SarasotaMLS.org which is a better name is available for reg fee right now.

**Cal´s last blog post..Real Estate Agents don’t go inactive, get on referral with Keller Williams!

Hector Lesende
Miami Real Estate

First, thanks for all the kind words about the blog, it’s very appreciated. There are some great readers and commenters (and guest authors) here.

The self-promotion and “advertising” is always tricky for me. I’ve had people come here and do ridiculous things — such as a real estate agent, IN PHOENIX, promoting a listing or their area of expertise. Sorry, but if you want to do that, do it on your own blog.

Usually it’s much more fuzzy, and if the comment contributes good info, I’ll let it stand. I just don’t want the comments to turn into an advertising section. I moderate with a very light touch. I also have *all* comment URL’s set to “dofollow”, including the “Comment Luv” that adds the commenters last blog post. (embedded URLs tend to get flagged and go into moderation — that’s why some of your comment didn’t appear immediately and others did). I think the dofollow is a pretty decent reward.

I also have paying advertisers, so I have to be careful and respect their positions.

was sold by a domain expert named Rick Schwartz for $750,000 this year

I bet whoever sold it to him for $100 is slamming their head against a wall right now.

I promise I won’t intrude on your space again unless invited.

You’re welcome any time.

Daniel, you said: “Maybe unscrupulous is a poor choice of word, but I think that many might agree that your initial sales pitch and the equally-lengthy lawyer threat that pursued have not been the best advertisement for the services that you (and hundreds of thousands of other companies) offer.”

Your last sentence about “hundreds of thousands” of companies that offer my similar services is very wrong. There are only about 15 legitimate domain name professional consultants that are recognized in our industry. From what I’m told, I could be one of them. I’m not counting the “auto-appraisal” websites that appraise your domains, but even those services are limited to less than 50, as far as I know.

Okay, just had to clear that up. I promise I won’t intrude on your space again unless invited.

Success to all!

**Stephen Douglas´s last blog post..GODADDY TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT WATCH

I’m not filing any lawsuits for libel. Greg can rest easy (not that he was worried). However, I stated that to make a point: Just because I’m here making a statement that is TRUE regarding the real estate industry’s slow take on the domain industry doesn’t mean I’m a “carpetbagger” or “unscrupulous” as Gregory insinuated. I provided what I believed to be informative and helpful information on this well-run blog. I’ve seen hundreds of similar blogs that don’t come close to the conversation here, and I don’t waste my time posting on them. However, this blog’s professionalism lured me into taking my valuable time to post. It’s not unreasonable or unusual that the blog owner rewards informative posts with allowing some sort of mini-promotion of the poster. I do it all the time on my domain blog, within reason.

I appreciate reading all your comments here. I’m pretty impressed with this blog and the owner of the blog, and the contributors. Also, I produced a live modeling event in Scottsdale about 20 years ago, and one of the photos is on my facebook pages. I liked Phoenix/Scottsdale and the people who lived there. It’s a great place and growing exponentially.

My final point for Jay’s readers: Go ahead and rent out spots on big real estate websites for your basic info pages, but to be a real businessman, buy domains that define your areas and your expertise (like Greg Bain did) , but build a blog or a website SEPARATELY from the “directories” and put all your content on your own hosted site. It costs about $10 a month for your own hosted site.

I make good money advising real estate business people (as just one business sector) on how to do this, and nobody has ever called me unscrupulous. My Linkedin profile is on my blog where you can see my accomplishments and recommendations from people I’ve worked for and with. I’ve sold over $25 million in domain names, and made several million in consulting in this area. The things you see and take for granted are tied into the business and associates I work with. (iReport.com, a domain owned by CNN, was sold by a domain expert named Rick Schwartz for $750,000 this year. When you see “i Report” on CNN, think about this. Rick may have bought that domain for less than $100. Nice return on that investment. More info:
http://www.ricksblog.com/my_weblog/2008/01/ireportcom-and.html)

Thanks Jay, for the opportunity to speak.

Wishing everyone great success,

Stephen Douglas
http://www.successclick.com

**Stephen Douglas´s last blog post..GODADDY TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT WATCH

@Stephen – your comment was VERY close to violating my comment policy due to advertising. I let it stand as written because it did provide some valuable insight.

@Gregory – that same comment policy includes no personal attacks.

This particular topic is a very emotional one, and it’s easy to let tempers and feelings get out of hand.

I respectfully request that the two involved parties let it go or take it somewhere else.

Thanks!

@Stephen – I think the “unscrupulous” aspect of the comment (although he didn’t use the word) may have come from your two page self promoting comment. You obviously made the comment in an effort to advertise your business on this popular site, but in the process insulted most of the readers here (probably unknowingly) by implying that none of us were smart enough to purchase high quality domain names and setup a site of our own. We’re all in the same boat here buddy, just real estate agents trying to make a living. Some know more about the web, some know less (most of Jay’s reader’s know more!). Maybe unscrupulous is a poor choice of word, but I think that many might agree that your initial sales pitch and the equally-lengthy lawyer threat that pursued have not been the best advertisement for the services that you (and hundreds of thousands of other companies) offer. Best of Luck

**Daniel Bates´s last blog post..McClellanville Creek Cleanup and Fishing Tournament