Ron Jackson published an elaborate wrap up article about the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East 2007 domain conference which was held at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Florida October 9-13. The article is very well-written, as expected, and there are lots of photos from the show, so I’m sure you don’t want to miss the article if you haven’t been to the show or if you just want to recapitulate your T.R.A.F.F.I.C. experiences.

The T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East 2007 conference held at the spectacular Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Florida October 9-13 was the ninth outing for show founders Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu but they are still batting 1.000 when it comes to delivering informative, entertaining, energizing and enriching events. I believe that each of the 500 people who made the trip to South Florida from their homes around the globe would agree that those carefully chosen adjectives fit this show like a glove.

Continue reading here.

These are the results of the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East 2007 live and silent domain auctions, as reported by Moniker:

Live auction:

computer.com $2,200,000
investment.com $900,000
sportinggoods.com $450,000
table.com $260,000
crosswordpuzzles.com $210,000
criminallawyers.com $195,000
promotion.com $170,000
bathingsuit.com $160,000
poker.mobi $150,000
ringtones.mobi $145,000
caribbeanvacations.com $130,000
newlyweds.com $130,000
singlesonline.com $125,000
news.mobi $110,000
manufacture.com $90,000
europeanvacations.com $85,000
moneylenders.com $75,000
races.com $75,000
autofinancing.com $70,000
automobileparts.com $70,000
dock.com $70,000
rapvideos.com $70,000
tuxedorental.com $65,000
amusement.com $60,000
organicfarms.com $57,500
fertilitydoctors.com $55,000
shopping.mobi $55,000
email.mobi $50,000
mucho.com $50,000
scientists.com $50,000
crow.com $48,300
mainelobsters.com $45,000
scores.mobi $33,000
buy.mobi $32,500
certifiedpublicaccountants.com $30,000
digitalcertificates.com $30,000
educationgrants.com $30,000
golfclubs.net $30,000
homestereo.com $30,000
incometaxreturn.com $30,000
reversetelephonedirectory.com $30,000
schoolteacher.com $28,000
cateringservice.com $27,000
chocolatecandy.com $26,500
homemortgagerates.com $26,000
christmasgiftbaskets.com $25,500
dogboarding.com $25,000
lottoresults.com $25,000
podcast.mobi $25,000
homebasedbusinesses.com $23,000
certifiedorganic.com $21,000
discounttours.com $21,000
helicoptercharter.com $21,000
luxuryyacht.com $20,000
idols.com $19,000
malpracticeattorneys.com
aircraftrental.com $17,500
bankauctions.com $17,500
cab.mobi $17,500
emmanuel.com $17,500
takepart.com $17,500
cysticfibrosis.org $17,000
industrialengineering.com $17,000
sattests.com $17,000
allergymedications.com $16,000
tollfreephonenumbers.com $16,000
truckloan.com $16,000
cemeteryplots.com $15,500
cholesterol.net $15,000
checkcashingservice.com $13,000
comicbookstore.com $13,000
emergencyloan.com $13,000
cash.mobi $12,500
lotto.info $12,500
audit.net $12,000
classiccarshows.com $12,000
DelawareInsurance.com $12,000
forsale.org $12,000
spaghettisauce.com $11,000
conventions.org $10,000
corgis.com $10,000
homeloanrates.com $10,000
ustrademarks.com $10,000
perch.com $9,500
onlineinvestment.com $9,000
designstudios.com $8,600
airlinetickets.org $8,500
software.info $8,500
businessclassairfares.com $8,000
cardstores.com $8,000
carraces.com $8,000
drugrehabilitationprogram.com $8,000
hospitals.us $8,000
pda.mobi $8,000
primaryeducation.com $8,000
zipcodes.mobi $8,000
discountairfares.net $7,500
discountpetsupply.com $7,500
electromagnets.com $7,500
repossessedcars.com $7,500
cabletelevision.net $7,000
concertticketsonline.com $7,000
chinesecheckers.com $6,500
cigarbars.com $6,000
goldplan.com $6,000
artdecofurniture.com $5,500
primeinterestrate.com $5,500
wifi.us $5,500
borrow.net $5,000
discountsoftware.net $5,000
energycompanies.com $5,000
federalgovernment.net $5,000
Motorpool.com $5,000
newyorkcitymuseums.com $5,000
bookclub.info $4,500
documenttranslation.com $4,500
lastminuteairfare.net $4,500
renoapartments.com $4,500
telephotolens.com $4,500
virtualofficespace.com $4,250
411information.com $4,000
deposit.net $4,000
downloadmovies.net $4,000
draftboard.com $4,000
exerciseclass.com $4,000
girlblog.com $4,000
publicopinionpolls.com $4,000
remodelingservices.com $4,000
pleasureyachts.com $3,750
BillyJean.com $3,500
discountcruises.org $3,500
southpadreislandrealestate.com $3,500
bill.mobi $3,000
mortgagepoints.com $2,700
employmentreferences.com $2,500
streetmaps.net $2,000
lousyinsurance.com $1,000
prepaidcellphonecards.com $750
speakerofthehouse.com $750
tickersymbols.info $750

Silent auction:

Cowboys.com $370,000
Xmas.com $294,200
fishingpole.com $58,900
Carburetors.com $40,000
hawaiiancruises.com $38,888
trainsets.com $36,300
Math.net $35,300
PaymentCalculator.com $35,300
locket.com $33,000
certifiedpublicaccountant.com $32,450
rolltopdesks.com $30,000
LogHomeKits.com $28,556
medicine.mobi $21,839
coupons.mobi $21,175
autoproducts.com $19,500
sexylove.com $17,700
disabilityattorney.com $16,638
food.mobi $16,500
jewelry.mobi $15,730
god.mobi $14,641
preciousgems.com $12,600
electronicdartboards.com $11,979
digitalphones.com $11,800
pcx.com $11,800
tuxrentals.com $11,222
diet.mobi $11,000
videoconferences.com $10,300
happynewyears.com $10,000
insurancelawyers.com $10,000
247stockpicks.com $9,900
aviaries.com $9,900
internationaltrademarks.com $9,899
ilsa.com $9,683
guys.org $9,420
personaldebts.com $8,950
thewar.com $8,830
praisegod.com $8,810
resortguide.com $8,250
beggers.com $8,240
cosmetician.com $8,140
executivejob.com $7,841
SeattleNews.com and Seattle-News.com $7,431
estateattorneys.com $7,333
FreeMovies.net $7,060
bacteriology.com $6,710
rap.mobi $6,500
arbitrationservices.com $6,050
7nightcruise.com $5,890
HomeBudget.com $5,890
shopping.cm $5,890
StartingASmallBusiness.com $5,890
vacationreservations.com $5,890
calves.com $5,555
petinsurancepolicy.com $5,500
sailingclub.com $5,500
“80s.mobi (45 “”mobi”" domains)” $5,492
carta.net $5,300
oldcars.net $5,300
terri.net $5,300
cruises.mobi $5,060
exoticgetaways.com $5,010
airlinecharters.com $5,000
musicagent.com $5,000
phonecards.org $5,000
trademarkagents.com $5,000
upscalehotels.com $5,000
miamibeachrestaurants.com $4,752
cruiseships.org $4,710
eincentives.com $4,710
incometaxlaw.com $4,710
packagedeal.com $4,710
redgrapes.com $4,710
discountoutlets.com $4,532
debt.mobi $4,400
freelayouts.org $4,400
texaslifeinsurance.com $4,360
cyclingequipment.com $4,356
desktopscreensavers.com $4,180
landscapingsupplies.com $4,120
loanapplications.net $4,120
price.mobi $3,993
cancerguide.com $3,850
moviedownloads.net $3,850
christmasgiftshopping.com $3,802
tourtravel.com $3,795
mortgagecompany.org $3,758
autoraces.com $3,744
archbishop.com $3,581
jesuslovesme.com $3,571
developmentsoftware.com $3,530
domainregistrars.com $3,530
electronicticketing.com $3,530
golflessons.net $3,530
louisvilledoctors.com $3,530
restaurantdiscounts.com $3,530
searchmanagement.com $3,530
travelmexico.net $3,530
BlackRepublicans.com and BlackRepublicans.org $3,500
jobsearchtips.com $3,412
newjerseylifeinsurance.com $3,410
phoneringers.com $3,410
electronicadvertising.com $3,361
modularofficesystems.com $3,318
displaytable.com $3,080
cruisetravelplanner.com $3,055
antiques.mobi $3,000
bargains.mobi $3,000
elections.mobi $3,000
irs.mobi $3,000
move.mobi $3,000
pharmacies.mobi $3,000
recipe.mobi $3,000
rss.mobi $3,000
weightloss.mobi $3,000
who.mobi $3,000
awardplaque.com $2,950
bestonlinecollege.com $2,950
bridalsale.com $2,950
cams.cm $2,950
hawaiianluaus.com $2,950
lesbianadoptions.com $2,950
ohiohousing.com $2,950
publicaccountant.org $2,950
sportspackage.com $2,950
talktothehand.com $2,950
webcompanies.com $2,950
incorporatingcompanies.com $2,811
floridahotelguide.com $2,750
searchcities.com $2,585
… and several other domains sold below $2,500.

NeuStar today announced that it has been awarded the contract to operate and administer the .US Internet domain name registry. The official country-code top level domain (ccTLD) for the United States, .US is overseen by the United States Department of Commerce.

The original .US registry contract was awarded to NeuStar in June 2001, and is due to expire on October 25, 2007. The new contract term is for a base of three years beginning October 26, 2007, with the possibility of two one-year extensions.

NeuStar won the competitive .US procurement after the Department of Commerce conducted a careful, thorough, and objective evaluation of all proposals. Criteria for selection included bidders’ experience, track record, and ability to deliver operational performance, technological excellence, policy compliance, product innovation, and marketing. NeuStar was judged to be the best overall registry operator under these criteria.

“NeuStar is very pleased to retain operational and administrative responsibility for the .US domain, and we are honored that the Department of Commerce has placed its trust in us once again,” said Richard Tindal, vice president of domain name services at NeuStar. “This award is a validation of NeuStar’s exemplary performance and stewardship, and demonstrates the value that we provide to the government and to the industry. We are proud to remain in this important role.”

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will launch an evaluation of Internationalized Domain Names next week that will allow Internet users to test top-level domains in 11 languages.

“This evaluation represents ICANN’s most important step so far towards the full implementation of Internationalized Domain Names. This will be one of the biggest changes to the Internet since it was created,” said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN’s President and CEO. “ICANN needs the assistance of users and application developers to make this evaluation a success. When the evaluation pages come online next week, we need everyone to get in there and see how the addresses display and see how links to IDNs work in their programs. In short, we need them to get in and push it to its limits.”

The evaluation is made possible by today’s insertion into the root of the 11 versions of .test, which means they are alongside other top-level domains like .net, .com, .info, .uk, and .de at the core of the Internet.

Next Monday, 15 October 2007, Internet users around the globe will be able to access wiki pages with the domain name example.test in 11 test languages — Arabic, Persian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil.

The wikis will allow Internet users to establish their own subpages with their own names in their own language. The evaluation is being done in the 11 languages of the Internet communities that have shown the most interest in moving IDNs from concept to reality.

The full introduction of IDNs will mean that people can write the whole of a domain name in the characters used to write their own language. Presently you can only use these characters before the dot, so .com, .net, .org and the like can only be written in characters from basic Latin. IDNs will change this so that literally tens of thousands of characters will be available to the world.

“Right now only the ASCII characters a through z are available for use in top level labels — the part of the address after the dot,” Dr Twomey added. “Users will be able to have their name in their language for their Internet when full IDN implementation makes available tens of thousands of characters from the languages of world.”

More information on the IDN program is available at: http://icann.org/topics/idn/

Links to the wikis will be available on ICANN’s website starting 15 October 2007.

Source: Press Release

My blogging break has been taking longer than expected. I recently moved to another town, which is quite remote, and my service provider seems to have some problems with getting a stable Internet connection setup at my new residence. But they promised to have it all up and running by next week, so I hope for the best.

In the meantime, you should read Ron Jackson’s new cover story about Kevin Vo and Ammar Kubba at DNJournal.com. They’re successful entrepreneurs who run the innovative domain parking company TrafficZ. Their success story is quite a worthwhile read.

Article URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2007/october.htm