mobidick

There are 3 kinds of people in this world:
1) those who make things happen.
2) those who watch things happen.
3) those who wonder, what happened?

Which one of these are we?

I make no apologies for believing in the concept and future of .mobi, and I've put some serious money behind it to prove it, as have many of you. From a previous poll, I estimate that NP members represent about 5-7% of the global .mobi collection.

I see that we're not doing ourselves any favors by rehashing these heated .mobi debates. It's not domainers but end-users who will bring in the traffic, and make our names generate income and appreciate in value.

So, lets (those of us who do have a stake in the future of .mobi) put our heads together and figure out how to promote the heck out of .mobi and not just leave it up to Pinky's gang, to get the word out there in 2007.

2 things to help .mobi along the path to success:
1) develop/promote our own .mobi sites (I'm working on at least 50 of my own sites),
2)encourage others with mobile content to use their .mobi address (and there are hundreds, if not thousands of companies with a .mobi just sitting there idle).

Right now .mobi could use a stronger lobby, to get those fortune1000 - all those companies with defensive registrations, to put their .mobi names to good use; even if it's just redirecting to their mobile .com content, it's such an easy thing for them to do, yet it would make a tremendous impact to .mobi. Imagine if just a third of these companies were to promote their .mobi - it's not impossible really.

Today I contacted a marketing representative at CNN with a few questions, such as why they weren't using their CNN.mobi, that I was disappointed to type it in and find nothing there, considering 400,000 .mobis were already registered, and that their competitors, like Businessweek.mobi were already out there. She replied right away thanking me for the information and stating that she was passing on my note to the appropriate people. It didn't take more than 10 minutes of my time.

Who knows whether my email makes any difference, but it just might. There is strength in numbers, and even greater strength in coordinated voices. If 100 .mobi supporters email the fortune1000 companies they just might put their .mobi site up even if just to get us out of their hair.

Perhaps I'm dreaming, but what do we have to lose by trying - we only stand to gain, and gain a lot I might add. There's been a lot of talk on this forum about the TRAFFIC auction, but maybe what we should have been doing is firing emails, letters, or phone calls off to ad execs from the major pizza, realestate, and singles services to explain the auction to them. Hopefully Pinky has done some of that.

Let's not just speculate, but let's make it happen!

Here are some other suggestions we could collaborate on...
- if anyone has a script to check which fortune1000 companies already have a .mobi regged, pm me, I'll send you a list of the fortune1000, or a similar list formatted for your script.
- compile a top hit list of those companies that would most likely help the cause if they had their .mobi site up, so we could focus our efforts on them.
- collect some good questions, points to make in our emails to the companies.
- gather a list of relevant emails to share with each other.
- keep a running thread of responses and dialoges with companies.
- put together information packages with promotional information, ideas and reasons explaining the benefits to the company, tailored to different sectors.

I'm sure you guys can think up a hundred more ideas, right?

Come on, if we're going to be labelled .mobi fanatics and the .mobi cult anyways, then we might as well make it count and reap the benefits too! (I say that tongue in cheek - as is my avatar - I do have a life and business outside of .mobi in case you are wondering).

I'm not looking to make a quick buck here, but rather to build up the .mobi name for the longterm - but we got to act now, while the mobile internet is more easily shaped - and we're not spectators, but actors in this drama!

Thanks for taking the time to read, and I look forward to collaborating with you.

binaryman

Count me in bud. I,ve been advocating something similar, albeit with the difference being that I recommended that the .Mobi guys spent some of the money they are making with their .mobi auctions targeting potential end-users through such media as business magazines ect. to create an awareness amongst them of .mobi and the possibilities it offers their companies and products.
I like your ideas and it's certainly worth a good shot.
Regards
Fred

Mobineer

Excellent job, Mobidick, ---- now that's a great action plan!

mobidick

Thanks for your support guys...

Anyone else? I'm not asking for any time commitments - I know we're all busy already, but I believe that if we get the ball rolling somehow, good things could happen, and our momentum will grow.

Let's try to identify the smallest steps with the biggest impacts to start with. My intention of starting this thread was just to plant a seed in your minds - is it possible that we can work together to generate some sparks out there??

texasgamer

Excellant post with excellant ideas! I have been telling everyone I know about mobi - friends, family, business associates, whoever will listen! Im in with whatever I can do to help to spread the word...

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ipolkadot

Let's get crackin'! Now.....

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ipolkadot

Tippy

Did you tell CNN that you were a Domainer who has alot invested in .mobi which is/was your main reason for calling them, in hopes that they will use their .mobi which in turn will hopefuly make your names worth more to end users such as them so you can sell your names for 100x what you paid...

PS : I own a few .mobi names myself...

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thebiffenator

Count me in too,

for the two local magazines that I work for in the Philadelphia Area, I am sending and ad out for "Dunce.mobi and describing what a .mobi is "If there is room before it goes out, but theire shoudl be" (its not much but people may look on theire cell phones and see how easy .mobi loads up. And I am also having our editor write a little briefing about my site and how .mobi works, its not much but who knows. The magazines go to over 100,000 readers in the Philadelphia area.

One more thing...my buddy works for the NY Post and I am gona try to get him to place an ad for me and describe what .mobi does and tell them to see how quickly it loads up ect....

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Jeff

Please keep us posted ... I'd love to see the print ad #1, curious as to how much it ends up costing you #2, and whether mTLD would be willing to at least reimburse you for part of that cost #3 IMHO. Will you post updates here to this thread, please Biff?

Thanks very kindly.
-Jeff

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thebiffenator

I'm gona talk to him tommorrow and see how much an ad will cost, he is a contractor for them and may have some good connections, the main thing I will advertise is Dunce.mobi just for now and menition how it will load up and work on your cell phone, but I want to stay away from the legal things about advertising ".mobi." by itself.

The ad "if reasonable" will read basicly promoting Dunce.mobi or my other sites that should be done soon, and explaining how fast it will load ect... Just to spread the word.

By the way the magazines that I do in the Philadelphia area, I can place the ads for free, it just depends on how much room is left in the book to fill spaces, and I already have been talking our editor in chiefs ear off about it and telling her to buy some names


Forgot to ad something, about the posts sorry for the edit: But I will keep you guys updated and most likley if everything works out I will defintily tell you guys around what time, ect... I plan on placing it in about a month, I just want to get my other sites that are currently under developement, so I can show 3 or 4 of them ect... and have people try .mobi

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Jeff

Thanks, but I had read that you were perhaps planning to, "describe what .mobi does and tell them to see how quickly it loads up ect" in a larger .MOBI sense (versus just for one domain name, Dunce.mobi), IMHO.

Still, you'd think, to some degree, mTLD might still share / co-op in some of these advertising costs ... in order to incentivize the domainers / developers perpetuating the overall .MOBI brand and experience IMHO. Wouldn't this gnerally be a good investment by the Registry, IYHO's?

Thanks for sharing.
-Jeff

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thebiffenator

I defintly think it would be great if they did... Infact ---"This is Jeff's Idea", ........Maybe ask MLTD to help with Co-Op ads for your site in some nice Magazines/Newspapers? I could be nuts but what if some of us did that?

Brian

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scandiman

As with any ad campaign I simply recommend that it is an appropriate venue to promote your product. What is the demographic for dunce.mobi? Seems to me it is tailored for teens to young adults. Are teens the target readers of the magazines you are referring to? Their media kit should tell you. Miss your target audience and you will waste your ad money, be it Google or the local paper.

It wouldn't hurt to try. But the site would need to be very compelling and the advertising needs to be awesome.

thebiffenator

I toataly aggree, you must target your audience with your .mobi site. Thats why when my other 2 sites are develeloped it will be broad including them and then saying a message like "Go ahead don't be afraid to try it on your PDA/Cellphone ect..." I really hope my buddy can help me out with his connections.

My target is the range from teens to Baby boomers. But for the Philadephia ads that I am gona put in from the magazine that I work for will just be Dunce, only because the deadline is in 3 days

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advaita

Excellent post mobidick. I will start looking around and firing off a few emails myself. I've got 1 .mobi (see below) but don't have a website 'cause I don't know how to make one yet, but I do have a blog netmonetization.com - do you mind if I use some of your post on my blog?

I have a question though - if you write to a .com company and inform them that they haven't registered the .mobi and then one month later they still haven't registered it, would you be able to register without the risk of receiving a C&D ?

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thebiffenator

Just had Brainwave..... What about if some of us got together Just say 10 people with 10 .mobi sites and split the cost of an advertisement in a national magazine, and each person that contributes gets their site in their and breif description of it???
I volunteer to design and get it camera ready for the magazine and make sure its good to go for print.

... Just an Idea though.

Great thread

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mobiz.mobi USA's Mobile Locator Try it out! PHANS.MOBI Join Phans.mobi Phillies AreThe MLB Champs!!! Support the best team in Baseball.

Jeff

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dentalpro

curious who will buy pizza.mobi...we need to get to them quick, whoever it is...offer to buy a pizza if you have to

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rocknrollo

I am going to be luanching my freedomtrail.mobi this spring in Boston and plan on making cellphone size flyers to hand out that will explain what a .mobi site is and about how to use the site.

Hopefully will bring some awareness to my site and .mobi in general. Over a million people walk the trail every year.

www.freedomtrail.mobi

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circa1850

Contact mega corporations like this...

Mercedes Benz...BMW has a .mobi site. Why don't you?

Which is true. To be quite honest, Mercedes does not own MercedesBenz.mobi which they may find quite interesting.

Ford
GMC
Chrysler
Toyota
Honda

No mobi presence. Play one against the other. This is competition.

A simple email to their market division, customer service...they'll get the point. And maybe they'll get on the ball. And maybe they'll get their .mobi name.

mobidick

Great stuff guys... keep it coming...

I think you better get their permission in writing (on their letterhead) at the very least, unless their company name is a generic word, and even then don't put up content similar to theirs - I'm not an attorney, but that's my 2sense...

anyways, the important thing here is to get those companies who already have namebrand recognition to do more with their .mobi than simply park it at their legal dept office - like CNN.mobi - I'm sure there are hundreds of companies that just need a little push from the public (that's us in disguise).

I especially want to target those companies, who already have mobile content running through mobile.company.com or company.com/mobile etc. I think Statefarm is another good example of a company that is on the verge, not only of using their .mobi but also promoting it on their .com site - they may just need a friendly email or 20 to help them decide.

scandiman

Probably a more effective approach is to browse the BMW site while negotiating with the lexus sales manager. Those are the people who will see the need on the street and get the word up the food chain.

mobidick

Good point, and we can spread the word when we go out too; months ago I did a little research at the malls, talking to half a dozen cellphone vendors - not one had heard of .mobi and these are the people who are selling the data plans??

So I am thinking of putting together a little information sheet, highlighting what .mobi is about and listing some key .mobi sites as a good starting point for their customers... (my own sites might get special mention)

thebiffenator

I will be gladly to help with the design/layout for free of this sheet.

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texasgamer

I just had a brain storm! Absoluty free advertising!
Do dot mobi a favor - take your pen with you on every trip to a public restroom! I am not advocating outright graffiti, but what the hell, if the wall already has artwork then spice it up alittle more with some dot mobi flare!
If your the throne patron, waiting for your masterpiece to be finished, you may see the dot mobi address and whip out the old cell and type it in! Viola! Instant traffic from the public crapper!

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