ENTREPRENEURIAL DINOSAURS

Do you know your heroes? It is a question we often need to ask ourselves. On December 22, 2006, Jollyjo published a piece with the same title. (You can view here). In that story, I focused on sporting heroes such as Michael Jordan, Lebron James and others.

In other pieces I have featured, Richard Rosenblatt – the Web 2.0 pioneering extraordinaire who blazed a trail with MySpace.com and continues to do so with such projects as Weblo.com and DemandMedia.com

This time around, the spotlight is on Rick Schwartz, who I am not afraid to brand a maverick, a Domaining genius and pioneer. From as early as the mid-90s, Schwartz was preaching the value of domains….good generic domains. He made many predictions, all of which have in one form or another, come true.

Today, he owns over 5,000 domains (mostly DotComs) and probably made the biggest statement of his life when he stunned the Domaining community by purchasing Flowers.mobi for $200,000 at the last T.R.A.F.F.I.C. auction.

Was Rick Schwartz crazy? Well, I will let you be the judge. Latest figures suggest that there are over 2.2 billion cellular phones in use – almost four times the amount of PCs. Additionally, DotMobi has an impressive list of backers - Ericsson, Google, GSM Association, Hutchison, Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Telefónica Móviles, TIM and Vodafone.

While there are arguments on both sides, most believe the Small Screen Rendering technology, like Opera and Go 2.0, auger well for the mobile web on the whole, and will ultimately boost the fortunes of DotMobi. The recent launch of Apple’s IPhone has only served to fan the flames of an extremely heated discussion. So, do you think he is crazy?

As for me, I only have admiration for the man. Read this month’s Cover Story in DN Journal and what he has to say and you will see my point. Schwartz makes a very poignant statement:

“It is like a rose and being able to look at it and describe each petal before it blossoms and watch it in a time lapse so you could see it spring to life. This rose called the "domain industry" is just about to bloom and the best is yet to come. While it is sweet now, the picture I see coming to reality is nothing short of historic. The best part is there are so many different ways to be successful with domain names. Nobody has a monopoly on domain name success. The most successful Domainers of tomorrow most likely don't own a single domain name today.”

To me, “old hands” as I respectfully refer to them, should take notice. They exist in Politics, in Business and all spheres of life. They are contrarians to progress and anything new. They are self-centered with no other interest but to protect the status quo and be the resolute guardians of antiquated systems, ideas and products. They are know-it-alls with no tolerance for “newcomers” or the younger generation.

If it were up to them, we would all die a slow and agonizing death. Thankfully, at the end of the day, it’s the consumer who has the say and then, there trendsetters like Richard Rosenblatt and Rick Schwartz who can’t be tamed; refusing to accept what is and embracing the many possibilities and opportunities that tomorrow could bring.

With the tremendous growth we have seen in the Internet and in users of all ages on a worldwide scale, and now with the mobile web poised to take off, Schwartz is saying that the field is wide open. His genius tells him that what obtains today may be obsolete tomorrow…that somewhere out there are unbridled spirits…open-minded entrepreneurs who are hungry and ready to pounce on opportunities that existing “soon-to-be has beens” are unable to see because of their one-tracked stubborn minds.

Schwartz, I don’t think for one moment is discarding his love of the DotCom brand but is saying that there is room…tremendous room for other ideas and men (and women) of foresight. And just to imagine that this is someone who, for years, was trapped in the world of DotCom and refused to know anything else. He goes on to say:

“Some think I am overly optimistic with regard to domain names and virtually everything in life. But I have listened to the critics and naysayers for well over a decade and their predictions of doom and gloom were flat out wrong. All successes should be applauded as "a success for one is a success for all". If anything, I can look back and say I underestimated just how powerful and important domain names and traffic are in the scheme of things”.

Schwartz’s statements have tremendous merit as I do believe that many entrepreneurs including Domainers are “dinosaurs”. They know only one thing and refuse to hear anything else. In the case of Domainers, I speak specifically about the blinkered and stubborn approach to DotCom and other older extensions.

This is not to say that they do not have a “million dollars” worth of reasons; but they should understand the dynamic world at play especially in Web 2.0.

If the great man himself – Rick Schwartz – can change his tune, then this should be an ominous sign to all Domainers and to entrepreneurs at large. The statements made with the purchase of Flowers.mobi and now in DN Journal are powerful ones… and maybe, just maybe, some obscure Domainer out there may have taken heed and quietly positioned themselves to reap the rich rewards the internet will bring in the years to come…the rewards that Rick Schwartz have been preaching about for over a decade now.!