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|country    = USA

|country    = USA

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|website    = [http://www.worksmarter.com worksmarter.com]

|website    = http://www.worksmarter.com  

|twitter    = domainking

|twitter    = domainking

|blog      = [http://www.ricksblog.com/ Rocksblog.com]

|blog      = http://www.ricksblog.com/  

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'''Rick Schwartz''' is the self-anointed "[[Domaining|Domain]] King", who earns an income from domain names purchased in the mid-90s. He purchased his first domain name in 1995; paying $100 for LipService.com. Eight years later, he made international news when he sold Men.com for  $1.32 million. He is particularly known as a pioneer of [[Direct Navigation|direct navigation]] traffic, and more generally as an expert on domain names and traffic<ref>[http://www.ricksblog.com/about.html Ricksblog.com]</ref>

'''Rick Schwartz''' is the self-anointed "[[Domaining|Domain]] King", who earns an income from domain names purchased in the mid-90s. He purchased his first domain name in 1995; paying $100 for LipService.com. Eight years later, he made international news when he sold Men.com for  $1.32 million. He is particularly known as a pioneer of [[Direct Navigation|direct navigation]] traffic, and more generally as an expert on domain names and traffic<ref>[http://www.ricksblog.com/about.html Ricksblog.com]</ref>

Rick is the founder, CEO, and President of the [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C.]] domaining conference, which has awarded him the "Domainer Of The Year" award and also inducted him into the "Domainer Hall of Fame".<ref>[http://www.ricksblog.com/about.html Ricksblog]</ref>

Rick is the founder, CEO, and President of the [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C.]] domaining conference, which has awarded him the "Domainer Of The Year" award and also inducted him into the "Domainer Hall of Fame".<ref>[http://www.ricksblog.com/about.html Ricksblog]</ref>

==Background==

==Background==

Mr. Schwartz is a community college dropout <ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/09/25/story3.html]</ref> who eventually went on to work in sales. He is a past bankruptee. <ref>[http://www.domainsherpa.com/rick-schwartz-domainking-interview/]</ref> For a time, he sold Asian made products at trade shows and in trade magazines. He recognized the benefit of the Internet to a salesman and claims the day that he learned about the [[FTP|File Transfer Protocol]] was the day that changed his life. He began putting his brochures and sales materials online, and around this time he discovered the monetary potential of domain names via acquiring such names as Porno.com.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover020204.htm DNJournal]</ref>

Mr. Schwartz is a community college dropout <ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/09/25/story3.html]</ref> who eventually went on to work in sales. He is a past bankruptee. <ref>[http://www.domainsherpa.com/rick-schwartz-domainking-interview/]</ref> For a time, he sold Asian-made products at trade shows and in trade magazines. He recognized the benefit of the Internet to a salesman and claims the day that he learned about the [[FTP|File Transfer Protocol]] was the day that changed his life. He began putting his brochures and sales materials online, and around this time he discovered the monetary potential of domain names via acquiring such names as Porno.com.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover020204.htm DNJournal]</ref>

==Domaining==

==Domaining==

Rick credits much of his success to being early on the [[domaining]] rush. His initial investment consisted of $1,800 dollars, but soon spent $42,000 on porno.com. To generate additional resources, he sold a "sales" business for 7 figures in 1998. Around this time he was purchasing domains such as candy.com, porno.com <ref>[http://whois.domaintools.com/porno.com]</ref>, men.com, childpornography.com <ref>[http://whois.domaintools.com/childpornography.com]</ref> and gaycock.com <ref>[http://whois.domaintools.com/gaycock.com]</ref>

Rick credits much of his success to being early on the [[domaining]] rush. His initial investment consisted of $1,800 dollars but soon spent $42,000 on porno.com. To generate additional resources, he sold a "sales" business for 7 figures in 1998. Around this time he was purchasing domains such as candy.com, porno.com <ref>[http://whois.domaintools.com/porno.com]</ref>, men.com, childpornography.com <ref>[http://whois.domaintools.com/childpornography.com]</ref> and gaycock.com <ref>[http://whois.domaintools.com/gaycock.com]</ref>

In 2000, he expressed his belief that search engines would have little value, claiming ""I believe as time goes on, they're going to have less importance. My whole idea is why I believe in type-in hits. I say that human behavior will develop so that people will surf first and search later." <ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/09/25/story3.html]</ref>

In 2000, he expressed his belief that search engines would have little value, claiming ""I believe as time goes on, they're going to have less importance. My whole idea is why I believe in type-in hits. I say that human behavior will develop so that people will surf first and search later." <ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/09/25/story3.html]</ref>

Mr. Schwartz has over 4,300 domains that he claims bring in a combined traffic of 95,000 - 115,000 visitors each day. His sites tend to be parked pages with revenue-producing links. Schwartz's portfolio is managed by [[Moniker]].<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover020204.htm DNJournal.com]</ref> Many of his sites, approximately half, are "adult" oriented domains, though he insists that none of these pages have any actual illicit content, beyond the name, and that they are merely parked advertising space.<ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/09/25/story3.html BizJournals.com]</ref>

Mr. Schwartz has over 4,300 domains that he claims bring in combined traffic of 95,000 - 115,000 visitors each day. His sites tend to be parked pages with revenue-producing links. Schwartz's portfolio is managed by [[Moniker]].<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover020204.htm DNJournal.com]</ref> Many of his sites, approximately half, are "adult" oriented domains, though he insists that none of these pages have any actual illicit content, beyond the name, and that they are merely parked advertising space.<ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2000/09/25/story3.html BizJournals.com]</ref>

Rick Schwartz has stated that he makes "a few million [dollars] a year" in revenue from his many parked pages.<ref>[http://www.chefpatrick.com/interview-with-rick-schwartz-the-domain-king/ ChefPatrick.com]</ref>

Rick Schwartz has stated that he makes "a few million [dollars] a year" in revenue from his many parked pages.<ref>[http://www.chefpatrick.com/interview-with-rick-schwartz-the-domain-king/ ChefPatrick.com]</ref>

Mr. Schwartz sold Property.com to Foreclosure.com in 2008; the actual sale price was never disclosed. Rick initially purchased the domain 3 years prior for $750,000 <ref>[http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-sales/rick-schwartz-sells-propertycom-to-foreclosurecom/1799 DomainNameNews.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.dmueller.com/2008/07/24/domain-names-domains/rick-schwartz-sells-propertycom-to-foreclosurecom/ DMueller.com]</ref>

Mr. Schwartz sold Property.com to Foreclosure.com in 2008; the actual sale price was never disclosed. Rick initially purchased the domain 3 years prior for $750,000 <ref>[http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-sales/rick-schwartz-sells-propertycom-to-foreclosurecom/1799 DomainNameNews.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.dmueller.com/2008/07/24/domain-names-domains/rick-schwartz-sells-propertycom-to-foreclosurecom/ DMueller.com]</ref>

In November, 2011, it was announced by [[Michael Berkens]] that his site, [[MostWantedDomains.com]], had succesfully brokered the sale of the domain, "meet.me" for a record $450,000. The domain was part of a portfolio that was acquired at an earlier [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C]] conference by Mr. Berkens, Rick Schwartz, and [[Ammar Kubba]]. Other domains in this portfolio include date.me, love.me, and marry.me. Michael Berkens speculated that by selling the domain for a record amount in the [[.me]] namespace, he effectively raised the price of the rest of their joint-owned .me domains.<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2011/11/10/mostwanteddomains-com-brokers-the-sale-of-meet-me-for-a-world-record-price-of-450000/ MostWantedDomains.com Brokers the Sale of Mee.me, TheDomains.com]]</ref>

In November 2011, it was announced by [[Michael Berkens]] that his site, [[MostWantedDomains.com]], had successfully brokered the sale of the domain, "meet.me" for a record $450,000. The domain was part of a portfolio that was acquired at an earlier [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C]] conference by Mr. Berkens, Rick Schwartz, and [[Ammar Kubba]]. Other domains in this portfolio include date.me, love.me, and marry.me. Michael Berkens speculated that by selling the domain for a record amount in the [[.me]] namespace, he effectively raised the price of the rest of their joint-owned .me domains.<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2011/11/10/mostwanteddomains-com-brokers-the-sale-of-meet-me-for-a-world-record-price-of-450000/ MostWantedDomains.com Brokers the Sale of Mee.me, TheDomains.com]]</ref>

===T.R.A.F.F.I.C.===

===T.R.A.F.F.I.C.===

On October 20 - 23,  2004, the first [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C.]]. conference took place in Delray Beach, Florida; it was the first major trade show specifically aimed at the [[domaining]] industry.<ref>[http://dnjournal.com/columns/cover102604.htm DNJournal]</ref> Rick co-founded the event with his longtime lawyer, and domaining attorney, [[Howard Neu]]. The conferences provide domaining forums, workshops, and obvious networking opportunities. The inaugural event counted some 125 attendees, by the next year this number was more than doubled to 300.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2005/october.htm DNJournal.com]</ref> The conference has since been held in both an East coast and West coast format, wherein a meeting takes place on each U.S. coast during the same year. It has travelled the world, going to Amsterdam and Australia in addition to a U.S. event; and it continues to go new places and be held at least once a year.<ref>[http://www.targetedtraffic.com/history/2010.welcome.php TargetedTraffic.com]</ref> The shows are not intended for day-domainers, but aim to help those that consider domaining their profession a chance to learn and meet with other successful [[domainer]]s. [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C.]] conferences are invitation only events, in an attempt to keep the show focused and not let it fall into the category of general trade shows.<ref>[http://www.webmasterworld.com/domain_names/3382077.htm WebmasterWorld.com]</ref>

On October 20 - 23,  2004, the first [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C.]]. conference took place in Delray Beach, Florida; it was the first major trade show specifically aimed at the [[domaining]] industry.<ref>[http://dnjournal.com/columns/cover102604.htm DNJournal]</ref> Rick co-founded the event with his longtime lawyer, and domaining attorney, [[Howard Neu]]. The conferences provide domaining forums, workshops, and obvious networking opportunities. The inaugural event counted some 125 attendees, by the next year this number was more than doubled to 300.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2005/october.htm DNJournal.com]</ref> The conference has since been held in both an East coast and West coast format, wherein a meeting takes place on each U.S. coast during the same year. It has travelled the world, going to Amsterdam and Australia in addition to a U.S. event; and it continues to go to new places and be held at least once a year.<ref>[http://www.targetedtraffic.com/history/2010.welcome.php TargetedTraffic.com]</ref> The shows are not intended for day-domainers but aim to help those that consider domaining their profession a chance to learn and meet with other successful [[domainer]]s. [[T.R.A.F.F.I.C.]] conferences are invitation-only events, in an attempt to keep the show focused and not let it fall into the category of general trade shows.<ref>[http://www.webmasterworld.com/domain_names/3382077.htm WebmasterWorld.com]</ref>

The conferences have begun to incorporate live auctions of domain names, via a partnership with [[Moniker]]; those auctions accounted for 39 of the top 100 domain sales for 2007.<ref>[http://www.webmasterworld.com/domain_names/3382077.htm WebmasterWorld.com]</ref> That year's New York T.R.A.F.F.I.C. auction brought in some $12 million.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2008/january.htm DNJournal.com]</ref>

The conferences have begun to incorporate live auctions of domain names, via a partnership with [[Moniker]]; those auctions accounted for 39 of the top 100 domain sales for 2007.<ref>[http://www.webmasterworld.com/domain_names/3382077.htm WebmasterWorld.com]</ref> That year's New York T.R.A.F.F.I.C. auction brought in some $12 million.<ref>[http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2008/january.htm DNJournal.com]</ref>

In 2005, Schwartz filed a complaint with National Arbitration Forum to forcibly seize control of the domain name voyuer.com. <ref>[http://www.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/433802.htm]</ref> The panel held: "The Panel is most disturbed by Complainant’s additional submission.  The Schwartz declaration is unsupported by any evidence." referring to his affidavit as "misleading" prior to dismissing his claim. <ref>[http://www.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/433802.htm]</ref>

In 2005, Schwartz filed a complaint with National Arbitration Forum to forcibly seize control of the domain name voyuer.com. <ref>[http://www.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/433802.htm]</ref> The panel held: "The Panel is most disturbed by Complainant’s additional submission.  The Schwartz declaration is unsupported by any evidence." referring to his affidavit as "misleading" prior to dismissing his claim. <ref>[http://www.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/433802.htm]</ref>

In 2005, on the matter of AirFranceSucks.com, the World Intellectual Property Organization found that Schwartz "registered and used the domain names in bad faith" and ordered transfer of the domain to Societé Air France <ref>[http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2005/d2005-0168.html]</ref>

In 2005, on the matter of AirFranceSucks.com, the World Intellectual Property Organization found that Schwartz "registered and used the domain names in bad faith" and ordered the transfer of the domain to Societé Air France <ref>[http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2005/d2005-0168.html]</ref>

==Awards==

==Awards==

* Inducted into the Domain Hall of Fame, 2006 (T.R.A.F.F.I.C Award, the conference he co-founded)

* Inducted into the Domain Hall of Fame, 2006 (T.R.A.F.F.I.C Award, the conference he co-founded)

* Received the Epik.com Domain Industry "Pioneer Award", 2010<ref>[http://www.ricksblog.com/about.html Ricksblog.com]</ref>

* Received the Epik.com Domain Industry "Pioneer Award", 2010<ref>[http://www.ricksblog.com/about.html Ricksblog.com]</ref>

* 2008's Domain Name Wire ranked Rick as the most influential domainer, and T.R.A.F.F.I.C as the best domain conference.<ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2008/05/22/2008-domain-name-wire-survey-results/ DomainNameWire.com]</ref>

* 2008's Domain Name Wire ranked Rick as the most influential domainer and T.R.A.F.F.I.C as the best domain conference.<ref>[http://domainnamewire.com/2008/05/22/2008-domain-name-wire-survey-results/ DomainNameWire.com]</ref>

==References==

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{reflist}}

[[category: USA]]

[[category: USA]]