Great news for our Aussie friends. The AU Registry (auDA) have relaxed the registrant policy to allow a registrant to transfer their domain name licence to another eligible entity, for any reason. This move effectively creates the marketplace for AU domaining .
For a limited time only, the team over at DotSauce are offering free access to their premium content. This has previously been charged at $10 per month.
Bill Slawski has unearthed a new patent from Microsoft which points to their interest in domain age, when it comes to ranking. For some time now, it has been accepted that older domains are treated with greater trust by the search engines. This makes them easier to rank in the search engine results.
My favourite here was OnlineHelpdesk.com for $2000. Online help desks are an essential part of customer support for any large company operating on the internet. I was also surprised to see NetCurrency.com go for just $167.
Relevant information for any of us in the domain business. ICANN has released an advisory on domain transfers between Registrars to clarify their rules on this matter. Some Registrars have been refusing transfers for 60 days after WHOIS changes were made.
For those that took the time to search out the gems, there were some good deals to be had. My favorite was MortgageArrangement.com at $253 but picking up the generic name for Soma Tea (520,000 results in Google) for $66
There are increased calls for underage domainers to be stopped from participating in the industry. What are the arguments for and against? How should the industry react to this underclass that exists outside the law.
Sedo has published a study into the secondary market in 2007. You can download the free nine-page report here
Domainers have been shocked by the information which is now available on their portfolio and activities. However this issue has wider implications which should be considered by all domain owners, businesses and privacy advocates.
The accusation being made is that domain availability searches are not being kept private and this data is either being sold or somehow obtained by bulk registration companies.