Would you like a .gov address? It might be easier than you think to secure one, and that's not a good thing. KrebsonSecurity.com published an article about how a researcher filled out a form, grabbed some letterhead and impersonated a mayor of a small U.S. city. Basically they committed wire fraud to secure a .gov domain. From the article: “I used a fake Google Voice number and fake Gmail … [Read more...]
The startups who raised the most money in 2019
Denise Stephan published a piece on the crunchbase blog of the startups that raised the most money in 2019. Number 1 was Flexport Last Equity Funding: $1B Series D Notable Investors: Softbank Vision Fund, DST Global, Founders Fund Flexport is a licensed customs brokerage and freight forwarder built around a modern web application. Its service includes a dashboard for businesses … [Read more...]
Domain registrars are saying “Thank you Boomer”
Baby Boomers might not be thrilled with the term "Ok boomer" but registrars and registries sure are. Aja Romano @ajaromano writes on VOX.com "The earliest mentions of OK boomer can be traced as far back as 2015 on 4chan, where the phrase was used as an insult by the forum’s anonymous users, aimed at other anons who seemed out of touch. But the phrase really took off this year on TikTok, … [Read more...]
LittleBean.com rebrands to LittleChickpea.com
LittleBean.com A Portland Vegan Ice Cream Company has to rebrand to LittleChickpea.com because Gerber (a Nestle company) has a trademark for Lil' Beanies. This is a discontinued product line. Willamette Week covered the story. From the story: "Our lawyers reached out to theirs and they said they had discontinued the line and had no intention of doing anything with it," Camden says. So … [Read more...]
“Having the premium domain Headlights.com is the modern-day equivalent of opening a storefront on 5th Avenue”
HeadlightsDepot.com put out a press release announcing they acquired Headlights.com and are pretty excited about it. They note they made numerous attempts to get the domain going back to 2010. Registered since 1998, the domain looked to be owned by Vertical Axis, parked at Uniregistry. Here is the full release: POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- HeadlightsDepot is proud … [Read more...]
LeBron James should have at least went for TacoTuesday.com
Back in September LeBron James had his trademark request for "Taco Tuesday" denied. ESPN reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused the application filed by James' company LBJ Trademarks, explaining that "Taco Tuesday" is "a commonplace term." In my opinion he should have at least secured the TacoTuesday.com domain name. TacoTuesday.com has now changed hands. The OC … [Read more...]
Domain name change and rebrand causes one company to lose 80% of their organic search traffic
Not every rebrand and domain change goes as planned. In the case of Looka formerly Logo Joy they are now looking at laying off 80% of their employees. Patricio Robles wrote a piece on Econsultancy that delves into the rebrand and what might have gone wrong. The article is an especially good read for anyone who is thinking of a domain name change and redesign of their website … [Read more...]