2.5 Million New Followers Of Twitter Accounts In Last 30 Days Can’t Be Wrong; Domains Are Hot

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TheDomains.com has maintained a Twitter account for just about as long I we have been publishing the blog which is coming up to 6 years.

In the last 30 days I have noticed a huge spike in new followers to @thedomains that have a huge amount of followers themselves.

These are business oriented accounts, publications, money making guru’s and people from outside the domain name space.

Obviously its a judgement call where  all these Twitter Whale accounts (yes I just made up that term) are coming from but I’m going to peg them to the new gTLD program.

With more and more mainstream stories covering the new gTLD’s and national advertising campaigns now dedicated to the new gTLD domain name,  it seems to me that people that never paid attention to the domain space are now very interested.

The number of followers to @thedomains  that have over 10,000 followers themselves have increased tremendously in recent weeks especially followers that have 50,000 and 100,000 or more followers.

I think this is good news for the domain space.

For those that have active Twitter accounts is anyone else noticing a spike in number of followers and numbers of followers that have a 10K, 50K and 100K or more followers?

About Michael Berkens

Michael Berkens, Esq. is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheDomains.com. Michael is also the co-founder of Worldwide Media Inc. which sold around 70K domain to Godaddy.com in December 2015 and now owns around 8K domain names . Michael was also one of the 5 Judges selected for the the Verisign 30th Anniversary .Com contest.

Comments

  2. DrDomainer says

    Remember when new domainers came into the scene buying 3d domains and we had a great buzz happening in this industry. That’s nothing to what’s about to happen and it’s going to be a very special thing we are going to witness. MIND BLOWING!!!

  5. Steven Sikes says

    My company Twitter account is spiking big time. My personal Twitter account (designed to gather info and interact w/select influencers I follow capped at 190) gains about 10 new followers a day (so not too much there).

    Maybe your spikes on your Twitter accts (focused on domains) can be attributed to the gTLD, but I think it’s based more on the rising Startup revolution, with entrepreneurs worldwide launching ventures, as the startup costs have diminished, in conjunction w/cloud storage, software tools, and growth hacking.

  6. Adam Strong says

    That’s cool Mike. Those new followers of yours are great for you and the space, but I’m confused how having @crunchbase @jjjinvesting or any of the media, ceos, etc following you going to spread to their followers ?

  9. Michael Berkens says

    Adam

    I’m not saying that the followers of @Crunchbase will neccasarily follow me because Crunchbase does.

    I’m, just saying that the quality and influence of new followers seems to be in a whole different league, something has peaked their interest in domains and I think its good for the domain industry as a whole

  12. Ramahn says

    I’m with Steven on this. Its a combination of startups, the gtlds and the fact that the web is becoming THE medium in which all things are done. People now realize, without stock in domains, they will be left out.

    There is more opportunity & potential in domains than any other industry/market on the planet. And people are finally realizing it.

  13. Grim says

    I’ll go against the sentiment here and say that as the economy is making many lives more difficult, it’s probably more likely that people are just wanting to get in the hopes and dreams of hitting it big, when most will register mediocre names that don’t have much chance of reselling even at a hand-reg price.

    The dreams of easy riches are always a big motivator… but over a decade since all the best names have been taken, the reality should be quite different though. Now, if they go and make some great sites with the domains, then that’s different. But most people will just park them, since making sites is “hard”… and there they will sit.

  14. Grim says

    Ramahn wrote:
    > Its a combination of startups, the gtlds and the fact that
    > the web is becoming THE medium in which all things are
    > done. People now realize, without stock in domains, they
    > will be left out.
    > There is more opportunity & potential in domains than
    > any other industry/market on the planet. And people are
    > finally realizing it.

    If they’re finally realizing it, then they’re too late. The party is over and all the booze has been drunk. (There might be a bottle with a few drops in it still though.) But the gullible will surely find your words most intriguing, and buy into the whole, “You can get rich too!” dream. Well, a few will get rich. Not the vast majority of those who are “finally realizing it”, however.

    By the way, if you think there is more opportunity in domains than any other industry… you are living an incredibly sheltered life.

  15. Leonard P Britt says

    No noticeable increase in Twitter followers yet but after zero sales in July & August I have seen two Godaddy Premium Listing sales (both $xxx) this week. I also noticed last night an ad on TV by 1&1 for pre-reserving GTLDs.

  16. Ramahn says

    @Grim
    I served my country all over the WORLD in the armed forces and many nights wish I had ‘shelter’ but thanks.

    I do agree that some might be hoping to get rich quick and will find disappointment if bad decisions are made. But I never said anything about getting rich. I used the words potential and opportunity. That is key, and is what entrepreneurs are drawn to. The “obvious” words have been taken..that was easy. But some of the best names have yet to be reged. Some of the best ideas yet to be thought of.

  17. Michael Berkens says

    Grim

    “”By the way, if you think there is more opportunity in domains than any other industry… you are living an incredibly sheltered life.””

    Well I’m going to disagree with you.

    Yes there are tons of businesses, ventures, investments where you can make a lot of money.

    The issue is cost of entry Vs. potential return.

    How many investments can you get into for $10 or $20 or $100 and make millions

    Not many

  18. Grim says

    @Ramahn

    There is more opportunity where people aren’t looking, then where a lot of people are all of a sudden looking, over a decade later. (Those who are “finally realizing it”, etc.)

    Only a small number of people realized the potential of domain names as investments in the ’90s. Besides that small group, the masses weren’t looking at domains as an investment opportunity. So there was a lot of opportunity for the few entrepreneurs who ‘got it’, in the domain industry back then.

    Now, not so much. But it’s not really such a big deal, because true entrepreneurs who don’t simply follow the pack but who are constantly looking for new “opportunities” with “potential”, are grabbing onto the next big thing.

    You’re right about some of the best ideas that have yet to be thought of… but only a small group of people who are insightful enough to be pursuing those ideas are taking advantage of them right now. Maybe in 15 or 20 years, a lot of the same people who are just now getting into domains, will finally jump on this “newer” non-domain related bandwagon. Once again though, they’ll be too late to the party.

  19. Grim says

    @Michael Berkins
    > How many investments can you get into for $10 or
    > $20 or $100 and make millions

    The lottery? If one is totally new to domains and just getting into it now, most of those people will be disappointed to find that it has about the same odds. Especially if you’re talking about making millions off of a very small investment, as you are inferring.

    I think this idea of investing $10, $20, or even $100 to make millions, excites a lot of newcomers to domain names, but it’s simply teasing them, as only a very tiny percentage of them will be lucky enough to ever dream of making that kind of money… but hey, if you don’t play, you can’t win, right? Going to Vegas and losing money there might be more fun, though.

  22. Michael Berkens says

    Grim

    I have done it multiple times, I have done it for 15 years.

    Its not a pipe dream and its not the lottery.

    Its possible.

    Its happened plenty of times and will happen again

  25. Adam Strong says

    “If one is totally new to domains and just getting into it now, most of those people will be disappointed to find that it has about the same odds. Especially if you’re talking about making millions off of a very small investment, as you are inferring.”

    Yes, please move along there is no money to be found in domains any more.
    I’m not sure what a small investment is but I know a guy who came in to this space with $30k and is a millionaire . . but yes it took him 6 years. I doubt many of the wealthy in this space can claim that wealth from any sort of an overnight success.

    http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/sbfaq.pdf
    “Seven out of 10 new employer firms survive at least 2 years, half at least 5 years, a third at least 10 years, and a quarter stay in business 15 years or more.”

  27. Michael Berkens says

    Domo

    This year sales are slower not horrible but slower

    Not unexpected

    Actually we anticipated this in light of the new gTLD’s and think the next couple of years are going to be tough

    Sedo which sold $1.6-$1.7 a week is down to $1M

    More choices means less money for a while

    Anyone that has read thedomains.com all along knew this was coming.

    Still we will be in the seven figures in sales this year

  28. Grim says

    Michael,

    Yes, you’ve been doing it since the ’90s. So have I and others here. We got in early. Every one of my posts in this thread has been directed at those hopeful starry-eyed newcomers who are just thinking about getting into it now.

    I’d bet that most of the readers of your forum who have been doing this for 5 years or so have not made millions, or much of anything for that matter, and they’re easy to identify. Because every time you post an article about a certain obscure domain name selling for say, $30,000, they get all excited and gleefully post that their similar, but nowhere near as relevant (and even more obscure) domain name, just “went up in value.” Anyone who reads your forums sees this all the time.

    For those people, who aren’t brand new, but are still fairly new in comparison, it will most likely always remain a pipe dream. And for the vast majority of those coming into domaining only now, it will be even more so. Unless they have a lot more than $10, $20, or $100 to invest.

    If it were so easy, everyone reading your forums here (on their private islands no less), would be millionaires. But it’s more than apparent from many of those who post here, that that’s nowhere near the case.

  29. Michael Berkens says

    Well those who got in the 90’s may get in it in the 2014-2015

    There is as much a chance of success Vs. failure and there is every chance that you will be pointing to those in 2025 that got in the game in 2014 as the golden years.

    However I never said it was easy, its a motherfucker, like anything else a few will figure it out and make a lot of money and most will lose money.

    easy its not

    That is why at almost 55 i’m still working until 2-3am everyday and up at 8 am to start again

    Never said it was easy

    Never said everyone is going to make it

    Nope not going to happen

    But it will happen for some people, for those that make good decisions, who have good timing and yes a little luck doesn’t hurt.

  30. Live Advertising says

    May I weigh in? You got featured in Techmeme a couple of times. Fusible is regularly featured on Techmeme, and has 48,960 followers, while following only 53 on twitter . . . When the Techmeme editors include you, you’ve made it as a tech blogger! Your lists of exploitive domain registrations have been referenced as original sources.

  31. Joe says

    @Grim

    If one doesn’t ‘get’ domains and what makes a great domain, even if he had started in the early 90s, were domains were free, he would have gone anywhere. The problem with our industry is ‘hype’: when a new extension comes out, newcomers get overexcited and go out and buy all the domains they can, no matter how bad the keywords are.