Domain Name Wire Podcast

Domain sales platform Atom recently announced it had become an ICANN-accredited registrar. On today’s show, Atom founder and CEO Darpan Munjal joins me to talk about three overarching missions Darpan wants to achieve by becoming a registrar.

He also discusses new features available on Atom, as well as new data…including that 25% of sales revenue at Atom now comes from .ai domain names! It’s a great discu...

Brett Farmiloe joined me on the podcast in 2023 after his company rebranded from Terkel to Featured using the domain Featured.com.

On today’s show, Brett explains how the new domain and brand has helped his company since then.

Featured also recently acquired Help A Reporter Out (HARO), a popular service that connects journalists with guests. Brett explains how the deal came about and wha...

It’s finally happening. 

ICANN has published its Draft Applicant Guidebook for the next round of new top level domain expansion. Other than adding some deadlines, it’s likely to be more or less the final rulebook when applications open starting this time next year.

The Guidebook weighs in at a whopping 400 pages. So on today’s show, Christa Taylor of TLDz and I unpack the changes from the ...

One of my favorite interviews on the Domain Name Wire Podcast was from 2016, when I interviewed DNS inventor Paul Mockapetris. 

On today’s show I’m replaying that interview. You’ll hear about the early days of the DNS, including why it was created. Paul also confirmed that some people thought .com would be a failure as a top level domain.

Also: Atom becomes a registrar, new domain keyword ...

The next application window for top level domain names opens next year.

It’s been more than a decade since the last round, and a lot has changed in both the domain name industry and the broader internet landscape.

On today’s podcast, I’m joined by Theresa Swinehart, ICANN’s SVP of Global Domains and Strategy, to discuss one key category of applicants: brands applying for so-called dot-bran...

This month, Encirca became the first registrar I’m aware of to announce integration with D3’s Doma Protocol, which allows registrars to add blockchain enhancements to domain names. Encirca also announced MyPublicWallet.

I’m joined by Encirca President Tom Barrett on today’s show. Tom has been an early pioneer in web3 as it relates to domain names. Today, we discuss the challenges early efforts to bring b...

Sometimes, agreeing on a price is the simple part of a domain name transaction. There can be all sorts of hurdles to completing the deal.

For example, what if one of the parties doesn’t want to complete Know Your Customer requirements for escrow? What if a seller is in the middle of bankruptcy or a divorce? How can you handle complicated payment plans? And what if the buyer or seller wants to meet in per...

Every year, InterNetX and Sedo release a Global Domain Report. On this week’s show, I speak with representatives of the two companies to understand more about the 2025 report. 

First, Simone Catania of InterNetX joins me to explain what goes into developing the report and provide background.

Then, Semra Körner and Dave Evanson of Sedo discuss what the report reveals about the domain name a...

On this week’s show, I run through some of the big news stories from the past week. This includes an explanation of why Verisign’s stock popped on Friday, how a domain seller is in in hot water after backing out of a deal, which law firm filed its FIFTH reverse domain name hijacking case, and an interesting lawsuit involving a premium domain under a new top level domain.

Then, I discuss a new domain valu...

Above.com has played an integral role in domain name monetization since the early days of parking. It has navigated many changes in monetization, and sees both challenges and opportunities in Google’s recent changes to its parking business.

On today’s show, Above.com and Trillion founder David Warmuz talks about how direct advertising will play a bigger role in monetization. He also recounts the long roa...

Domain investor Josh Reason joins me this week to share insights from managing his 5,500-domain portfolio. He discusses what types of domains he’s investing in, where and how he sells domains, and how his strategy is evolving. Josh also shares details on some recent sales and discusses his platform, DNX.com, which helps investors discover quality domains to buy.

Also: Tariffs, domains in the courts, and ...

It’s time for our recurring podcast with domain investors Mark Levine and Logan Flatt! Mark and Logan come on the show frequently to share their domain investing results, talk about what’s working, and what’s not working for them. On today’s show, they detail their 2024 domain investing results. You’ll hear which top level domains they’re selling, how and where they are acquiring them, and how they are optimizing their...

Afternic launched a basic self-brokering option last week. On today’s show, GoDaddy Sr. Director of Domain Investor Product Alan Shiflett joins us to talk about self-brokering. He discusses the company’s iterative approach to launching this feature (and others). We also discuss how the company is experimenting with AI in the aftermarket and how it has reduced shill bidding.

Also: Amazon’s new domains, Gl...

The domain name industry gathered in Seattle last week for ICANN’s annual community forum. During the show, I caught up on what’s happening with two important topics: Adsense for Domains and new top level domains. 

On today’s show I recap what I learned. You will then here from some other people who were at the show last week.

Also: .SU, Snoop Dogg, and Meta lawsuit appealed 

At least one company is going big in the next round of new top level domain expansion.

On today’s show, Yoni Belousov explains why his company Nova Registry plans to apply for around 200 new top level domains in the next round.

Nova didn’t participate in the last round, and only entered the business with the acquisition of .link in 2022.

Why is Nova Registry going so big? Wh...

What kind of results can you get from a portfolio of just over 10,000 domains? My guest this week shares details of his sales last year. 

AbdulBasit Makrani was last on the show in November 2023, when he had just boosted his sales by lowering his prices. I ask him about that strategy, and we discuss how even owning over 10,000 domains doesn’t result in truly consistent sales.

Listen as Abd...

On today’s show, I talk to a domain investor who has been very successful with .io and .ai domain names. He discusses how he’s tweaking his approach to investing in these domains in today’s domain investing landscape. He also shares his 2024 domain sales results and how they compared to the prior year. Listen to learn how a small change he made to how he uses Afternic boosted his sales. 

Also: Verisign’s...

Public policy has a major impact on the domain name business. On today’s show, I catch up with one of the groups that helps represent domain registrars, hosts, and other internet infrastructure providers when it comes to policy.

Christian Dawson is the co-founder and Executive Director of i2Coalition. He brings us up to speed on The Domain Name Association, which merged with i2Coalition, and also introdu...