Credit.fr sells for a monster 587,500 EUROS !

Credit.fr has just been sold for 587,500 EUROS !

This is I believe the highest ever paid for a .fr cctld domain.

See the screenshot taken today of sedo’s recent market activity page:

Why dot mobi should be redirecting premium domains & reserved domains!

I have blogged about why ‘dot mobi‘ should be redirecting their premium domains plenty of times in the past. It’s very bad practice to own all these premium reserved domains, and now 1 and 2 character domains, and for them not to resolve.

Everyone knows this, and everyone it seems agree. Even dot mobi who i have spoken to about this seem to agree but they have hangups about the legal side. Or should i say about the fine print with icann. Well apart from the fact that themselves icann are the most moneygrabbing, dysfunctional organisation you care to think of , I can see no reason why they would have a problem with dot mobi.

It may well be that in the signed agreements with icann , .mobi are restricted in that they are not technically allowed at this point for domains to be forwarded. I see it that they are not allowed to resolve, ie. for a holding page.

Here’s the proposal pdf from dot mobi to icann, back in may 2008 http://www.icann.org/en/registries/rsep/mobi-proposal-29may08.pdf

Quote:

“To commence the allocation process the domains would, in the first instance, be entered into the zone file and
moved to a ‘holding account’ within the Registry database. dotMobi would temporarily be listed as the Registrar
and Registrant of record (the names would not resolve at this point) until such time as the registration credentials
for the domains are awarded and transferred and the names are registered by the successful applicants.
This is simply a release of additional domain names in the .mobi domain space. As such, there is no unique,
technical aspect or complexity to this project.”

(This is appendix 6 of the icann contract.)

Another quote:

“Auctions will not form any part of this allocation process and dotMobi will not make a profit from this process. ”

So we know dot mobi aren’t making a profit as far as these 1 and 2 character domains, but I think it’s entirely reasonable to be able to redirect users typing the said domains into the browser to be directed to mtld’s page about the rfp process.

They certainly should be able to do this for reserved names like ’sex.mobi’ just as one example. A dedicated mtld page offering for sale or enquiry imho.

This is the november 2008 icann/.mobi pdf for reference: http://www.icann.org/en/registries/rsep/mobi-proposal-02nov08.pdf

Now, getting back to what i was saying, currently this is the page people need to find if they want to register an interest in obtaining a one or two character .mobi domain for their company.

And  this is the page that people with an interest in a one and 2 charcter .mobi domains need to find when entering it into the browser . ‘If’ technically icann may frown, then icann need to be approached to clear the way as i can see no earthly reason why they would allow.

Certainly it has to be allowed for premium reserved names, like ‘boots.mobi’ or ’sex.mobi’?

Look what the .me registry is doing with its reserved names. Go to www.love.me or www.sex.me

THIS is what the dotmobi.mobi should be doing, and should have been doing for a long time. Or at the very least should be in dialogue with icann constantly to address. Instead over 3 years inthey have thousands of premium domains tied up doing nothing. These premium reserved domains should redirect to a full pc page on the pc and a mobile compliant page on a mobile and detail how someone may go about purchasing.

Let’s just take one example of say: www.boots.mobi

Now it doesn’t resolve. The huge chemist and pharmaceutical company that is ‘Boots’ in the UK, are using www.bootsdiets.mobi as a dieting site. They would obviously like to own the shorter domain  www.boots.mobi for their main mobile site it’s fair to assume as they are already aware and using .mobi. But if a site doesn’t resolve, most people assume it doesn’t exist or don’t know about whois (yes, even huge firms), or they may not know how to acquire such a name.

So what is needed is the 1 and 2 character rfp .mobi domains need to redirect to  this  page

along with a mobile version, and a different page for the reserved premiums so that people can buy. Apart from all the reasons aforementioned, it would provide a much needed revenue stream for dot mobi for the sale of premium names, and for the reserved 1 and 2 character it would help get these out there in the ecosystem. In fact help all of them out into the ecosystem. What’s more there’;s nothing worse for the public and their perception of .mobi domains if thousands upon thousands don’t resolve, or rather at least redirect and explain that they’re available.

Enough is enough. No more excuses dot mobi, address this issue. Get people who can make things happen! This is basic stuff in my honest opinion!

Subway launches ‘SubwayFreshBuzz.mobi’ mobile site

Subway sandwiches (USA) , the world famous  has launched subwayfreshbuzz.mobi their mobile website.

It is a natural fit with mobile imho, although as more time goes on i don’t see why everything isn’t a natural fit with mobile!

See a screenshot of their 79k alexa ranked pc site promoting the .mobi site, http://www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/mobile/ , below:

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See a screenshot of the mobile site  , subwayfreshbuzz.mobi , below:

PP.mobi acquired by Paddy Power!

We reported to you almost a year ago that Paddy Power were using and promoting their .mobi mobile site here:

http://okok.com/paddypower-mobile-site-paddypowermobi/

It has been discovered that pp.mobi is now redirecting to their paddypower.mobi mobile site. The domain changed ownership in December 2009, I would guess by the request for proposal process at mtld. I am guessing they didn’t buy, as they are a huge global betting firm with instant brand recognition and of course are already using and promoting their .mobi site.

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I look forward to seeing the new  PP.mobi site being promoted. Absolutely perfect short memorable domain for punters to tap in when needing to get an urgent bet on. Quite possibly the sexiest mobile domain in the world!

Tulsa Performing Arts Center launches ‘TulsaPAC.mobi’ - mobile tickets

For about a year now, patrons to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center have been able to have their tickets sent to their cell phones. They just haven’t been able to order those tickets by using those cell phones.

 

Until now. The Tulsa PAC is one of the first performing arts center in the country to have a mobile-device access site, from which patrons can order tickets to any show available through the center’s ticketing Web site.

“It was one of the odd instances where you would think one technology — the ability to buy the ticket — preceded the other — being able to receive the ticket,” said John Scott, PAC director. “In fact, we were the first to approach our partner, Tickets.com, about creating the technology so people could order tickets from their cell phones.”

The PAC’s mobile access site (TulsaPAC.mobi) reformats the PAC’s Web site so that it will be readable on a cell phone screen. Patrons can now order and pay for their tickets via the cell phone.

Tickets purchased through the .mobi site may be picked up at the theater, be mailed to the receipt, printed at home or received as a text message containing a bar code.

This bar code is scanned by a PAC usher, who carries a microprinter that produces a paper ticket. This service, called Tickets@Phone, costs $2 per ticket.

“We know there are people who more or less live through their cell phones,” Scott said, “and we’ve been pleasantly

surprised at how quickly some of our patrons have taken to the new technology.”

He added that the convenience fees for all these various ways of obtaining tickets for PAC events are “are quite reasonable, especially when compared to some other venues.”

For example, the convenience fees for two tickets purchased online for the play “August: Osage County,” playing Jan. 26-31 at the PAC, are $9.50. Fees for two tickets to events at the BOK Center can range for $16.75 for a Tulsa Oilers hockey game, $19.05 for the Monster Jam, and $32.35 for the March concert by Eric Clapton.

“Our ticketing fees are true convenience fees,” Scott said. “So if someone takes the trouble of coming downtown to our ticket office to buy their tickets, then the only fee they have to pay is the $1 facility fee that was recently instituted. All the other fees are waived.”

 

The site actually redirects in the browser using a mobile.usablenet.com/ tulsapac.mobi configuration

 

However the TulsaPac.mobi mobile site is promoted on the homepage  of the pc site at www.tulsapac.com/index.asp