The Mount Rushmore of Domaining

by 38 Comments

Tony from Musics.com left a good comment yesterday in the greatest domain investor of all time post. He mentioned creating a Mount Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore is located in South Dakota and was opened to the public 74 years ago. The faces on Mount Rushmore consist of: Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

There are always lists created in other industries, sports do this all the time, in fact NBA.com has an app on site where you can create your own.

MountRushmoreNBA

So list your four members of the Mount Rushmore of Domaining.

Comments

  4. Rick, Frank Schilling, Michael Berkins

    4) Kevin Ham (“the man who owned the Internet”: created a buzz about domains)
    5) Yun Ye (the Marchex portfolio — I still recall Yun getting Carpal Tunnel as he was developing over 20 mini websites per day to monetize the domains he acquired — incidentally, his wife contacted Dr. Kevin Ham online seeking help for her husband’s condition, which is how Kevin Ham really got into domains — the rest is history)
    6) Michael Mann — major sales — tough negotiator — pioneer
    7) Ron Jackson: DNJournal — leading publication for the domain industry
    8) The .CO Team — big-time exit

    The Industry was dominated mostly by Americans (USA/Canada), and men, but we’ve seen significant players coming from other regions – Asia, Europe, South America, Australia — and many young ladies also are making their marks — Tracy at enaming,com, Tess Holcomb at igloo.com Margot at Brandbucket.com

    For me, Rick is the one who put in his stake before people recognized the potential value,. I missed it in the early stages. I sold a company in 2001 to a Fortune 500 and I had an opportunity to acquire many premium domains. I passed — major mistake.

    I commend the 3 I mentioned, and I believe if we do a Mt. Rushmore poll in 5 years, it’s very possible a woman will be up there.

    Reply

      • That’s not doubtful son that is a no way. Any of those women would have a long way to go, decades to surpass the men on that list. I know that is not PC but sometimes the truth is just the truth.

        Reply

        • There are some incredible women in the business, Lori Anne Wardi is one of the best professionals in the business.

          There are a ton of people that will get no mention here because a lot of new domainers don’t know.

          Garry Chernoff
          Thunayan Al-Ghanim
          Chris Chena
          Scott Day
          Dr.Chris Hartnett
          Paul Stahura
          Adam Dicker
          Nat Cohen
          Monte Cahn
          Larry Fischer
          George Kirikos
          Adam Strong

          Reply

  5. I will go Ron Jackson the voice of an industry few knew anything about

    Rick because the portfolio and the sales speak for themselves.

    Frank Schilling he is in everything.

    Mike Berkens, well because I write here, I KID, because Mike gets prices for names that are not always top tier that no one except maybe Rick would get, and TheDomains.com. His new gtld coverage and thoughts were ahead of everyone else.

    Reply

  6. My vote is not based on their sales, how successful they are, or what they own, but how they positively impacted in industry as a whole. I could care less on praising someone based on how much money they make behind the scenes or how large their portfolio is, as it doesn’t benefit or legitimize the industry as a whole imo.

    Rick Schwartz for being the domain visionary and publicly legitimizing the industry
    Mike Mann for helping to legitimize the boutique domain aftermarket.
    Michael Cyger, DomainSherpa also has been a major help to further legitimize the industry.
    And Michael Berkens, his reported sales continue to set an example of what’s possible Today with
    ‘unconventional’ premium domains.

    Reply

  7. So then I guess we can scratch Danica Patrick off the list, if no lady candidates?. But what about Bob Parsons. I know the resistance. Godaddy is a major brand.

    Right now I agree w/Raymond: 1) Rick, 2) Frank, 3) Michael B, 4) Ron Jackson
    When I think of industry leaders, those guys are formidable.

    Reply

  8. My interest is in reading, I don’t own many high value domain names. So I will go Rick his blog is legendary, Mr.Berkens, Ron Jackson and Raymond Hackney since I read him everywhere.

    Reply

    • Much too kind sir, I am not in that league. Mt.Rushmore of .TV Domaining ? I think I can make that, maybe.

      Reply

  13. Here’s where most domainers and I part ways.

    There are plenty of rich successful people in domaining as well as individuals (rich or not) who’ve made a large (often as not positive) contribution to the industry. Some of those I respect. Half of them might even be trusted! More than a few domain professionals have accomplished something to admire. And by “admire”, I don’t mean simply envying another guy’s cash.

    But there is nobody in the domaining industry to look up to. Nobody. Engage with, shake hands with, agree and disagree with, sure … but as equals. Judge them on what they say and do today. Money isn’t impressive. Those who were positioned to make an early grab … grabbed early … and big. Some people were simply at the right place at the right time and had enough sense to get rich as a result. But if they hadn’t, someone else very likely would have stepped into their shoes.

    Rich or not, it’s what someone does next that counts. Take Rick Schwartz, for instance. I admire Rick because of his spirited advocacy for domains, going back to a period when he was a lone voice in the desert. And because of the way he drew the community together online and at conferences. And because he kept pushing the industry to go mainstream. Sometimes it didn’t work; his JointVentures.com venture was too ambitious, too early. Yet Rick has never been afraid to wait as the world catches up. I wasn’t reading his blog or going to T.R.A.F.F.I.C., but I’ve studied the history of this industry enough to realize how it grew and who grew it. As for Rick’s monumental domain sales? I’ll cite them as market data, and I can admire the skill / cojones of any negotiator who holds out that long. That’s all. Plenty of domains sell for high prices. Rick Schwartz stands out from those other sellers for other reasons.

    Frank Schilling differs from Kevin Ham in that he has found it worthwhile to keep hustling within the domaining community. Schilling stayed in the spotlight, much as Rick had always done before retiring – but for utterly different reasons. Frank realized that he was underutilizing a major asset – his own celebrity – and that other domainers could be converted into money-making customers. So his agenda, of course, has been to sell to us – InternetTraffic, DomainNameSales, Unregistry nTLDs, Uniregistry registrar accounts, etc. Measured by “mind share”, which is a phrase Frank utters occasionally, his companies have been quite successful within the domainer community. Frank talks enough to be wrong frequently, and he’s gentleman enough to let himself be refuted now and then. Uniregistry is a company I’d beat off with a stick if it gets anywhere near my domains. But if we’re counting tentacles, Frank Schilling wins.

    Then again, there are many powerful individuals and companies who keep a much lower profile. Schilling’s Uniregistry conglomerate isn’t unique in its scope. For instance, there’s NameJet / Enom / Rightside. And HugeDomains / DropCatch / NameBright. And others operating in stealth mode.

    Many unsung “heroes” built the infrastructure we take for granted – market places, parking platforms, escrow, drop catchers, newsletters, forums, brokerage agencies, etc. But there are other qualities and achievements to respect and/or admire. Can we imagine the domain industry without a consistent, objective editor like Andrew Allemann vetting, publishing, and clarifying the news? That’s not as easy as it seems. With so much money floating around, many bloggers allow their opinions to be biased by sponsors. And most people (myself included) are too interested in their own perspective to maintain Andrew’s even keel.

    Among domainers there is far too much hero worship. Installing a few faces on Mt. Rushmore suggests that we should be in awe of the very rich, industry big shots, and celebrities. Illusions like that obscure what’s really going on in a very complex industry. New domainers will fare better if they ignore Mt.-Rushmore-style fame, stay skeptical of easy success, remain critical of prominent figures, and look toward what they themselves can accomplish.

    Reply

      • Hey Guys….
        Mt. Rushmore was carved as a result of nearly 150 years of sweat equity and the men honored were long gone
        In comparison, the .com monopoly only has 30 years of sweat equity. Let’s not get a .HeAd of ourselves or a big.HeAd for that matter 😉 though much gratitude to the early pioneers, there is soo much more to come especially with all the choices now, and quite Frank Shillingly, I am surprised at the reluctance of some of the “pioneers” to embrace the “new era” with the ferver once displayed.
        Now that the King has retired, (who’s candor will be greatly missed), a Queen will naturally emerge. Tessa ?
        Other greats will emerge in this new era too. A collaborative plan of attack may be more in line with this point in the history of the industry,
        Mt. Rushmore ? Sorry, but the discussion makes me laugh. Plans for a monument for a battle that hasn’t
        even started yet.
        I’m with Joseph on this one, we have to climb the mountain before we can carve it up.

        Reply

    • I would say you have a bias writing for Andrew, others are just as independent in writing and not beholden to advertisers. Michael, Raymond, Jamie, come to mind, along with Elliot and Michael Cyger. So perhaps you should give a few examples of those who are swayed by their advertisers. DNW seems to have quite a few.

      For those seeing domains as going into a new era, I think it is safe to say domaining is on the decline, too many options, the new era is about registries making money off new domainers.

      Those looking to put more faces on mt.rushmore seem to not understand you can’t change what is already established. Create the great eight and make it an octopus if you desire that, rushmore is 4.

      Reply

      • If Andrew Allemann is good, does it follow that everyone else is bad? I’ve paid my respects Mike Berkens, Raymond Hackney, Jamie Zoch, Mike Cyger, and others many times in public and in private. You’d be surprised how some of us interact.

        As far as I’m personally concerned, there’s zero rivalry or competition between these venues. I don’t make a penny if anybody visits any of them. Clearly, I comment as much as I do at TheDomains.com because I value the discussion here. Guys like Shane Cultra will censor my comments so that they’re never published (even when the post is literally about me), but here that doesn’t happen. Mike Berkens is remarkably even handed, given his connections.

        DomainSherpa has been a great addition to the industry. In its first year, I watched it regularly. Since then, I’ve been too busy for podcasts – neither DomainSherpa’s nor DNW’s. Still, Mike Cyger’s role is a bit different. As a host, he must be polite to his guests. It isn’t meant to be a platform for investigative journalism. Apples and oranges. Nevertheless, a good orange.

        My only reason for mentioning Andrew Allemann is that I wanted 1 journalist as an example of values other than money and contributions other than sales. Berkens is also viewed as a successful investor, which would have made him a blurry example.

        I’m not sure what bias I’d have toward Andrew. What do I get if I praise the guy? Nada. It might be supposed that I write where I write because I already respected the reputation he’d built. In any case, if you disagree that Andrew has made a valuable contribution of a different kind, you’re welcome to say so. To sweep aside what I say merely because I’m commending a colleague would be an ad hominem fallacy.

        Reply

          • “Censored” suggests printing something partially. “Blocked” would be more exact.

            Yes, I’ve lost track of the number of blogs that block my comments. Usually this happens when I attempt to post remarks that disagree with what they’ve written or which appear unflattering to their sponsors. It’s surprisingly common.

          • In Shane’s case, he wrote an article attacking me as a “conspiracy theorist”. And when I responded, he didn’t have the guts to publish my response.

            We kissed and made up by phone, though. So as long as he doesn’t try that stunt again, we’ll get along swimmingly.

  14. Just a thought…
    I think we all would agree that the internet has changed the lives of everyone who has had the luxury / opportunity to spend time using it. I think it is fair to say it has CHANGED the world in many ways and possibly as much as anything ever has. So in my opinion this Mt. Rushmore foursome needs a change in the amount of its members. It would be unfair to leave off so many that have laid the ground work for someone like me to enjoy, prosper and grow from it.
    Cheers,
    KOB

    Reply

    • In that case, web designers and programmers would own the mountain. No domainer will ever make anywhere near as significant a contribution to the development of the internet as such.

      Reply

  16. The story of the Mount Rushmore of Domainers gets a little complicated….

    The location was way out in the middle of someplace nobody goes. Some domainers bought the land and had plans to maybe start sculpting it someday if they ever got around to it. Then, a mining company sued them all, claiming title to the land. The mining company got the land back, but then went bankrupt. The bankruptcy court had a sale of the land, which another bunch of domainers bought, but they are now all locked up in litigation with the former owner of the bankrupt mining company, who is claiming the sale was illegal.

    Reply

  17. If I ever get on a “Mt. Rushmore”, I sure hope a lady’s face will be next to my carved sun-battered physiognomy. That’s a long time up on Rushmore, without any lady companionship. Besides, a lady would brighten the landscape any day.

    Reply

  18. @JohnBerryhill

    I believe your Domainer Mt. Rushmore Origin Story was the original basis of the cable show, DEADWOOD, but things kinda changed after they brought in the saloons, gambling parlors , mining claims , the gunslingers and the Anytime Sweethearts.

    After Deadwood went belly up, they started carving that Domainer Mt. Rushmore, but Citizens United protested the site would block the path of the Keystone Pipeline. So….looks like a case for a Philadelphia counselor…

    Reply

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