Be Interviewed on DomainSherpa
Jothan Frakes has one of the most storied histories and resume in the domain name industry, with his rare combination of super technical skills, boardroom expertise, and incredible timing. We discuss:
- Thoughts on ICANN, especially as they are seeing how digitalization/online industries are booming with COVID.
- “Digitalization at gunpoint”
- Malware/bad actors, collaborations to prevent DNS abuse
- Possible next rounds of new top level domains
- Digital experimentation / blockchain, crypto
- Brand Protection developments, particularly WilyFish
- How do domains fit into the future of digitalization
- Jothan’s ratio of time to explain domain vs value
- The full utility of a domain now and/or a decade from now
Any domain investor will benefit from today’s show!
Review (98:04): Watch | Listen/Download Audio | Transcript
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Your DomainSherpa Interview, Audio Only
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This Show’s Sherpas
Over 25 years direct technical experience in domain registration, DNS infrastructure and management, gTLD and ccTLD Registry and Registrar operations. Experience with DNS, Domain Names and ICANN dating to before its foundation in 1990s.
Senior Executive Registry/Registrar Liaison for ICANN Registrars and Registries. Specialties: Registrar management, new product development and launch, Domain Aftermarket, DNS, Security, ICANN, Domain Names, TLDs, Infrastructure, Content, Contacts, Integrity and Venture, Due Diligence, Product Management, Policy, Corporate Development and Valuation.
More shows with Jothan Frakes »
Andrew is widely considered a thought leader and expert on domain name value & methodology as well as domain name sales & acquisitions. With 20 years experience with domain names, Andrew has leveraged his knowledge and expertise to make MediaOptions the go-to domain name firm for startup & company domain acquisitions as well as high value domain name sales.
More shows with Andrew Rosener »
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Interview Raw (Non-Edited) Transcript
Interview Transcript in PDF Format (Right-click to Save As…) [View in Google Docs]
Watch the full video at:
https://www.domainsherpa.com/jothan-frakes
Watch the full video at:
https://www.domainsherpa.com/jothan-frakes
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Hey, Thank you for sharing the valuable insights. There soo many key takes from this interview. Jothan really opened a new dimension. Keep more of them coming!
Awesome interview!
Great to see Jothan on here. He is one heck of a great guy. You can’t talk to him without learning something.
hi, nice show!
the problem with setting up drew.com as a wallet is that someone can take drew.com from you, easily. Your registrar, the registry, any person who has control over those things (e.g. a registrar employee).. You don’t own drew.com, you rent it, and many other people have control over it.
that isn’t the case with, for example, a name on handshake. You can actually own your name on handshake
the problem with governance is that you don’t fully own the asset – it isn’t truly yours. Why settle for that when you can truly own it?
governance is a huge obstacle to freedom. For example, why can’t I easily get a TLD through ICANN? I believe most of the people in ICANN have good intentions and want to help, etc.. but the nature of the organization is that it is slow, and their slowness is blocking freedom and innovation. The internet won’t wait for them.
A decentralized naming system is going to be invaluable to the world, whether it is handshake or whatever. ICANN will probably always have a place because some people prioritize governance over freedom. But I can’t see a future without a decentralized naming service, it is too valuable.
Mike – love the passion and I LOVE the experimentation! Guys like you are what helps push the boundaries and push the walls out so we all have more room to play!
And to be clear, I’m playing! I bid on NameBase for handshake TLD’s every day! I plan to launch several with your registry! Can’t wait!!!
But I do so with open eyes.
As the internet is the most powerful force/network for business and information on the planet, there does need to be some level of governance and precaution. Not saying that needs to be a centralized body, but there needs to be some kind of arbitration mechanism or dispute settlement mechanism because there are many cases in which the free market won’t resolve these issues.
I think you are being naive about the speed of development though. There are times when it is better to be the tortoise than the hare. I think this is one of them.
Bitcoin for example doesn’t develop quickly and from my perspective that is GREAT. that is a feature not a flaw. I hope in fact that it doesn’t accelerate. I like my money to be stored in something that is slow to change unless as a result of imminent threat. I don’t want someone innovating on my money to satisfy their curiosity. That should happen on test nets and alternative chains and after 10 years of battle testing if it still works and its still novel, then slap those 1’s and 0’s on to the bitcoin code and gain consensus.
The same needs to happen with domain names. I think that eventually, some how, the root zone will migrate to a more decentralized architecture. But that can not and SHOULD NOT happen over night. Too much at stake.
But I HIGHLY encourage and am super excited about the innovation happening with Handshake and Unstoppable Domains! One or a combination of both of these architectures could be a path for the future architecture of the root zone.
But until someone can explain to me how a nascent and startup root can compete with and overcome the challenges faced by the conflicts and and collisions with legacy root zone and soon to come new TLD’s on the legacy root, I just don’t see how these chains survive, particularly Handshake. The more collisions become apparent the less likely that any mainstream browser will resolve those TLD’s.
Thanks a lot for sharing your insights! That was a great interview Jothan, Drew, Tess outstanding!
So many good points, Drew made a real estate analogy to domain names and I’ve heard that before and agree with it, but Jothan added a whole new dimension to that analogy with dns zones. Wow, tip of the iceberg for sure. It’s more like a good domain will be an ever expanding universe creating more ideal property. Got some great ideas as a take away.