DomainTools Blog

We just got an outdoor sign installed on our building in Los Angeles. For those of you that missed the announcement Thought Convergence is the new parent company of Name Intelligence/DomainTools.com.

If you want to drive by and check it out the address of the building is 11300 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Acquisition is a major milestone in Thought Convergence’s strategy of developing a self-sustaining, symbiotic Domain Ecosystem that services the global domain community.

Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA, May 6, 2008 — Thought Convergence, the industry-leading provider of domain management, monetization and development tools and technologies for premium domain owners and aggregators of high-quality domain portfolios, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Name Intelligence, the company behind the highly-acclaimed DomainTools service and the Domain Roundtable conference. The acquisition expands Thought Convergence’s already extensive suite of industry-leading domain tools, services and technologies, and paves the path for management’s vision of a unified Domain Ecosystem.

“We are proud to welcome Jay, Ray and the entire Name Intelligence team into the Thought Convergence family”, said Kevin Vo, Thought Convergence Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The addition of Name Intelligence further strengthens our industry-leading technology platform and lays the groundwork for the continuing expansion of our comprehensive suite of tools and services for domain professionals. Further commenting on the acquisition, Thought Convergence Director and Chief Operating Officer, Ammar Kubba, added that “Name Intelligence shares our passion and drive to create technology-driven solutions and innovation within the domain industry. By combining our award-winning monetization and development platform, deep industry relationships and extensive resources with Name Intelligence’s unparalleled research, analysis and data aggregation tools, we are putting into place a robust and scalable framework for the creation of a symbiotic Domain Ecosystem.”

In commenting on the close of the transaction, Jay Westerdal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Name Intelligence, said, “We are incredibly excited to join forces with Thought Convergence and to leverage our core competencies and proprietary technology in order to create the next generation of DomainTools, our auction and marketplace platform, intellectual property protection services, and semantic suggestion technology.” Name Intelligence operations will remain in Seattle, Washington, and will continue to be led by Jay Westerdal and Ray Bero. In addition to their responsibilities at Name Intelligence, both Westerdal and Bero will collaborate with senior management at Thought Convergence to develop and execute on the Company’s long-term strategy.

About Thought Convergence
Founded in 2001, Thought Convergence is an industry-leading service provider of domain information, management, monetization and development tools and technologies for the domain name industry. Widely regarded as a pioneer in the domain industry, Thought Convergence provides its award-winning services and technologies under several brands, including TrafficZ, DomainTools and Idea.Net. By leveraging its comprehensive suite of fully-integrated domain services, tools and technologies, Thought Convergence is pioneering the industry’s first symbiotic Domain Ecosystem and is working to promote the continued evolution, success and sustainability of the domain industry. Thought Convergence is a privately-held company, growing profitably since inception, and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with offices in Seattle, Washington. For more information, please visit http://www.ThoughtConvergence.com.

Thought Convergence Media Contact:
Ammar Kubba
310.909.7900
PR@ThoughtConvergence.com

Update by Jay: This is the official announcement. However, I thought I would personally comment as well, I know there have been a lot of rumors about this deal and lot of incorrect speculation. I wanted to set the record correct and say, I am extremely proud of the team we are putting together with this deal, the entire Thought Convergence team will number at around 100 strong after the acquisition. We are going to have more resources at our disposal now to focus on bigger projects, the synergies in this deal were awesome. I would not have signed onto the deal unless it allowed DomainTools to better serve the entire Domain Ecosystem. I will be joining the board of Though Convergence and look forward to working with the entire team in both LA and Seattle. The integrity of our DomainTools data is not in jeopardy with this deal and DomainTools website will remain as a trusted third party to everyone regardless of their affiliations.

With less than a month to go, the team at Domain Roundtable is getting ready to host our most exciting line-up to date!

First, let’s talk money – and ways to save!

Save on your conference passes! DomainTools Silver and Gold members receive a discount. Just log into your account and get your discount code. Or, take advantage of our Domain Roundtable survey! Your vote counts in our Name Intelligence Awards. Be heard as we span the industry, looking to see who is the best of the best. Cast your ballot for your favorites, including Best Registrar, Best Forum, Best Industry Media Coverage, Best Blog Community, and Best Parking Company. The best part, though, is receiving $50 off your DRT conference pass as a thank you for your input.

Save on your hotel! We also have discount rates still available for rooms at our host location, The Palace Hotel. However, they are going quickly. The rate is guaranteed until April 1, on a first come first serve basis. Visit our web site for your to reserve your space TODAY! www.domainroundtable.com/2008/venue

Save on your airfare! We’ve had many attendees let us know that they are getting great airfares right now to San Francisco. Check out your favorite airfare shopping site!

Now, updates on what is happening at the conference.

As mentioned in previous posts, we’re shining a spotlight into the future of the industry with a host of speakers offering real expert advice on building manageable and profitable domain portfolios. We at DRT are glad to bring so many great panelists into the Roundtable this year. Here are some highlights:

• We are also happy to announce the return of our CEO Roundtable! Building on the foundation of the panel’s previous success, our team of CEOs will highlight recent trends in American and global economics. Hear the heads in the industry discuss how these trends affect us and get a first-hand prognosis from industry-leading companies on what you can do to increase during economic challenges.
• Matt Cutts, our Google insider, is still accepting your most challenging questions about SEO and Google. Take part in this intimate discussion by submitting your questions to our guest webmaster at: mattcutts [at] domainroundtable.com.
• Get information on alternative monetization opportunities brought to you by DomainStrategies, EVOLanding, Mpire and more!
• Sunday, April 20, see the .ME induction into the ccTLD space. .ME, however, is all about you, and so GoDaddy, the .ME initiator, and DRT invite everyone to take part in this exclusive lunch-time launch. Be there to get all the details and celebrate the sunrise of .ME. Get an insider head start.
• Our array of top domainers, parking experts, and SEO moguls, who bring years of experience and insider tips will discuss all avenues of industry.

Don’t forget the Gamble for Good party for Grassroots.org sponsored by TrafficZ. This casino night fundraiser is bound to be a success — after all, it is a TrafficZ party! There are great prizes being awarded throughout the evening. Plus, music by DJ Matteo, go-go dancers, food and cocktails! Play for a good cause, prizes and bragging rights! Check it all out and register early at the gambleforgood.org.

Plus, the DomainTools Live Auction is on! The team is working daily to put together the list of domains to auction. Stay tuned on that. But, remember that, as an attendee, you get one guaranteed admission into our Live Auction. You can find more information here in the auction section at www.domainroundtable.com/2008/auction.

The countdown is on! We’ll see you there!

For more details on the agenda, our sponsors and location, please visit: www.DomainRoundtable.com/.

There are a lot of parking companies out there and two of the biggest are Sedo and TrafficZ. I would like to think we are in a small community where everyone gets along and there are no conflicts that can’t be solved by just talking it out. Tim Schumacher the CEO of Sedo registered TrafficZ.de and pointed it to a Sedo signup page for its own parking service, I think that crosses a few moral lines. This has got to be the most flattering thing I have seen. TrafficZ has been trying to resolve this conflict for a while and I hope it gets solved soon. I don’t like to publicly call people out but the two companies have been fighting over this for a while and I think it is a stupid conflict. Sedo should do the right thing and let’s move on. This industry is big enough for multiple companies.

TrafficZ.de

We had four parties this year at the Domain Roundtable, one for each night of the conference. I think a good party is the corner stone of a domain conference. The award for best party definitely goes to TrafficZ this year. Ammar Kubba of TrafficZ hosted a Grassroots.org fund raiser body painting contest. All funds that were raised go towards helping GrassRoots assist other charities getting online and having a digital presence. This is a great charity and I am glad to support it. Donations were given in many ways – auctioning off girls to paint, voting for best girl, and just plain donations. This was the best fund raiser I have seen for any charity to date. I had a fun time giving away money.

TrafficZ and DomainTools are also announcing that we will give away a 90% revenue share for Q4 of this year to TrafficZ parking and a one year free Gold Membership to DomainTools for an entire company to anyone that donates $5,000 towards GrassRoots.org. A 90% revenue share is extremely generous so I would encourage any big domain holders out there to take Ammar up on this offer. Angela Siefer at GrassRoots.org will be able to take your donation. I think 90% revenue share would net a few domainers a few thousand dollars a week extra. If you make over $40,000 in a quarter I would suggest you take us up on this offer ASAP. You will not only make money but you will be supporting a charity that supports other charities. A total win-win for everyone.

Yes, now here is a party. TrafficZ threw an off the hook party in New York this week. Talk about branding, their logo was placed right behind all the girls and the entire room was memorized by the view. Ammar Kubba, the CEO of this great Parking Company, said Game Works in Vegas was the last party they held and it was not a big hit with Domainers that attended it. However Ammar said TrafficZ was personally involved in picking the venue this time. Everyone I talked with said they loved the party so I have to say it was very successful. Kudos to Ammar and his team. Keep personally picking the venues and I will attend every party! BTW, I think Girl 6 should have won and not Girl 20.