Last week we wrote about adamo.com and the importance of owning your brand's domain name. As this week comes to a close, we received an update on adamo.com and Dell's ownership thereof from Bill Sweetman, general manager of YummyNames, the company (a division of Tucows) who owned the name:
It turns out that Dell does recognize the importance of a good domain name. I can't divulge any specific details of the deal, but what I can say is that over the last week I was able to broker a deal directly with Dell, and Dell is now the new owner of the adamo.com domain name. Tucows and YummyNames are happy with the deal, and I would imagine that so is Dell. I wish Dell lots of luck with the ongoing global rollout of the Adamo laptop, and I am glad this domain name story has ended on a positive note.
And if you check, adamo.com does now point to Dell's notebook site. We're always happy to see a domain name go to a good home!
So, what's your take? Do you think it was important that Dell ultimately ended up owning the domain? Or was this all a tempest in a teapot?
You know, like many other people, I really dislike cyber squatters and so-called ‘domaineers’ who are much like the privateer pirates and highway robbers of days gone by.
@Jaisne
I really dislike cybersquatters too!
For the record, this domain and deal has nothing to do with “cybersquatting”, which refers to registering of a domain name containing another person’s brand or trademark. “Adamo” is a very common surname, and the Adamo.com domain name has been in use for over a decade as part of a unique service that allows multiple people with the same last name to get an email and Web address that corresponds with their personal name.
For example, we own your surname, “Sexton” as a domain: sexton.net, and you and the thousands of other Sextons around the world can use our Personal Names service to get @sexton.net email and Web addresses. Jaisne, I invite you to head on over to Hover.com and click on “Get Personalized Email” and try it out.
Just because Dell happened to choose a popular surname as the name of their new product did not, and does not, legally entitle them to lay claim to this particular domain name. Thankfully, Dell was smart enough to realize this, which is why they ended up purchasing the domain name from us versus filing a UDRP complaint they would almost certainly lose.
Finally, professional domain name investors refer to themselves as “domainers” not “domaineers” and we do not practice, support, or endorse cybersquatting.
Mr. Sweetman, while you may be legitimate, a great many of your colleagues are not. And they too claim to be ‘professionals’ and they do indeed engage in cybersquatting, sometimes to the point of extortion. These people bring a really unpleasant whiff to your unregulated industry. All one needs to do is use Google to see case after case, and complaint after complaint.
What still amazes me is that Dell didn’t realise that adamo.com was the domain to use.
@Jaisne
As for “cybersquatting” – most people who use that term don’t know what they are talking about. Unless I register a domain to infringe your TM you can’t say I’m “squatting”.
Michele
Domaineering is the web-based marketing business of acquiring and monetizing Internet domain names focusing on their use specifically as an advertising medium rather than primarily speculating on domains as intellectual property investments for resale as in domaining where generating advertising revenue is considered more of a bonus while awaiting a sale. In essence, the domain names function as virtual Internet billboards with generic domain names being highly valued for their revenue generating potential derived from attracting Internet traffic hits. Revenue is earned as potential customers view pay per click ( PPC ) ads or the Internet traffic attracted may be redirected to another website. Hence, the domain name itself is the revenue generating asset conveying information beyond just functioning as a typical web address. As the value here is intrinsically in the domain name and not in a website’s products or services, these domains are developed for advertising, ( i.e, “parked” ), and not into “conventional” websites. As with traditional advertising, domaineering is part art and part science. Often to be the most effective as an advertising tool, the domain names and their corresponding landing pages must be engineered or optimized to produce maximum revenue which may require considerable skill and keen knowledge of search engine optimization ( SEO ) practices, marketing psychology and an understanding of the target market audience. Domaineering generally utilizes a firm offering domain parking services to provide the sponsored “feed” of a word or phrase searched for thus creating a mini-directory populated largely by advertisers paying to promote their products and services under a relevant generic keyword domain. Occasionally content is added to develop a functional mini-website. Domaineers contend that their product, i.e., “domain advertising”, is a bona fide offering of goods or services in and of itself which provides rights to and legitimate interests in the generic domains they use. This serves as a rebuttal or defense in addressing occasional accusations of cybersquatting. Domaineers and some of those who advertise online using keywords believe domaineering provides a useful, legal and legitimate Internet marketing service while opponents of domaineering decry the practice as increasing the ubiquitous commercialization of the world wide web. Domaineering aka “domain advertising” is practiced by both large organizations which may have registered hundreds or even thousands of domains to individual entrepreneurial minded domaineers who may only own one or a few. The earliest known verifiable identification and defining of domaineering as a distinct Internet advertising practice is attributed to Canadian Professor William Lorenz.