.XXX Domains are Open for Public Purchase

.XXX General Registration Opens Today. 

The TLD (top level domain) .XXX was created this year in hopes to give adult websites their own location online. While the idea of separating out adult material from the rest of web has it’s appeal, it seems that those buying domains don’t agree. Adult content websites argue that the annual price of $99.99 is unfair. Many in the adult industry don’t want the new TLD. Many businesses don’t want to be forced into buying yet another domain to prevent the abuse of their trademark. At $99.99/year, the price for little online reputation management is pretty steep. And the price of letting someone destroy your name?

Let’s Be Adults About This

Yes, that is really their tag line, hard to keep an adult face when you incite a chuckle with a tagline like that. But they apparently mean business. They only want those that use .XXX domains to offer adult entertainment. So as much as I’d enjoy the spoofs on “Live Naked Bugs”, I don’t think that would fall into the proper use for BUGS.XXX. And as funny as it might be, the domain itself isn’t likely to show up in a “safe search” and simply because of the .xxx TLD will be blocked from Net Nannies.

So despite their tag line, being adult about it seems far from the majority of real life business scenarios. Most companies buy to prevent the abuse that comes from less than adult like activity. Stealing a brand’s good name is anything but adult-like conduct.

And that is your Pest Report. Buy now or forever hold your piece. (<— not a typo)

Related articles

• Why You Don’t Need to Buy an XXX Domain (pcworld.com)
• Let’s be adult about it. xxx (community.websense.com)
• New TLD Reputation Management Nightmare – DreamSystemsMedia.com

Newspaper Black Ops on Black Friday

So its taken me a week to get back to this, but last week my wife participated in Black Friday and the chaos that ensues on that day. My wife loves to shop, and she really likes to shop deals. So I was asking her about the newspaper ads. She was excited about what had been delivered in her newspaper… but she mentioned in passing… “the newspaper did charge me extra for the ads.”

excuse me…. what was that…

The Newspaper Charged the Reader for Black Friday Ads!

“Your kidding me.”

“No. They charged an extra dollar for the extra print.”

“They charged you the reader for more printed ads.”

“Yes. They mailed me a letter about it.”

“AND THEY MAILED YOU A LETTER ABOUT IT? But wait they don’t give you Sunday ads that week, right?”

“Right….???”

So let me break this down for you.  The Arizona Republic charged its loyal reader an extra dollar to send more ads on Thursday. But they did not send Sunday ads… I don’t get it…

Let’s break this decision down… they sent out a letter… that cost a least $.30… to make $.70 off it’s loyal customer because they have to print more.

AREN’T THEY GETTING PAID BY ADVERTISERS FOR THOSE ADS????

So besides the fact that the print is becoming more obsolete as time rolls forward, as a consumer I think they are missing the boat here all together.  Sure they just made $700,000 if their readership is a million.  But the abuse they just delivered to their loyal fan base is unheard of.  I personally could care less if I ever see a newspaper on my door or not.  I personally am likely to never visit http://www.AZxCentriloa.com ever again.  And I will most certainly not give them any links. Enough is enough.

Your a Newspaper! You make money from Advertisers! Charging your readers more money to print more Ads is Black Hat at its worst!