Sean Stafford of DNS.com
Sean Stafford, Director of Services at DNS.com by Comodo, put his busy schedule aside for a short while and granted us an interview, sharing his views about life and domaining, and talked about what puts him on the road to domaining success.
Sean, do you still invest in pure domain names versus businesses – and what TLDs?
Sean Stafford: “Am I still investing in domain names versus businesses? Absolutely! While I do have many irons in the fire these days, I still find time to invest in nice gems when the opportunity arises. .Com is still king, and as such, I invest heavily into it. I do hold a .US portfolio, but that’s more of a wildcard investment that I see as a much longer term play. In terms of steady revenue and anticipated sales, my preferred TLD is .Com all the way.”
Is there a plan for updating the Tapping the Domaining Mines eBook? Any other plans for a new book?
Sean Stafford: “My ebook, DomainGraduate.com, was a big hit when it first came out and really helped me solidify my name as a broker/consultant/investor of domain names. When I wrote it, I did so with the intention of giving it a lot of staying power so the information could remain relevant over time. However, there are some things in there that I would like to update for a new edition so it’s likely that we will see an updated version of DomainGraduate – Tapping the Online Mines in the somewhat near future.”
SOPA: Are we really in danger of segmenting the Internet – are our liberties at risk?
Sean Stafford: “At the time of this blog post, SOPA has already been shelved (thank Heavens!), but “shelving” an issue doesn’t make it go away. Those laws, and others like it, are completely despicable and we – as citizens of the Internet – have to take every opportunity to oppose tyranny when tyranny manifests itself. I’m of the very firm belief that SOPA, PIPA and the other current Internet-censoring laws are tyrannical, despotic, and grossly overreaching.
The Federal government already has way more power than they should have EVER been allowed to usurp in the first place. With that being said, if a SOPA/PIPA-style law ever takes effect it will be the end of free market, free speech, and free communication as we know it. I’m ecstatic to see people from all over the world and from every walk of life protesting against these laws and others like it, but it deeply troubles me to think that the Federal government actually believes they could or should hold enough power to censor the Internet at will.
While these bills are shelved for now, I’m fearful that they will be brought up again. When that happens it will be up to all Internet citizens, being ardent in their resolve, to cast off the oppression by making it clear to those in power that free speech in any form isn’t a right that should be abridged or infringed – not now, not ever! Is SOPA a horrible idea? Absolutely. Are our liberties at risk? Only if good men stand by and do nothing.”
Name three people that you’ve been influenced by.
Sean Stafford: “I gain my inspiration from a number of different people. My friends are some of the most inspiring people I’ve ever encountered. When you surround yourself with like-minded, driven people, then there is no lack of creative-juices to tap into. As such, I would have to say that Dan Kimball, co-founder of DNS.com, my business partner and best friend, has probably been my biggest inspiration when it comes to business. He’s a great salesman, a great Domainer, and is liked by everyone who meets him. He is really someone that I and others really look up to so it’s easy for me to look to him for inspiration – and I do so daily.
Historically, another inspiration of mine is Mark Twain. He was a proud Southerner, a witty author, and someone who had a great passion for his work. I identify a lot with him personally because early on in his childhood he lost his father which impacted him greatly and influenced his work. My personal story is almost the same so I find a lot of parallels when I read about him.
Lastly, I would like to mention Melih Abdulhayoglu as an inspiration. For those of you who don’t know him, he is the CEO and founder of Comodo.com (the company which purchased our company – DNS.com – at the beginning of 2011.) Melih is an Internet mogul who has been recognized by Computer World, PC Magazine, and countless other news outlets. He has received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst and Young, and also holds countless awards for various technologies and inventions. Getting the opportunity to work under him for the past year has really been a remarkable experience for me. He regularly challenges his team and takes an active interest in his employees. Considering he is only 43 and has done so much in such a short period of time, he’s someone that I’ve come to admire. I take every opportunity to pick his brain because he’s an “outside the box” type of thinker and that’s the type of person that I strive to be more like.”
Thank you very much, Sean, for sharing your insight about domaining and life with our readers.
