Friends, Boulderites, Countryfolk, your ears!
I'm selling my domain Vote.org after 12 years. Our proposals for
better and national ballot initiatives is just too far ahead of its
time. Some nonprofit like Vote-smart.org or some forward looking party
or politician should develop its enormous potential now.
My friend and domain-trader Eric Shannon has written this sales pitch,
which we ask you to forward to forward-looking folks you know who
might see its value: You can also help us by "digging" it as an
important story at: http://digg.com/search?section=news&s=vote.org
(click where it says "Digg" under the number who've already "dugg"
it. Digg is a good place to see what people are saying.)
http://www.internetinc.com/vote-org-for-sale (this has all the live
links you can't see below)
Vote.org For Sale, Buyer To Influence World Superpower
The Root of Power
The USA has by far the largest economy in the world and the mightiest
military. We are truly the world.s only superpower. This is why
enormous sums of money are spent campaigning for the vote . the stakes
are high and the vote determines where our massive money and power
flow. And winning the vote has become ever more expensive as media
fractures further and further. The price of admission to the game has
risen so precipitously that money is now a dominating factor in
presidential politics.
How do you get the money out of this equation? By looking at how we
decide who to vote for and where we go for trustworthy voting
information. The problem is that we learn and decide predominantly
through advertising supported media which is privately owned,
splintered and has a low attention span. not a good mechanism for
distributing information or generating trust.
But there is a powerful yet undeveloped tool at our disposal that has
inherently high trust and unlimited distribution potential . truly the
best focal point for presidential politics in existence.
Just Type It!
This extraordinarily overlooked place is Vote.org. Consider that
thousands of voters just type it in, not knowing what.s there!
Traffic increased 50-100 times before and during the 2000 and 2004
elections. Type it in now, and you will see this domain is actually
for sale.
But what are the average type-in visitors looking for at Vote.org? I
know because I've seen the traffic logs . They're looking for
information about where to vote and who to vote for. Surprised?
Why do they come to Vote.org? Well, it's just common sense . type
homes.com or cars.com into your browser. you're going to find what
you're looking for. Just as corporations have invested billions in
promoting the .com extension, so too have nonprofits educated us to
use .org. Type children.org, nature.org, or wildlife.org to see what
I mean.
Inherent Authority
Why do voters instinctively trust vote.org to provide voting
information? The answer comes from Positioning: The Battle for Your
Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout one of the best business books ever
written:
"The worst thing, and I see it over and over," said Mr. Funt, "is
how easily people can be led by one kind of authority or even the most
minimal signs of authority. We put up a sign on the road, Delaware
Closed Today," reported Mr. Funt. "Motorists didn't question it.
Instead they asked, 'Is Jersey open?'"
And this is what makes Vote.org one of the most important but
neglected websites in the world: inherent authority.
Democracy For Sale
Guess who owns vote.org. Would you believe me if I told you a
tight-rope walker (also long-time activist from Boulder, CO and family
friend) owns it? No joke. It's true.
Shouldn.t some non-partisan entity like VoteSmart or FactCheck develop
Vote.org? You bet! How would you feel if the political party you hate
developed Vote.org instead? Or worse still, how about President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
How Can It Be?
So how is it possible that a website with real influence over the most
powerful and richest country in the world is up for sale to the
highest bidder? Three reasons:
* Only a few thousand people in the world understand domains well.
Most don.t know that people search by guessing domains and typing them
directly in the browser's navigation bar. this is still highly
specialized knowledge. Many of the early visionaries and keepers of
these secrets have become very wealthy but are not interested in
Vote.org because it has little commercial potential. Vote.org is only
available now because no one has thought to compare the political
marketing costs and response rates of television, radio and direct
mail with Vote.org's type-in traffic.
* Only someone with an agenda can afford vote.org. The owner will
entertain offers over $250,000. Sound like a lot of money to you?
It.s not. This is the price of an old 3 bed condo where I live in
South Florida. To the right is a picture of what you get for $250,000
(in Tamarac) . unit 3. But, most non-partisan groups, by definition,
can.t scrape together this meager sum.
* Domains are a lot like real estate. But financing a domain
purchase is not as easy as financing the condo in the picture. When
financing options improve, it will be common to spend as much on a
domain as we do on office or retail space and the market will be so
liquid that no one will have a chance to write about any particular
domain - they'll sell quietly and quickly.
History In The Making
So, this is a chance for someone with a little vision of the future to
make history -- once a domain of this unique caliber is sold, it won.t
become available again in our lifetime. From elite domain expert,
Frank Schilling, comes this gem:
Clay Shirky an adjunct professor in the graduate interactive
telecommunications program at New York University said it best: "We
are living through the largest expansion of expressive capability in
the history of the human race." Domain names are the great
facilitator of that expansion... nothing happens on the internet
without a domain name.. nothing.
And this brings me to my final point.
"If you believe in what you are doing, and have money in the bank,
there is no reason to use a bad domain name. It is like writing
nameless." -Aaron Wall
National Treasure
Fundamentally, Vote.org is a national treasure. It deserves a
non-partisan home. It should serve a good cause, a higher cause. So,
if you see what I see and you know someone with the resources who
might want to give Vote.org the special home it deserves, please
forward this page. Or, if you are that person, please contact me
soon, before vote.org goes to public auction!
If nothing else, please help with a digg. Thanks!
http://Vote.org
Taking the "mock" out of democracy!
Evan Ravitz, founder (303)440-6838 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Fool's gold exists because there is real gold." -Rumi
also: http://Vote.org/photos http://Vote.org/paradise
