The New York Times just covered Juan Diego Calle the CEO of .CO Internet SAS.
Here are just a few out takes for the rest you will have to check out the whole story.
One thing not in the story is that Straat Investments has applied for 13 new gTLD’s so as impressive as Juan’s rags to riches story is as told by the NYT its just starting and the guy is only 34.
“My light-bulb moment came in 2007, when a colleague mentioned that Colombia’s government was exploring how to commercialize its “.co” domain extension beyond its borders. ”
“It was clear to me that the .co suffix would appeal to businesses that needed a Web address but could not find one at .com.”
“In July 2010, I won the contract to operate .co and to commercialize it globally. I formed .CO Internet, and now it and the travel site network are subsidiaries of Straat, where I am the chairman.”
“In the last year, more than one million users in 200 countries have registered .co domain names. Among them are well-known companies like Google, which uses g.co to market products like its Internet-connected eyeglasses (g.co/projectglass).”
You can promote and polish a turd all day long, but no matter how hard you worked and scrubbed, at the end of the day you’re still stuck with a turd.
.co? Ah…no.
Hello Michael,
Domainers are the smartest, bravest, creationists in the world and can see through the smoke clearly. We more than any, have experienced every dog and pony show out there. You can put lipstick on a pig and it remains a pig.
The smart money stays focused on good quality .COM Virtual Business Foundations.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
All I can say is .co is a POS as compared to the KING .COM
They should use his picture to put on a Wanted Poster for suckering thousands of people
into buying .co as an “alternative” to .com.
.co sucks!
Shame on you who criticize success in your own industry. The best feature of the .CO success story is that it is a consequence of effort made and risk taken. .CO offers a small but sparking prism by which to view the future.
Why wasn’t o.co highlighted ? – Does Overstock even exist still ?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bunch of Pigeon-Sh!t NOOBIES commenting on this thread. Stop trying to be the cool kid… People still need an alternative to over inflated .com market (that we created). Look… I develop names for ranking, the .co ranks like a .com.
Google “Domain Investing”… See for yourself. A popular domain blog ranks the top 5 for a 55 difficulty on SEOMoz. Pretty impressive.
Also, Matt Cutts himself answers this question to bring value to the .co market
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0sCnzzVtNs&feature=player_embedded
If you can’t see the value, your blind.
These guys have spent millions in advertising to bring YOU an alternative to the .com. The least you could do is show a little respect and appreciation.
For “big fat no”
.co? Ah…YES!
Obviously an alternative to .com is needed and .co turns out to be a perfect one.
“.com is the king” but is there anything left the king has to offer?
Nothing but either ridiculously long phrases or phrases that make no sens as one word .com’s are too expensive.
.co is an internet infant that could grow equal to .com someday as no king rules forever
Anyone apply .CON ?
Well Lets 1st start by asking in the 25+ years since the first domain name went live how many domain investors (which Juan is as well) have been covered by major media like the NYT in a positive light?
Second the Juan has accomplished more in 34 years than most of us has, including myself in a lot who are much older.
Most importantly Juan, if you got a chance to know him. is a great guy with a beautiful family.
Personally I’m running into more and more .co domains that are being used for actual sites.
Here’s one I found last week:
http://www.maven.co/
“Entrepreneurs make it happen, domainers wait til the entrepreneur makes it happen (to sell them the domain)”
This is the TRUE !!
a lot of sore losers here.
Celebrate the success of
.Co
your new King.
MHB,
let’s get real. This has nothing to do with how successful, young or what a “beautiful family” Juan has. You will tout anyone or anything that you think will further your agenda. Especially and as of late ANYTHING to do with the new gTLD’s! It’s actually getting quite predictable, LMAO.
Mr. Berkens,
here is another one I too found using
.Co
http://www.zovo.co
whereas, the lesser version
http://www.zovo.com is off the grid.
Mr. Dean, I respectfully disagree.
Mr. Berkens is simply reflecting the changing reality of today’s world.
Namely,
.Co
is your new King.
And .com is no longer relavant when you can get more meaningful names.
Simply put adapt and change to the evolving reality or you will become extinct.
simple as that.
Is the new “Robert Cline” now know as “John” ?
Mr. BrianWick, not everyone that is pro
alternative domain
is “Robert Cline”
although we all do miss him.
the reality is that if .com is all you have, you are f***ed
you must have
.Co
and maybe some others like .me, .net, .tv
to have a healthy portfolio. Diversification is your safety net.
“Diversification is your safety net.”
no –
Diversification is good for non.com gTLD registries – and good business folks like Jaun Calle know that
Would one of you geniuses please tell me why Overstock no longer promotes o.co – even if you type in o.co ?
– Albeit they do promote O.info
Mr. BrianWick,
Mr. Calle has one ace and that is
.Co
nothing else really matters.
.Co rules
and everything else is just crumbs.
It would be a mistake for him to lose focus on
.Co
and divert his attention to any of the smaller of the dozen or so he applied for.
.Co
is a giant akin to the former .com and will dominate this century.
300 other extensions combined couldn’t compare to the worth and value of
.Co
Mr Brianwick,
who gives a hoot.
O.co is just one of
262,000,000
other
.Co s out there.
Is .CO now a gTLD ?
do not be caught up in labels.
who gives a hoot
what
.Co
is.
ccTLD, gTLD, etc.
just appreciate for what it’s worth, face value.
Accoding to some “experts”: “There can not be any 2 letter gTLDs”
Is .CO now a gTLD ?
Will .CO be a THICK Registry ?
Is .CO going to be taking the .© TLD ? [ C with O around it 🙂 ]
“Diversification is good for non.com gTLD registries”
“Diversification is good for non.com / gTLD registries”
Such commentary based on my typo 🙂
John – since no one gives a hoot about Overstock’s failed $350K investment in o.co and countless more millions in advertising and marketing please advise where there are 262 Million .co registrations
http://craftcafe.co
vs
http://craftcafe.com
which do you prefer ?
just saying current state of affairs.
Mr. BrianWich
you simply go to
http://www.google.com
and type
site:.co
and you will see a gazillion
.Co
sites.
“Most importantly Juan, if you got a chance to know him. is a great guy with a beautiful family.”
So is every SnakeMan or used car salesmen or women
So you are a shi**tty guy if you don’t have a beautiful family.
Dean
First of all I didn’t write the story, the New York Times did and they did talk about Juan on a personal level.
I have no agenda
.Co (other than occasionally advertising on the blog as many others) is not paying me a cent.
Now as for the new gTLD’s space, when you see the god of domainers, who owns more quality .com’s, than arguably anyone on the earth, investing up $60 Million of his own money into the new gTLD space when you see the Directi going in for $30M the Donuts guys all domain industry veterans going in for $300 Million and the list goes on and on, you maybe ignoring it at your peril.
The beauty is a new extension does not in itself need to become a raging success for the initial investment to make good. What matters is you get enough people to believe, make your money and after that what happens happens.
It isn;t about passion, true belief in an extension or wanting to change the world, it is about money, if it makes some for me you can call my extension a failure all you want.
“you maybe ignoring it at your peril”
That is only half right.
Yes you cannot ignore a new registry making a fortune selling hand registered non.com’s (like .shop) to end-users and speculations.
But you can ignore – except for 3k-5k domains in each new registry – speculators buying in order to sell – that is a slam dunk disaster.
So good luck cherry picking those 1 out of 1000 gems you genius “domainers”.
MHB,
Right of the Dot is not an agenda!? Anyone vying for a string not a potential client? Let’s get real.
I never expressed disdain for the new gTLD’s I might invest in some, but very cautiously.
the problem with
.com is that it is not descriptive enough.
is it an organization, is it a network, is it a company, a brochure, .brochure, or what is it ?
“the problem with
.com is that it is not descriptive enough.”
The power of .COM is the awareness, usage, and credibility it provides.
The neutrality of .COM is one of the reasons it is so powerful.
It does not have to mean anything. People generally expect the .COM (unless it is a country dominated by ccTLD)
If you have the .COM you can just advertise as your brand if you want.
With another extension you don’t really have the luxury.
Brad
@Aggr0
Aggr0 is a famous cybersquatter of the past decade.
Subjet of UDRP cases.
Sued in US district courts for TM infringement.
He registered famous trademarks, celebrity domains, and typos of trademarks.
He used many different address to hide his identity and run away from his misdeeds.
Some of the addresses were in Nassau, Bahamas plus few others as well.
He begs others to sell their domains for peanuts. When you don’t sell to him, he will harass you everywhere on blogs and forums unnecessarily.
I have a huge file gathered about Aggr0’s black deeds.
If anyone else is getting harrased by Aggr0, let me know I can help you expose him.
I am considering filing a lawsuit again this moron because he keeps on harassing us without us ever starting any feud with him.
@ MHB,
Ban Aggro because he is indulging in regular personal attacks and you have deleted his moronic attack posts many times in the past.
Aggr0 the “cyber squatter” – this is your FINAL WARNING!
Juan made a good bet and it paid off. He is right. Some people who could not get a .com tld will naturally like a .co tld.
Dean
I’m working on a post
It will take two or three days but after you can make your own decision
In all ROTD is an evolution of the domain industry not because of want but because of need
So RK, is that Rick behind that screen name, or is it Owen this time?
Be careful about threats to ‘expose’. That knife cuts both ways, and some people will sue you first.
Perhaps Mr RK (someone from Florida who we won’t name) shouldn’t concern himself with making threats of suing.
It would be embarrassing if a complete dossier on your entire ‘rat pack’ – detailing all the public information and some information that hasn’t yet been made public- got published online in Wiki format. If nothing else, the American IRS sure would enjoy it.
Beware if the fuse gets lit, your squealing and threats to ‘sue’ or ‘negotiate’ once you realize you’ve gone in over your head will go ignored.
I don’t know who RK is but as far as wiki, you can note that the original founder of SnapNames.com, is the sole applicant for .wiki
Who are you the gatherer?
The other face of aggrro?
So u r starting to worry now?
Stop ur unnecessary personal attacks, before u get exposed.
Use your head, u know u can’t afford to be exposed.
Lol
MHB,
I eagerly await your post.
Lots of folks forgot their Ritalin today.
“RK”.
Nothing to lose on my end. You, on the other hand, won’t be able to ‘blog’ your reputation back to life when it’s all compiled into one place. This includes your ‘friends and associates’.
It all lives forever, on the internet and you can’t ‘sue’ away the truth. I welcome whatever suits you may file. My only concern is people posting lies. Your greatest worry is people posting the truth.
Do you want a preview? Say the word, but I will not take it back down.
@ RolexForSale or The Gatherer or Aggrroo or whatever your new handle is going to be 🙂
No worries here, go ahead do want you want to do.
@ RolexForSale or The Gatherer or Aggrroo or whatever your new handle is going to be 🙂
Btw, what reference are you posting to Owen?
Owen who?
I don’t know any Owen and btw, are you refering to Owen Frager whom I have never met or communicated with.
It appears that you are really looking for some trouble by attacking the big boys club?
They won’t let you hide you know that, right?
Interesting read… Congrats on that part.
But in regards to his smirk remarks, sly remarks and insults against domainers, I will always remember that video he did.
Without speculators, investors who supported .co -good portion was due to us imo. without domainers and his lavish parties at conferences, .co would not be where its at today.
.co end user adoption? LOL. Biggest joke on that front.
@RK
Don’t listen to the haters. Spill the beans on Aggro.
.CO said they set prices HIGH to discourage Domainers
CO.TheDomains.COM is FREE just like XXX.TheDomains.COM
.Co
is simply your new King.
this thread proves it.
garners the most comments in any thread.
Hello Michael,
We are not trying to crush .Co, to the contrary we are trying to lead people into making real meaningful investments in The Secondary Market where the real Diamond Vein lives.
If you want diamonds you have to pay up for them. All other extensions are like Penny Stocks and are Really Long Shots.
If you want diamonds, you don’t look for them in Copper Mines.
Learn the ropes Of the Secondary Market,it will fuel your Booty.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
“Learn the ropes Of the Secondary Market,it will fuel your Booty.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
”
well said .
TheDomains.CO will Query CO.TheDomains.COM First
The new DNS in smart devices uses the CLASS Field
Google://DNS.CLASS
How is the reurned DNS CLASS set for?
TheDomains.CO – COlorado
TheDomains.CO – COlumbia
TheDomains.Florida -> Florida.TheDomains.com is queried first 🙂
This is a strictly personal comment.
I have known Juan for six years, meeting him in Miami during the first Traffic conference I attended at the start of the Internet Commerce Association. He is a savvy businessman and an insightful entrepreneur. He is also a good friend with a big heart, and it was my pleasure to just see and speak with him again at the Prague ICANN meeting.
His company, Straat Investments, was a founding member of the ICA. He is a successful domainer who has given back to the industry in time and money, and the notion that you can take one statement he made and conclude that he is somehow anti-domainer seems absurd to me.
The NY Times piece, in which he talks about his personal and business evolution, is something that should be celebrated and not an occasion for sniping. Here is a man who fled his home country as a child as his family feared for their lives, who is frank about his successes and more importantly his failures, who has gone on to transform the ccTLD of his home nation into something of value for more than a million registrants, and who is now taking the lessons he has learned into account as he applies for new gTLDs. It is not only an honor for Juan to be allowed to self-profile in this way but a good thing for the entire domain industry because it helps the world to see that domaining and the people in its top ranks are real 21st century entrepreneurs.
Good for Juan, and good for domaining.
I think anything that mentions domains as investments and a business and doesn’t contain any mention of “cybersquatting” is a plus, regardless of what TLD, ccTLD, or alternative TLD it is about.
Juan has proved to be a great businessman. Very few people in this industry would be able to get mainstream coverage after 2 years since their venture’s inception.
The REAL Back-Story on .CO
It is unfortunate that the real back-stories are never revealed in all the Domainer blogs. The insiders know what is going on. As someone said, Domainers do not have a seat at any of the important tables. Why is that?
Real
Well Frank is a domainer and he has a seat at the “table” so does Juan who was a domainer before he was .Co.
There are other domainers at the table including the Directi guys, and other applicants and those that choice to risk money and time to get their seat.
There are domainers that own their own registrar, their are domainers that have invested into backend providers and hope to be registries and they are all at the table.
Like most things in life, you have to earn your way into a seat at the table even in a big poker game
“Frank is a domainer and he has a seat at the “table” so does Juan who was a domainer before he was .Co.”
The insiders know what is going on. As someone said, Domainers do not have a seat at any of the important tables. Why is that?
Domainers do not have a seat at ANY of the *** important *** tables
With all due respect to Frank and Juan – Neither have been near a POLICY-Making Table – Rod Beckstrom was not even allowed near the table – he is gone
Ok well know at least I know what table your talking about
Let me ask you have you ever been to an ICANN meeting?
“Like most things in life, you have to earn your way”
Nobody is lucky in this world – they create their own luck – that includes Jaun Calle and others who apparantly have been called out. Food for thought for some on this thread.
Federal Register Notice
06/28/2012
Notice of multistakeholder process open meeting July 12, 2012 @ NTIA
“Nobody is lucky in this world – they create their own luck”
…and some people such as Barry Soetoro are [[packaged]] like puppets to have a seat at the table for others to manipulate…being a puppet is not a bad life…
Check out JohnPerkins .ORG
“Information about political TV ads must be posted online by Aug. 2 under an order published this morning in the Federal Register.”
“Putting the files online will give voters the only information available about who is behind the shadowy groups now legally permitted to purchase political advertisements without registering with the Federal Election Commission.”
ICANN has to put all of the Applicant Information online – even though they said they would only share it with the [[insiders]]
Applicants are headed to Washington.DC to get a seat at the table
Does anyone think the July 1st to October NO ICANN CEO window was a random accident ? no – it was designed as a transition window
who designed that ?