I am very disappointed that the major players seem to be turning a blind eye -- it's definitely a black mark on the industry.
Who are the major players? Part of the issue is that there is a lot of hero worship in the first place. Why do you need major players to say anything.. and who are they? I think the most evident thing here is that major players in the domain space really just aren't all that important in the real world.
They're more important than some when it comes to influencing malleable minds.... convincing them it's easy to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in their spare time but they're not that important. There isn't even really a true industry. Sure we like to think that transactions in domaining are massive but they are dwarfed by most other real businesses. Sedo does under $100 m in transactions a year. Tiny.
But does the industry include what Adam is even guilty of failing to deliver on? It's not a domaining issue but a service issue. Adam has screwed people on website development which is a totally different area than what most think of as big players are interested in. Who are the industry players in SEO and website delivery? Microsoft? Acquia? Automattic ? Or is the business best suited to being smaller and more local based (imho, yes).
it's why people like Adam can get away with what they do. They are small and in a small space and it's not dominated by large players.... and it's why there are so many more people LIKE Adam. Who's going to chase down the industry (SEO) scumbags? Every day thousands of small businesses are ripped off by people and every day their opinions and businesses are repaired by better people that have genuine customer concerns. Some of the victims don't even know they are being ripped off and just think lackluster results is because it's just hard and they must have the "wrong keywords" or "not spent enough". If you don't know what you're buying how can you judge what you receive (unless it's pitifully bad like the sites Adam put together). If you get some positive reviews from Fiverr you think it's working.
While no one taken advantage of should be treated as anything less than a VICTIM the reality is that there are few shortcuts to the promise land of financial security that don't involve work and / or luck. The idea of getting a LOT for NOTHING is the core, fundamental issue. If you want to start with the big players you should have people start with the Google's of the world that promise by simple trickery you can get to #1 and a fortune.. or Amazon that says do nothing but setup a store and make a fortune. Then one by one work through the multiple levels of garbage get rich quick schemes. Let's get rid of parking and passive revenue and that solves TWO problems - shit on the internet and the associated scams... and the wasted advertising spending that some people unwittingly spend. Throw real traffic domains baby out with the bathwater- no one actually loses.
From my limited knowledge of domain blogs:
DNJournal
It's not really all that relevant anymore (outside of some perceived authority on sales numbers). Don't think anyone has really read anything on here in years other than some compiled lists of sales that have been "verified".
Domaininvesting / DomainSherpa etc
Mostly self interest stories and gathering revenue via ads and clicks. Typical videos that I don't watch include such subjects of "Making $21K in 4 months from 2 domains". Sure it can be done but what's the point of these types of interviews? Education? Or attention...
TheDomains
If it's not about Mike it's about something that impacts on a bigger level (UDRP, ICANN,etc.). I don't think he really cares about this type of story to be frank. One of the few blogs I do actually read on occasion.
DomainShane did post on the story. I came off as more critical of it in an earlier post than I intended by focusing on what I would like to see versus the fact that he took any step at all.
DNWire/Acro/DomainGang/TLDInvestors (
@equity78)
They posted stories on it. Probably not big enough?
Rick
Does he give a shit about anything to do with domaining that isn't self-serving anymore..or did he ever?
TheRealShane
I guess he broke the story but based on his blog I'm not sure anyone would take it seriously.
Anyone else a big player?
If you're looking for a big blow up story you're looking in the wrong places or have wrong expectations. I kind of thought the same thing but then why would bloggers who have a reliance on ads from various entities risk that revenue? Companies don't like negative articles and even less so when it's not based on a lot of actual legal or personal knowledge. What are they supposed to post? Beware of Adam Dicker because he might be up to no good. And even then... who cares, at large, what Ray/Shane/Acro etc. thinks?
If I'm buying a service I look to more appropriate sources of information. If I was developing a name? The ABSOLUTE LAST place I would go for help is to a domainer, even if they promised the world. Of course, if my idea of development is getting fools to click on ads then maybe it doesn't matter who you go to.
The above is my knowledge of domain blogs - some of which I haven't visited in a while.
I'm not intending to belittle, demean, or denigrate anyone above (except Adam). I'm not being critical of the blogs, their reach, or your perceived idea of their importance etc. It's just my opinion.
