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Radix acquires .Uno top level domain name

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Radix adds its eleventh top level domain.

Logo for .uno top level domainTop level domain name company Radix has added .Uno to its stable of top level domains after acquiring the domain from Dot Latin LLC. It is the eleventh top level domain it will operate.

While nTLDStats shows that there are 16,857 names in the .uno zone, this appears to be inflated. 12,302 of these domains are registered at Domainia, which acts as a marketing arm for new top level domains.

.Uno was one of the first top level domain names to get out of the gate in 2014.

Given Radix’s modus operandi, expect the company to offer .uno at a very low price for first year registrations and reasonable pricing thereafter.

This is Radix’s second transaction with the owner of .uno. It previously acquired .Tech in a deal with the same principle.

September’s Top 5

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Top 5 etched into a rubber stampHere’s a look at the top five posts on DNW in September, ranked by pageviews:

1. Man who paid $360k for 81.com says it’s stolen – Sami Debizet says he bought the domain in 2013 and that it has been stolen.

2. Oops: New .Ca commercial has a trademark problem – CIRA launched a clever new ad campaign for .Ca domains, but eagle-eyed attorney John Berryhill noticed that it includes a trademark in one of the domain names.

3. Mailchimp increases price 15%-20% for longtime customers – Just months after grandfathering existing customers into an earlier pricing model, the popular email marketing platform is raising prices on these customers.

4. This could be a bad phishing campaign for stealing domains – This clever single sign-on phishing approach could be used to steal domains.

5. Auto parts company’s domain stolen and held for ransom – A thief demanded 10 bitcoin for the return of the domain name, but the auto parts company got a court to return the domain quickly. Domain theft victims and domain attorneys should note the company’s legal tactic, as it could be useful for the expedited return of domain names.

And if you missed any podcasts, check these out:

#251: Mark Levine Returns (listen)

#252: Buying Woven.com with Tim Campos (listen)

#253: Matt Overman on new TLDs (listen)

#254: The domain end user episode (listen)

#255: ID4ME and domains (listen)

2020 Lonnie Borck Memorial Award nominations are open

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Award now has a broader scope.

Lonnie Borck

Lonnie Borck

Internet Commerce Association (ICA), a group that advocates for domain owners, has opened nominations for the 2020 Lonnie Borck Memorial Award.

The award is in memory of the late domain name investor Lonnie Borck.

ICA is broadening the qualifications this year. Previously, the award honored those who worked to protect the rights of domain name registrants. For 2020, nominees can also be those who have fostered a sense of community within the domain name industry.

Nominations can be submitted here.

The 2020 winner will be honored during a ceremony at NamesCon 2020 in Austin in January.

You don’t have to be smart to be a domain investor

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There are many qualities of successful domain investors.

Image of a person's head and brain in aqua color

Last Friday, a guy who builds micro Saas businesses posted on twitter that “i’ve never met a really smart person who sells domains for a living”.

Looking through this person’s twitter feed, it seems that he spends much of his time trolling various types of people. And it works, with people like Rick Schwartz responding.

While I’m sure this guy is upset that a domain he wants is owned by someone else, I got to thinking: do you need to be smart to be a domain investor?

You don’t have to be smart to do a lot of stuff. When I think of the best domain investors, ‘smart’ isn’t the first adjective that comes to mind. I don’t think they’re not smart, it’s just that smarts is down the list of adjectives I’d use to describe them.

Instead, I think:

  • Risk-taker
  • Hacker (in the figures-stuff-out sort of way)
  • Forward-thinking
  • Hustles
  • Good salesperson

This doesn’t describe all domain investors, but I think these skills are important for investing in domains or starting any sort of business.