Domain Dojo - Brand Selection Poll

[Rob Monster]

Last weekend, I introduced the idea of a "Domain Dojo" or a Domainer-friendly co-working space. Since then we received a number of domain submissions for possible use as brand names for this innovative concept that is currently in the planning stage as part of a larger expansion plan that centers on co-creation.

The basic premise here is that full-time domainers can live almost anywhere. The inherent nature of the industry is that in many ways it can be highly liberating in terms of work location. And yet most domainers are probably living in the same city or town they were living in before they became a domain investor.

In the meantime, there are places in the world where Digital Nomads have become highly productive. You can find entire directories but here is a typical Dojo in a beach community in Indonesia:

There are a growing number of so-called Dojos, that combine community, lodging, dining, and co-working, often strategically placed near beaches and typically with low operating costs.

There are a staggering number of beautiful places in the world with great Internet service, so why be tied down if you don't need to be. I am personally quite fond of Las Palmas in Gran Canarias, in North Africa, a popular destination for Digital Nomads. Others are fond of places like Ubud, Seychelles, Mauritius, Gozo, etc.

For those of us who regularly attend domain conferences like NamesCon, there is clearly a vibrant domain community. However, this is just once per year. So the thinking of this project is to establish a network of Dojos, where domainers can meet, cooperate, learn from each other, and co-create abundance.

As I know a growing number of people in the industry, and know their respective strengths and capabilities, I see opportunities every day to connect dots and help make things happen that might otherwise not happen. Given the right environment, we could all be doing a lot more of that, online and offline. That's the idea.

With that as context, please help select a domain that would fit the Domainer Dojo Lifestyle!

 

[bmugford]

Just for Everyone Info , Collab has an active trademark .

There are many trademarks for popular terms.

At the end of the day collab is a generic term, with a generic use.

Any trademark would have to be an obvious secondary meaning to have any chance of being enforceable.

Brad

 

[Rahul Sinha]

Just for Everyone Info , Collab has an active trademark .

Serial Number Reg. Number Word Mark Check Status Live/Dead
1 88285474 SNEAKER COLLABS TSDR DEAD
2 88620245 BASEBALL COLLAB TSDR LIVE
3 88620242 BASEBALL COLLAB TSDR LIVE
4 88620235 BASEBALL COLLAB TSDR LIVE
5 88607191 COLLAB TSDR LIVE

 

[oldtimer]

it's just that it actually takes somebody to convince them .. hence why I see an opportunity here.

I had added another paragraph to my post above which is about the logistics of getting the End Users involved in Domainer's Dojo, so your ideas make sense, but it's a whole different ball game, perhaps you can start a new thread and let people come up with suggestions as far as how to get Domainers and End Users in one place.

IMO

 

[Rahul Sinha]

There are many trademarks for popular terms.

At the end of the day collab is a generic term, with a generic use.

Any trademark would have to be an obvious secondary meaning to have any chance of being enforceable.

Brad

Lol active .com and .net in tech niche with active trademarks and you would not like to play any trademark thing into your brand .

Just My opinion .

 

[Ategy]

@Rahul Sinha .. almost every word and abbreviated word is going to have a trademark .. the question is if the trademark is actually relevant ... in this case I highly doubt it. I'd actually be more concerned with checking for Co-Lab or Co-Labs (with or without the hyphens).

Remember that marks need to be infringing on far more than just the term/mark .. it also needs to impede on the specific trademark classes and territories. One of the ones you linked is a business involved with Cannabis .. so exactly zero relevance.

 

[bmugford]

Lol active .com and .net in tech niche with active trademarks and you would not like to play any trademark thing into your brand .

Just My opinion .

That is fine.

I personally would have absolutely no concern with using that domain.
"Collab" is a widely used term in language and domains with a clear generic meaning.

Brad

 

[Rahul Sinha]

@Rahul Sinha .. almost every word and abbreviated word is going to have a trademark .. the question is if the trademark is actually relevant ... in this case I highly doubt it. I'd actually be more concerned with checking for Co-Lab or Co-Labs (with or without the hyphens).

Remember that marks need to be infringing on far more than just the term/mark .. it also needs to impede on the specific trademark classes and territories. One of the ones you linked is a business involved with Cannabis .. so exactly zero relevance.

May be but why to go for trademarked names .

Anyways it's Rob's wish to decide what name he likes more, else everything is irrelevant .


Thanks

 

[oldtimer]

That is fine.

I personally would have absolutely no concern with using that domain.
"Collab" is a widely used term in language and domains with a clear generic meaning.

Brad

You are right about this keyword being a good choice, but only if it was a .com

IMO

 

[sharastar]

I Loved Domunity.com and Collab.org and so voted it.

Love the name as it is clear with the meaning for Domain Community and also Domain Unity (Team of Domainers).

If you want to expand to other areas other than Domaining then collab.org would be good but still collab.com would even be great.

 

[Ategy]

Also think about the logistics of it, what if a thousand End Users showed up to the Dojo, it won't be a Dojo anymore. Although it would be great if you could get a thousand End Users who want to buy domains in one place with domainers, but you have to call it something else.

I had added another paragraph to my post above which is about the logistics of getting the End Users involved in Domainer's Dojo, so your ideas make sense, but it's a whole different ball game, perhaps you can start a new thread and let people come up with suggestions as far as how to get Domainers and End Users in one place.

WOAH !!! lol .. In what world are there thousands of potential new end-users coming out of the woodworks looking for help? I want to be on that planet!

No .. first of all .. these locations are likely going to start very small .. so having them open to people looking for help would actually make them more viable to begin with.

My thoughts were more along the lines that there's be a small handful of domainers there each day and hopefully more than one or two people (end-user) walking in a day asking for advice or help or suggestions!

In fact .. the demand will likely be so small at the start that most of these location will likely be virtual in that they be part of existing similar co-work locations, as I'm not sure how viable it would be to simply build new ones all over when growth will likely be slow and progressive over time .. remember that only about 1,000 domainer made the trip to Vegas each year for the biggest event in the industry. The domain industry doesn't have enough people to justify tons of huge locations.

I like the thought of having them in touristy enough places good for "travelling domainers" to lodge long term, as well as being accessible in the day to the local people involved in Rob's/Epik's growing domainer empowerment ecosystem.

But one end user a day buying a $1000 domain divided by let's say 5 domainers = $200 .. A DAY per domainer = $73,000 per domainer per year per location! PLUS It also equals more liquidity for all domainers and the industry as a whole. In time that could and would potentially be significantly more.

The scale I see this at really doesn't involve making any logistical changes in any way ... the domainers in question will likely be lodging there .. there will be communal areas, maybe a cafe .. that's where I see people coming in and looking for advice.

Heck .. at the start there likely won't even be any end-users walking in for a while.

But all I'm saying is that simply by choosing a name/domain that is inclusive and understandable to potential end users, then at least there's a significantly increased chance they will come ... more importantly .. the only cost is maybe starting a new thread/contest with a clearer focus, more refined requested attributes, or adding some relevant names to the above list. No bulldozers or engineers necessary!

 

[Ategy]

Lol active .com and .net in tech niche with active trademarks and you would not like to play any trademark thing into your brand .

Ironically this brand (and upcoming trademark) will have little to do with "Technology" ... it will instead likely be within whatever trademark classes hotels, restaurants and events are in. Effectively the Dojos will be selling rooms, coffee, events .. the Dojos won't be selling technology products .. so no real issues if those other marks are strictly related to tech (and cannabis .. lol)

 

[oldtimer]

Heck .. at the start there likely won't even be any end-users walking in for a while.

I don't think that End Users are going to be local that much unless you are planning to make a location in each city, or if you could make a little stand in Wall Street so that people can stop by and ask for advice as they walk by ( too bad I am not in New York City ). But for End Users to fly in from all over the World to come to these locations they are going to expect to see much more professional expertise made available to them than having a chat with couple of domainers.

Also once you implement this idea how are you going to limit it to just couple of End Users per day. Your ideas are good, but you have to think in much larger scale specially if you are going to cater to big businesses or startups.

IMO

 

[Ategy]

@oldtimer .. you're completely missing the point .. these locations are already going to be there .. with domainers ... domainers that have information that could be useful and helpful to end users ... all you need is a relevant name and inviting sign above the door and in the window and yes .. some locals might come in .. some vacationing entrepreneurs.

What you're talking about in setting up locations to service thousands of potential end users really is something completely different .. it's called Brandbuckets and NameSquat!

Let me be clear .. sure there can be other ventures to try to grow end user demand/pricing/awareness ... but these places are already going to be there ... in order to better attract potential end users .. even if it's just ONE a week .. all that's needed is a different and more all-encompassing brand. No need to build new buildings .. no need to buy extra chairs or tables or anything ... I'm saying .. you're already building something .. instead of only making it inviting to a small set of people (domainers)... make it instead inviting to those same people (domainers) AND a different complimentary set of people that could not just help both sides, but also help justify the location itself and make it more attractive to both sets of people.

And again .. sure .. go for the larger scale .. but don't toss aside smaller opportunities because you only want to focus on the big .. the small one is sitting there .. all you need is a different type of name!

 

[Josh R]

Lol active .com and .net in tech niche with active trademarks and you would not like to play any trademark thing into your brand .

Just My opinion .

With all due respect. You have no clue what you're talking about.

By your logic you literally wouldn't be able to own a valuable domain.

 

[oldtimer]

you're completely missing the point .. these locations are already going to be there .. with domainers ... domainers that have information that could be useful and helpful to end users ...

But the point is that you can't mix End Users with Domainer's Dojo , because then it won't be Domainer's Dojo anymore. As much as everyone here might like to bring End Users and Domainers together somehow, but Dojo is not the right venue for it, because if you get others involved in Dojo then it will lose its Mojo.

(although this is just my opinion, others might think differently).

 

[Ategy]

But the point is that you can't mix End Users with Domainer's Dojo , because then it won't be Domainer's Dojo anymore. As much as everyone here might like to bring End Users and Domainers together somehow, but Dojo is not the right venue for it, because if you get others involved in Dojo then it will lose its Mojo.
(although this is just my opinion, others might think differently).

Why why why would you want to miss out on any and EVERY opportunity to interact with potential end users. There are locations where domainers will be with domainers 24 hours a day .. you're saying having an entrepreneur come in for an hour to ask questions about domains and branding is going to be a negative .. when that end user might actually BUY a domain ?!?

Limiting the types of people you surround yourselves with is exactly the opposite of what's being trying to be done here! Anyhow .. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree .. but it's really insane to pass on opportunities to help grow the only pie that counts for domainers .. which is the End User Pie!

 

[oldtimer]

Why why why would you want to miss out on any and EVERY opportunity to interact with potential end users. There are locations where domainers will be with domainers 24 hours a day .. you're saying having an entrepreneur come in for an hour to ask questions about domains and branding is going to be a negative .. when that end user might actually BUY a domain ?!?

Limiting the types of people you surround yourselves with is exactly the opposite of what's being trying to be done here! Anyhow .. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree .. but it's really insane to pass on opportunities to help grow the only pie that counts for domainers .. which is the End User Pie!

As I said earlier perhaps you need to start a new thread to see what everyone else thinks about this idea, maybe put a poll to see how many people agree with you. I am sure that there is a way to make the pie bigger for everyone, we just have to find the right way to do it.

IMO

 

[Eric Lyon]

The basic premise here is that full-time domainers can live almost anywhere. The inherent nature of the industry is that in many ways it can be highly liberating in terms of work location. And yet most domainers are probably living in the same city or town they were living in before they became a domain investor.

In the meantime, there are places in the world where Digital Nomads have become highly productive.

Digital nomads and domain name investors have been working remotely for well over a decade already. The attraction to working from anywhere in the world, or even, anywhere within your country is steadily growing in popularity (I broke free from the chains over 2 decades ago). With more robots/AI/Machines taking jobs each year (E.g. self service/checkout/order/etc.), the online workforce is only going to expand, into new job opportunities and markets that allow for remote work and living to become more of a commonality than before.

As you mentioned, there are hubs or co-work spaces all over the world now providing high speed internet access to nomads passing through. Some, even provide physical office space addresses to receive mail, license a business, and more!

Your Dojo idea isn't new, by any means, however, it caters to a specific niche market (Domain investors), which most the pre-existing co-work spaces are very generalized and cater to anyone in need of a space to work out of.

If we couple your traditional co-work spaces and turn them into a hybrid co-work space + bed & breakfast (wrapped into one burrito), it changes things even more. Over night, short-term, and long-term opportunities and revenue streams emerge that help all different types of digital nomads accomplish what they need for their unique lifestyle.

At the end of the day, with the saturation of co-work spaces already out there, it really boils down to what makes you different from all the rest. The unique traits, branding, services, features, etc. that have you standing out in the crowd and everyone talking about it.

Have you compiled a list of things yet that would accomplish the above?

 

[Rob Monster]

Digital nomads and domain name investors have been working remotely for well over a decade already. The attraction to working from anywhere in the world, or even, anywhere within your country is steadily growing in popularity (I broke free from the chains over 2 decades ago). With more robots/AI/Machines taking jobs each year (E.g. self service/checkout/order/etc.), the online workforce is only going to expand, into new job opportunities and markets that allow for remote work and living to become more of a commonality than before.

As you mentioned, there are hubs or co-work spaces all over the world now providing high speed internet access to nomads passing through. Some, even provide physical office space addresses to receive mail, license a business, and more!

Your Dojo idea isn't new, by any means, however, it caters to a specific niche market (Domain investors), which most the pre-existing co-work spaces are very generalized and cater to anyone in need of a space to work out of.

If we couple your traditional co-work spaces and turn them into a hybrid co-work space + bed & breakfast (wrapped into one burrito), it changes things even more. Over night, short-term, and long-term opportunities and revenue streams emerge that help all different types of digital nomads accomplish what they need for their unique lifestyle.

At the end of the day, with the saturation of co-work spaces already out there, it really boils down to what makes you different from all the rest. The unique traits, branding, services, features, etc. that have you standing out in the crowd and everyone talking about it.

Have you compiled a list of things yet that would accomplish the above?

Thanks Eric.

As you might imagine, I have barely begun to think through the logistics of a network of Dojos. That said, I can see it coming into view and trust that the right people with the right talents will come together to test the hypothesis, and then scale it if it works.

Operationally, because I don't come from the lodging/hospitality world, my plan would be to partner with people who are good at standing up and operating Dojos and could help create a brand around a set of user experiences and workflows that would make it easy to navigate across a network of Dojos in a way that is frictionless, e.g. unified payment systems, booking engines, messaging, etc. This actually aligns with the planned rollout of Toki servers around the world which also has a unified but decentralized framework for identity and payment.

Funny enough, the domain name Dojoville.com, which is polling well, was actually my own hand registration. Why? I was thinking that if Jimmy Buffet can create a brand around Margaritaville, then I should be able to create a brand around a network of Dojos. The "ville" part was about extending the user experience to being some kind of community experience where there is some sense of being part of something larger than yourself without losing yourself. This is also why I talk a lot about co-creating, where you can contribute to an idea, or advance an agenda, without sacrificing personal sovereignty.

As you can probably sense, we are moving at blazing speed, and are very happy to work with anyone who wants to help. It helps to be the kind of guy who wants to lift people up without worrying too much about who makes money or who gets credit. And since you have apparently stepped down as Moderator of NamePros this week, I assume that you are in the process of fully answering some calling. If so, good for you, even though you leave big shoes to fill at NP. PM me if you want details or want to synch a call.

 

[Randolph]

Funny enough, the domain name Dojoville.com, which is polling well, was actually my own hand registration.

I think DojoVille is the only viable name on this list. Don't second guess yourself, Rob.