----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Piwowar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <COMPUTERGUYS-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 2:10 PM
Subject: Re: [CGUYS] Grabbing domain names of well-known persons?
There is a good chance that a cybersquatter has grabbed it as a
consequence of your search. There are bunches of sites that offer to
check domain names, but are really gathering information for
cybersquatters. Some people have claimed that this happens with GoDaddy's
domain name check. Best policy is to never check unless you intend to
register an available name immediately.
H'mmmm....notice they have popups telling you that your name is available
and that you should snap it up (if nothing else, than I guess just to keep
others from doing so). So maybe I better snap up my own name now, before I
become famous and then find out that it ain't available.
Using it for a "fan site" would be a very appropriate thing to do.
It could sort of be like that, though this is not exactly a traditional
"fan" situation. Is it easy to relinquish a name to someone once you squat
on their name? This person I'm talking about is one of those amazing
people who has so much to offer so many people, which is why I am so glad
Oprah had her on twice in the space of weeks. She is a renowned
psychologist and writer and when I heard she didn't have a website, it
occurred that a website could help disseminate her very needed message to
far, far more people than will otherwise ever get it, including
internationally. In fact, she could, of course, upload her appearances on
Oprah and cross-list on Oprah's site, which, I bet, would produce even more
synergistic benefit. In fact, if I do go ahead and try to grab her name for
a domain, it will be pretty interesting to see how many hits it gets in a
short period, given that the place she works at has been inundated with
calls since her earlier Oprah appearance.
I've never met this person, but will probably get a chance to do so in the
pretty near future (by coincidence, she is being honored by a local mental
health advocacy organization in a few weeks; planned well before Oprah. I
think meeting her will be one of the real highlights of my life; not because
of her celebrity, but because this is one amazing, inspiring person, an
advocate and expert at the top of her field, who has helped so many and can
help far more with all of this publicity, etc. One thought might be to go
ahead and try to squat on her name - if nothing else, again, to protect it
from unscrupulous squatters - and maybe start putting together a website as
sort of a "fan" site, related to her work, and if I get to meet her at this
event or subsequently (pretty sure I'll be meeting her fairly soon, one way
or the other), I could present the site to her as sort of a gift and thank
you, along with her name (however one does this; hopefully without much
cost).
This way, too, the site and all those who might benefit from it can start
capitalizing on all this publicity and momentum. Maybe I can even get Oprah
to go in on this as a surprise and post something, along with clips from the
show!
BTW, would this sort of situation ideally call for a .com, or would it
matter much? Is there really much difference between .com, .net, .org or
maybe some of the others?
And if anyone, including Oprah, ever questions me about whether having done
this was appropriate or legal, I'll just tell them that this expert who used
to speak his mind a lot on a local radio show said its cool to do this for
purposes of a "fan" site and I have it in writing! :)
Why isn't or shouldn't a name considered legally as if it was private
property for certain purposes, including commercializing it?
Many people share the same name. Some people apply for trademarks on
their names.
True; used to work with a guy who trademarked both his name and his cat's
name, as entertainers. Not his real name. But that's one way around losing
your domain name; take a new name!
The more I think about the idea of creating a "fan" site for this person,
the more possibilities I can see and the more intriguing it seems, assuming
the person the site is for wouldn't be upset by it, say because it leads to
even more demands on her time, travel, etc. From someone she works with, I
heard the other day that her life has been pretty hectic - not that it
wasn't before, probably, but a few Oprah appearances probably increase this
by a few orders of magnitude - as far as media requests, travel, etc.
H'mmmm....Anyone here ever dealt with a situation like this? - as far as
whether the added exposure of a website causes a lot of extra pressure,
etc.? I'm guessing that most of us would think we'd die for that kind of
exposure and web traffic, and maybe she would too, but she's not exactly a
businessperson in that sense, though guess it could never hurt to promote
her books, appearances, etc. Any thoughts on whether someone like this
might more likely be angered or overwhelmed rather than pleasantly surprised
to have someone surprise her with a partially constructed website as a gift?
Anyone ever heard of someone doing a website as a gift for someone? Like I
know a lot about creating websites :)
Maybe I'm doing all this speculating and, now, ruminating for naught; maybe
by now, as you say, Tom, someone else has already stolen her name; and then
look what I will have done! I'll have been the proximate cause of putting
her in that bind! Damn squatters! How much ransom might they try to
squeeze out of someone with this sort of profile?! If I have to, I'll get
Oprah herself to spring for the money (whatever they would ask, would be
pocket change for her, right?).
Randall
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