After last week’s revelation about the stolen domain names, jis.com, leading.net, southeast.net and jaxnet.com, I had a phone conversation with domain investor and developer, Elliot Silver.
My call breakdown shows that our conversation lasted for one hour and forty minutes and it was the first time that Elliot and I talked, as our paths never crossed during TRAFFIC or any other conference.
I must say that I am impressed by Elliot’s to-the-point, well-meant and objective conversation skills. Despite having had some times of friction a couple of years back, it was all a byproduct of “keyboarditis” – the condition that many online conversations suffer from, when typing, blogging and emailing is involved.
During those 100 minutes, Elliot and I discussed the past, the present and the future of domaining; as seen both from our separate points of view and from our joint conclusions. It’s strange, being able to align with someone during your first conversation ever, and to share tips and stories from your personal experience.
And that’s what life is about: a keyboardless state that involves going back to using our verbal communication skills. When we bridge the gap of silent interaction, things tend to become positive and constructive.
In the past, I’ve talked with various other domainers on the phone, sharing important tips or simply ensuring that misunderstandings caused by excessive typing got ironed out. Not everyone can allocate 100 minutes to a first time conversation, of course – but Elliot and I did exactly that.
In the end, Elliot’s clothes probably got wrinkly in the dryer and my salad lost its crunchiness but in a little over an hour and a half we managed to establish the amount of communication often claimed by conference attendees – all through a single phonecall and with no typing whatsoever.
Theo,
It was a very good discussion and I am glad to have had the chance to learn more about you and your background.
Before the conversation, I might have wanted to throw a drink on you if we crossed paths at a conference, but now I look forward to having a drink with you at the next one.
Hehe 😀 Elliot, I think that’s a good description of the effect I have on people. My blog(s) unleash the digital me; the analog me is much more mild and pleasant.