TRAFFIC / Orlando – Day 2 – Keynote speeches

The day started with my usual cup of coffee and a surprisingly smooth commute on Interstate 4. This time around I found my way inside the Disney resorts without getting lost. I managed to arrive about 15 minutes before the sessions would begin. I ran into Donny from Parked.com who gave me a brief intro about what his 11am speech was going to be about.

Rick Schwartz kicked off Day 2 of the TRAFFIC conference with his keynote speech. He mentioned that while it’s time to slow down and assess the opportunities offered, we also need to be aware of the dangers that are rising in today’s economy. In the financial crash of 2000-2001, everyone seemed to run away from the online ventures, abandoning their assets. In 2008, everyone seems to be running towards the venues available on the Internet. Even though we are living in thriving industry times, it’s time to also be proactive during the equally challenging financial times.

Rick closed mentioning the Snowe bill and how it is a time for the domain industry that the fittest will survive, as the industry shifts and changes its focus.

Howard Neu then took the stand, unfolding the opportunities that all the TRAFFIC attendants have with the range of exhibitors, stressing how this is not a trade show but rather, a get-together of the best and foremost-thinking members of the domain industry. While forums and chatrooms bring domain owners together, in a real life event such as TRAFFIC people have the opportunity to facilitate deals and establish relationships at a personal level.

Michael Collins, executive director of ICA then talked about the challenges that the industry is facing with the introduction of the Snowe bill that stirred the domaining calm waters and created a lot of tension. As a result of ICA’s efforts with raising awareness, ICA membership doubled since February 2008. He stressed the importance of domainers being represented in an organized form, lobbying at Washington DC, ICANN and the media.

Phil Corwin, legal councel for ICA, then described in detail the legal aspect of the Snowe bill, that is being promoted aggressively against domain owners from a group of major trademark holders. Wrapped up as an anti-phishing bill, it attempts to hold domain owners liable for millions of dollars in damages, without limitations. He mentioned that the politicians must be educated about the dangers of this bill, while defending the domain industry by building stronger alliances. Finally, Yahoo, Google and Microsoft maintaining their separate existence serve a positive purpose to online advertising, as the industry needs transparency and competition, instead of monopolies.

Michael Gilmour spoke about the future of domain parking, stating that currently only 20% of the world’s population is using the Internet. The percentage is increasing in Asia, in such countries as China and India. In fact, the growth in Asia is quite explosive. In India, the market is highly educated; there are also more millionaires in India than in the US. He concluded that domain owners need to develop up to three domains as businesses and utilize the rest of their portfolio as a revenue generator from parking.

Donny from Parked.com gave us all a history lesson, citing data of PPC for a domains over the course of 4 years, showing in effect that advertisers currently don’t care about top placement in search engines like Google and seem content with second or third places which are more affordable. He also mentioned that parking pages in the future need to be more visually appealing and look more like “real” web pages.

This concluded part one of Day 2. We had a great lunch that helped everyone unwind and yet network even more. I met with members of Domainsponsor and TrafficZ that seemed to like eachother a lot, despite both being Los Angeles based companies.

The dessert was delicious, the coffee invigorating and …I will continue Part 2 of Day 2 once my laptop batteries get recharged. 😀