Attorney Wants .Pol Top-Level Domain for Politicians
Political law attorney Matthew T. Sanderson believes the Internet needs a new .pol top-level domain because of cybersquatters who grab domain names related to politicians. He cites Meg Whitman's difficulty acquiring domains related to her gubernatorial run in California:
Long before she began forming her campaign for governor of California, Meg Whitman got cybersquatted. Media speculation in early 2008 that the billionaire former chief executive of eBay would seek the state's highest office prompted a Santa Monica man to nab rights to several Web sites that evoke Whitman's name, including WhitmanForGovernor.com and MegWhitman2010.com.
Whitman spent much of last year trying to get those sites back. Her early attempts to negotiate failed, and she lost an Internet arbitration because her extensive business and political activities did not make her name "commercial" enough to warrant protection. She then initiated costly and potentially fruitless litigation that, had events run their course, might have concluded after California's gubernatorial election. In the end, though, Whitman's substantial checkbook solved her problem. She settled with the cybersquatter out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Creating a new namespace for the use of politicians, many of whom don't keep their campaign-related domains after a race is over, would make some money for registrars but do little to discourage people from grabbing domain names related to political candidates. The .com namespace is still coveted no matter how many new top-level domains are introduced, so the ownership of BobDole.pol would not reduce the worth of BobDole.Com when Bob Dole decides that Bob Dole should run for president again in 2012.
Also, many domain names registered in the names of public figures are used for political speech, not cybersquatting. KarlRove.Com, BillKristol.Com and RodBlagojevich.Com are all examples.
Sanderson's proposal is premised on the notion that candidates like Whitman must control all variations of their domain name:
Worse, today's preventive and remedial measures are ill-suited to resolve the underlying issue. A candidate cannot buy in advance all possible site-name variations. Negotiation gives cybersquatters exactly what they want -- a chance to receive an exorbitant sum.
I hate to break this to him, but it's impossible to own all possible site-name variations related to a politician. Meg Whitman doesn't need WhitmanForGovernor.Com or MegWhitman2010.Com because she owns MegWhitman.Com, the only domain name related to her candidacy that would get any type-in traffic, and she's already one of the top results for her name in Google. The misguided impulse to acquire all variations has led the Whitman campaign to acquire at least 162 domain names:
Join-meg.biz, Join-meg.com, Join-meg.info, Join-meg.net, Join-meg.org, Join-meg.us, Joinmeg.biz, Joinmeg.com, Joinmeg.info, Joinmeg.net, Joinmeg.org, Joinmeg.us, Joinmeg2010.biz, Joinmeg2010.com, Joinmeg2010.info, Joinmeg2010.net, Joinmeg2010.org, Joinmeg2010.us, Joinmegwhitman.biz, Joinmegwhitman.com, Joinmegwhitman.info, Joinmegwhitman.net, Joinmegwhitman.org, Joinmegwhitman.us, Joinmegwhitman2010.biz, Joinmegwhitman2010.com, Joinmegwhitman2010.info, Joinmegwhitman2010.net, Joinmegwhitman2010.org, Joinmegwhitman2010.us, Margaretwhitman.net, Margaretwhitman.org, Margaretwhitman2010.biz, Margaretwhitman2010.com, Margaretwhitman2010.info, Margaretwhitman2010.net, Margaretwhitman2010.org, Margaretwhitman2010.us, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.biz, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.com, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.info, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.net, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.org, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.us, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.biz, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.com, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.info, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.net, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.org, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.us, Meg2010.biz, Meg2010.com, Meg2010.info, Meg2010.net, Meg2010.org, Meg2010.us, Megforcalifornia.biz, Megforcalifornia.com, Megforcalifornia.info, Megforcalifornia.net, Megforcalifornia.org, Megforcalifornia.us, Megforcalifornia2010.biz, Megforcalifornia2010.com, Megforcalifornia2010.info, Megforcalifornia2010.net, Megforcalifornia2010.org, Megforcalifornia2010.us, Megforgovernor.biz, Megforgovernor.com, Megforgovernor.info, Megforgovernor.net, Megforgovernor.org, Megforgovernor.us, Megforgovernor2010.biz, Megforgovernor2010.com, Megforgovernor2010.info, Megforgovernor2010.net, Megforgovernor2010.org, Megforgovernor2010.us, Megwhitman.com, Megwhitman.info, Megwhitman.net, Megwhitman.org, Megwhitman2010.biz, Megwhitman2010.com, Megwhitman2010.info, Megwhitman2010.net, Megwhitman2010.org, Megwhitman2010.us, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.biz, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.com, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.info, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.net, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.org, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.us, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.biz, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.com, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.info, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.net, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.org, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.us, Megwhitmanforgovernor.biz, Megwhitmanforgovernor.com, Megwhitmanforgovernor.info, Megwhitmanforgovernor.net, Megwhitmanforgovernor.org, Megwhitmanforgovernor.us, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.biz, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.com, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.info, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.net, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.org, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.us, Vote-meg.biz, Vote-meg.com, Vote-meg.info, Vote-meg.net, Vote-meg.org, Vote-meg.us, Votemeg.biz, Votemeg.com, Votemeg.info, Votemeg.net, Votemeg.org, Votemeg.us, Votemeg2010.biz, Votemeg2010.com, Votemeg2010.info, Votemeg2010.net, Votemeg2010.org, Votemeg2010.us, Votemegwhitman.biz, Votemegwhitman.com, Votemegwhitman.info, Votemegwhitman.net, Votemegwhitman.org, Votemegwhitman.us, Votemegwhitman2010.biz, Votemegwhitman2010.com, Votemegwhitman2010.info, Votemegwhitman2010.net, Votemegwhitman2010.org, Votemegwhitman2010.us, Whitman2010.biz, Whitman2010.com, Whitman2010.info, Whitman2010.net, Whitman2010.org, Whitman2010.us, Whitmanforgovernor.biz, Whitmanforgovernor.com, Whitmanforgovernor.info, Whitmanforgovernor.net, Whitmanforgovernor.org, Whitmanforgovernor.us, Whitmanforgovernor2010.biz, Whitmanforgovernor2010.com, Whitmanforgovernor2010.info, Whitmanforgovernor2010.net, Whitmanforgovernor2010.org, Whitmanforgovernor2010.us
Four of these domains were acquired after Whitman failed to get them in a UDRP domain-name arbitration. No matter how many domains she acquires from squatters, there will still be more. When I checked my registrar for Meg Whitman domains today, it helpfully informed me that whitmanforgovernor.mobi, megwhitman.tv and megwhitman2010.me are all still available, among countless others. She's trying to corner the market on an infinite resource.
It Takes Diff'rent Strokes
Monty Propps, a 36-year-old Brit who creates video mashups, has re-edited the Diff'rent Strokes opening with new music.
The music was composed by Chris Young for the 1982 horror flick The Dorm That Dripped Blood. The mashup is more frightening than the actual trailer for that film.
Disclosing Paid Placements on a Blog
Mel Cooley: "I didn't come here to be insulted!"
Buddy Sorrell: "Oh, where do you usually go to be insulted?"
Last month I called out Dave Winer for selling a paid placement in Radio UserLand that was never disclosed to his users. This sparked a tempest in a TechMeme in which Mike Arrington dropped the hammer on Winer, declaring that his credibility was permanently shot by the secret deal. I am now obligated, under enemy of my enemy is my friend rules, to extend to Arrington my warm hand of friendship. If we ever share a room at an overbooked Web 3.0 conference and the power goes out during a blizzard caused by climate change and the conservation of body heat becomes a necessity, I am not entirely hostile to spooning.
But I digress.
Winer has posted a public apology for not disclosing the paid placement:
About a month ago, Mike Arrington ran an article at TechCrunch about a deal we did at UserLand in 2002 with Adam Curry, to include his RSS feed in the set of default feeds for Radio 8.0.
Mike, who used to be my friend and my lawyer, and who believe it or not I still feel affection for, said about me: "Credibility = Shot. Permanently."
When I read that I felt like Mike was aiming an ethical bullet at my head. Luckily I was wearing my bullet-proof helmet that day. ;->
I wanted to let the accusations settle in before responding in detail. This really was between me and the users of my product, and possibly people who read my blog. After giving it some thought, I believe we should have disclosed that Adam paid us for inclusion in the OPML file, and we didn't. I apologize for that.
I explained further in a post on FriendFeed, earlier today.
The apology's the proper thing to do, so I'm passing it along. I find it curious that among all the responses on Scripting News and FriendFeed, there isn't a single person who thinks Winer has anything to be sorry for, while on TechCrunch the general consensus is that Winer's back-room shenanigans with a veejay bring shame upon his family for several generations.
If my blog ever became a place where I was universally admired, that would suck all the fun right out of it. Unlike Mel Cooley, I do come here to be insulted.
Rutgers Breaks World Waldo Record
Rutgers University has broken the world record for the largest gathering of Waldos.
Here's a funny photo of the crowd filling the theater. I hope the students remained in costume that evening for the world's largest drunken Waldo bacchanalia.
Bit.ly Builds Business on Libya Domain
The URL shortening service Bit.ly just secured $2 million in financing from investors including O'Reilly's AlphaTech Ventures. Though URL shorteners have been around for years, Bit.ly believes there's money in offering Twitter-friendly short links along with web analytics to track how the links are used. The company reports that its links were clicked 20 million times last month.
So far, the news coverage I've read about Bit.ly has neglected an unusual aspect of the startup: It's one of the only prominent online ventures using a domain name in the .LY namespace, which is controlled by Libya.
There are two issues that arise from this relationship.
First, of course, is the appearance of an American company doing business with Libya, a country that the U.S. considered a state sponsor of terror from 1979 through 2006. On Dec. 21, 1988, Libyan intelligence agents planted a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 that blew up 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people onboard.
Bit.ly's only doing a trivial amount of business with Libya -- the domains sell for $75 per year from the registrar Libyan Spider Network -- but its use of .LY domain is helping to popularize and legitimize the top-level domain for general use on the Internet. It's only a matter of time before a reporter decides to ask the families of Lockerbie victims what they think of the arrangement. I can't imagine that story going well for the company.
Even without that PR hit, there's another potential concern for Bit.ly and any other venture that builds its business on an .LY domain. These domains are governed by Libyan law, as it states on the Libyan Spider Network site:
Any .LY domain names may be registered, except domains containing obscene and indecent names/phrases, including words of a sexual nature; furthermore domain names may not contain words/phrases or abbreviations insulting religion or politics, or be related to gambling and lottery industry or be contrary to Libyan law or Islamic morality.
So the names must conform to Islamic morality, and it's possible that the use of the domains could fall under the same rules. What are the odds that some of those 20 million clicks on a Bit.ly-shortened URL end up at sites that would be considered blasphemous or otherwise offensive in an Islamic nation? Bit.ly conveniently provides search pages for such topics as Islam, sharia, gambling and sex, any of which contain links that could spark another controversy.
Bit.ly's building a business atop a domain that could be taken away at any time, and the company's only recourse would be to seek redress in the Libyan court system. Take a look at Section 11 of the regulations for .LY owners:
The Arabic language is the language of interpretation, correspondence and the construction of the Regulation or anything related to it. ... In case of conflict between the Arabic and the English versions the Arabic version shall prevail.
I hope Bit.ly's attorneys are brushing up on their Arabic.
LemonYellow's Heather Anne Halpert is Back
Warning: In order to find this blog entry exciting, you must have been on the web for at least 81 Internet years (nine in human reckoning).
A decade ago this July, the New York Times published a profile of Heather Anne Halpert, a charmingly offbeat writer sharing her stray thoughts and experiences on a blog. But nobody called them blogs back then, so reporter Katie Hafner had trouble explaining Halpert's site, which she described as an "intellectual layer cake." (If that name had caught on, we'd all be called cakers.) From Hafner's piece:
Once in a great while a Web site appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and casts a spell. Such is the case with Lemonyellow.com, an on-line intellectual diary that makes the reader want to dig deeper and deeper.
Ms. Halpert began the site, at www.lemonyellow.com, last April as a repository "for all of the ideas and ephemera that would otherwise pop off the top of my head and float away," she said.
Every evening, she writes down whatever may have crossed her mind or happened in the course of her day: a book she once read, like The Names of Things, by Susan Brind Morrow, or wants to reread, like Feminism and Deconstructio non, by Diane Elam; the surrealist poet and artist Georges Hugnet; her encounter with a scrap metal dealer, a design project she is working on. Whatever she writes that seems to lend itself to a hyperlink gets one.
Halpert's cake disappeared in April 2001 -- the domain's now a graphic design company in Miami -- but you can find some slices on the Internet Archive and an amusing piece quoted by the early blog Alamut:
It makes me howl when people assume this is me -- laid bare. I once had someone tell me, to prove a point, that she'd gone back through the archives and mapped my writing to specific personal events. It was hard not to laugh... Naturally. This is the extent of me. Exposed. You can turn me over and prod my soft spots, stick your fingers into my orifices and smell me. Each bit of what you think is my soul corresponds to a point on or in my body defined by three coordinates. Click here to browse them.
For years, I've wondered what became of Halpert, who renounced blogging so thoroughly she never turned up in Google searches. So I was pleasantly surprised today to discover that she's back, sharing her thoughts in a medium even more lightweight than blogs, Twitter, as BlurryYellow.
Roasted a big fat expensive homeschooled cloth diapered pastured market chicken only to realize I forgot to salt the privileged beast. Bleh. 1:35 PM Mar 24th from web
Today's babysitting blind date went well. Could a fiend in human form disguise herself as a sweet girl with a daffy duck notebook? Maybe. 4:45 PM Feb 19th from web
Interviewing a new babysitter in a few minutes. Sigh. Like a blind date, but in Spanish (her) and potato shaped house shoes (me). 1:35 PM Feb 18th from web
Google thinks I have ringworm. 3:34 PM Feb 16th from web
ScottsMoneyBlog.Com's Get-Rich-Click Scheme
The 11-day-old web site ScottsMoneyBlog.Com is selling an amazing money-making work-at-home business opportunity for only $1.98. "Would you like to make $5,000 a month posting a link on Google?" asks Scott Hunter in an ad I spotted today on the Drudge Report. "Get paid $5 to $30 for every website link that you post on Google. No one needs to buy anything from you or Google in order to get paid."
I'm not clear on what Scott means by posting links "on Google," but he's wearing a tuxedo, so he must be rolling in dough.
I was about to invest some money I was saving for Nigerian ex-government officials with cash-flow problems, but I noticed something weird about Scott's site. He says he's originally from Saint Augustine, Florida:
My name is Scott Hunter. I am originally from the Saint Augustine, FL area. Recently married. I lost my job as a boring account rep for a manufacturing company a few months back. But here is my story on how I make $5,000+ a month by just submitting small text and ads online on Google. Read my story to learn how I did it and how you can do the same.
He's my neighbor! But when you visit his site from other places, his hometown changes. Scott's using a script from MaxMind that repeats the name of the town you're currently in:
My name is Scott Hunter. I am originally from the <script·src="http://j.maxmind.com/app/geoip.js"></script><script type="text/javascript"></script>, <script·type="text/javascript"><!--
document.write(geoip_region());
// --></script> area.
If you're reading this in a web browser, there's something I have to get off my chest.
Clearly, Scott's making so much money that he's concerned about his privacy. He doesn't want money-grubbing relatives trying to get their mitts on the Google link fortune he has amassed over the past two weeks. Scott even had to change his name and become a bigamist just to keep these leeches off his trail.
Before investing in Scott/Corey/Jacob's business plan, please note the terms and conditions: "The initial shipping and handling charge of $1.98 S&H which includes fourteen (14) days worth of access to the online directories and training. After 14 days, you will be charged MONTHLY of $47.50 for the recurring monthly fee for the googleprofitsinsider.com membership. After the 30 day trial I will be charged $99 for the program."
You probably think that $1,118 in yearly subscription charges is a bit high, but think of it this way: If you're making $5,000 a month you can pay that charge and still clear more than $58,000 in yearly profit, minus whatever you spend on tuxedos, wives and bling.
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