Network Solutions: Still the Domain Price Leader

I guess it's just like those gas stations that sell petrol at a price that is above most of the other stations. The higher cost makes some people think that their more expensive gas must be "better" in some way, otherwise they would not charge more, right?

 

So it is too with domain names. I just happened to be on the Network Solutions (Didn't they change to Verisign at some point...?) site and thought I would check their prices, expecting them to be the same old $30 a year that they used to be. At first I almost went into shock! It said they were only charging $8.95 a year!!!    Then I realized that it said that price was " 1 Year w/ Monthly Hosting". They actually give you the domain for free if you pay for a year of hosting. But if you just want a domain name for a year it's $34.99! Ouch, yup they're still at it.

 

Ok, I do see that there is a price break if you register for more than one year at a time, but why put the pressure on people to register for multiple years? Most other registrars don't do that.

 

So what's the difference between a NSI domain and a GoDaddy or other registrar's domain name? You got it, about $26! They are even charging $34.99 for .info domains, which can generally be had for a huge discount for the first year. Check out www.domainsite.com, my new favorite registrar as an example.

 

NSI also offers something I have not seen, the ability to register a domain for 100 years at only, ONLY $9.99 a year!. What a bargain! An what are the chances that we will have domain names, or have to pay for them in 100 years? I'd say it's pretty slim. Given that the profit on domain names is so huge, I don't expect them to get all that expensive in the future. Thank God, we were able to give NSI some competition. Can you imagine what domains would cost if they were the only provider...!?!?

 

(hris

 

 

Search Engine Marketing Firm iProspect Experiences Meteoric Growth In the Netherlands

 

Search Engine Marketing Firm iProspect Experiences Meteoric Growth In the Netherlands

Watertown, MA (PRWEB) November 7, 2005 -- iProspect, the Original® http://www.iprospect.com [Search Engine Marketing Firm], today announced that iProspect Netherlands has experienced tremendous growth during its first four months in business, already serving a number of major brands, including DHL and ING Card. A division of Aegis Group plc’s Isobar Communications digital network, iProspect looks to continue the global extension of its brand into the European and Asia-Pacific marketplaces.

http://www.iprospect.com/nl/[“iProspect Netherlands] was only launched at the end of June 2005, and already serves around 20 major brands -- substantial advertising accounts,” said Marc Noët, Managing Director, Isobar Communications Netherlands. “The search engine marketing knowledge and recognized ethical approach of the iProspect brand in the U.S. that have been duplicated in the Netherlands are two of the key factors in this rapid growth. Our original goal was to become the third largest SEM firm in the Netherlands within nine months. Having achieved this goal in less than half the time, we’ve re-set our sights on achieving absolute market leadership within the Netherlands search marketplace and further re-enforcing the leadership position Isobar Communications already has here," according to Noët.

“iProspect Netherlands’ tremendous growth is demonstrative of the respect the iProspect brand generates,” said Nigel Morris, CEO of Isobar worldwide. Morris continued, “The iProspect brand is globally recognized as the premier player in the search engine marketing arena. iProspect’s http://www.iprospect.com/whychoose/thought-leadership.htm [thought leadership] in the marketplace and reputation for excellence in process, technology, and results speak for themselves. Without question, it is a brand that fits perfectly with Isobar’s strategy to create a global network comprised of the very best digital agencies in all key disciplines. This should be seen as just one part of a global search strategy that is being rolled out in a carefully planned and rigorous way.”

iProspect Netherlands is the first of many planned global brand expansions into the European and Asia Pacific marketplaces. Leveraging the knowledge, expertise, and ethical standards resident at iProspect in the U.S., the Netherlands’ search engine marketing firm was able to ramp-up with impressive speed and land major brand advertisers by leveraging the trusted iProspect name.

"We chose iProspect as part of our overall online media,” noted S. Schroeders, Distribution Manager at ING Card. Schroeders continued, ‘”Their specialized knowledge and dedication to http://www.iprospect.com/whychoose/search-engine-marketing-ethics.htm [search engine marketing ethics] made us choose them."

According to J.P. Duurland, Head of Marketing Communications at DHL, “iProspect Netherlands significantly positions DHL as a market leader in this rapidly growing online media channel.”

Acquired by Isobar Communications at the end of 2004, iProspect is respected worldwide for the quality of their tools, process, and people, and is considered a key component in its parent’s strategy to develop a global digital network.

“These are exciting times here at iProspect,” said Fredrick Marckini, the firm’s founder and CEO. “As the iProspect brand is launched in international markets, the opportunities for our clients to leverage true, in-country search marketing expertise is something we know will produce powerful results. By offering a true, in-country, search engine marketing network, the possibilities for leveraging best practices and the power of search internationally are significant.”

“Search engine marketing as a whole is barely scratching the surface of what’s possible in the United States alone,” said David Verklin, CEO of Carat North America and of Aegis Group’s Asia-Pacific division. “More and more, search engine marketing is a game that is played without borders to reach audiences all over the world. Through our planned expansion of the iProspect brand into Europe and Asia, we are building the next generation of search marketing capability. It’s not enough to be found by searchers within the borders of the U.S. We want to help our clients reach searchers from Holland, to France, Japan, South America and beyond. As more and more citizens of the world go online, they continue to rely on search to identify products and solutions, and it will take a truly global search engine marketing firm with ‘boots on the ground’ in each country to connect these searching audiences with brands. We’re excited about iProspect Netherlands’ early success in pursuit of that vision.”

About iProspect
http://www.iprospect.com [iProspect®] is the Original® Search Engine Marketing Firm. The company helps many of the world's most successful brands maximize their online marketing ROI through http://www.iprospect.com/services/search-engine-optimization-service.htm [natural search engine optimization], http://www.iprospect.com/services/paid-inclusion-management-service.htm [paid inclusion management] as a Yahoo! Search Submit Certified Ambassador, http://www.iprospect.com/services/pay-per-click-management-service.htm [pay per click advertising management] via their own patent-pending bid management agent called iSEBA™, and http://www.iprospect.com/services/web-analytics-service.htm [Web analytics] through their own SEM-configured version of WebTrends™. Located in Watertown, Massachusetts, the company can be contacted at 1-800-522-1152, or by visiting www.iprospect.com.

Questions regarding this release should be directed to iProspect Media Relations Manager, Colleen Reed, at 1-800-522-1152 x1203 or creed@iprospect.com.

# # #

Press Contact: Colleen Reed
Company Name: IPROSPECT
Email: creed@iprospect.com
Phone: 617-923-7000
Website: http://www.iprospect.com

Authors Guild Sues Google, Citing "Massive Copyright Infringement"

 Authors Guild Sues Google, Citing “Massive Copyright Infringement”

September 20, 2005 Press Release

Contact: Paul Aiken
staff@authorsguild.org

NEW YORK — The Authors Guild and a Lincoln biographer, a children's book author, and a former Poet Laureate of the United States filed a class action suit today in federal court in Manhattan against Google over its unauthorized scanning and copying of books through its Google Library program. The suit alleges that the $90 billion search engine and advertising juggernaut is engaging in massive copyright infringement at the expense of the rights of individual writers.

Through its Library program, Google is reproducing works still under the protection of copyright as well as public domain works from the collection of the University of Michigan's library.

“This is a plain and brazen violation of copyright law,” said Authors Guild president Nick Taylor. “It's not up to Google or anyone other than the authors, the rightful owners of these copyrights, to decide whether and how their works will be copied.”

The individual plaintiffs are Herbert Mitgang, a former New York Times editorial writer and the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including “The Fiery Trial: A Life of Lincoln,” published by Viking Press; Betty Miles, the award-winning author of many works for children and young adults, and the co-author of “Just Think,” published by Alfred A. Knopf; and Daniel Hoffman, the author and editor of many volumes of poetry, translation, and literary criticism, including “Barbarous Knowledge: Myth in the Poetry of Yeats, Graves and Muir” and “Striking the Stones,” both published by Oxford University Press. Mr. Hoffman was the 1973-74 Poet Laureate of the United States.

Google has agreements with four academic libraries — those of Stanford, Harvard, Oxford and the University of Michigan — and with the New York Public Library to create digital copies of substantial parts of their collections and to make those collections available for searching online. Google has not sought the approval of the authors of these works for this program.

The complaint seeks damages and an injunction to halt further infringements.

The Authors Guild (www.authorsguild.org), the largest society of published writers in the United States, represents more than 8,000 authors.

The Authors Guild is the nation's largest and oldest society of published authors and the leading writers' advocate for fair compensation, effective copyright protection, and free expression.

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[Editor Comments: Another dinosaur roars in the valley of the vested industries. Let's see.... Open source software, Music file sharing (Ever make an 8-track or cassette copy for a friend? Of course not, you only know about exchanging files and burning CD's. You think you invented a way to make the cost of commercial music more reasonable, but you're late to the party even if the tools you use are light-years beyond what went before.), an now full-text search of books online. Can Open Publishing be far behind? Maybe.

 

None of these have killed the industries they appeared to be undermining, and the same is true for the printed word. Even if they full-text of the books was made available on-line, who the hell curls up with a good CRT? Oooops! sorry, I meant LCD! Print the book on your printer? Maybe if it's really small or you have a duplex laser printer. Your safe from theft from those with Inkjets for sure.

 

Man, don't sue, give it a chance with a sample of titles. Once you see how cool this is going to be, and provide additional revenue options for you, yer gonna wonder what you all upset about in the first place...!  -(hris ]