As a part of the 10^th Anniversary celebrations I’m talking with Colin Campbell from .CLUB. Colin is the CEO and one of the founders of .CLUB, and in the video he discusses what's been happening with .CLUB over the past year.

Colin then shares his thoughts on the controversial pricing increases that some registries have implemented. More importantly for .CLUB domain investors, he talks about why .CLUB is contractually and commercially bound not to follow suit.

This is quickly followed-up by the new startup initiative where .CLUB has purchased a building in Fort Lauderdale Florida for the startup community. They are in the process up fitting the building out and within the next 12 months plan on supporting over 30 startups both with investment and facilities.

I hope you enjoy the easy banter back and forth as Colin and I discuss a wide range of domain investment topics.

I must admit that I'm pretty excited about attending the upcoming "Domain Conference" in Fort Lauderdale. I can't remember how many times I've traveled across the Pacific Ocean to attend a conference convened by Howard and Barbara Neu....and each one of them has been brilliant!

So now to the awards.....if you would like to nomiate a person for an award then you must send in the below form by the 20th August, 2015 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Don't forget to book your ticket as the event will be held on the 26-29th September at the prestigious Hyatt Regency in Fort Lauderdale.

You may nominate only one person in each category”:

The categories are:

DOMAIN DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR

I nominate _____________________________________________

DOMAIN BLOGGER OF THE YEAR

I nominate _____________________________________________

BEST REGISTRY OF THE YEAR

I nominate ______________________________________________

BEST REGISTRAR OF THE YEAR

I nominate _______________________________________________

DOMAIN BROKER OF THE YEAR

I nominate ______________________________________________________

DOMAIN INVESTOR OF THE YEAR

I nominate ______________________________________________________

BEST COMPANY IN THE INDUSTRY FOR 2015

I nominate ______________________________________________________

GOODWILL AMBASSADOR AWARD

I nominate ______________________________________________________

DOMAIN INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME

The following have already been inducted into the DOMAIN INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME: MIKE BERKENS, JOHN BERRYHILL, MONTE CAHN, DAVID CASTILLO, MICHAEL CASTILLO, MICHAEL CYGER, SCOTT DAY, ADAM DICKER, CHAD FOLKENNING, JEFF GABRIEL, RON JACKSON, RICK LATONA, IGAL LICHTMAN (Deceased), MIKE MANN, HOWARD NEU, SAHAR SARlD, FRANK SCHILLING, RICK SCHWARTZ, YUN YI

I nominate ______________________________________________________

I would like to wish everyone all the best in being nominated.

Cheers!

Michael

As always, it's a pleasure to chat with Jackson Elsegood from Escrow.com. During this video we discuss some of the new developments at Escrow.com and a number of features that readers may not be aware.

We then move on to talk about how Escrow.com has recently been awarded a Torch award in business ethics from the Better Business Bureau. This reflects well not just on Escrow.com but on the entire domain industry as an external authority recognises a key company operating in the industry.

I hope you enjoy the interview and find that it's also valuable to get some fresh insight into a key company in the domain eco-system.

I’m writing this while I sit in a coffee shop at McCarran Airport in Vegas with my family. After the last few days at NamesCon the coffee I’m sipping feels so good and in my near stupor I find myself pondering why it doesn’t come in syringes.

Like many of you, I found NamesCon a trial of endurance with four days of back to back 30 minute meetings followed by a brief respite with my pillow each night. And this is why it was such a great event.

I’ve never conducted so much business, secured so many agreements and made so many new contacts. NamesCon was where 1400 plus Internet entrepreneurs gathered together from all over the world to do business and not just have a talk fest.

It was great having my family with me on this trip and I want to thank everyone for making them feel so welcome. They loved NamesCon because they didn’t feel like outsiders thanks to your smiles and warm conversation. Sarah and Elise, also had a chance to see their Dad in action in meetings and at a couple of presentations…..which was pretty cool!

I personally believe that you only need 30 people at a conference because that’s about the limit to the numbers of people you can have meetings with. The challenge for the conference organisers is to make it the right 30 people. NamesCon was a bit of a problem.

There weren’t 30 people but easily over 100 that I thought that it would be great to connect with. The result….massive overload of opportunities. In military parlance, it was a target rich environment. This is exactly why NamesCon will continue to grow and expand under the new owners.

I would like to thank all those people that took time out of their own busy schedules to meet with me. For those of you that I didn’t get a chance to catch-up with I really do apologise…..leave a message here so we can connect on skype.

For all of my friends in the industry that I’ve made over the last 16 years….I’m really sorry that we didn’t get time to catch-up. I feel like many of us kept on passing each other in the long hallway (boy was it long!) as we sped to our next appointment.

So what’s next? For me, it’s an afternoon of sleep and a couple of days at Disneyland with my family….my flights just been called so I’d better go!

Take care and safe travels.

Vegas will come alive with NamesCon in just over a week! People will be flying from all over the world to get further educated about domains, conduct business and make new friends. I will be arriving on Friday 20^th and I’m really looking forward to the swathe of meetings and sessions that I already have lined up.

The first of my sessions is for registrars and registries and I will be sharing about some new technology that we’ve developed that will enable these two types of organisations earn additional revenue. It's going to a practical session that will unpack a number of great opportunities.

Date: Monday 23rd, 11am
Room: WP Engine Room

If you represent either a registrar or registry then it would be great to see you there as I’m sure it will well worth your time. If you have a clash in your schedule then please reach out to me either here or via the NamesCon app so we can meet one-on-one.

The second session I’m participating on is a panel that will be discussing “Monetisation”. There’s a number of other highly experienced individuals on the panel and I know that we will be all digging into how to get the most from your domain traffic.

Date: Wednesday 25th,12pm
Room: Uniregistry Keynote Hall

I should mention that I will also be accompanied by Laci Nagy from ParkLogic and I know that he’s really looking forward to catching up with clients and partners. Joe Politzer, who works with ParkLogic out of San Diego won’t be able to make it to NamesCon due to the recent birth of his daughter….congrats Joe!

I've been using the NamesCon app to reach out to a number of people and I must admit that it's a fantastic tool for coordinating meetings etc. If you haven't downloaded the app then please do so....it's really good! Click here to download the app.

My wife and two daughters will also be joining me at NamesCon. Sarah (my eldest daughter) will be attending many of the meetings and sessions with me as she is wanting to broaden her experience of the domain industry before her studies this year in social marketing. Please make her feel welcome as she soaks everything up in her effort to learn more about our industry.

So while I’m earning the money through the many business deals Roselyn and Elise will be out spending it up at the discount factory outlets……so if you ever want to do a deal with me then now will be the time. Somehow I’ve got to earn enough to pay for all their shopping! :-)

I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone at NamesCon and making a lot of new friends along the way.

See you there!