It's been a blast. It will be a blast

Tuesday, March 25. 2008

This is the final post at BLOG.CMNN.com.

Thank you all very much for your loyal readership over the past three years.

As of this morning, we have a new company name and a new corporate blog (in case you missed the big CMNN news this AM, see it here).

Please visit me at the new Live Current blog HERE.

Two new CMNN beta travel sites launched

Wednesday, March 19. 2008

Further to our previous news and my previous post about Brazil.com and Vietnam.com going live in beta, so now has Malaysia.com and Indonesia.com.

Boris Wertz named BC Entrepreneur of the year in 2005

Monday, March 17. 2008

Boris Wertz, along with AbeBooks' Hannes Blum, was crowned 'Entreprenuer of the year 2005' - Business-to-consumer products & services by BC Business magazine. You can see the article here.

Also, Boris and his company, Nexopia, were recently featured in a Financial Post article. You can read it here.

Consumer Internet Pioneer Boris Wertz joins Communicate Board of Directors

Monday, March 17. 2008

This morning we announced the appointment of Dr. Boris Wertz to the Communicate.com Board of Directors. The addition of Dr. Wertz exemplifies the ongoing progress we are making to build a top-notch team of Directors and strategically grow the business of developing premium e-commerce and content destinations. Dr. Wertz is a well known pioneer in the consumer internet space for his work with AbeBooks.com, Nexopia and others.

Please read the press release here.

Domain name sells for $10 million

Thursday, March 13. 2008

A very interesting press release from the wires:  

Clek Media Inc. ("Clek") today announced that it has brokered the world-record sale of the domain FUND.COM for US$9,999,950 in an all-cash transaction. Clek, a media consulting firm, represented the seller of the domain, assisting in both the negotiation and closing of the transaction. The buyer is Fund.com Inc. (OTCBB: FNDM), a New York firm previously named Meade Technologies Inc. To date the buyer has revealed their plans for the domain mostly in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The transaction has been validated by DN Journal.

----

BTW, The public company that bought the domain name has a current market cap of 174 million. They had no revenues during the last reported quarter.

Further to our Feb. 25 press release...

Tuesday, March 11. 2008

 

A beta version of Vietnam.com is now live.

----

UPDATE: The site now ranks #3 at Google for the keyword vietnam (behind Wikipedia and Lonely Planet).

Vancouver dot-com moguls profiled

Sunday, March 9. 2008

The cover story of the Vancouver Province today:

The new Internet millionaires; Big bucks still to be made years after dot-com crash

Read it here.

Online retail sales growth will be strong despite slowing economy

Friday, March 7. 2008


Some good news to end an otherwise gloomy week for the markets, via the CNET News.com blog:

Despite a slowing U.S. economy, online retail sales will continue to grow at double-digit rates for the next several years, but it will begin to take a turn toward maturity by 2012, according to new research from JupiterResearch.

U.S. online retail sales are expected to reach $148 billion in 2008, up 19 percent from sales in 2007 and comprising about 6.4 percent of total retail sales. That figure will grow to $166 billion in 2009 and $215 billion by 2012, for a compounded annual growth rate of about 11 percent, according to JupiterResearch analyst Patti Freeman Evans.

In 2012, Web retail sales will account for 8 percent of total retail sales, according to JupiterResearch projections...

Pluck plucked for an estimated $50M to $60M

Tuesday, March 4. 2008

Reuters reports:

Demand Media, run by former MySpace Chairman Richard Rosenblatt, said on Tuesday it has purchased Web media syndication company Pluck Corp, as part of an expansion of its Internet social media business.

A source familiar with the matter said the Pluck deal was valued at between $50 million to $60 million.

Via Domain Name Wire

Generic domain name sells for $1.66M

Friday, February 29. 2008

Domain Name Wire reports:

ESS Data Recovery has purchased the domain name DataRecovery.com for $1.659 million, confirms company President Ben Carmitchel.

The sale marks the biggest reported sale of the year and shows the promise of a targeted, generic domain name.

Why I'm psyched about cricket.com, part 2

Monday, February 25. 2008

In the Globe and Mail, Marcus Gee writes:

Teams with names like the Delhi Daredevils. Tycoons and Bollywood stars bidding against each other for "icon" players. Teenaged bowlers turned into millionaires overnight. Television contracts worth hundreds of millions.

Suddenly awash in new money, Corporate India is shaking up the tradition-bound gentleman's game of cricket.

The new Indian Premier League has raised more than $1.7-billion (U.S.) before a single googly has been bowled. And the new league - its first season opens April 18 - bears all the corporate hallmarks of professional sports in the West.

For television rights, the Sony Entertainment Television-World Sports Group spent $918-million on a 10-year deal for league games, lured by a cricket-watching TV audience that has sometimes equalled the combined populations of North America and Western Europe. Bidding for the eight franchises brought in another $723-million.

Hat tip: Adam Lerner

Geo development news from CMNN

Monday, February 25. 2008

Click here to read, "Communicate.com Teams with Consumer Engineering Veterans at Wanderspot to Develop New Online Destinations"
----

I think this is a exciting piece of news. The folks behind Wanderspot have built some of the net's best known, most engaging revenue-generating destination sites. CMNN's world class names deserve the attention of world class web development engineers.  

Study: Online retailers provide better customer service and satisfaction

Tuesday, February 19. 2008

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Online retailers are delivering the goods and better customer service than traditional stores, according to a University of Michigan study expected to be released today.

Customer satisfaction with online retail ... surpassed brick-and-mortar retailers by 12%, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

"Against a backdrop of weakening consumer spending and talk about recession, e-commerce will continue to be a bright spot for multichannel companies," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results in Ann Arbor, which partnered with U-M's Ross School of Business on the survey....

"Online commerce delivers convenience that is unparalleled in the offline world ... and service quality and consistency is better because there is no unknown factor of a sales associate," Freed said.

'Domain Stock Exchange' launched

Tuesday, February 19. 2008

Click here to find out more.

----

I'll have to check in on this periodically to see how it progresses. I guess it's a sign that the market remains strong and lucrative.

Not that you need reminding, but

Thursday, February 14. 2008

"Virtual real estate booming"

Read or listen to the report at Marketplace.