Do You Own Your Own Name?

Contenders in the 2008 Presidential race think they have what it takes to run this great nation of ours.  But some are so tech clueless that they can’t even use their own name as a domain.

According to domaintools.com, which tracks Web site ownership,  former Republican candidate Rudolph Giuliani had his name, RudyGiuliani.com bought out from underneath him in 1998 by somebody who had the foresight to buy the name cheaply and sell it later for a nice profit.  The domain name was sold to a gentleman in New York who runs a liquidation business and plans to use the name to promote his business if Mr. Giuliani wins the White House, which of course we now know will not happen.  The same thing happened with RudolphGiuliani.com which is now owned by a gentleman from Minneapolis.  Apparently his asking price for the name was too high, so the campaign wound up using JoinRudy2008.com.  Do you see a trend here?

Former Arkansas governor and failed contender for the White House Mike Huckabee’s domain name is owned by somebody who uses the site to take jabs at the former Presidential candidate.  The owner of the site will not sell to anybody who is a surporter of Mr. Huckabee.  The solution? The Presidential campaign website was www.explorehuckabee.com.  The biggest worry about not controlling your own name is leaving it open to mudslingers, as these candidates have painfully learned.

The lesson here is that you never want to allow somebody else to control your name.  Even if you have no intention of ever building a website or blog around your domain name, I strongly suggest that you purchase your name as soon as possible, in as many extensions as possible and keep your good name safe.