Rick Schwartz: Domain King or Royal Pain? New Cover Story at DNJournal.com

[Duke]

A new Cover Story is out at Domain Name Journal and we are putting on the flak jackets for this one:

Rick Schwartz: Domain King or Royal Pain?

Schwartz is probably the single most colorful and controversial individual in our industry. He never hesitates to speak his mind and that always sets off sparks! We think you will find this piece either enlightening, entertaining or infuriating - and possibly all 3!

Better block out some reading time though. This is the longest piece we have ever run and we still had to chop out a lot of stuff! If our offices are still standing after the dust settles we may have to do a sequel down the line.

 

[bidawinner]

Asked if those early investors might reap significant benefits just as he did with his early investments in .com Schwartz said “Probably not but it will depend on one thing and one thing only. If you see .whatever advertised on TV and then you begin to see other .whatevers advertise on TV and billboards and magazines, THEN and only then will there be a CHANCE for other extensions to become meaningful.”


Congratualtions to Rick .. I thought I'd never see the day he'd say that...I'm impressed

 

[izopod]

Great article Duke. Again, personal stories are always the best!!

Although I didn't see it in the article, I did want to share a quote from his website, www.erealestate.com.

"My plan is a simple one. I create revenue streams and I don't work"

 

[Cash Is King]

He is the Domain King ... How can you beat " My plan is a simple one. I create revenue streams and I don't work.

 

[ReignDomain]

Great piece Duke.

 

[Harmonia]

With a creative mind, precise "taste", and some luck, anything can be possible

 

[Duke]

Thanks for all of the comments. Thought you all might be interested to know that the number of people reading this article the first 24 hours is almost quadruple what a normal cover story receives (in that time frame, 900 read the story...or more accurately...loaded it - who knows if they made it to the end!)
We usually get about 250 readers the first 24 hours.

Part of this big increase is obviously due to Rick being a figure of considerable interest and another part is that the Moreover newsfeed picked up the story and made it the top link in their domain name news feed, sending a boatload of people in. I appreciate all of you that visited as well. The real bummer is that Google AdSense has PSA' s on that page because it is a brand new page. By the time they index it everyone will have read it!

 

[izopod]

Originally posted by Duke
By the time they index it everyone will have read it!

I plan on reading it again Duke when I get some time later in the week. It was a great piece. Hopefully everyone will remember to visit your Sponsors the next time they visit. You deserve some income from your hard work. Very quality stuff, both in the articles you write as well as the effort in trying to track domain sales each week.

 

[krisblade]

Congrats Duke, a great piece article!

 

[hiOsilver]

Duke,

As always, you bring a very high standard to your work. Excellent and inciteful article.

Regards,

Howard

 

[NameTower]

thanks duke!

 

[clemzonguy]

Great article

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by clemzonguy
I have never talked with Rick, but I have heard both good and bad.

I of course had seen all of the good/bad posts made about Mr. Schwartz in the various forums too. The biggest surprise to me has been seeing almost no reaction from his critics this time. Usually any time his name appears in print a firefight erupts. Makes me wonder if I gave too much attention to that faction in this story. I didn't really need to bring it up at all but the opposition seemed to be significant enough to include that aspect in a profile on him. On the other hand I had one private email from a longtime enemy of his who criticized me for not putting enough bad stuff in about him.

All of the infighting is an interesting sideshow but I was more interested in what he had to say about domains and how he built his fortune in the business. I've had no personal dealings with him, but I'm sure people feel they have valid reasons for loving/hating him. However until we add the Steel Cage Match section to DNJ I think I'll leave the verbal fisticuffs to others.

 

[ShaunP]

Originally posted by clemzonguy


I never had the advantage (if you would call it that) of being inducted into the so-called "cult" and listening to any discussions firsthand.

clemzonguy ... it's great! You should try it. We sit around in the "great hall" in silk robes and debate the many faucets of the domain business. As each season changes we move to a different location.

Sometimes the subject is typeins, other days the virtues of of .com versus other extensions. Every fortnight a disbeliever is sacrificed ... thats the best time to apply to get in!

Brother Shaun :-D :-D :-D

 

[GeorgeK]

lol Shaun. That's funny in multi-dimensions. arty:

 

[DaddyHalbucks]

I have met Rick a few times at InterNext. And I was on his domain board for a while.

Rick has been a role model for my business in many ways.

He has some good ideas. He sees the bigger picture. He's a great businessman.

But, he can also be a bit prickly sometimes.

You know you have arrived in the domain industry when you get bounced from Rick's board. It's like commencement.

 

[mole]

Well, I guess the .COM is king age is now passe, so no point flogging a dead horse.

 

[Honan]

Congratulations Duke on an excellent article!!
Keep up the great work

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by DotComCowboy
You know you have arrived in the domain industry when you get bounced from Rick's board. It's like commencement.

:laugh: That's a healthy way to look at it. Schwartz said in the article that he has borrowed the best attributes from everyone he has met (and tried to avoid their worst attributes). I think that is a good philosophy. There are a lot of people you can learn from in this business but in the end you have to make it on your own. You don't have to like everything about Rick Schwartz (or anyone else) but you can certainly gain worthwhile knowledge from the experience of people like that who've already been through the wars. At the same time you can discard the extraneous stuff that has no bearing on your own bottom line.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by Duke
Schwartz said in the article that he has borrowed the best attributes from everyone he has met

It's another way of saying, I stole the best ideas from the guys I suckered into my forum for that very purpose :evil: