NoahCoffey.com

SnapNames admits employee found bidding up the price of domain auctions

Noah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:59:15 +0000

This afternoon, SnapNames sent an email to their customers alerting them that a (assuming former) employee had registered an account at SnapNames and had been bidding on various auctions. The result of this activity is that many people who were bidding on the same auctions either lost a domain they would have won or paid much more for winning.

SnapNames has promised to repay anyone who won an auction that was bid up and pay them interest (5.22%). This sound like a pretty fair remedy to the situation. However, there was no mention of the domains that people would have won had this employee not won the auction.

A rather startling snippet from the email: “The incremental revenue from the bidding represented approximately one percent of SnapNames’ auction revenue since 2005.”

Here is a copy of the email that was sent earlier today:

Dear SnapNames customer:

I’m contacting you today to inform you of an unfortunate incident at SnapNames, and to let you know what the company is doing to address it.

Recently, SnapNames discovered that an employee had set up an account on the SnapNames system under a false name and, under this name, bid in SnapNames auctions. This is a clear violation of our internal policy and was not approved by the company. We deeply regret that this conduct has impacted our customers.

Extent of impact
This conduct affected a small percentage of SnapNames auctions:

Bidding affected approximately five percent of total SnapNames auctions since 2005, most of which occurred between 2005 and 2007.
The incremental revenue from the bidding represented approximately one percent of SnapNames’ auction revenue since 2005.

No matter the level of impact, SnapNames takes this matter extremely seriously. When the matter was discovered, the company immediately closed the account in question and began a thorough investigation. The employee has also been dismissed from the company.

SnapNames further discovered that, on certain recent and limited occasions, when the employee won an auction, the employee secretly arranged to refund from SnapNames to the fictitious account a portion of the winning bid amount.

Remedy to affected customers
Though on some occasions the employee won the auction, in many instances the bidding caused the ultimate auction winner to pay more for a name than had the employee not participated in the auction.

SnapNames neither condones this conduct nor wants to be perceived as benefiting from the conduct. Accordingly, we have decided that regardless of the circumstance, in every auction where the employee’s fictitious account submitted a bid which resulted in a higher price being paid by the winning bidder, SnapNames will offer a rebate, with 5.22% interest (the highest applicable federal rate during the affected time period), to affected customers for the difference between the prices they actually paid and the prices they would have paid, had the employee not bid in the auctions. The rebate will be available in cash or in credit on the SnapNames platform, at your discretion.

SnapNames has moved quickly to address this situation. The company has retained Rust Consulting, an independent third party, who will administer the rebate offer. Within the next week, Rust Consulting will contact affected customers to provide details regarding the offer.

Your business and ongoing relationship are important to us and we can assure you that we have taken all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of the platform and reinforced controls and procedures to avoid any possibility of further breach. These include:

Enhanced monitoring of bidding activity for suspect behavior
Additional controls over financial transactions
Specific domain name registration policies for employees

In the meantime, if you have any questions, you may consult the FAQs here, or contact the SnapNames support team:

By e-mail: support@snapnames.com
Phone: +1 (866) 690-6279 (toll-free in the U.S.)
+1 (503) 241-8547 (outside the U.S.)

SnapNames, and all in the Oversee family of companies, are deeply disappointed with this incident. Since its founding in 2000, SnapNames has been committed to the principles of fairness and trust; the company wants to assure customers—through both words and actions—that it remains committed to those principles.

Thank you again for your business, and for your ongoing trust in SnapNames.

Sincerely,

Jeff Kupietzky
President and CEO

Craig Snyder
General Manager, SnapNames.com

SnapNames
1600 SW 4th Avenue, Suite 400
Portland, OR 97201

Update your Wordpress permalink structure right now!

Noah — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:21:14 +0000

If you are using the default permalink settings for your Wordpress blog, you need to stop what you are doing (after you read this post) and FIX IT right now. Seriously, it will take you less than 5 minutes and you will do your blog a huge favor in terms of search engine optimization and overall user experience.

Doug Karr just blogged about a great, simple Wordpress plug-in that will maintain redirects to all your old permalinks after you make the change. Dealing with all those newly broken links is what stopped him (and me) from making the change. Honestly, I hadn’t put much thought into the permalink structure on this blog, but it’s such a simple and fast change, everybody should do it!

Check out Doug’s easy to follow post on Optimizing WordPress Permalinks and understand the three main reasons you should make this change today.

Thinning my huge list of domain names

Noah — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:25:10 +0000

I have always had a mild addiction to registering domain names. Either because they were short, sounded “cool,” or I had some brilliant idea that I never had time for–I’m register-happy. Most of the renewal fees are spread out over the year, but around this time and again in January, I get hit with a bunch at once and it is a painful reminder that I need to thin the herd.

So, below is a list of domains I’d like I need to let go. If I could keep them forever or had the time to develop them, I would. I’ve decided to offer each of them for a flat $25 (free push from Go Daddy).

Contact me if you are interested.

APPGIG.COM	domain only
BETAJUNKIE.COM	domain & site
BSLINKS.COM	domain & site
BUDDYADS.NET	domain only
BUYMYAPP.COM	domain only
CAPTIONFOO.COM	domain only
CHROMEHQ.COM	domain & site
CODERUSH.WS	domain only
CURBD.ORG	domain only
DESIGNFLOP.COM	domain only
INDYR.COM	domain only
INDYTHING.COM	domain only
INUPDATES.COM	domain only
NASCARGANG.COM	domain only
NASCARGANGS.COM	domain only
OVSW.COM	domain only
POSTEVERYDAY.COM	domain only
SILVERLIGHTNOW.COM	domain only
SQUARESHARE.ORG	domain only
TWSSBUTTON.COM	domain only
VOSSU.COM	domain only
VOYAGERHQ.COM	domain & site
WEBSTREAKING.COM	domain only
WIFIINDY.COM	domain only
WPLAB.COM	domain only
WPSPONSOR.COM	domain only
WPSTAR.COM	domain only

Alexandra Rose Coffey

Noah — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:08:59 +0000

Just a quick update for anyone who happens to read this blog and not follow me on Twitter. Monday morning at 5:10 AM, I became a father. My amazing wife delivered Alexandra Rose at 5 lbs, 15 oz, and 18 inches long. She was 5.5 weeks early and needs to stay in the NICU for a short while to rest up.

You can see way more pictures than you probably care to look at on my flickr page.

Why off-stream Twitter advertising is good for Twitter

Noah — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:36:36 +0000

I recently came across (and started using) a new website called FeaturedUsers.com. They are a Twitter app ad network:

…If you’re a Twitter user, it’s a great way to get more followers and support your favorite Twitter apps. If you’re a Twitter app developer, it’s a simple way to start monetizing your application.

The basic idea is that Twitter users can gain exposure and followers by paying to have their Twitter details show up on various Twitter app websites. The idea is simple, cheap, and will not turn you into a Twitter superstar overnight. However, it’s a great way to help support 3rd party Twitter apps and gain some followers in the process.

As Twitter spam is on the rise, many are quick to denounce anything that even looks like spam on Twitter (and usually with good reason). This kind of Twitter ad network is a great alternative to spamming people directly on Twitter. Advertising yourself here still gets your name in front of a highly targeted audience (Twitter users) without cluttering up people’s tweet streams.

In a way, FeaturedUsers.com helps keep spam out of your twitter stream. And that should make any tweep happy.

Check ‘em out over at FeaturedUsers.com.

Startup Weekend Indianapolis

Noah — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:48:37 +0000

This past weekend marked the third successful close to an Indiana-based Startup Weekend. Startup Weekend Indianapolis was a long time in coming, but in the end managed to pull together over 40 local technology and startup enthusiasts and crank out 5 viable projects/companies in 54 hours.

Starting around 5:00 PM on Friday, everyone crowded into the first floor of the ET building at the Purdue School of Engineering & Technology (sponsor) at IUPUI for check-in, pizza, and shelter from the cold. After heading over to the auditorium, introductions, sponsor thank-yous, and the pitches began.

Five projects eventually emerged (originally 4– the children’s book team split Saturday morning after some spirited discussions). Having spent most of my time in Bloomington Startup Weekend in the developers group, I wanted to float around more at this weekend and take live video and photos. Below are the logos and links to the projects created at the weekend.

It is worth noting that ShoutNow had a rather unique and awesome final presentation that involved the presenter answering his phone, recording a brief message, pasting the phone numbers of about 20 members of the audience into their application, and seconds later phones everywhere started ringing throughout the auditorium. Several people flipped on their speakerphone and you could hear the message being played back to everyone. It was a very engaging and fun effect.

Here are the 5 projects:

ShoutNow
A rapid voice messaging service which allows users to instantly share voicemails with an unlimited network of contacts by placing just one phone call.

Pocket Story Book (I consulted on the logo design)
A service to create custom children’s books which can be shared via download to the Web or iPhone, or by printing through a 3rd party book publisher.

Pocket Tales
Interactive children’s eBooks for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Sold through Apple’s AppStore, Pockettales’ applications convert ordinary mobile devices into fun, educational tools.

More Than A Meal
Bad things can happen to good people. When the unexpected happens, your friends need More Than A Meal.

ScatterGear
A market-specific online storefront that offers goods and services to and for military personnel and their families.

Win a Nintendo Wii from Mr. Noobie

Noah — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:57:02 +0000

Local technology coach and consultant, Mr. Noobie, is giving away a free Nintendo Wii on his site, www.noobie.com. All you need to do is click over and sign-up.

After you sign-up to win, I’d highly recommend browsing the website for a little bit. No matter what your technical skill level is, noobie.com is one website you’ll want to bookmark and return to again and again. Patric has put together one of the few local sites that always makes me pause and think, “wow, he has put a lot of time and effort into building this website.”

From articles and blog posts to events and personal coaching services, Mr. Noobie is full of relevant and easy-to-understand guides to just about anything technology related. If you are the kind of person that likes to figure stuff out on your own, but sometimes needs a little help, I highly recommend noobie.com.

That, and a chance to win a Nintendo Wii… what more excuse do you need?

Usability 101: How not to conduct a poll (CNN)

Noah — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:24:40 +0000

Just a fun little example of how even the big guys can still screw things up royally. This morning, CNN posted a little widget that displayed various grades for both Biden and Palin from the Vice Presidential Debate last night. At the bottom of the widget was an area for you to select your own grade for a particular candidate and a “Next” button to submit and view the results.

Seems simple enough. The problem was that if you (like myself) simply want to skip giving your own grade and just view the results, something unexpected happens. By clicking “Next” without selecting a grade, you automatically submit a grade of F!

Oops! At the time of taking this screenshot early this morning, over 16,000 visitors had voted. How many of them had accidentally graded someone with an F? Both candidates had an average grade of D, which leads me to believe that a significant number of people simply clicked next.

While I’m sure this gaffe is the result of rushing to put together a widget, it isn’t like the debates were a surprise. As an update, I’ve noticed that CNN has now corrected the problem by requiring the user to either select a grade before the “Next” button becomes active, or clicking a “View results” link which does not auto-select a grade in the process.

My battle of wits with a domain taster

Noah — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:00:58 +0000

Most people that know me know that I’m a bit domain-crazy. Any half-good idea that I have usually results in a domain name purchase–mostly as a “just in case” I decide to actually develop it. Despite the fact that this is a self-enabling and productivity damaging practice, I still partake in it. However, I have significantly limited myself in terms of what I let myself purchase (the next step was locking my laptop in a trunk and burying it in the back yard).

With that being said, a business parter and I have had our eyes on a particular domain name that is perfect for a future expansion of our current project, IndyDads.com. The domain name we wanted was DadNation.com. I’ll let your capable mind explore exactly what our future idea is with this domain instead of writing about it here. As luck would have it, the domain was up for expiration last month and I was excited at the prospect of snagging it. This is where I ran into trouble.

I was all ready to go. I had my domain name backorder set through GoDaddy and was just waiting for the good news. Now, I understand a thing or two about how competitive the domain name aftermarket can be and that for most good domains, it’s difficult and expensive to snap up expiring names. However, I figured with the relatively low demand for this domain, I would have no problem getting it. I knew I was in trouble when I received my very first email from a domain taster.

Because I had already registered DadNation.org, the domain taster’s automated system had managed to snap up the dot com AND generate a marketing email to me explaining that I could acquire the dot com easily by purchasing it through their company. The asking price? $997!

Ouch! No way. Perhaps if I was some big company that just had to have the domain, $997 wouldn’t seem like so much. But, for a side-project that is mostly a labor of love, that is out of the question.

So, I figured I had lost the domain for good. But, the way the email was written, I figured it was a form letter and not an actual human sending me the message. Two days later, I received another email that was similar, but contained a slightly more urgent call to action. I did some research on domain tasters and confirmed that they indeed only had 5 days to return their domains for a refund. Also, based on what I had read, often times domain tasters base the value of a domain off of the traffic hitting the domain. So, I was careful to neither visit the domain DadNation.com or respond to any of the emails.

I held my breath for 2 more days (not literally).

Then, on August 3rd, I received an email from GoDaddy alerting me that the name servers had changed to GoDaddy name servers! Then, another email telling me my backorder had been successful! It worked! The domain taster returned the domain after getting nothing out of me and I was able to register it for the normal price.

Having lost good domains in the past to a variety of frustrating reasons, it was nice to actually win one (and without spending a small fortune). While I’m sure the situation would change depending on the exact domain name in question, but my parting advice is that your best weapon against a domain taster is patience and silence (and an active backorder on the domain).

I Should Be Depressed

Noah — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:45:59 +0000

I’m working on a new business idea with a friend and we continue to run into problem after problem. What we want to do is time consuming, hard to schedule, risky, and our equipment costs are turning out to be very expensive. Prohibitively expensive for what we are wanting to offer. Vendor after vendor gives us prices that are just too high. It’s getting frustrating and becoming clear why there are not many people doing what we’re trying to do. I should be depressed right now.

For some reason, I’m not! I’m actually excited! Focused. Determined. I feel like we’ve really run into a wall, but I think of all the other people who have given up and turned away because of it. This is where we prove how innovative and creative we are. We have to throw away our conventional thoughts on solving our problem and get a little crazy. If we can solve this problem, we’ll be in great shape and will greatly multiply our success.

I know this is all vague. I just needed to share a business epiphany I’ve had today where I feel I’ve turned a corner on how I handle problems. Instead of taking the easy road and giving up on an idea, I feel compelled to charge ahead.

I think this will be fun. More details eventually.