My goodness gracious what a week. For those of ya’ll that don’t know, this weekend .CFD went to Domainer Expo in Las Vegas to talk and learn all about the future of domaining. It was a very intimate conference featuring some of the brightest minds in the business. The conference spanned a day and a half and ended with a domain auction run by .Unstoppable and a networking hour, but that doesn’t even begin to describe the experience had. Although the event will be available for online purchase and will be held as an online event later in January, the joy and benefit of going in real life cannot be outmatched.
The main theme of the weekend was the future of domaining. As search engines and social media become prevalent, the value of having a good domain name has decreased, which makes it difficult to predict the future of the industry. However, this conference has shown the world that domaining is not going anywhere. Between Web3 uses and integrations, perfecting Web2 marketing, and the addition of TLD communities, the future of domaining is wide open for any who wish to capitalize.
For what may be the first time, let’s talk web3 and CFD. I did not walk into this conference a web3 expert. In fact, to the heart attack inducing surprise of some colleagues, I did not have a wallet when I walked into this conference. Of course I had invested money into crypto and etherium, but that was as far as I got. My world was website building, fashion, and human connection. I was able to learn how web3 can join with that. NFTs themselves are a form of art, which can easily be turned into fashion, exemplified by nerdmerch.CFD, but this is a very surface level use of web3. The versitality of the TLDs could allow businesses to market more through their domain, allowing more meaning to the right of the dot. It also is a financial opportunity to be had, with bitcoin being on the up, and multiple companies introducing their own blockchains and TLDs, the financial opportunity is massive. There is also an intimate community that exists in web3 that does not exist in web2. Web2 did not have to compete with anyone to win, it just was. Web3 has to fight public fear and lack of information. This means they have banded together to create a wonderful, welcoming community that supports one another, something we are trying to imitate here at .CFD.
But, back to the area of expertise, we got to hear about domain investing from some of the most successful domainers in the business who have sold names for six and seven figures. What was interesting was the different approach that each of the different investors took. Some people were adamant that outbounding was the best way to generate sales, some people mentioned that smart investing would bring the buyers right to you. Each method is obviously successful, but what I learned was how important it is to know your own strengths, and utilize them in your favor. Do the market research, know your audience, ask for help in your areas of weakness, and go out with confidence. Even though these talks were specified about domains, I was inspired to carry them out in all aspects of life.
A word heard a lot last week was community. How to build one, how they help domain sales, the pros of being in the domain community. It was a true blessing to meet all the people that I did. As someone relatively new to the business, I was fully accepted, and the expert behind CFD, Page Howe, of course impressed the whole crowd. Everyone I met was eager to impart their knowledge on me and help me grow as a domaine. The ENS Maxi community, who we shared the stage with, even gifted me an NFT. We talked a lot about how valuable communities are to establishing a digital identity, which is the primary thing offered by a domain. If you combine your NFT with your domain, that can be you. In fact, many people at the conference went by their Web3 Domain as their name. Offering a community offers people more than a domain name, it offers people togetherness and friendship, as well as help with their future endeavors.
This is what we aspire to be at .CFD. We want to be a friendly community where people feel comfortable asking questions, sharing their ideas, and utilizing us for connections. This weekend just in chatting with people, I learned about several people who have huge fashion backgrounds, and they side hustle in the domain space. This opened up the conversation for collaboration. By utilizing the community, we hope other people can find the same partnerships. In addition to this, we hope .CFD gives enough identity where if you see another .CFD, it automatically gives you something in common with them. This is an immediate sense of friendship that makes fellow CFDers want to help and promote each other, ending in a beneficial relationship for all involved parties.
Domainer Expo was my personal first conference, but it made me so excited to go to many more. Have a great day 🙂
-JulieJules
