theWHIR.com Blogs - Web Hosting Blogs

New Video on WHIR tv: Net2EZ

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:37:47 PDT

By Larissa Primeau Today's video features Pervez Delawalla, CEO and co-founder of Net2EZ in Los Angeles, California. While the WHIR tv team was in LA for another one of the WHIR's successful networking events, we had the opportunity to drop in on Net2EZ, poke around the data center and touch important equipment with out sticky fingers.

Unconventional advertising - Part 1.

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:46:01 PDT

By Hartland Ross Countless thousands of dollars get spent every year on viral advertising, in pursuit of the Holy Grail of one million-plus views on YouTube. But the truth about viral videos and games is that you can't really plan and design them - you can only create them, release them in the vicinity of a suitable host, and hope it spreads. A viral ad or video is viral only if it actually goes viral, so be skeptical when someone says they can create one for you.

And That's A Wrap: ICANN's Big News for Web Hosts

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:21:34 PDT

By Adam Eisner ICANN's 35th International Meeting drew to a close here on Friday, marking the end of a well-attended conference full of spirited discussion and important decisions. The biggest news out of the conference on Friday was that ICANN had confirmed Rod Beckstrom would become the organization's new President and CEO. Beckstrom is the former chief of the National Cyber Security Center and co-author of The Starfish and the Spider, which argues that leaderless, decentralized organizations are infinitely more powerful and effective.

Sign Up Now For Our Webinar with VeriSign's Bob Angus

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:10:19 PDT

By Liam Eagle We've nailed down the date for our upcoming webcast with Bob Angus of VeriSign, and I wanted to mention it in this space along with wherever else we end up promoting it. [If you're not in the mood to read my pitch, want to jump right to the registration page, here's a link. There's no fee to attend. Just a simple signup page.]

ICANN Update: The Polarizing Issue of New gTLDs

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:53:44 PDT

By Adam Eisner In my last post I discussed some of the planned proposals for new domain name extensions that had emerged here in Sydney. Although on the surface new domain name extensions are very exciting, the notion of potentially introducing hundreds of new gTLDs has created some polarizing issues. Many of these are being fervently discussed here at the conference. At one session, a very animated discussion took place around the separation of registries and registrars. Domain name extensions are operated by organizations typically referred to as "registries". VeriSign, for example, is the registry behind the operation of .COM and .NET. Per their agreements with ICANN, registries cannot sell domain names to the public directly; instead, they are required to use registrars (of which Tucows is one).

Why is e-commerce so hard for something so "simple"?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:36:47 PDT

By Rick Wilson I'm always fascinated when people either merchants or web designers assume e-commerce should be "easy" or they'll just write a quick shopping cart themselves because it's a "simple" task only to find them stuck on the side of the e-commerce road later on either never launched or painted into a corner they hadn't thought through. Now don't get me wrong, I do believe that vendors of e-commerce applications need to focus on usability and making the product a joy to use, however that's a very different thing than e-commerce being "easy and simple".

More on the CDA

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:57:32 PDT

By David Snead The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently handed down an interesting decision in Barnes v. Yahoo. While the facts underlying the dispute are disturbing, they are, unfortunately, all too common occurrences for hosts. Ms. Barnes broke up with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then decided to post indecent pictures of her on a Yahoo site, and solicit partners for Ms. Barnes in on-line chats, sending the partners to Ms. Barnes' office and house. Ms. Barnes contacted Yahoo and followed Yahoo's procedures to delete the profile, and take other administrative action. Yahoo dropped the ball several times, leaving the profile up in spite of repeated assurances that it would be deleted. Yahoo only deleted the profile when Ms. Barnes filed suit against the company.

New Video on WHIR tv: The WHIR's Los Angeles Networking Event

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:58:46 PDT

By Larissa Primeau Today's video is all about our networking event down in Los Angeles. This was our sixth networking event and it was equally as successful as all others. It took place at The House of Blues which is a really funky venue and has an amazing patio. Thankfully we had really amazing weather as the majority of the party hung outside. Once again, people had the opportunity to network, meet with clients and shake hands with potential clients. If you haven't been to one of our networking events yet, you should definitely try to make it to one. Our next event is in Miami in September and you can be sure it will be every bit as good as our others. I also had a chance to make my way down to Grauman's Chinese Theatre before the event and spoke to some interesting characters. Do you think those people who hang out in front of the theatre, dressed like famous characters/celebrities get paid to do that? Hmmm. Needless to say, I had a very interesting and compelling conversation with Darth Vader. Thanks to all of our sponsors: Parallels, Mzima,BandCon, Net2EZ, OpenSRS and ActualMetrics. Check out the video and be sure to RSVP for our next event! See you there.

ICANN Update: Of .FOOD, .BASKETBALL and More

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:34:02 PDT

By Adam Eisner I've arrived in Sydney safe and sound following a grueling two-leg, 21-hour flight from Toronto. The conference is now in full swing, and close to one thousand attendees from countries worldwide are discussing a wide range of Internet-related issues. So far, as expected, one of the most popular discussion topics around the conference has been new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), and the impact they will have on the domain industry and the Internet in general. As ICANN gets closer to accepting applications for new gTLDs (currently expected to begin in Q1 2010), all sorts of proposals for new extensions are emerging. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has been spotted here signing autographs in support of the bid for .FOOD. A video has popped up featuring basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal, who is adding his support to a bid for .BASKETBALL. And with many applicants still holding their cards close to their chest, expect even more bids and celebrities to come out of the woodwork in the coming months.

July 2nd -- Time to Make It Or Break It

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:48:44 PDT

By Tom Millitzer When growing up I always felt that when July 4th arrives summer was halfway over. I guess Memorial Day looked so much closer than it did the last day of school. It is interesting how we cubbyhole certain days and seasons in our personal and business life. Wednesday is hump day, April 15th is tax day, the third Thursday in November is Thanksgiving that is followed by Black Friday. Then there is July 2nd.