Domainer Gives Thanks on Thanksgiving — Why This

Cheer up and give thanks.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States. That means a light work week, time with the family, and then a mad dash to the stores on Friday (except that I buy everything online). It’s a time to reflect on the past year and give thanks. Here’s what I’m thankful for:

1. Domains are holding their values. Yes, they’re down. There’s not nearly as much cash chasing domains today as there was a year ago. But compared to my stock market investments I’m feeling pretty good regarding my domains.

2. Google’s deal with Yahoo fell through. If it passed government scrutiny you would have seen the end of Yahoo. This would have accelerated Google’s squeeze on domainer margins. Now if only Yahoo could hook up with Microsoft.

3. The domain community. Throughout thick and thin this year, the domain community is staying active. You’ll find it on forums. You’ll find it at conferences, even if budgets are a little tighter. And you’ll find it on Reglike — traffic has steadily increased every month in 2008.

4. Domain parking cleanup. Domain parking revenue is down, but upstream ad providers are doing what’s necessary to “clean up” the parking channel. (Google’s words, not mine.) Although it may be painful in the short term, it is necessary for the long term survival of the channel.

5. Supporters of Reglike. I’m really excited to be able to focus more time on creating original and compelling content on DNW. Throughout the year I’ve ramped up coverage and investigations for stories. I also picked up the DNW.com domain name. I’m only able to do this since of readers (see #3) and advertisers. Despite the downturn, I really haven’t lost any advertisers and have picked up a couple. Thanks, everyone.