Domain Spotlight:

Nothing Hurts More Than Not Being Relevant

I’m not afraid to admit it. I am not news. I am opinion. Despite what DomainGang says, there are really only five regular sources of new domain news.  TheDomains, DomainNameWire, DomainIncite, DnJournal, and occasionally ElliotsBlog.  This is not to dismiss the value of other blogs including this one.  I could list out 15 domainish blogs or sites I read fairly regularly that in my opinion are both entertaining, informative, or both. But you may hate them.

It is a plain and simple fact, unless one those 5 sites put up the story it didn’t happen in the eyes of the majority of readers.  All writers want an audience, they want to be relevant. When it comes to breaking domain news, the rest of us are irrelevant. Each one of us provides a little something that makes us unique.  Mike Sullivan is a better interviewer than anyone in this industry.  Morgan Linton has the youthful enthusiasm and drive that most older domainers wish they could rekindle.  Fusible does a fantastic job with stories on domain name history and development. Me, I just try and provide a sense of humor and a little insight to what I’m doing and what I’m trying to accomplish.  I throw out what I’m thinking and see what blows back at me. When people say they don’t read my blog, it doesn’t bother me.  I realize that to many people, my blog is irrelevant.

For many people it hurts to not be acknowledged for their deeds.  Domain Gang has written a lot of quality articles about developments and news in our industry.  It is natural for other sites to write about their opinion on the matter.  Many times the opinion of the other sites is viewed by the domain industry as more important than the original article.  Whether it’s based on time the site has been up, the popularity, the power of the person behind the site, it all comes down to how the general public views the content.  I find it difficult to blame someone for “stealing the thunder” when that someone is the only one capable of making thunder.

This isn’t personal, this is life.  There are people higher on the food chain.  There are ways of climbing the food chain.  Usually it involves time, sometimes it’s respect, usually it’s a combination of all that plus a lot of hard work.  Many times, you do all those and you’re still not popular.  Those 5 blogs I mentioned all deserve the respect they are given.  Yes, I realize that Rick Schwartz, Frank Schilling, Sahar, and many many others fit into the “top reads” category but they don’t blog every day like those mentioned above.  Your personal favorite is exactly that, your personal favorite.  It is not right nor wrong and it really doesn’t matter.  To criticize anothers opinions on anything is sophmoric.  Any opinion can’t be wrong, only facts.  Opinions are thoughts and every site in the world has the right to express theirs.  You also have the ability to not read them.  Domaining  and Namebee have the ability to turn off sites you don’t want to read and your fingers can type or not type out the rest.

So filter what you think is noise, quit the bitching, and let’s have some fun and make some money.  I’ll put my violin and pom pons down and get back to real work.

PS.  I didn’t link all the sites because those people get enough traffic without my help

Domain Spotlight:

13 Replies to “Nothing Hurts More Than Not Being Relevant”

  1. It seems DomainGang is yearning for attention all the time. But as you correctly say, it is a matter of personal choice. I don’t like their mix of real news and so-called humor, but others probably do.

  2. Yep I agree.

    If you just good articles and everyday over time maybe 2-3 years you can get to that elite 5. If you’re lucky.

    I see fusible as one that will get to that point the article they did on tablets.com was great, and not one other source picked up on it that I know of.

    Just like micky said in rocky, your going to eat thunder and crap lighting.

  3. I get it – today’s blog traffic is courtesy of references to DomainGang.

    I’ll start with “Michael” – the attention we are seeking comes from people that like to exercise the muscle between their ears. Otherwise, no – we don’t need traffic from those that are satisfied by the usual flavor of hay.

    Back to you Shane – Frankly you seem to enjoy the Scottish shower treatment: cold/warm/cold/warm etc. and that’s a reason why I don’t really think that you understand – and hence, do not appreciate – what DomainGang stands for.

    Anyone can blog by copy & pasting news from TechCrunch – for real, get some better sources of news, guys – and anyone can copy & paste quotes of Frank Schilling from 2002. But to come up with original content – even if that’s bordering on the insane & ridiculous at times – that, my friend takes some skills.

    Now, is “stealing thunder” how you like to call “breaking the news”? I don’t expect exclusivity – unlike Chef Patrick who asked me to take down the ScienceFiction.com news because TechCrunch had supposedly “promised” an exclusive write-up 12 hours later. And yet, because I’m a nice guy, I took the post down. How’s that for stealing thunder?

    I’m all for dialogue – when we don’t BS eachother behind our backs.

  4. I have been visiting all websites and blogs associated with Domaining and NameBee, and each one is unique and cool; nobody visits mine, and that’s ok too… I only have names for sale their, and we all know “domainers” careless about domains. All they care about is traffic and popularity.

  5. Shane…your quickly moving up the ranks. The crap at domaingang is no better than any crud you can read on the forums.

    1. Tim,
      Be nice. You think it’s crap and I’m trying to point out that these are opinions because there are a lot of people that enjoy the site. Howard Neu is a big fan and he’s a pretty good guy.

  6. I have no doubt you’re the family jester, Shane. I’m an avid reader of your morning posts, because the daily joke is of a great value; not sure about the drop lists as I don’t partake in. Regarding TC, please…The kings of domain news category? Time to get some fresh bookmarks.

  7. Tim, of course it’s crud – so much, that advertisers love the traffic. Listen, I will gladly read your blog if you can offer some better content daily, Timmah.

  8. I like getting both from blog posts, news and opinion. For example some news could come out about a big domain sale, but what’s interesting is the different take each blogger has on it. Was it overpriced, underpriced, who got the better deal, what can it be used for, etc. Everyone has something to add. Lately a few blog posts have given me ideas for domains to reg too.

  9. In the end its a meaningless competition which is invoked by egos and popularity. As a blogger I tend to blog what I feel is important and pertinent based on what I have experienced. I could care less about the latest domain scandal, udrp battle or trademark infringement. Lets get back to entrepreneurs creating new lines of revenue and sales! I am in this industry because of those two reasons, not to mention it is a great deal of fun.

    Lets all kiss and make up and realize we are all relevant in one way shape or form! Stop bickering, complaining and start putting money in your pocket! -This is Jason and I approve this message. 🙂

  10. domain news aside, Frank Schilling’s sevenmile.com is my favourite personal blog.
    Having only recently stumbled into domaining.com it is clear there are the pro domainers, and some not so professional, but I enjoy reading the articles from all levels of domainers, especially the cartoons and humour.

  11. ” I will gladly read your blog if you can offer some better content daily”

    been there, done that and sold it for thousands of dollars to a Big Dog.

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