My 2016 votes for THE Domain Conference awards

This September, THE Domain Conference (TDC) welcomes domain investors from the US and from around the world, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

This is the second year that TDC operates, from September 10th to 14th – a bit earlier than last year.

After the final curtains were drawn on TRAFFIC, co-founder Howard Neu renewed his commitment to the domain industry.

Along with wife Barbara and a team of friendly professionals, they continue to welcome domain patrons that want to connect, network and engage in business, in beautiful south Florida.

Like other domain industry conferences, TDC seeks to acknowledge the contribution of the domain industry’s peers and companies, with a set of awards. After a round of nominations, voting ensues.

To be nominated, is an award in itself, and I’m humbled to know that several domain industry professionals thought of me as “developer of the year” and “best blogger of the year.”

Thank you.

It’s a distinction that provides me with confidence to continue covering the domain industry’s news and its tremendous growth, and to provide my professional insight to branding and development.

My last Florida event was TRAFFIC in 2012, and TDC is by all means equal to its predecessor and will offer great opportunities for domainer professionals to network. I encourage everyone who is seriously looking into combining a great domain conference with a mini vacation to attend. As I’ve personal matters to attend, I regret that I won’t be present at TDC this year.

Last year I was able to provide my own nominations, something that I wasn’t able to do this year; however, I can now share my votes for the 2016 THE Domain Conference Awards.

• Developer of the year : Michael Sumner. I’ve known Michael for a full decade now, and his commitment to development projects, such as NameBio and the Domain Game App is representative of his class.
• Blogger of the year : Konstantinos Zournas. Kostas is a fellow Greek domainer, who doesn’t mince his words, and delivers useful content sharing his personal experiences through his blog, OnlineDomain. He’s the King Leonidas of domain blogging, and takes no prisoners.
• Registry of the year : Rightside. This is a prime example of a company that thinks big, expanding its reach beyond the domain industry and into the consumer world of “end users.” Rightside has rolled out efficient marketing campaigns, promoting its TLDs and gTLDs, and produces a constant flow of educational material that propels the domain industry forward.
• Registrar of the year : Uniregistry. Frank Schilling’s inception is re-writing the books of how domain registrars should plan and operate. A great team of people support an elite group of gTLDs, using proprietary, custom-coded technology that’s a pleasure to use.
• Broker of the year : George Hong. Having known George for several years, he has been my introduction to China’s business culture. George combines a humble, friendly demeanor with a fast-paced, ultra-intelligent business acumen. His domain brokerage numbers are off the charts as well. Visit his domain brokerage web site at Guta.com.
• Domain investor of the year : Elliot Silver. While Mike Berkens sold off the majority of his domain portfolio to GoDaddy in a massive sale, I have to give Elliot the award, for several reasons. He is committed to investing in high quality domain names, and his domain portfolio is rock solid. He shares his investment methods using positive articles at his blog, DomainInvesting.com. He does not speculate on unproven trends, taking risks only when his gut feeling is strong. He deflects negativity and focuses on his business, supporting humanitarian causes very often. He’s an avid bicycle rider that appreciates humor. 😀
• Domain industry company of the year : NamesCon. In the past, TRAFFIC and Domainfest were direct competitors, but that’s all past and gone. Richard Lau’s company has re-invented the domain conference paradigm, bringing together hundreds of serious domain investors and interconnecting the domain industry’s players, on a single hotel floor. NamesCon works with TDC every year to ensure that both conferences deliver great value to their respective participants.
• Goodwill ambassador of the year : Eric Lyon. The administrator of the biggest domain forum, NamePros, is a great guy committed to turning arguments into agreements, and chaos into order. He also manages to do that while being relatively invisible, and interacting with other members when necessary. A dedicated husband and recent father, Eric gets my vote for being a person of trust and a hard-working domainer. Not to mention, he also draws comics at DomainComics.com. 😀
• Domain industry hall of fame : Nat Cohen. I believe I’ve known Nat for 15 years now, and his Telepathy project is the primary umbrella of a successful domain investing operation. Nat is a larger version of Elliot Silver, if I’m allowed this analogy, and he deserves to be finally inducted to the hall of fame this year.