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Why a worldwide friend network helps with domain investing

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Having connections around the world helps with domain investing.

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I always remember the kindness of an American friend who mailed me a $500 check when I was low in money while studying in the USA. Friendship is a treasure, and it is also helpful in business. If you invest in the international domain market, it helps to have friends around the world. I can remember at least two cases where friendship helped.

Quite a while ago, a domain investor asked me whether sales landers from a certain vendor were blocked in China. So, I contacted an entrepreneur/domain investor in Beijing and he sent me back screenshots of the sales landers taken from PCs and mobile phones at several locations within China. As a result, I was able to confirm on the same day to the investor that the sales landers were accessible from within China.

Recently, I talked to a friend working at a domain company in Shenzhen and I was alerted to the situation where the government is very strict in confirming the status of a non-profit organization in China. That tip led me to the discovery that domain registrar Aliyun actually has placed a warning on the registration page of .org domains. As a result, I was able to write the article “The problem with selling .org domains to Chinese entities“.

These two small examples illustrate how helpful it is if we have domain friends around the world when investing in the global domain market. How can we develop such friendship? LinkedIn is a good place to begin. As far as I know, it is the only social network from the west that is allowed in China. In a way, LinkedIn acts as a bridge between China and the rest of the world.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

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Kassey Lee examines the domain names these startups selected.

the words "domain analysis" on a black, blue and white background

No, they are not the things that I found on the day I married my wife, but the domains used by leading Chinese startups featured in a TechCrunch story about the new trend of faux meat.

These startups are a new generation of end users in China. So, what domains do they like to acquire? Is their preference different from the previous generations? Look at what I have found.

Startup Domain .cn Comment
Green Monday GreenMonday.org For sale GreenMonday .com for sale
Starfield StarfieldCN.com Not resolve Starfield .com developed (3rd party)
Hey Maet HeyMaet.com Not resolve
Vesta VestaFoodlab.com Developed (3rd party) Vesta .com developed (3rd party)
Haofood Haofood.co Not resolve Haofood .com not resolve
ZhenMeat ZhenMeat.com Not resolve

Something New
New is (1) the trend of eating meatless burgers and (2) startups founded only recently. They can tell you what domains the new generation of end users in China want.

Something Old
Old is the extension loved by the new generation of end users in China. Four of the six startups still prefer .com, which is more than 35 years old. Also, they still like English-based domains.

Something Borrowed
Borrowed is the American idea that .com means big, global, prestigious, and trustworthy. Therefore, Chinese end users prefer .com over .cn when building their corporate websites.

Something Blue
Blue is sad that (1) many end users still do not observe the brand-matching rule (e.g., Starfield not using Starfield.com) and (2) they don’t secure their .cn domains for brand protection.

While this wedding tradition may not catch on in China, the love for .com by Chinese companies will likely continue for a long time unless changed by new regulations. Also, an opportunity lies in selling domains as upgrades to Chinese companies.

What domains can you sell to the most global country in the world?

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Kassey Lee examines what types of domains appeal to Chinese companies.

Image of a world map with lights in major cities

By at least one important measure, China has become the most global country in the world. The big picture can help you see what domains Chinese companies will likely buy.

We tend to believe that the U.S. is the most global country in the world. After all, it was the main driver behind the formation of many international organizations such as World Trade Organization, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund after the Second World War. However, things have changed.

According to a recent story on China by The Economist, “The country has some 3,400 multinationals, almost as many as America and western Europe combined.” Read that again. China is being compared with not just one but two major economies globally, and it still wins. The difference is huge.

As China produces the largest number of global companies, let’s think about what this means for the domain market. Founders of Chinese startups with global vision will likely consider English-based brands because English is the global language. Since .com is the de facto global extension, brand-matching English-based .com domains will become very popular with these companies.

This is already evident in my research of the Chinese domain market. For example, English-based .com domains are top choices by Fortunate China 100 companies and China’s Top 100 internet companies.

So, if you own English-based .com domains, there are opportunities to sell them to Chinese companies. Just make sure you list your domains at a marketplace with retail outlets in China.

Dim Sum, Yum Cha, and Pinyin domains

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Understanding what constitutes Pinyin and what doesn’t is important for domain investors.

Picture of Chinese dim sum

I came across the term “Dim Sum” when studying in the USA, and then “Yum Cha” after moving to New Zealand. Whichever name you call it, I enjoy the small dishes served to your table via carts at a Chinese restaurant. This brings up an important implication when investing in Pinyin domains.

Actually, Dim Sum and Yum Cha are not Pinyin names. They are spelled in Cantonese, a dialect widely spoken in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as “old” Chinatowns across the world. In fact, the English lexicon is full of Cantonese names because early overseas Chinese were Cantonese speaking.

The fact is, Pinyin has taken over the throne and the largest market is in Pinyin domains, not Cantonese, Bopomofo (Taiwan), or any other spellings. Understanding the difference is critical to Pinyin investing.

Before you acquire a supposedly Pinyin domain, you must ask yourself whether it is truly Pinyin. If the domain happens to be, for example, a Cantonese name, then the market for it will be very small.

A simple test you can try is to enter it into a search engine and then look at the result for hints. Also, throw the term to Yabla and see if there is any suggestion. The best way, however, is to show it to a native Chinese speaker and seek advice.

Of course, there are exceptions. Because of historical reasons, some Cantonese names remain in use even in Pinyin-speaking communities. For example, the top university in Beijing is still called “Peking University” where “Peking” is a transliteration of the Cantonese name of “Beijing”. This means some Cantonese words may still be acceptable, but research is paramount.

Actually, Dim Sum (点心) and Yum Cha (饮茶) are different. The former refers to small Chinese dishes of delicious food, and the latter just means drinking tea. Whichever term you prefer, do enjoy the Chinese food — and your Pinyin investing.

Fight over Twitter handle leads to death

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A harrassment campaign targeted at the owner of a good Twitter handle results in death.

We’ve seen someone held at gunpoint for a domain name. Now there’s a case of a fight over a Twitter handle leading to someone’s death.

A Tennessee man has been sentenced to five years in prison after doxxing a man, which ultimately led to his death from a heart attack.

Shane Sonderman targeted five people in an attempt to get their Twitter handles. When they refused, he started harassment campaigns.

The dead man, Mark Herring, had the @tennessee handle. The Washington Post reports that, according to court filings, Sonderman doxxed Herring in an attempt to get people to harass him so he’d hand over the handle. One of the people that saw his information onine (not Sonderman) engaged in swatting by calling police and telling them there was a murder and bomb threat at Herring’s house.

Emergency responders showed up and, with guns drawn, asked Herring to obey their orders. He apparently died of a heart attack as they did this.

(Hat tip: Eric Borgos)

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