A domain name is only part of a business; although many domains have been sold over the years for millions of dollars, the recent acquisition of Cloud.com by Citrix for $200+ million involved the Cloud.com assets, as well as the domain itself.
According to Domaintools, the domain Cloud.com was registered on December 13, 2000. But surely, Cloud.com can’t be only 11 years old, can it?
Meanwhile, Clouds.com – the plural form – is way older, with a registration date of 1993!
So what is the catch?
Archive.org to the rescue: The Wayback Machine unveils some startling content from December 24, 1996 – from a time that Cloud.com was part of a small Internet service provider in Chicago, named “Cloud City Online”.
The content states:
Cloud City Online is the choice of the Chicago Suburbs for low-cost, user-friendly Internet services. Telnet to Cloud City to see for yourself why hundreds of new members join Cloud City each month. With up to three hours a day of free connect time, and subscriptions for under $15 a month, Cloud City subscribers have access to Gopher, FTP, World Wide Web, Telnet, IRC, Archie, Internet E-Mail, and Usenet. Cloud City also offers many of the best online games available today, including Trade Wars 2002, Blade Masters, Cyber Tech, Major MUD, and many more!
Cloud City offers World Wibe Web pages to subscribers only for the ridiculously low price of $5 per month. Sign up now and receive 3 free hours of connect ti me to evaluate Cloud City for inital trial period. Send e-mail to MTop (mtop@c loud.com) once you log on to receive more information on what Cloud City has to offer you. We are located in Lake Zurich, IL, and provide SLIP/PPP accounts too!
This is a remarkable window into the past: Gopher and Archie access! MUD games! SLIP/PPP accounts! Access limited to 3 hours daily! 😀
It’s a shame the original owners apparently went out of business and let such a premium domain expire. In the late 90’s many such domains dropped and the golden era of speculative domaining began!
Yo-ask yourself the same question.
Would you know it will be that valuable….?
Oh yea…the Monday morning quarterback syndrome.
Soon my “BullS” website is the buzzword of the internet game.
I have the following that I think are good. Regged under Saint Lucia; .lc
cloud.lc
ecloud.lc
thecloud.lc
cloudsecurity.lc
cloudcomputing.lc
I want to finish up on this two week project and then devote some time in targeting end users. I am actually glad to have this project right now so I can get a feel for the market and follow some of the lawsuits that have arisen, even as of today with Rolling Stone.
Lets hope that the person who dropped it is either dead or incarcerated…………………
BullS – A lot of premium .com domains dropped when the era of the dot com ended around 1999/2000. Domains were still in their infancy; Cloud.com is definitely a top tier domain.
Alan – Chances are that he has a 7-11 job somewhere 😀
Well I can hardly believe it. $200 Mil to $250 Million for Cloud.com ! This shows proof that a “New” bubble or boom is forming and it’s about time!
Anyone for?
AmzCloud.com
CloudCellPhone.com
CloudExpansionServers.com
CloudHomeAndBusiness.com
CloudISPS.com
CloudMobileAccess.com
CloudOfficeAccess.com
CloudPcMagazine.com
CloudMobileApp.com
CloudMobileApps.com
CloudMobileComputing.com
CloudMobilePhone.com
CloudMobilePhones.com
CloudOfficeServer.com
CloudOfficeProfessional.com
CloudPcDigest.com
CloudServerTechnology.com
CloudTextMessaging.com
CloudBusinessServer.com
LeaseCloudServer.com
hopefully he doesn’t overhear any geeks or domainers talking when he’s cleaning the tables at starbucks!
woot!
Karl Jackson and Wayne –how about BS cloud?
Lucius–how come you did not contact me in 1999 about those domains?
My collection,
3dCloud.co
CloudNYC.co
CloudSexting.com
CloudSext.com
CloudDeal.co