Missed Domains

This weekend I finally got around to doing a little spring cleaning and organizing of computer files. I found a few lists of domains that I had wanted to register but found that some other zealous webmaster had beat me to them. It’s always disappointing to find out that someone else had the same idea and went about the perfunctory task of registering the domain and thus shutting you out.

With this set of domains, I had checked the availability and very soon afterwards went back and tried reserving them. They were gone (by the way, don’t waist your time doing a whois on Yahoo.com. Someone has already reserved that one):

• webover.com - This was my first domain registration snooze and lose lesson. I actually sketched a business plan for this site. Essentially, Webover was going to be a play on the term, makeover. Web site owners who needed a web site makeover could enter some info and get a site evaluation, then get redesign recommendations, some of which would have been leads from advertisers. I had gone as far as to write snippets of copy, design notes, and even thought as far ahead as like an affiliate program and press release.
• 2008election.us - Seems like a no brainer, but I hesitated too long. When I went back to register, the domain was taken.
• govrates.com - I had actually checked this a day or so earlier and it was available.

Here are a few that I thought of retrospectively and rushed to check and see if by some chance the domains were available:

• freedomfries.com - I missed owning this domain by 22 days. On 3/11/03 I realized the value of this domain after the controversy erupted over France not supporting the U.S. position to go to war against Iraq. Freedom Fries had just become a buzz word. Although congressional restaurants changed the menu items from french fries to freedom fries, the buzz appears to have died out now. I checked the availability. It was taken around 2/17/03.
• shockandawe.com - Another war related buzz phrase. I missed this domain by 2 ½ months.

It’s no good dwelling on what I should have done. There are other domains out there just waiting for a home. To the owners of these web properties, I would like to wish you the best of success and let you know that someone else was out there poised to snap these up. You may not realize it, but you just barely got them. Congratulations. You have great timing.