.tv Maine.TV

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

I have decided after careful thought that I am not going to continue with Maine.TV.

A lot of people have asked what has been going on with Maine.TV and PortlandMaine.TV and I decided to publicly start a thread to address the name, a few rumors, my opinions on geo and what I have learned.

First off, I chose school over .tv, and am happy I made that decision. I am in the last phase of my degree program and it has been tough on my other interests at times, but hopefully in the long run these sacrifices will pay off and will give a nice return in my life.

But with these advances in education come a great price and sacrifice, one of these being my time.

To run a Geo like Maine.TV properly is a 40 hour a week job, and anyone who tells you other wise does not know shit about business or the internet.

I unfortunately found that I did not have the time to do it. PortlandMaine.TV I consider a success, even though I have turned it off temporarily for over hauling and rebuilding. Originally I was going to take PortlandMaine.TV and rebrand it with Maine.tv but time restrictions, and the fact that I had decided to not spend any time living in Maine for a while have made me rethink my goals.

Maine.TV is an unbelievable name, but it runs $1750 per year, so that money per year plus 40 hours a week does not pan out when I would rather put my time into other projects.

At one point I had some interest in people wanting to buy Maine.TV but that did not work out. In one instance, perhaps I should have taken the money but at the me I decided I was going to hold. However, now i've decided that I am going to release.

I personally do not think people realize the true value of all these .tv names. Developed fully and properly you have a great business. But buying and holding is not very wise, unless you can hold on long enough for everyone else to develop and .tv gains more recognition. And you will not be able to develop dozens of .tv names properly at once.

In the next 5 years .tv will be worth more and more, but the key as we have said over and over again is to pick what you want to develop and run with it.

False Rumors:

1. There was not a fall out with the TV station, we had two back to back contracts, both which ended, we worked on music shows and ran these on the tv station, while simultaneously advertising PortlandMaine.TV. This is a local station, not a big dog, and they are toughing out this economy like everyone else. Local media is in trouble everywhere, and many will close in the next 1-3 years. I am in good standing with the station, and will perhaps once again work with them in the future. Our experiments were a success, but again, the market I am in is a bit smaller...

2. I am not hard up for money and in dire straits. I spent quite a bit of time finishing up class requirements for my program, and doubled up on classes at times. This made it difficult to focus on .tv. I am not just going to throw 2 grand at a project unless I feel I have the proper time to devote to it. That is just stupid, and I should have been more realistic last year in planning around school. Even more important is the economy is a joke right now, and you really need to pick your focus carefully if you want to make success out of these crappy times.

My offer to dot tv nation

Even with everything just said, If anyone in .tv land wants to get involved with Maine.TV before it expires email me. I am open to suggestions. I feel I could put 5-10 hours per week in if I new someone was serious. But I am not going to get involved with a project where I end up doing all the dirty work. Unless of course I am compensated for my time. Although im hesitant to partner with anyone right now,I would go in with someone on Maine.TV and renew it for more years if I felt they were serious. If someone wants to talk on the phone about it I am open, especially if you have other geos to develop, you might be surprised what insight I could give.

Regardless, I'm going to keep PortlandMaine.TV and most likely have the 2.0 version up by the end of summer, and do another relaunch, but it will not be my main project. I consider the PortlandMaine.TV a success, Maine.TV a failure and over all my experience with the past few years a wonderful learning experience which has laid the ground work for more projects once I finish my degree.

Thanks to everyone on this board!

Oh and to Jeff Overman, please read my lips...

PornTV.TV is not for sale LOL Just Kidding brother...

 

[jeffoverman]

good luck in your future plans! everyone is being impatced by this worldwide mess were all facing.

congrats in taking the smarter route DR. -it will pay off for you in the long haul. no such thing as an easy buck overnight-takes work and dedication to things-forming a business or in your case going after education!

cheers,

j

lol-hope you can reach top dollar on the adult name! go out and sale it for xx, xxx sale!

 

[Steven]

I know what you mean Dr. Mindwrecker.

School, along with my part time job, has also been taking a huge chunk of my free time.

I wish you the best with your studies.

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

Thank you Jeff and Steven,

I still haven't made up my mind yet, I'm going to think more on it this week. Have had a few people inquire but one person ended up with a long over drawn sales pitch about software platforms and venture capital. I'm really not interested in anyone's software. Nothing personal, but its the same bullshit story over and over again. If I have someone else try to sell me some great cutting edge software platform that's gonna blow up on the net i'm gonna puke. I remember in 2007 when no one knew anything about you tube clones, and the only ones that we did know about were loaded with buggs and crappy programming.

There isn't a software platform on the net that can't be replicated in 30-90 days, so in the end, all that really matters is the domain name and the person behind it.

My advice is to get one or two really great domain names and reg them out for ten years. Then create a game plan and run like hell. Your gonna need it in this economy come 2010.
Be prepared to have to pay for that premium for the next ten years, and be ready to loose all money in that premium. That means at $2000 per year times 10 years, you just invested 20 grand with no return. Can you handle it? Most cant here, or else they already would have paid for the ten years up front.

I have found that on the net a lot of people are full of shit. I'm not afraid to announce my failures right out in the open, most will disguise them with more hot air.

The coolest people I met here were Ray and Roy, they have both kept it real right from the get go. Ray has always told it like it is on here and I remember early on people would complain but that is because they couldn't handle the truth.

What I learned so far:

If I could do it over again I would have not gone after Maine.TV and would have plowed the money into PortlandMaine.TV

Premium names are not the end all be all, and I did more with the hand reg PortlandMaine.TV part time then most have done with big premium geo names.

I also think defensive regging can be neurotic and really the only important defense in most scenarios is the tv.com version of a name (as far as .tv goes)

But even not having the tv.com does not mean you cant succeed.

Some of these big premium names will eventually sell for big $, but the question is how long can you hold? Most would be better off developing, but very few will follow through correctly.

Development of one name is a 40 hour a week job for the first 6 months to a year. At the very least it has to be part time 20 hours a week. If you cant even give an honest 20 hours per week to that one name for 6 months, your wasting your time.

 

[Jeff]

Some of these big premium names will eventually sell, but the question is how long can you hold. Most would be better off developing, but very few will follow through correctly.

^ I totally agree! :yell: :imho:

Good Luck with your studies! :gl:
-Jeff

 

[localexperts]

Here are some things:

1) For most national players, Maine is too small to get on their radar screen. I've been in this debate 100s of times and the prevailing wind is that the top 25-50 metros matter and nothing else (once again national players)

2) Most VC firms - unless they are local (meaning they are designed to foster business inside a community) - won't fund a local play.

3) Most software can be replicated in 3-6 months.

4) Most off the shelf software doesn't provide enough differentiation to make your business unique to any other smuck who purchases that software. Content is key. Technology is a commodity.

5) Most domainers including most people worshiped by domainers don't have a clue how to build an internet company. That is why parking is so popular.

5) Good luck. We spoke over the phone. I remember you as being very nice. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Jeff]

Did you renew ... the domain name (@ $1,750/annual Premium)? :blink:

-Jeff

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

Did you renew ... the domain name (@ $1,750/annual Premium)? :blink:

-Jeff

No I have not yet, not sure if im am or not.

Why are you asking?

 

[Jeff]

No I have not yet, not sure if im am or not.

Why are you asking?

Thanks, just curious ... I actually spend quite a bit of time in Maine (mainly in the summers)! :music:

Appreciate your candor, all the best.
-Jeff

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

Thanks, just curious ... I actually spend quite a bit of time in Maine (mainly in the summers)! :music:

Appreciate your candor, all the best.
-Jeff

No problem, be prepared for more candor as time goes on lol

Also be prepared for this premium to go from 1750 to 5 or 10 grand a year...

Maine is priceless...

I just cant justify committing another 1750 a year by myself when I know I wont have the time to work with it...

 

[Jeff]

No problem, be prepared for more candor as time goes on lol

Also be prepared for this premium to go from 1750 to 5 or 10 grand a year...

^ I don't know what you mean, but now I'm further intrigued ... :yell:

Maine is priceless...

Yes it is, God's country really! :music:

Best to you,
-Jeff

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

^ I don't know what you mean, but now I'm further intrigued ... :yell:



Yes it is, God's country really! :music:

Best to you,
-Jeff

If this premium drops, chances are ENOM will change the yearly renewal. They might not but that has been the scene lately.

Ive also heard a lot of people talk about asking ENOM for a price reduction, as some people rumored to have got a reduction on renewals, but who knows if that is true.

But then I ask and ENOM no, so im not sure who to believe. Its the wild west out here brother...time to cowboy up...

 

[Jeff]

If this premium drops, chances are ENOM will change the yearly renewal. They might not but that has been the scene lately.

Ive also heard a lot of people talk about asking ENOM for a price reduction, as some people rumored to have got a reduction on renewals, but who knows if that is true.

But then I ask and ENOM no, so im not sure who to believe. Its the wild west out here brother...time to cowboy up...

Yikes ... thanks for the info and heads-up, 'pardner! :yell:

-Jeff

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

Yikes ... thanks for the info and heads-up, 'pardner! :yell:

-Jeff

Thanks, I still like ENOM and prefer them over other registers, I even have a bulk account with them right now.

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