BusinessWeek Corrects “Cybersquatter” Reference

Here’s proof that reporters just need a little education.

When BusinessWeek published an article titled “Does Success Hinge on a Domain Name?” on August 13, it referred to the man who owned the generic domain fave.com as a cybersquatter. The reporter Kerry Miller was probably told this term by someone she interviewed, or recalled the term from yesteryear.

But as the domain industry is quick to point out, “cybersquatter” is a derogatory term that refers to people who buy trademarked names and variations thereof as domain names. Time and time again, I’ve written regarding how its the domain industry’s responsibility to message this correctly. Reporters cover a number of topics and are often under pressure to churn out copy. The term “cybersquatter” is not one that will be picked up by the fact checker and rarely by an editor.

Apparently the domain community rallied to point out this misuse at BusinessWeek. The article was corrected shortly thereafter, with the following statement at the top of the page:

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the owner of the fave.com web domain as a “cybersquatter.” As readers have pointed out, the term is generally used to refer to the owner of a domain name that contains a trademark that is owned by someone else. This is a corrected version.

The term “cybersquatter” is frequently misused in the press, and it’s our responsibility to correct this misnomer. In this case, we rallied to address the issue. And, unlike many other publications, BusinessWeek actually made the change. My hat’s off to BusinessWeek.