Protecting your digital presence with defensive domain registrations

Reading Time | 6 Minutes

Today’s domain find I’m sharing is about a neighbor’s lost four-pawed family member.  This story hits too close to home for me.

The great escape…

A few years back, our two boxers got out for half a day on the town and ventured six streets over without my wife and I ever knowing until the latter part of the evening.

It wasn’t until my parents called to check on my wife who was pregnant at the time. It never fails, my parents call and eventually ask about the dogs and how they are doing.  When they asked, I went to show them they were outside either playing or napping.

That wasn’t the case this day.  The dogs were no where to be found in the backyard.  This didn’t seem odd to me. We tend to bring the our dogs in for a late afternoon nap.  It wasn’t until I came in and found their custom-made kennel empty that I begin to wonder and panic a bit.

I asked my wife had she let the dogs in.  She stated they were outside in the backyard.  And I did as Scooby would, “Ruh Roh”.  Houston, we have a problem as the dogs were not in the house or the backyard.

So, I checked the gate closest to their dog house and it was locked.  Then, I checked the other gate to find it had been left open.

Truth be told, it was an Austin City Inspector’s fault our dogs escaped.  The city inspector was to inspect our sprinkler system.  He inspect the sprinkler system, yet he left the gate open for the dogs great escape.

Where does one begin to search for lost pets?

Well, let the search begin.  My wife and I got in the truck and begin to drive around the neighborhood.

Defensively Registering Domains: Psst, your park gate is open…

Reading Time | 6 Minutes

I encountered another billboard while on my home that made me think about the importance of defensively registering domains.

I was able to quickly and safely pull off the road to capture a snapshot as the billboard stuck out to me for a number of reasons.

The billboards’s blue, white, and black hues are simple in design and layout, having an appealing white call-to-action text on a blue background.

Next, the billboard contained the logo and blue text describing its services placed on a white background.

Finally, at the bottom of the billboard in white text on a background was the domain name and phone number.

Most importantly, the billboard was well designed and well positioned for the nearly 180K plus Austin-based drivers that pass it daily along highway 183.

Austin-based Brands Increasingly Choose New Domain Extensions.

Reading Time | 9 Minutes

Each month I’m amazed to discover a small but growing number of Austin-based companies branding domains using new top-level extensions — the good, bad, and ugly.

Rummaging through the last 6 editions of the Community Impact Newsletter (CIN )for Northwest Austin, I’ve discovered breweries, pet shops, fitness brands, summer camps, and entertainment venues among the early adopters. 

Will Companies Leap to use .LLC Domains?

Reading Time | 4 Minutes

Out of the two best “corporate identifiers” to arrive in the domain market space, .LLC has beat it’s rival .INC to market a few months early.

Last month Afilias — the registry operator of the .info, .mobi and .pro top-level domain, service provider for registry operators of a handful of other new top-level domain extensions — announced the landrush for the new “dot LLC” or .LLC top level domain.

Should your business register domain variations?

Reading Time | 3 Minutes

Another season of soccer is just around the corner. I know this because we recently registered our oldest son.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing 5 year olds attempting to mimic the adult version of soccer, then you’re missing the laugh of your life.

Nevertheless, as we were leaving from completing registration, the following domain captured my attention as it was prominently displayed via a wrapped vehicle: RainTechGutterSolutions.com.

Speak to the world with .international!

Reading Time | 2 Minutes

This week I’m traveling to attend one of the biggest annual conferences for domain investors: NamesCon.

As I await my flight this early Sunday morning, I briefly checked and responded to email and social media notifications.

As I checked Twitter direct messages, I stumbled upon a photo sent from a fine gent living in Australia who knows my fascination, passion, and love for domain names.

Who knew Austin had a 2-day Pond Tour

Reading Time | 3 Minutes

This past weekend was another fun filled weekend for the House of Brown. We ventured downtown to attend Bubblepalooza!, presented by The Long Center and HEB, on the City Terrace at The Long Center.

I didn’t really know what to expect or how our two boys would respond (our little girl is only 11 months and just goes with the flow for now). Fortunately, Bubblepalooza! was a hit.

On our way home from Bubblepalooza! a fence banner caught my eye as we pass Zilker Park and Zilker Botanical Gardens.

Why leaving a brand’s fence gate wide open can be costly.

Leaving a brand’s fence gate wide open can be costly
Reading Time | 6 Minutes

Happy New Year, readers! 🥳🎉

It’s been a long time (uh, 2020!) since I left you without some domain reading to read too. Read too, read too, read too. Read too, read too, read too.

I’m dating myself as I hum the late Aaliyah’s song Try Again from the film and album soundtrack Romeo Must Die.

Now that I have your head bobbing to the beat let’s get down to business about the perils of leaving your brand’s fence gate wide open.

Domains in them thar West Virginian hills.

Reading Time | 6 Minutes

It’s been nearly 10 years since my wife and I had the opportunity to venture east, visiting the scenic natural beauty of them thar hills and mountains of West Virginia.

Ten years ago, we excitedly watched our friends take the plunge into marriage. Fast forward a decade later, 6 kids in between our families, and a timely football game between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Longhorns of the University of Texas at Austin.

Is GE the next Enron? GEFraud.com thinks so!

Reading Time | 3 Minutes

It’s been almost 2 decades since the proverbial house of cards collapsed in what was then the largest accounting fraud scandal and Chapter 11 bankruptcy in history, since surpassed by Worldcom during 2002 and Lehman Brothers during 2008 — sparking what would become the Great Recession.

In the same year as the Lehman Brothers shuttered and ceased existing, there was also another massive fraud event that tipped the scales when Harry Markopolos famously blew the whistle on Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Well, it’s over a decade later, and Markopolos has resurfaced again with his eyes targeted firmly on General Electric (GE).