Its that time of year again where the organizers of the TRAFFIC Conference have opened up nominations for the TRAFFIC award which will be handed out during its conference October 7th-10th 2012 in Ft. Lauderdale.
As we have for the last few year, we are going to nominate a few people.
For the Domain Hall Of Fame:
I’m going with some of my previous picks who all should be in the Domain Hall of Fame:
Mike Mann
We have previously nominated Mike whom should have been, in our opinion, one of the 1st five members of Domain Hall of Fame in the past.
This year Mike has been selling a ton of names and made national news when we registered over 14,000 domains in one day (you can read about that here and here)
Larry Fischer
We previously nominated Larry as well, one of the smartest and quality people in the business and not only has been a domainer but the owner of a parking company.
Rob Grant
We previously nominated Rob as well, you can check out this DnJournal.com cover story on Rob to see why he deserves to be in the Hall Of Fame.
You can also check out this interview and story about Rob that was published a week ago.
Domainer of the Year
As we did last year we are going to nominate someone who isn’t a pure “Domainer” but has had a huge impact on the domain industry.
Paul Stahura
Paul is the founder of Enom, the worlds 2nd largest domainer registrar and this year made national news as his new company Donuts, Inc. become the largest new gTLD applicant spending $60 Million dollars to file its 307 applications.
There arguable hasn’t been anyone in the domain industry who has made a bigger splash or had the spotlight placed on the domain industry more this year than Paul.
There have been hundreds if not thousands of articles written about Donuts and the eye opening investment they are making in the domain name space.
Here are all the categories opened for Nominations.
Nomination close on Wednesday July 25th at 6pm EST so get your nominations in:
OFFICIAL BALLOT 2012 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. AWARDS NOMINATIONS
The T.R.A.F.F.I.C. AWARDS have become the oldest, most sought-after and prestigious Domain Industry awards because winners are selected by your peers and presented annually each Fall since 2004. This year marks the 9th Annual Awards with the Ceremonies scheduled to take place at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 2012, at the Ft. Lauderdale Beach Ritz-Carlton Resort on Tuesday, October 9, 2012.
This year we have added DOMAIN BROKER OF THE YEAR as a new category. You may nominate one person in each category by filling in your preferences below and sending back this email before 6PM EDT Wednesday July 25th.
The AWARDS are:
BEST NEW MONETIZING SOLUTION (the NEW company with best monetizing results)
BEST OVERALL DOMAIN SOLUTION (this includes Revenues, Sales, Development, etc.)
THE “WE GET IT” AWARD ( this goes to the brick and mortar company that understands the value of a good domain)
DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR (self-explanatory)
DOMAIN BROKER OF THE YEAR (the person or company that is the most successful in brokering the sale of domains)
BEST DOMAIN BLOG (the one that you can’t miss)
SPONSOR OF THE YEAR (the company that really gives the best customer service)
DOMAINER OF THE YEAR ( the person who stands above the rest in the domaining industry) Past Winners Include: Richard Lau, Rick Schwartz, Frank Schilling (2005 & 2011), Kevin Ham, Rick Latona, Mike Berkens, Gregg McNair.
DOMAIN HALL OF FAME (two people are inducted each year, but only nominate one)
The following have already been inducted to the DOMAIN HALL OF FAME:
SCOTT DAY, MONTE CAHN, RON JACKSON, MIKE BERKENS, RICK LATONA, RICK SCHWARTZ, DAVID CASTILLO, MICHAEL CASTILLO, FRANK SCHILLING, YUN YE, CHRISTOPER HARTNETT, SAHAR SARID, HOWARD NEU, ADAM DICKER
Krishna says
July 23, 2012 at 10:01 amI bought hivpill.com from mikemann company for $350 (through godaddy auctions). They have not transferred due to recent US FDA news (approval of hiv pill).
You are recommending such cheaters.
David J Castello says
July 23, 2012 at 10:02 amGarry Chernoff is long overdue to be inducted into the Hall of fame.
David J Castello says
July 23, 2012 at 10:04 amPS: When did we become Spanish and change our last name to Castillo? 🙂
Michael H. Berkens says
July 23, 2012 at 10:10 amDavid
You will have to ask that one to Rick and Howard, that’s the way it reads on the ballot.
David J Castello says
July 23, 2012 at 10:22 amOn it 🙂
Rick Schwartz says
July 23, 2012 at 10:31 amYou are now a Dual National.
Howard and I apologize profusely!
Vanna Can I buy another vowel?
“E” please.
At least we spelled it right on the award itself. 😉
Jon Schultz says
July 23, 2012 at 11:37 amI think there should be another category – Nicest Domainer – for which I nominate Alan Hack. I don’t think Alan would say anything mean about anyone, which I think we can all learn from.
Michael H. Berkens says
July 23, 2012 at 11:39 amJon
Alan is also a great broker so you can nominate him for that.
Dean says
July 23, 2012 at 12:47 pmI am not even going to read through the nominees, I just hope it’s not the same re-cycled handful that got nominated year after year. In years past it was like musical chairs, it was always the same cast of characters, only getting nominated for different awards. I do believe they are working the kinks out, best of luck.
Michael H. Berkens says
July 23, 2012 at 12:58 pmDean
There are no nominees, I’m letting you know that nominations are opened so you are free to nominate anyone you want.
Mann O War says
July 23, 2012 at 1:04 pmI agree Mike Mann is the logical choice. Why vary from a routine which allows for the winner to be inducted into the Domain Hall of Fame and the Domain Hall of Shame simultaneously.
Mann is a natural for both!
Dean says
July 23, 2012 at 1:33 pmThere is no category for “Marathon Registering.” Definitely MM wins that category hands down.
Rick Schwartz says
July 23, 2012 at 2:10 pm“I do believe they are working the kinks out, best of luck.”
Just for the record, there are no “Kinks” to be worked out.
This system has worked flawlessly as designed for 8 years now.
There is no such thing as “Insiders” or “Old boys club”
Those that are nominated by their peers get voted on by their peers.
Then of course the ones that don’t participate complain about who gets nominated and voted for.
Come on, that’s just not fair.
Dean says
July 23, 2012 at 4:31 pmI just participated by stating my opinion. I don’t believe any system, organization or event run’s “flawlessly.” There is always going to be some challenge, if you are a business and you are static, than you are mired in the mud. Maybe as a non-participant, I am being a little “unfair” but in my view of past events, it always appeared to be the same rote of nominees and attendees every year. My views and opinions on things are constantly evolving however, I have contemplated attending a TRAFFIC conference as of recent. Perhaps you could even create a special category that I could be nominated in? Perhaps “Biggest Thorn, on the Side of Domainers” or something like a “Keeping Them Honest” category. All kidding aside, keep the dream alive.
Uzoma says
July 23, 2012 at 4:34 pmA No-Brainer even for A Domainer
The best Domainer, the most honest Domainer, the Domainer of the year, inductee, whatever you call it, should go to:
drum roll…
Eric Borgos of Impulse Communications
Eric Borgos is the President of Impulse Communications, Inc., an Internet company that owns over 250 websites such as CheapFlowers.com, Dumb.com, WatchMovies.com, and Adoptme.com. He is also an active domain domain name investor with a portfolio of 5,000 domains that includes Physical.com, BuyWine.com, and Pastries.com.
Mr. Borgos graduated with a finance degree from Babson College in 1991 and ran several different businesses until he found his calling on the Internet in 1995. Since that time Eric has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, Readers Digest, USA Today, Popular Science, and Inc. Magazine; and his websites have been talked about on radio stations such as National Public Radio (NPR) and TV shows such as Extra and TechTV.
Some of the more interesting facts about Mr. Borgos include:
At one point had over 15 people working for him but never met any of them (only used email)
Invented a toy and got it sold at Toys “R” Us.
Bought 2 retail flower stores thousands of miles away without visiting them first or knowing anything about flowers or retail stores.
Tried to go public in 2000 through a reverse merger.
For years had an office 3000 miles away but never once went there.
In 2008 sold his Bored.com network of websites for $4.5 million
In 2011 sold a portfolio of 4000 of his domains for $1.3 million.
More recently Eric has been focusing on creating sites that feature leading edge technologies, including Indexed.com (using a neural network to rank users on social media sites) and PickStocks.com (using a neural network to predict stock prices), as well as additional sites under development that involve facial recognition technology, automated speech transcription, accent detection, and “six degrees of separation” type networking.
Eric is also an amateur musician, having written and recorded over 100 songs (see MCEricB.com to listen to them for free) including such viral music video hits as “Pimp My Sleigh”, “Hip-Hop Hanukkah”, and “The TurboTax Rap”.
Domain Names he Sold – 2012
It is now halfway through the year, a list of domains that he sold so far in 2012:
FishingAddict.com – $6250
HireDesigners.com – $2500
MagicSpell.com – $4950
PixPlus.com – $6250
BestAmmo.com – $200
OceanSpring.com – $1,000
ComedyHour.com – $2,000
DreamChamber.com – $400
FightFire.com – $250
ElectricSavings.com – $2500
Boneofthemonth.com – $200
PromDeal.com – $375
ilovebooks.com – $10,000
voxz.com – $1500
InboxPro.com – $3,000
Scars.net – $8,000
PastaLovers.com – $12,500
JustPetfood.com – $1200
Snackland.com – $600
buyitfast.com – $1500
ReadBooks.net – $800
MeetingMe.com – $600
EasyCollect.com – $2000
GetQuotes.com – $31,000
Singalongs.com – $1500
BuyReplicas.com – $1000
MakeupDeals.com – $2000
MiamiBeachFlorist.com – $1500
GetVisibility.com – $3,000
live4less.com – $300
GreatCures.com – $5000
CruiseTicket.com – $2000
FlowerStand.com – $7,500
2lol.com – $400
CyberHeroes.com – $550
QualityLawyers.com – $7,500
FindCostumes.com – $500
TownSpot.com – $1000
tvpage.com – $1500
BuyDrapes.com and BuyDraperies.com – $2000
FindBooks.net – $300
DatingWomen.com – $12,000
BikeSupplies.com – $6000
Inventing.com – $60,000
Spy5.com – $800
GetStickers.com – $500
CallJamaica.com – $500
CoffeeSupplies.com – $8000
GroupCalls.com – $1000
LiquidationDepot.com – $800
Domain Names he Sold – September 2011
Below is a list of some of the domain names that I sold in the past 9 months:
WebStartups.com – $5,000
CouponJunkies.com – $4,000
BestFirearms.com – $500
GetEngaged.com – $7,000
Zabber.com – $500
Winloot.com – $1,000
Venturefund.com – $5,000
Quicktrades.com – $2,000
HugoBooks.com – $500
Findgifts.net – $1,100
Buygifts.net – $1,100
Birdwatchers.net – $1,500
4RentalCars.com – $4,500
GoodAuctions.com – $2,000
CancerTalk.com – $1,500
Tv2Pc.com – $2,500
HotelSavings.com – $20,000
Getdating.com – $7,500
Petcaretips.com – $350
inthecards.com – $250
InsureMeNow.com – $5,000
BigWinner.com $5,000
SmoothLegs.com $3,500
SuperStories.com – $1,000
FatFarm.net – $1,500
HotelStays.com – $4,200
GuysClub.com – $2,800
BigPerks.com – $1,000
Blipo.com – $600
CasualDates.com – $10,000
MassiveHits.com – $5,000
PartyBin.com $550
BigBargains.com – $10,000
Getmehired.com – $1,250
Paydayfunding.com – $2,500
Source: http://www.impulsecorp.com/
* I have no affiliation or connection with/to Eric Borgos or Impulse.
Michael H. Berkens says
July 23, 2012 at 4:52 pmUzoma
Its not time to vote its only time to nominate which you could have just done instead of writing this piece
larry fischer says
July 23, 2012 at 5:04 pmThank you Michael for your kind words. I appreciate your continued recommendation.
Uzoma says
July 23, 2012 at 5:07 pmSorry Mike, I wanted to influence you, and others to consider Eric.
Is it ok?
unknowndomainer says
July 23, 2012 at 5:08 pmI nominate the mysterious “NDA”. They’ve done more deals than anyone by a large margine this year (and every year) … and all high value.. in spaces most domainers avoid….
Michael H. Berkens says
July 23, 2012 at 5:12 pmUzoma
What I’m saying this is only nomination time, so you can send your nomination in and nominate Eric or anyone else.
Now once the ballot comes out and its voting time, that would be the time to make your argument who should get the award
Dean says
July 23, 2012 at 5:14 pmBtw Rick,
not to beat a dead horse… but now that You and Howard have TRAFFIC back under your reign, it may be near flawless, but the last couple of TRAFFIC show’s under Rick Latona’s guidance were near disasters. And that was just a couple of years ago.
Uzoma says
July 23, 2012 at 5:14 pmRoger; ten-four.
BullS says
July 23, 2012 at 7:40 pmWebsite of the year “BullS”
again and again…..10+ years in a row.
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 11:54 amhilarious, never heard of Eric, looks like he is killing it, as much as I want to win Id have to vote for Paul this year, in any case how does one actually vote ?
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 11:55 amSpeaking of hilarious “This system has worked flawlessly as designed for 8 years now.
There is no such thing as “Insiders” or “Old boys club””
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 11:57 amI have sold more names than anyone, and probably bought more too, and build fantastic business at the same time with key domains like Phone.com, SEO.com, Sex.com (and BuyDomains.com/DomainMarket.com/PRMarketing.com/PurePPC.com etc) how is it that I was never voted in if there is no old boys club?
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 11:57 amAlso the sale of Sex.com is the world record domain sale supposedly according to Guiness.
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 12:03 pmAnd build and financed great keyword charities which help loads of people and lots of other charities Grassroots.org ChangeTheWorld.org Interns.org MakeChangeTrust.org
Also I sold oldboysclub.com
Date: 2008-12-23 21:51:28
Domain: OLDBOYSCLUB.COM
Price: US$25,000.00
Facts says
August 4, 2012 at 1:12 pmPerhaps the reason you consistently don’t get voted in has to do with things other than how many domains you’ve bought and sold?
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 1:38 pmThats my point, its not supposed to be an insider old boys club personality contest, it SHOULD BE but is not solely based on accomplishment.
Mike Mann says
August 4, 2012 at 1:40 pmAnonymous haters commenting based on personality (their own issues) and not any facts, nothing new there.
Chad Bennett says
August 4, 2012 at 5:33 pmIf we are going based on accomplishments for the Domain Hall of Fame then Mike Mann is clearly the right choice regardless of personality issues one might have with him.
Michael B. said it best when he stated that Mike, “arguably {started} the domain aftermarket. “,
and, “without a doubt Michael should have been one of the first 5 people voted into the Hall of Fame and the time has come for that omission to be corrected.”
krishna says
August 5, 2012 at 1:47 amI received following message from domainmarket:
I recently saw your comment about HIVPill.com at http://www.thedomains.com/2012/07/23/traffic-award-nominations-are-opened-here-are-our-picks/comment-page-1/#comment-113604.
I apologize for your hassles and looked into the situation to see what happened.
We no longer own this domain. (http://whois.sc/hivpill.com) It was sold prior to your bids with GoDaddy. This is an issue with the way the GoDaddy system works as there is a short lag time between a purchase on our sites and GoDaddy. We are implementing new procedures to minimize the chances of happening in the future but the the best way to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future is to purchase the names directly on our website http://www.DomainMarket.com.
Sincerely,
Chad Bennett | 801-358-5536 | chad@domainmarket.com
President / CTO
my explanation:
I contacted you earlier regarding this but no one either replied or explained. Sorry for misunderstanding.