EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Bill Kara takes the Gaming World by storm and cooks it all up
It's all fun and games at Hallpass Media - Bill Kara knows it well.
It’s all over the domain news and it’s gaining momentum:
Someone, somewhere, somehow paid $350,000 for the domain name CookingGames.com – breaking the jaw of many old school domainers that could not fathom to see such a figure next to a two-worder.
The sale amount is an 8x revenue multiple – which means that getting even will take a while.
However, Canada-based buyer Bill Kara is no newcomer to monetizing domains.
His gaming network, Hallpass Media, has millions of monthly visitors from a diverse crowd with a common interest: games, games, games!
Instead of focusing on the particular sale, we asked Bill Kara a few questions which he gladly answered, despite being happily occupied with the recent birth of his baby daughter.
DomainGang: Bill, as a kid, did you prefer arcade coin-ops or at home board games? What was your favorite pass time when “game time” arrived?
Bill Kara: Nothing beats a good game of R.I.S.K, treaties, breaking treaties, building up endlessly, and of course the inevitable flipping of the board.
That’s simply awesome.
DomainGang: What was your first domain name and did you develop it? Did you sell it or did you use that experience to develop your biggest active domain instead?
Bill Kara: First name was HackerNetwork.com, built it up and at its peak it received 6 Million page views in a month. Back in 1999-2000 that was a big deal. The ad company I was with kept having a hard time selling ads for the site as it was NOT about hacking, it was a E/N “everything/nothing” site (a term you old school Internet guys will remember). Anyhow the most popular features on the site were the flash movies and games. I took my ad companies advice and developed FlashPlayer.com shortly after. HackerNetwork was eventually hacked and perma parked from that time onward.
Truly amazing stuff. That’s like changing the domain paradigm that most domainers follow blindly.
DomainGang: Do you consider yourself a “domainer” gamer or a gamer that uses domains to engage in the global entertainment market?
Bill Kara: I consider myself a developer
Fun and games can go together with business after all.
DomainGang: Is it easier to make a dollar or spend a dollar? What would you spend your last dollar on? How would you make a dollar, if you had to quit gaming/domaining?
Bill Kara: Easier to spend, by far with my last dollar I’d buy a small slush and a bunch of 5 cent candies from 7-11. If I had to start something new… I’d… hmmm I used to have a plan B I just can’t recall it. I think I was going to be an accountant or lawyer… something stupid like that.
Very well said. You definitely seem to have your feet planted on the ground while searching for the stars!
DomainGang: About your Greek heritage while being a Canadian – is it gyro and retsina or poutine and beer?
Bill Kara: Neither, It’s crown n’ coke!
Many thanks, Bill. Visit Bill Kara’s awesome network of gaming sites at Hallpass Media!
OPA!
*gives out ouzo & heavenly vanillas to all*
Hehe, Richard.
Bill is a very serious guy and knows his stuff quite well. This acquisition is one of these “OMG!” moments in domaining.
He is a young guy & a successful entrepreneur. It was a nice read.
Thank you Charley – TGIF!
No matter what the explanation. Still not a kosher sale.
I have sold a domain to Bill for some serious money, John, and I can assure you he’s as straight of a business man as an arrow.
Nice joke interview! I laughed hard at how real you made your interview seem legitimate, and the three people who commented, actually believing this interview was REAL! HAHA! They didn’t read the two disclaimers on your site. The fact you fooled these readers is REALLY FUNNY! Keep it up!
All I can say is good job, “Fabrice”! Another fake interview, totally fictional (as explained in the disclaimer at the bottom of the page), fooled another group of readers who thought it was a “real” interview. This is classic “gotchya!” entertainment. Soon you’re going to be competing with Ashton Kutcher’s “Punk’d”!!
I think that this result of sucking in three readers to believe this article was true, by itself is enough for a lot of real domainers to laugh pretty hard at those three guys naively commenting on this article as if it was TRUE! What? They don’t know how to read disclaimers? lol.
Good job, “Fabrice”. Your site rocks! Keep those “fictional” stories coming. I bet a lot of your readers have a fun time identifying and making fun of those dumb readers who fall for your satires!
You got a good thing here, “Fabrice”. Don’t let up. Keep those fictional stories coming, and fooling those numbskulls who don’t read the disclaimers on your site!
Do you have an email to contact ?
Charley, you can reach him through the contact form of HallpassMedia.com
Mr Stephen Douglas, as I said in private, you are a pathetic little man, obsessed with DomainGang, its role and function.
What we do at DomainGang has nothing to do with your lame attempt to discount this interview with Bill Karamouzis, which is 100% true. But had you used the same amount of time it took you to write this venomous piece of crap comment, you would have verified it from Bill himself.
The bottom line is this: Stephen Douglas has an issue with DomainGang when its posts make it in the top ten headlines of the Domaining.com newsletter. That is the problem that exists solely in the head of Mr. Stephen Douglas, not that of our numerous readers that display their appreciation daily.
At DomainGang we offer domainers an insight of the domain industry unlike any other electronic publication related to domains. We have established ourselves in a niche market that noone else occupied. While some might not like our content or all of our content, nobody engages in this kind of behind the scenes war, unlike Mr. Douglas.
It’s a shame really, because when large corporations like DomainTools sponsor us, Mr. Douglas continues the smear attempts, in vain hope of engaging others in his crusade.
Not only is DomainGang continuing to grow by leaps and bounds but soon we will announce major promotional happenings in the domaining world.