Reflections On DOMAINfest Global 2012

Wow – this week flew by! I went to sleep at around 6AM so today has been a bit of a blur, now I finally have a break in the action, and a minute to reflect on DOMAINfest 2012. The conference was absolutely incredible this year, and as always I am very interested in understanding where the industry is headed.

Santa Monica 2012

I’ll be doing a much more detailed post about the conference on Monday but wanted to share my reflections on DOMAINfest while they are fresh in my head.

  • The sale of Moniker and Snapnames was big news and Oversee and their new executive team looked incredibly prepared to take the company to the next level. In business sometimes the hardest thing to do is identify failure and make a chance. With an increase in focus I think Oversee will be doing some very exciting things this year.
  • WordPress is hot – I heard more talk of development this year than ever before and WordPress is definitely a major focus. As a big WordPress fan I can completely see why so many Domainers are gravitating towards the platform.
  • Tim Ash gave a great talk about Landing Page Optimization – I’ve seen him speak before and read his book, still every time I see him I pick-up something new. Tim’s the reason I added the “Featured In” section at the header of my blog. If you missed the talk or my coverage of it you can read about it in my summary of day two.
  • Live auctions sure don’t bring the kind of liquidity that they used to, or at least not nearly at the same prices. I think it is clear that 2012 is still a buyers market, and there were some stellar deals in the auctions. I do really like the auctioneer that they use, he keeps it fun and entertaining. I think the challenge live auctions have is fairly simple, the buyers are Domainers. If you have your names priced at wholesale prices, you can probably make a sale, but end-user prices rarely yield bids. More thoughts on this coming-up on Monday!
  • Domainers know how to party – the nightlife at DOMAINfest was a blast from the nightly parties to some very fun after parties. As you all know, I don’t blog about parties or nightlife so you’ll have to attend a conference like DOMAINfest to experience them for yourself. I have some great friends in the industry and it’s been awesome to catch-up with everyone and enjoy some adventures in LA. Overall I think the #1 piece of feedback I heard from people was the fact that LA nightlife ends at 1:30. I know, it’s pretty lame, I apologize for LA, but our weather is perfect – you can’t win them all!
  • Biz Stone gave one of the best keynotes I’ve ever seen. My favorite quote is – “creativity is a renewable resource, it is something that you can always tap” – so true and so inspiring!
  • I remember sleep – but vaguely…it’s been over a week since I’ve had a full night’s sleep, while I had a blast, I’m looking forward to some R&R. Until Tuesday when I go to Boston, and Wednesday when I go to NYC. Yes, there never really is a dull moment!

Stay-tuned, more to come!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton