Congratulations T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Award Winners!

Last week some of Team Dynadot attended T.R.A.F.F.I.C. in Fort Lauderdale, FL. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is a conference for domain investors as well as companies in the domain industry. It was started in 2004 by "Domain King" Rick Schwartz and "Internet Lawyer" Howard Neu and this year marked their 23rd show.

This year, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. focused on some of the changes we are seeing in the domain industry. Obviously on the forefront of these changes is the proposed new gTLDs that we will start seeing next year. How will they affect .COM and the other current TLDs? Views on the new gTLDs were split - some are staunch believers in the superiority of .COM, while others, namely those that have invested in the new gTLDs, are excited by the possiblities they will offer. Some even consider this to be a chance to "start over" with new domain investments, as though this will be a return to the early days of the industry. Could these changes be something that will renew the industry? Only time will tell.

A favorite part of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is the live domain auction. Attendees are given numbered paddles to bid with and bids are also taken over the phone. The auction even features a fast-talking auctioneer to make things more exciting. There were some great options up for sale including fanclub.com, saws.com, amusementpark.com, buildingcredit.com, realityshows.tv, insults.tv, and a lot more. Although not all of the domains were sold during the auction, Rick Schwartz continued the auction on his blog after some of the sellers lowered their reserves. The domain saws.com, in particular, was sold during this "second bite" auction for $60,000.

Each T.R.A.F.F.I.C. also honors some of the people making a difference in the domain industry and we want to give a big congratulations to this year's winners!

Best Monetizing Solution: DomainPower.com
Best Overall Domain Solution: Sedo
Best Domain Blog: DomainSherpa.com
The "We Get It" award: SalesForce.com
Developer of the Year Award: Alan Dunn (DomainHoldings)
Broker of the Year: Dave Evanson (Sedo)
Sponsor of the Year: Escrow.com
Domainer of the Year: Frank Shilling
Domain Hall of Fame: Chad Folkenning & Michael Mann
Bandit Berkens "Goodwill Ambassador Award": Judi & Michael Berkens

Again a big congratulations to all of the winners above! And we'd like to send a big thank you to Rick Schwartz, Howard Neu, Barbara Neu, Alina Schwartz, Ray Neu, Danny Pryor, and the entire T.R.A.F.F.I.C. team for putting on such a great event. Look for us at the next T.R.A.F.F.I.C. event in Las Vegas, NV May 29-June 1!



Team Dynadot with Ron Jackson of DN Journal (middle) and Vishal Manjalani of Media.net/Skenzo (right).
Photo courtesy of Barbara Neu.

Post by Robyn Norgan (pictured far left), who hopes to see you at the next T.R.A.F.F.I.C. event!