Hi there, Thanks for the suggestion. It does come up now and then, and I have done some amount of research into the marketplace and technology. I am still ambivalent about the long-term value proposition of directories and the software gives me less flexibility for experimenting with different ideas than do blogs. If I felt there were long term growth potentials that would add value to the name, I would move ahead. There is no sense in investing lots of time and money into an idea unless it add ture incremental value to the domain, over and above the name itself. Most ideas I have heard are good, but not excellent and I don't think would add incremental value. Thanks again for responding. Rich
Hi there, Yes, this is pretty much my way of thinking. I don't think there is much reason to use up cash reserves for a site that will not add significant long-term incremental value to the domain. It the domain is worth X and I spend X+Y, but the result is x+Y-Z, then it makes no sense to build on an idea. The idea has to be a real growth idea that visitors will recognize as significant added value to their own lives. That, to me, is an excellent business. Otherwise I am rolling the dice. Rich
They were referring to a social bookmarking site, not social networking like Myspace. I tend to agree with them, as it just make so much sense for your domain. Let the user's submit the best bookmark links from the web, but as you have said, you have to offer something extra to really get it going.
Hi, This seems to me to be a very good idea that can be implemented in the short term with very little investment. However, I have a few concerns: 1) Google may target domains such as mine (especially if it has high visibility) for low PR, if I attempt to sell links. Does your idea make sense if it only serves as a link? 2) How does a directory like this compete with DMOZ and Yahoo directories? What is the value proposition to make people come back? 3) What is the incentive for a well know directory owner to partner up with me? Are they just creating a competitor for their own directories? It could be that I am missing some knowledge about the marketplace domain that you are speaking about, so I welcome all comments. Rich
Yes, I agree. The issue is to come up with some unique take that will attract repeat visitors are create a long term business. But I am constantly thinking in this direction, so maybe I will come up with something. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Rich
Hi dcristo, Thanks for clarifying. Yes, my son brought this to my attention a while ago. We had some ideas that might make the site unique in a valued manner. However, the idea kind of withered away as more bookmarking sites came on line. Tough to compete with this very competitive marketplace without some very catchy idea and/or technolgy. Maybe something will pop into my head. Regards, Rich
Maybe some sort of site that crawls all the social networking sites and than analyses the links between each profile across multiple sites to create a new way to view and surf between all the social network and bookmark sites from your starting point. You might provide analytical reports like "today 12% of people in the 18-25 demographic are chatting about XYZ topic" or something along those lines as well.
Thanks for the suggestion. I agree with everyone that social networking/bookmarking may be the direction I should take. I'll put more effort in this direction and begin looking for some good scripts/platforms. If anyone has an recommendations regarding scripts/platforms (open source or for purchase), I would very much appreciate it. I know that there are several threads on this subject on DP and other forums, but so far I haven't seen any one social networking/bookmarking script/platform that seems to really delivers. Thanks again for everyone's help so far. Rich
I am not sure whether this adds some real incremental value. But it is an interesting idea, and I will research the possibilities. Thanks for the reply. Rich
As everyone already suggested, sell that domain name. You can earn $xxx,xxx and use the money to start a business that you are more in tune with.
"Links" would be a great dating site name. Or even a Digg type of site. I've been around the internet since the early days, but unfortunately I didn't hop on the "making your own site" thing besides that of online gaming. I lost the edge of getting a short name that has alot of potential in the early days, now I would need to buy one like that and I have no doubt it wouldn't be cheap. There's many people like me out there. There's plenty of versatility with that name. I wouldn't sell that name for less then $xxx,xxx.xx. Unfortunately it's about 100 times out of my price range, otherwise I'd hop on that in a heartbeat lol. On another note, try making something out of it. Stick with it and it's a nest egg. It's like real-estate. You have some prime real-estate (aka a nice chunk of land) and it's most likely just going to go up in value. With more and more people going online, with more and more people carving out chunks of the internet (aka .com's) it's just going to go up in price. You know what I would do? I'd just for kicks put that up for sale for $2.5 million, or some outrageous price. Perhaps some high profile company would buy it. Other then that, I'd just hold on to it and let it grow.
Hi brotherz, I don't think I will be selling the domain, since I have grown quite fond of it and the community that is helping me with ideas to develop it. Who knows how many more nice people I may run into as I develop Links.com. I do appreciate your response, but it is the one option that is definitely off the table. Rich
Hi Peachy, Sounds like you have been around as long as I have. I did consider using Pligg to develop a Digg-like site, but I couldn't figure out the value proposition. In other words, what can I do that would draw people away from Digg? I couldn't figure it out, so I dropped the idea. Dating also seems to be well stocked at this time, so I would have to come up with some unique angle, which at this time eludes me. But I am always considering new ideas. Yes, I agree with you that Links.com is good "real estate" property, but like all property, he should be developed otherwise it turns into a nasty eyesore vacant lot. I am pleased that I have been able to quadruple the number of visitors over the last few months, which at least shows that I am trying to do something. But I know that I can do much better. It may just take some time and some really creative thinking. Thanks much for your support and ideas. Keep in touch. Rich
Ya, I've been around the net for a long time. Well.. drawing people away from Digg might require you to make some tweaks to your Digg-like site. Perhaps add some extra features and networking. A dating site is nice because it's self-sufficient. You just work on the beginning stages of setting it up and getting traffic to it. After that it's like a snowball effect. It keeps growing by itself for the most part via word of mouth. With links being such a short name it's easy to remember. Take some pointers from www.plentyoffish.com, although I'm still thinking after reviewing his Alexa rankings that his great publicity was from being interviewed on the news (the 2 big spikes). Without that national attention, I doubt he would be where he's at.. but who knows. Ya.. the whole.. "thinking outside the box" deal can sometimes be a hard one. Thinking of something new that hasn't been done before with thousands upon thousands of other people doing the same thing. Heck.. you could even use "Links" as a myspace type of thing. It's a short name, sounds like something along those lines. Man.. what a awsome name, so many applications lol. You lucky.. bast... lol
No theres nothing that really stands out on that game site. Just another arcade for the most part with a lot of very minor modifications. Thanks for the offer though and good luck with the domain. I'll be watching it!
Thanks for the great suggestions. More idea for me to ponder and work with. Appreciate your taking the time to respond. Rich
Don't sell. Anyone who gives you that advice is either waiting to buy your domain or simply jealous of it. That domain is amazing. To be honest I can't believe you haven't tried to turn it into a webmaster site and broker text links like many other firms. Your domain name would give you instant credibility and business. As I'm sure you are already aware, webmasters make and spend lots of money online and therefore are probably one of the most profitable online customers to cater to. If you don't have the business savvy, programming experience or funding to start a project of that size yourself you can always look for investors. You can also look to partner with some of the more established firms in that market. Protect your Domain at all costs, don't sell for under 6 figures (unless it's to me! ) and make sure that any business partners you have will get profit share and nothing else. That domain is a major asset, don't waste time with shit that's hard to monetize... start making money. My 2c. Pete
Hi Pete, Thanks much for your advice and support. I do have over 35 years of business experience and was on the Board of Directors of several start-up firms - hence my approach. It is difficult building a strong company, so I am digging in for the long haul. I have thought long and hard about a text link broker site. At first I was very excited, but then I began to think that the whole concept and value of text links is born out of Google's algorithms, which are entirely under their control. So is this a good, long-term value proposition? I am not sure, especially in light of some of Google's more recent actions to devalue purchased links. I am still open to the idea, but I do want to make sure there is a real long-term value proposition, independent of what Google might do. I agree with your advice about partnerships. I have, in the past, offered limited profit-sharing, to consultants who have assisted me. I am always willing to work out deals that benefit all parties, as long as the parties remain distinct entities, because divorces can be a heck of lot messier than marriages. Thanks again for your well considered advice. Rich
First off - congrats on the incredible domain. I'd bet you could sell it at around $500,000 if you wanted to. I like the social bookmarking idea, maybe use sub-domains to organize it: movies.links.com games.links.com blogs.links.com etc You already have a brandable domain name getting traffic, so if you were to work at creating a unique set-up with an intuitive design the site would basically market itself. If you want some younger blood (not calling you old, lol - just experienced ) working with you over the long term, feel free to send me a private message. Cheers and best of luck