnston Saturday afternoon, and he explained what was happening. ICA members should receive an email from him later today.
Essentially, the organization has experienced another funding shortfall, in particular from individual domainers. One of the biggest costs of the organization is managing its grassroots members and promoting itself to the domain community. ICA will effectively close down, and a few of the larger supporters of ICA will form a new organization under a different model.
It’s unfortunate that ICA is shutting down, but I’m thankful that the core group will be advocating for domainers. Part of the problem was apathy amongst domainers; another was wrongly placed distrust within the community. Without ICA, I truly think the domain industry would be looking at a different landscape right now. And it would be for the worse.
If you are interesting in learning more or being part of the new organization, please contact Jeremiah Johnston at jeremiah (at) internetcommerce.org.
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I had joined, and had sent them several messages using their internal messaging system, asking some questions and offering to help additionally and I never recieved a response. As many positive thins as they did perhaps they did not have their sh!t together as an organization. This was months ago too
OK. Let’s get it moving.
I don’t find it surprising honestly. The bigger guys wanting little guys to subsidize what they benefit from the most is probably the biggest problem (imo). They wanted grassroots but there was very little transparency to a wider audience in general. It was/is a few big players trying to solicit money from everyone else to help cover their costs. That doesn’t mean I don’t approve of what they are doing (in spirit and in practice) but I can easily see why so many people are distrustful. It’s a bit tiresome to hear someone who has made millions in this business preaching about how it effects everyone when it probably hurts the biggest guys the hardest. If I had enough skin in this game like these big companies, at some point it would just make sense to hire your own or simply just work with the big industry players (I am guessing this is what might come of this new organizational form?). From a business standpoint, it simply makes more sense. Sure, grassroots is great, but grassroots isn’t going to pay the bills in this industry.
I’m not surprised.
Not by the fact that they’re shutting down, nor by the fact that the small domainer didn’t trust them.
Considering their main sponsor was oversee / snapnames and we know how they shafted everyone. For all its claims on ethics, did the ICA question snap once on the issue?
I’m not surprised at all to see this organization fold. One of the biggest issues I saw was their pricing structure for members being based on overall revenue. If your business is only in domains, that makes sense. But for everyone else – there was no logic. It’s no surprise that they had funding issues.
Like JP, I also contacted them many times – never receiving a response.
I first suspected that it was kind of a front for folks that were doing bad things. Make it look like they were working within some industry self regulation, ethics, and lobbying.
Then I saw what Phil was up to.
Phil worked hard for the organization and I would fund him if he would just keep doing his thing. I can live with no member support if he will just keep his legal op[eration going.
We need a budget and goals and not much else. Except Phil.
The organization simply had no member support infrastructure. That includes updating web site and keeping everyone informed.
Sometimes things don’t work out the first time but let’s get it together and try again.
Steve C
@ Steve Cheatham – contact Jeremiah. I think the new organization will basically be that — Phil (hopefully) will do the lobbying, and there will be no member support. Oversee, TCI, Sedo, et all will continue to fund it, and Sedo will continue to devote lots of time gratis (to the extent that it can).