Many times, things go wrong at domain conferences; people get overly excited and misbehave, or argue over the quality of their domains – some way too passionately.

Then of course there is lots of alcohol being served – TRAFFIC is particularly generous, with the ample serving of beer, martinis, vodka, gin, even absinthe if you ask for it nicely. So a few domainers get visibly out of control and become violent, thus ending in the county jail.

Help Ron Jackson identify these fine domainers below who had one bottle too many!

TRAFFIC South Beach 2011 is almost here!

The big news of the day come from the Domain King, Rick Schwartz:

There will most likely be a non-sponsored event in 2011.

In other words, in that event Rick will welcome domainers only, all while the big corporations and domain-related companies will be shown the door at that particular event!

Now, isn’t that what Jason “DNPinmping” and Morgan Linton have been doing successfully for months with the Southern California Domainers conference?

Here’s the quote from Rick Schwartz’s email of today:

In 2011, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is strongly considering the possibility of having a “Non Sponsored” event. That means NO SPONSORS! Domainers only. The purpose is to keep the advertising and commercial part out and the ideas in.  It could be a very controversial event, but we are DETERMINED to put on a domainer only show in 2011, to discuss where we are, where we have been, where we are going and what is the best way of getting there. We will do that without Registrars, PPC companies, SEO “experts” or Developers, or any other company selling something to us.

The TRAFFIC South Beach conference price increases after July 31st, so this is your last chance to register at the low price of $1,295 per ticket – the price excludes visits to the infamous Miami strip clubs.

Sure enough, TRAFFIC Miami will attract the best throngs of domainers with a much larger participation from the US East Coast.

TRAFFIC Miami – lasting from October 17 to 20 – will truly be the good old, top notch domainer conference that Rick Schwartz is known to provide.

Meanwhile, related domain TRAFFICTube.com was not purchased for $800,000 by Rick Latona.

“I would definitely not spend $800,000 on TRAFFICTube.com”, said Rick. “I am a sales guy, I am running a business and I am known for cutting corners as much as I can. No thanks, I can’t spend $800,000 on TRAFFICTube.com even though I’d like to own it in order to show live on the Internet the hundreds of visitors to TRAFFIC Miami or heck, the traffic jams in Miami that are just horrible!”

TRAFFICTube.com is currently on a Sedo auction ending in a few days; Could Rick Latona still be the high bidder?

It's over for Team USA.

The World Cup 2010 fever has reached even the most hardcore anti-sports domainers, despite the crazy buzzing sounds of the vuvuzelas. Team USA managed to reach the 16 teams phase and excitement built up.

“Folks, I support team USA all the way”, said Rick Schwartz watching the game on his 64″ projection TV. “I think that we will win, soccer is a fairly simple game, unlike complicated American Football.”

Unfortunately, Team USA lost 1 – 2 to Ghana, and the dream is over.

Upon hearing the news, Rick Schwartz issued an announcement at his blog.

“Folks, the era of easy money is over. I said it, time and again, that domaining is the way. Soccer? Who cares, that’s the pigeon droppings of sports. We have more serious things to work on, like TRAFFIC in October. So I am auctioning off all of my .NET and .ORG domains.”

Rumors that Rick threw a bottle of Miller light against the 64″ TV upon Ghana scoring, were not confirmed.

But let’s talk about a little known fact about Rick’s childhood, something that even Rick doesn’t talk about often.

The New York City native loves soccer.

Growing up in the Big Apple and worshiping the ‘Round Goddess‘, all while his childhood buddies followed baseball, football and basketball, wasn’t easy for Rick.

Polaroid from a 1979 game - Rick Latona on the left.

Kicking his soccer ball against building walls or participating in street games, was how Rick Latona became the quick-reflex domainer that he is today.

“I literally grew up with Pele, Rivelino, Jairjinho, Tostao and the other great Brazilian soccer players as my idols”, says Rick, puffing on a cigarette. “I was a good mid-fielder scoring in most games but I also played as the goalkeeper on several occasions. My teammates knew I would deliver.”

And he sure does. Scoring the biggest domainer conference in the world, TRAFFIC, Rick Latona still loves and respects the sport that brought him up.

“There was no way I’d miss the World Cup 2010 in Johannesburg that starts on the 11th. So yeah, once TRAFFIC is over on the 10th of June, I’m flying over to South Africa baby!”

Known as the sport with two names (soccer in the US, football everywhere else) soccer has the biggest fan base of any sport in the world. An Olympic sport since 1900, soccer’s followers are the most fanatic of any other sport; billions will tune in to World Cup 2010 from June 11 to July 11 in order to watch 11 guys per team kick the ball around.

“I’ll be there watching every World Cup 2010 game”, says Rick with a smile. “And mind you, I still pack a mighty left kick and I can still score.”

Um. Things weren't quite planned in advance...

It’s a clear indication of a missed marketing opportunity: when you intend to use a term, register the .com in advance.

Oversee is expanding Domainfest into short conferences, lasting one day and costing $175 to attend. While “Domainfest” is the brand, the term “Power Networking Day” is being used as well.

Did they register the .com?

Nope. Both PowerNetworkingDay.com and PowerNetworkingDays.com are taken.

With thousands of combined Google results for the words “Power Networking Day” and “Power Networking Days” in quotes, these valuable generic and yet descriptive long-tail domains represent another missed opportunity for Domainfest to attract business-oriented traffic to their events, outside of the usual domainer circle of attendants.

The fun part is not that Oversee’s brainchild has failed to employ marketing intelligence by not securing these domains but rather, that both domains are pointed to the TRAFFIC web site.

See you in TRAFFIC Vancouver – lasting three power networking days.

After the unprecedented success of the first daily auction, liquidating almost 120 domains and surpassing $130,000 in revenue, Latonas.com has further established itself as the premier auction site catering directly to domainers.

By supporting DomainGang – the only online publication offering digital entertainment for domainers on a daily basis – Rick Latona recognizes the need for a humorous side to a very serious business!

Many thanks to Rick Latona for the sponsorship.

You say See-doh, I say Seh-doh.

In today’s modern age, the holy oath one takes during the wedding ceremony appears to have faded severely. “Til death do us part” does not seem to apply any longer, certainly not in the case of a domainer couple from Wyoming.

Tim and Sasha Fritzenburg met at a BestBuy store, four years ago. Sasha, a dark-haired Jewish beauty from upstate New York was swooned by Tim – a bespectacled, six-foot-five tall support technician.

It was love at first sight.

During the past four years, Tim and Sasha Fritzenburg got married, incorporated and started a home-based business of mini-site development and domain consultancy; in the spring of 2008 they also attended TRAFFIC and that’s when their marriage took a direct hit.

“I love Sasha, she’s a kind, soft-spoken person”, says Tim, clearly emotional behind his thick, black rimmed eyeglasses. “She would never hurt a fly but right now I am so broken-hearted over this”, he adds.

During the TRAFFIC conference, Tim and Sasha both met with representatives from Sedo, which employs associates from the US and Germany. For some reason, there was no consensus over the exact pronunciation of the Sedo name. Tim repeatedly used the American version, “See-doh” whereas Sasha seemed to obsess how the original, German name of “Seh-doh” was the correct one.

“I could not take it, the little twerp questioning me? Huh, I mean, whatever. It’s bad enough when your husband neglects your feminine needs, if you catch my drift but to question my German roots and everything? My grandfather, Joseph Schlomostein was a famous writer in Soest, Germany”, says Sasha, smoking a cigarette and reading ‘Der Zauberberg’ by Thomas Mann.

After a lot of public arguing during the TRAFFIC conference, the couple took some counseling classes; they were advised to switch to another PPC provider as a form of reconciliation; unfortunately, this led them to financial turmoil as no other PPC company compared to Sedo.com

“We divorced earlier this month”, says Tim. “I just have to accept the fact that Sedo – however it’s pronounced – ruined my marriage. Sure, Sedo earns me a hefty check each month but I do miss Sasha”, he adds.

Meanwhile, Sasha is moving to Germany to research her grandfather’s journalistic records during the pre-war era; she says she’d consider taking up a job with Sedo in Köln as well.

Some people, like Chef Patrick, create an online persona around a drawn image. Others, choose a well-designed or flashy business card.

Enter the world of Todd Killinzer from Oregon, a father of two and a full-time domainer. Since turning ‘pro’ a few months ago, Todd has been attending various domain conferences, including TRAFFIC.

And that’s precisely when his troubles started.

Howard Neu's business card is a wallet ripper, costing Todd a fortune.

“Seriously, when you socialize with other domainers and it’s time to exchange business cards, you expect the usual 2 inch by 3.5 inch slip of card paper, right? Some go for rounded edges or two sided printing. To be honest, most business cards seem to be unimaginative and boring”, said Todd, munching on a stick of dried beef.

At TRAFFIC Las Vegas, Todd made the acquaintance of domainer and attorney, Howard Neu, who along with Rick Schwartz introduced the top domaining conference to a small group of VIP domainers several years ago. These days, Howard Neu offers his consultation and domainer expertise from his blog HowardNeu.com

“Howard is a great guy, a totally funny guy. Appreciates humor and good food. But there is something extremely disturbing about his choice of business card that is costing me a fortune each time we cross paths at the conferences”, says Todd.

Howard Neu’s business card is made of ‘golden’ looking aluminum, which – although rounded at the edges – somehow manages to tear and ruin Todd’s wallets, without any mercy or regard for this Oregonian domainer’s budget.

Despite his good intentions, Howard Neu's business card is ruining the life of an Oregon domainer.

So far, Todd has been going through a new wallet each month. His taste in premium leather wallets has proven to be quite costly: at $80 dollars a piece, those wallets are costing him almost a thousand bucks a year.

“I’ve given up long ago trying to convince Howard to change his damn business card to  a regular one. It just won’t happen. Now that he started a blog he’s actually advising people to use metal business cards! It’s ridiculous. Not to mention, I got frisked at the airport when that damn thing in my wallet triggered the security alarm.”

Todd plans to just shake hands with domainers from now on, in fear of more followers of Howard Neu’s advice to “go metal”. He also plans to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer handy, just in case.

The interpersonal meetings were absolutely magnificent, and there was never a single sour moment with anyone I met. Meeting with domainers that were familiar with DomainGang or with others that had no idea what it is about was a great challenge. I tried hard to convince everyone that in real life, I am not wearing a raincoat 24/7. Also, I don’t smoke cigarettes, let alone cigar!

Some expressed concern about the recent onslaught of “real news” on DomainGang. To them, I explained that it’s always been like that, but they could not see it. When the truth is looming upon us, very few acknowledge it; the method used at DomainGang has been via the introduction of satire, caustic commentary and …controversy. And that’s how it will continue.

Others asked why Tia Wood wasn’t present. I had to explain, that I’ve never met Tia in my life and I am not her agent. She’s a busy professional, writing for DomainGang on occasion. But visit her at TiaWood.com

There were other questions during the TRAFFIC conference, some of which I was able to answer on the spot. My biggest function while at TRAFFIC was to empower others through my own goals and achievements.

I spoke with domainers that maintain a low profile and asked them to step out of their shell, to promote what they do. I had a great conversation and party time with the .Me registry staff. I had a great conversation with Greg Ricks, former owner of DNForum. I had a great conversation even with people that I might have argued in the past and forgot about it. Interpersonal communication dispels all vices and obstacles.

Overall, DomainGang is a separate entity that serves as a projection of myself and that of its staff writers. I want to have fun with it. I want others to have fun reading it. I want you, to have fun with what you read and to leave your constructive feedback into my mailbox.

I regret not bringing along more business cards. They are all gone. I will have more done – all my design, incidentally. To the shock of those that saw me at the podium, I explained that’s exactly what I do – domaining is a secondary business.

In this business, we all possess different gifts and capabilities and utilize different methods in order to focus on the same thing. Domaining is a big industry and we should all be able to get along and prosper from the rich fruit that it offers.

Nothing beats the quality and efficiency of Sony products, despite their Chinese parts.

Legendary domainer journalist, Ron Jackson, has had many successful scoops in the past several years, covering major domainer events and conferences.

In particular, Ron – or “Duke” as he’s known on online domainer forums – has been a reputable, long time correspondent of news and happenings at TRAFFIC.

Usually, Ron shows up with a high quality Sony camera with a 15x lens zoom and several gigabytes of memory cards.

Note: The amount of pictures taken at an average domainer conference is inversely proportional to the skirt length of beautiful women present at the opening cocktail party.

This past Friday, Ron visited relatives that live by the beautiful waters of the Florida gulf and used his beloved Sony camera to take pictures. Ron’s cousin, Jesabel, has a 4 year old son, Jesse, who is very cute and photogenic. Jesse also likes to toss things around, especially things that sit on top of a table.

Unfortunately, in one of those moments when Ron Jackson set his Sony camera aside and onto the dining table, little Jesse decided to pull the tablecloth, all the way to the floor and with it the precious 10 megapixel camera of Ron’s.

We can only say that it was an unfortunate timing for Ron, as TRAFFIC Las Vegas opens its glitzy gates this coming Thursday, January 21st. While there is plenty of time left to pop into any BestBuy store and buy a new camera, the shock and devastation of witnessing one’s most valuable business tool break to smithereens cannot be fixed.

Although Jesse’s butt is currently recuperating from being spanked red for his naughty act, we’d like to offer Ron Jackson our condolences for the untimely loss of his Sony camera.

If any of you want to assist Ron in quickly getting a brand new camera in time for TRAFFIC Las Vegas please contact him directly via DNJournal.com

Not every fish's eggs can be turned into caviar.

It’s the end of year sale! yells one domain blogger.

No domains over $1,000 – shouts another.

You guessed it: as the end of the year is nigh, lots of domains are being offered via various direct venues and blogs; at various prices, trying to take advantage of the slowest end of the season when buying activity reaches its nadir.

A bargain?

Unfortunately, the majority of these domains are utter crap.

Actually, let me rephrase that. The domains currently on sale via various blogs, citing “discounts” and “bargains” are the crappiest quality names one can waste their money on.

The reason is simple.

During the first three months of 2010, several large domainer conventions will occur, each offering the opportunity to sellers to pitch a direct sale to potential buyers, some of which have deep pockets. Hence, quality domains are pretty much locked down for at least until the end of April due to the exclusive sale contracts imposed by most auction venues.

Since quality names are saved for the upcoming conferences, the riff raff are currently being offered in an effort to dispose of these domains in bulk.

To give you an indication of quality, it’s as if caviar is saved for DomainFest, TRAFFIC and Domainer Mardi Gras – all while fish guts and tails are being on sale through several blogs currently.

Domainers are thus advised to save their money and bid on quality domains through the various auction venues instead.

As a market, domain mass development was blown out of proportion just like the Mayon volcano.

It seems as if the current crown prince and domain king candidate, Rick Latona, was predicting the future when he pulled out of the mass development market several weeks ago.

Rick’s mass development factory, AEIOU,  was based in the Philippines, in the same area that is currently under evacuation due to a volcano about to erupt.

Also known to the locals as “The Filipino Silicon Valley“, the 50,000-strong community of Legazpi hosts a large number of companies that specialize in the outsourcing services, catering to small and large corporations in the US and Europe.

Had this major “act of God” occurred a few weeks ago, AEIOU would have had trouble handling the projects in a timely fashion.

A smart entrepreneur – that knows when to fold – Rick Latona closed down the company’s activities before disaster hit.

Once again, Rick Latona’s exit strategy delivers. TRAFFIC Las Vegas will be an absolutely magnificent event to attend.

Although the King is not dead yet, long live the King.

Rick Latona‘s launch of the Latonas.com domain auction platform raises one very serious question:

Is Rick Latona the indisputable heir to the Domaining Throne and will he be officially crowned as the new Domain King at TRAFFIC/Las Vegas in January?

Rick owes a lot of his success to this date to a simple fact: his last name can actually be pronounced.

Repeat after me: La-to-na.

Almost sounds like notes on a music score of a classical opera. Pure bliss.

With the launch of a beautiful web site at Latonas.com Rick Latona is now prepping up for his imminent crowning as the new Domain King – a royal title long held by Rick Schwartz.

With only one vowel in his last name, Rick Schwartz would not benefit from the launch of Schwartzs.com – a domain that is currently parked. Rick currently addresses his royal domainer subjects from RicksBlog.com

Regardless, from Rick to Rick the transition seems imminent; perhaps as early as next month in glitzy Las Vegas. And this time around, what happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas.

As hinted by Rick Latona’s exclusive newsletter – The Latona’s VIP Club Daily Gazette – TRAFFIC domains will now be auctioned at GreatDomains auctions, which themselves will be auctioned at Sedo or Afternic, without delay – as long as the registrar is Moniker.

“It’s a great timesaver for domainers that flip domains via auctions to other domainers, that in turn auction them right away. We simplify the process by auctioning the domains from one auction house to the next; thus, an active domainer will be able to catch these valuable domains at some point during an auction!”, wrote Rick.

Expect more such innovations in the coming months from the company that stole all the vowels and put them in a dot com.