Okay, so I know it’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to post anything here, but this one just really set me off and I had to say something.

This has happened to me no less than three times in under two years now, and it’s unbelievable to me that it’s not illegal, and hasn’t been traced by top registrars like GoDaddy.

Yesterday I was considering purchasing a new domain, so I did what I always do and went to GoDaddy (they’re the cheapest and best out there) and punched in my dream .com name. It was available, so I set up my cart to include a hosting package for it, as well as the renewal of 4 soon-to-expire domains.

I punch in my super-duper-discount code and realize that I should probably check my accounts, and see what bills are coming in and which are going out. Of course I get distracted as usual, and a couple hours later return to GoDaddy to finish up the sale.

I go through everything again, as some of it was released from my cart due to the span of time, and it still lets me go through and complete the sale.

I get a receipt in my email.

I get the obligatory “here’s how to set up your hosting” email.

Then, I get an email saying that they couldn’t register the domain in my name, it’s already registered. (And paid for by me, of course.)

So I check whois and see that the domain had been registered the same day, by some other company in Holland.

I call GoDaddy and they actually admit to me that it’s entirely possible that someone’s monitoring the domain check search, and registering names prior to the searcher, in an attempt to later upcharge to give it up. What are they doing about this? Absolutely nothing. No monitoring, no upgrading of their search feature to include privacy and enhanced security to prevent squatters like this… absolutely nothing.

Can I tell you that this is the first time in 11 years I’ve been beyond disappointed with GoDaddy? I mean, I’ve been registering and hosting with them for that long, and have only ONCE had a problem with downtime (it was for one hour, and ran across thousands of sites, but was restored at lightning speed comparably, and all affected were issued a small monetary credit to their account). I’ve fought in forums and chat rooms for this company.

And now I find that they don’t care enough about my business or anyone else’s to protect their search feature from prying eyes?

Now, before you go thinking I’m insane and overreacting, and tell me things like, “Hey, thousands of sites get registered every day… this is just a coincidence!” Please understand that it’s happened three times, and all three times were the ONLY times I didn’t buy immediately. GoDaddy also admitted that this was likely what was happening.

Yes, the definition of cybersquatting is when someone purchases a domain that’s already been registered or trademarked to another company in an attempt to upcharge that company later on to hand it over. For example, if I were to go and register the domain “iDog.com” and purposely waited for Apple to create an “iDog”, and then even went so far as to insult Apple on the site and take out pay-per-click ads, in an attempt to get Apple to pay me off, then yes, that would be illegal. But apparently, pulling searches out from a domain search and jumping on things before the person who had an actual PURPOSE for the domain could get it, in an attempt to upcharge them if they realllllly wanted it that bad, are perfectly fine.

What if I had already registered this domain as a business name? Purchased a DBA or got a trademark? Then, and only then, would I have a course for legal action. But why would I do that if I weren’t sure that I could obtain the domain name?

Anyway, I just had to rant about this, because it just seems so stupid that people can do this sort of thing and get away with it. It’s like some kind of blackmail or something, isn’t it? “Let’s see how bad they really want this domain… Maybe we’ll get ten grand for it! Wheee!”

Oye. My head hurts.

Moral of the story: If you want a certain domain, even for a breath of a second, buy it as soon as you check it. It’s $9 you can afford to part with now for avoiding having it taken out from under you later.

Popularity: 15% [?]

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo made an announcement today that protects consumers making purchases via the internet, saying quite flatly, “The Internet is no longer the Wild West of commerce.” This measure defines online and Internet purchases as equivalent to catalog/mail and telephone orders when it comes to buyer protection.

From Cuomo’s website:

Last year, more than 1,000 consumer complaints were submitted to the Attorney General’s Internet Bureau regarding failure to deliver goods ordered online or other improper conduct related to online purchases. The measure affords online consumers the same protections as those who make purchases over the phone or through the mail. Those protections include:

* Orders cannot be accepted for merchandise which cannot be reasonably anticipated to be shipped within 30 days.
* All advertising and promotional materials must prominently feature: the legal name of the company, complete street address and details about what conditions in which a refund will be issued.
* If products fail to ship within 30 days, the company must clearly provide the buyer with the opportunity to cancel the order and receive a refund or receive substitute merchandise.
* Companies must maintain records of all complaints of failure to ship merchandise or provide advertised services.

As far as I’m aware, this new law applies to products only (as opposed to services), but I’m sure that’s the next step in this state. Cuomo’s been cracking down on a lot of things since taking office - this is just one more consumer-minded direction, but every single business owner who offers a product for sale on their website needs to know about this.

What confuses me just a little is that I wasn’t really aware that this was any more a problem for online business than it was for traditional mail-order business. But I suppose that there will always be people who find the legal loopholes - and this new law closes off the circle completely.

Assemblyman Jack McEneny said, “The bill would protect consumers who shop through the Internet by requiring that their purchases be delivered in a timely manner. Internet businesses will no longer be able to evade the clear intention of the law that has long applied to all other businesses.”

So - to all my clients and NY based business friends - it’s time to start tightening up the proverbial belts!

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I’m sitting here scanning through my feedreader on this lovely Memorial Day (waiting for the grill to get cleaned up and ready to use) and I found this post by Andy Beal (oops!) Jeremy Luebke of Marketing Pilgrim about preparing your business to be able to survive without you. In it, Jeremy points to a super inspiring post by QuadsZilla over at SEO Black Hat. (Don’t worry, I’m not changing hats…)

I think it’s the goal of many a business owner to be less “hands on” and more “executive”. I think that no matter what your current situation, if that’s not one of your goals, it should be. Sure, doing the work yourself ensures that it gets done the way you want it to - but sometimes you need to let go and have faith in others to do their jobs the way you want them to. After all, if an employee anywhere doesn’t do their job, they get in trouble. They don’t do it enough and they get fired. So why would they want to be that way?

It’s not feasible for every business to start off with a full staff. Freelancers are great for part-time or contractual work, and in this day and age it’s almost easier to outsource work than it is to manage a brick-and-mortar office with schedules and insurance and unemployment and all that mess.

In terms of preparing your business to function without you (be it due to an illness, or maybe you’re in the military, or just that you feel like becoming more “executive” than “hands on”) I think Andy hit the nails right on their heads. These are some things I myself plan to work on.

• Create a will and a living will outlining my desires for the business.
• Put everything under an LLC/Corporation so I am only a stock holder and not an owner. Should I die, the only thing that must be willed to a family member is my stock. Domains, Adsense, etc do not have to be transfered to a new owner.
• Create a living document that is updated quarterly with all the companies assets like domains, hosting accounts, revenue accounts, both business and personal email accounts, etc (with logins for each) laid out in plain english. This document will remain in both the hands of my family lawyer and a safety deposit box.
• Create another document outlining the day to day operations of all websites and future plans. Describe how they operate, what systems they are built upon, and and detailed technical specifications whether obvious or not.
• Slowly wean myself off doing the day to day operations such as content creation, link building, user moderation, server maintenance, etc by hiring freelancers or in house employees if money permits. Start to work “on” my business and not “in” my business.

Like Jeremy, I feel that creating a document outlining day to day operations of all sites and future plans is one of the most vital items in this list. As well as a document that’s updated quarterly that lists all assets like domains, accounts, and access to everything laid out in plain English.

I know that right now, there is no individual other than myself with information or access to any of this stuff, and honestly - these posts sort of scared me a little. I’ve not only invested my money and time into this business, but I haven’t laid out plans for the business to continue in my absence, so that my family or anyone who works for me could continue to grow and profit from it.

So I’ve decided - my plan for tomorrow is to get my business more on track with my becoming an owner and executive. I’m not planning on getting sick or having an untimely death - but my plans do include taking some nice, well deserved vacations and NOT bringing my laptop with me. I owe it to my clients to have them continue to get the service they rely on my company for when I’m not around, just as much as I owe it to myself to just relax a little more.

Popularity: 8% [?]