Rick Schwartz Is Mad As Hell And He's Not Going To Take It Anymore

[Theo]

Constantine, I am a developer. I'm also a domainer. When the domain critical mass exceeds a certain number, it is impossible to develop all land. Unless you want to build a house in the Meteora rocks. There is prime land and non-prime land. The PPC model works on most land, however it's truly a waste to use it on prime land that can be developed. So you either develop or you sell it to the developers. But since you speak of Rick's lack of development...setting up a directory of links such as Music.us is not development, it's ego massage.

 

[Deleted member 70408]

Looks like Rick is about to strike it big again...

 

[musicdotmobi]

Constantine, I am a developer. I'm also a domainer. When the domain critical mass exceeds a certain number, it is impossible to develop all land. Unless you want to build a house in the Meteora rocks. There is prime land and non-prime land. The PPC model works on most land, however it's truly a waste to use it on prime land that can be developed. So you either develop or you sell it to the developers. But since you speak of Rick's lack of development...setting up a directory of links such as Music .us is not development, it's ego massage.

Hey Acro, you need to do your research on me because I will have you bite your tongue right now Please go to (music . us / beta) which will take you to a dedicated IP address, and use the userpass (vladdy / vladdy) and take the site for a spin. This site is 5 years in the making and launching in January 1st, 2009. Yes, i am sure you will tell me you never saw a music site like this and it is a first of its kind. I am thanking you for the massage in advance

It has revshare in ads, on demand merchandising, on demand licensing, tip jar, hit predictor technology, on demand trademarking/copyrighting for artist/namesworks, on-demanding sponsorships, online mastering, paid session hiring, paid producer hiring (including grammy award winning producers), lawyer hiring and a host of other revenue generating models to assist the music industry and artists. Again I am stressing helping artists and creating value by helping them monetize on their works in many manners. It will probably take you 3 hrs to browse the whole artist account. And yes, I am building a mobile side to music.mobi too. Music . us will have the most sophisticated music search engine combining hit predictor technology, user-generated tagging feedback, artist feedback and industry feedback.

I am looking forward to getting feedback from the music community because they will be the drivers of the site. I am also writing a book on music entrepreneurship and music marketing for artists which I will distribute freely on the site.

So before you speak bad of my work, I would suggest you do more research on my entrepreneurial ventures and background. I am developing all my top properties which will roll out in 2009, and we are talking full-on sites. If you want more links of other domains I am working on you can PM me. Again, all sites are in stealth mode and not available to the public As you can see the music . us link I gave you is not hosted on the music .us server. Can't have competitors snooping around but I always like feedback from fellow domainers, so if you have any I would love some. Only things pending now are the Pay Per View and on-demand vlods/podcast creation tools and of course navigation and better site design infrastructure once the programming is done.

I am a man of my word. Do what is best for the consumer. Hey we agree on one thing. You are right, prime land (which is what Schwartz shows off) demands development. I guarantee you the returns would be so much higher if this domain king guy decided to develop his names. He would make more money. But hey, I won't be judging him because his business model will become obselete. Good riddance to that. Develop. Develop. Develop.

Constantine
Blog: Entrepreneur.pro

P.S If anyone has some constructive criticism on the music site, please PM me. I always love feedback. Thanks again.

 

[Theo]

Hey Kosta, I go by what I see - not by what is hidden in your basement. If it takes you 5 years to take a venture off the ground, who knows what Rick has up his sleeve. See, it's easy to throw stuff around when all you want to do is boast and belittle others. Sorry my Cypriot friend, I call them as I see them. Looks like you're re-inventing mp3.com from the mid 90s.

 

[musicdotmobi]

Hey Kosta, I go by what I see - not by what is hidden in your basement. If it takes you 5 years to take a venture off the ground, who knows what Rick has up his sleeve. See, it's easy to throw stuff around when all you want to do is boast and belittle others. Sorry my Cypriot friend, I call them as I see them. Looks like you're re-inventing mp3.com from the mid 90s.

I agree with you. Actions speak louder than words. Too bad for MP3.com though. Re-invention is key here. My main focus is to create a business model for artists and the industry while giving out music for free. Only major sites out there are Myspace, Last.fm, Imeem, iLike and Pandora. Unfortunately they do not fulfill the needs of artists. Merely revshare in advertising won't get it done. Having 100,000 friends who are non-paying on Myspace won't get it done either. Same with having your music on iTunes. You can not make a living selling 99c downloads. I thought I would take the music industry and incorporate all the elements of the revenue generation model.

Anyways, back to the topic. Rick was mentioning retirement so I doubt he is working on development. Looking at his past, I doubt he will be taking that route. I actually think the direction we are heading to is the right direction for domaining and value generation for the end user.

 

[Theo]

I wish you the best - the secret to success is to avoid stepping on the toes of others too often or too much.

About Rick, I think that he's already successful in what he does; if he plans to retire, it's on his own terms. But I think that he's been a driving force for the industry in many ways; if someone can do better, let them come forward.

 

[rajs1ngh]

coool

 

[exponent]

Schwartz has one of the most complex personalities in the business. I think that is what makes him so successful in extracting high prices from end-user sales. While I'm glad someone is tearing into squatters and alike, Rick has a lot of parked pages and most of them are more-or-less useless. While its not squatting, its still a gray area ethically.

All in all, I don't think Rick has to "take it" from anyone. He's the KING. =)

 

[Rubber Duck]

The whole Traffics set up is a grey area ethically together with most of the characters involved.

If you want to put the guy on a pedistal and become his own personnal Sub, then that is up to you. Frankly, I need any advice from this smuck and feel that the entire industry would be better off without him. His behaviour does not indicate to me that his domain portfolio is providing him with an endless supply of cash over and above what he derives from Traffics. Of course the impression that he is minting it is essential to sustain the gravy train that Traffics has become. Of course their maybe be other aspects to all this because I understand the Guru started speculating fairly heavily in Florida realestate a little while back.

What is clear is that domainers are influenced greatly buy the impression of affluence, but the affluence on show at Traffics is very much the hard earned cash of your attendees. It is not like this is being gratuitously showered on them by their rich benefactor.

And whilst we are on, whilst I have the greatest respect for Ron Jackson, he can only really determine that certain sums of money have been transferred and that registration details have changed. He cannot any probably has never professed to claim that he can assure us that what he has been told is the gospel truth. So many of these sales end up smelling of rotten fish, you can only use your own judgement as to what actually is a genuine sell and what is not!

 

[jasdon11]

Rubber Duck, have you attended any Traffic events?

 

[Rubber Duck]

No, but I have followed them and read most of the write-ups.

Wouldn't waste my money or more importantly time.

 

[jasdon11]

That tells me everything I need to know. You couldn't form those opinions from reading the write-ups - every one that I've read has been positive. You must've had the opinion before reading anything.

You come across as a typical non-achiever - quick to criticise and never offers an alternative plan.

 

[Seraphim]

A veteran domainer is no different than a mechanic, that guy that can rip an engine out of Volkswagen Bug in 25 minutes flat, replace a blown piston, and be back on the street in an hour. Well now imagine "Rick The Stock Broker" up the street is calling himself "The King Of Mechanics", because his stock market profits have funded an auto shop with better tools than yours, which obviously in turn attracts bigger clients.

No one wants to have their skill set or stature impugned, stepped on, or belittled. This is why so many domainers hate Rick Schwartz. I'm a veteran domainer, and I bow down to no "domain kings" or "domain gods", regardless of the fact that I have less money than some of them. Who acts that way at 50+ years of age anyways... the outcome was very predictable. When Rick's childish persona stops being abrasive and arrogant, domainers will start respecting him for his deeds, which obviously are worthy of some respect. Should anyone buy into Rick's wisdom simply because he supposedly has millions of dollars in the bank, hell no.

Conventions... networking... a whole lot of rich guy theatrics and social posturing if you ask me. Those silent humble domainers down in the trenches, those are the guys that will time and time again deliver true wisdom. Befriend them and they'll grant you audience for free.

 

[jasdon11]

You can still respect someone for their deeds even if you don't like their personality. The two are not mutually exclusive.

As for the Traffic conferences - I read the reports from people who have attended. I don't take investment advice from my hairdresser, just as I don't let my mechanic cut my hair. Apart from one or two isolated cases, everything I've read (and heard) from attendees, is positive. That is what I base my opinions on.

 

[Rubber Duck]

You can still respect someone for their deeds even if you don't like their personality. The two are not mutually exclusive.

As for the Traffic conferences - I read the reports from people who have attended. I don't take investment advice from my hairdresser, just as I don't let my mechanic cut my hair. Apart from one or two isolated cases, everything I've read (and heard) from attendees, is positive. That is what I base my opinions on.

I don't respect his deeds.

This argument about not being able to critise anything you have not sunk several grand in, so that you have first hand experience of being burnt seems to me to be a bit fatious.

Base your opinions upon what you like. In my book, anyone who comes away from Traffic brainwashed by their rubbish is not worth listening to.

When it comes to investment, I believe in trying to work things out for myself. It seems to have held me in good stead thus far and promises to much much better than Rick's recent disasterous forays into Dot Mobi and the like.

 

[Seraphim]

You can still respect someone for their deeds even if you don't like their personality. The two are not mutually exclusive.

As for the Traffic conferences - I read the reports from people who have attended. I don't take investment advice from my hairdresser, just as I don't let my mechanic cut my hair. Apart from one or two isolated cases, everything I've read (and heard) from attendees, is positive. That is what I base my opinions on.

You take investment advice from secondhand sources, or things you've "read"? Nothing wrong with blind faith I suppose, though I recommend Forex over domaining if your testicles are feeling rather heavy.

Personally I like a light frolic in the water, before I start cannonballing from the high dive. A little dabble in keywords here, a little dabble in keywords there. There is no way I'm going to let Rick Schwartz do my Tai Chi for me.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I've been in this game long enough to know that most things are rarely as they seem. Dig into your garden variety domain heavyweights for example, and you'll find many major trademark squatters who dumped millions of profits into a clean shirt of generics, and now call themselves conceptualists. When they sit silently counting their spoils of war, I tip my hat. When they hijack the industry and use it as their own personal self serving infomercial, I have no choice but to laugh at their "paid sermons" beneath the olive tree. Everyone here can see the ruse, except of course the "typical underachiever", "jealous cynic", and "small player".

"I am the Lord thy God who brought you out of the land of print media, the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me..." Pass the silver plate brother, it's time to collect tithes.

 

[jasdon11]

You take investment advice from secondhand sources, or things you've "read"? Nothing wrong with blind faith I suppose, though I recommend Forex over domaining if your testicles are feeling rather heavy.

No. You must've mis-read. I didn't say I take investment advice from anyone.

And dispite dabbling in most major vices at one time or another, I could never see the appeal in gambling; never did it for me....in fact I have a personal motto: "Never invest in anything that you have no control over".

And I'm happy to report, that my testicles aren't as heavy as they were before I went to bed last night :approve:

 

[exponent]

When I buy a domain, I present my valuation model to the person I'm making the offer to unless someone was stupid enough to put a great domain on ebay. I question Rick's acquisitions. I also question the selection of names for T.R.A.F.F.I.C conferences. Call me a schmuck if you will, but sometimes there is a lot of back scratching going on when it comes to domain selection.

I think Rick's success story is something all domainers should read and learn from. However, I think he's overstepping a bit to slam PPC companies and alike. Its basically the pot calling the kettle black.

 

[Adventure]

I think Rick's success story is something all domainers should read and learn from. However, I think he's overstepping a bit to slam PPC companies and alike. Its basically the pot calling the kettle black.

Hi, Exponent, I don't speak for Rick Schwartz, but I don't think he's slamming the PPC model, or --- for that matter --- singling out the PPC companies themselves. In my opinion, he's sending another wake up call to the entire industry, warning that continuing to monetize crappy traffic will destroy the industry! In Ron Jackson's excellent interview, the crux of Rick Schwartz's message was:

"As long as the PPC companies continue to monetize CRAP traffic that is WORTHLESS, trademarked traffic that should not be monetized and anything else they can make a penny with, this industry is going to pay a price. Take out the crap and earnings would not drop, they would skyrocket. The problem is there is 10x the amount of CRAP traffic as opposed to “Potent” and “Targeted” traffic. Saying this does not make me a popular guy.
​

I’ll have 90% of the folks against me before I start. But that won’t stop me from seeing what I see and doing something about it before it is too late."
​

I think Rick is 100% correct, and it is incumbent upon the parking firms and the industry as a whole to recognize that greed will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Frankly, Rick Schwartz has a tremendous amount of guts to say this, because he's criticizing individuals and firms which pay him thousands of dollars to participate in his conferences and related business ventures. The fact that this man has the integrity to speak his mind, under his own name and not an alias, should be applauded!

I also question the selection of names for T.R.A.F.F.I.C conferences. Call me a schmuck if you will, but sometimes there is a lot of back scratching going on when it comes to domain selection.

Oh, yes, I agree with you there. But we shouldn't take the rejection personally (even if it hurts!).

The fact of the matter is, there are a very limited number of slots for domains offered for sale during the the "live" auctions at TRAFFIC and all of the other major conferences. I had one of our good domains accepted for one of the major events (not TRAFFIC), and it was then pulled by the promoter. The fact of the matter is, there were 400 "live" domain auction slots and close to 1,000 domainers attending --- each with their own submissions for the auction. I don't attend the big domain events, so I take it for granted that they needed "my" domain auction slot for one of the attendees paying upwards of $1,000 USD for an admission ticket.

Frankly, I don't even submit our domains for the big "conference" auctions anymore, because the auctions have too much clutter and --- as you noted --- many of the domains aren't premium.

I like the Sedo monthly premium auctions, which are online for a week on www.GreatDomains.com --- and where only about 100 names are selected and can "stand out" in the crowd. I personally recommend setting a reserve price to protect yourself, just in case.

---Ed

 

[exponent]

Adventure / Ed:

I agree with you, too much "junk" is floating around the web and driving down PPC which is hurting all of us. While $1000 is a lot for a ticket (especially a college guy like me), It irritates the crap out of me that something like MySuperStupidDomainsLOL.net gets a slot over something arguably better just because someone paid a grand. It was laughable.

As for GreatDomains, I love the site. I had a $13.5k sale there last October.