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Alan Wesoloski, the owner of Yoda.com, could be a millionaire. Alan bought the domain name in 1996 because his cat happened to be
named Yoda. On the internet, Yoda.com is accessed approximately 15,000 times a day. My guess is that about 14,995 of those people are kids looking for information about the Star Wars
character Yoda. A large percentage of those kids are seeking Yoda dolls, light sabers, or other Star Wars
paraphernalia. Alan's web page, however, only has a picture of his cat and information about copyright infringement (for obvious reasons). You don't have to speak to Jeff Bezos directly in order to obtain
a license to sell Amazon.com's products. In fact, the process only requires filling out a few forms. Amazon.com has a fantastic Star Wars
store that sells products related to the movie series, including a wide variety of Yoda dolls, posters, and other toys. Alan Wesolovski could right now be selling a few hundred Yoda products a day. I believe that if Alan had been offering such merchandise since Yoda.com's inception, he would be a millionaire by now.
Alan, though, might be smarter than I give him credit for. As the number of internet users increases exponentially, the value of Yoda.com also rises. The amount an individual would be willing to pay for Yoda.com in
1998 might be 100 times less than the going rate today. With longer domain names like ownyourfirsthouserightnow.com and buyandsavenowforless.com becoming the norm, the value of an easy to remember name like Yoda.com is
almost inconceivable. If Alan waited a few more years and decided to auction off his domain name, I would not be surprised if the selling price exceeded seven digits. In either case, Alan, is in a pretty good position
to become a future millionaire. Now, I thought about Alan and Yoda.com about a year ago and I figured that I could become rich by purchasing similar domain names. To my chagrin, however, Lukeskywalker.com was already
registered. I figured that in order to get in on the boom, I would have to anticipate popular phenomena of the future.
In the spring of 1999, Paramount started production of a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, entitled End of Days. My homework uncovered that the main character was named Jericho Cane. The instant I
discovered this, I lunged to my desktop and typed in the address at Register.com, in hopes securing the name. I was used to being greeted with an "Already Registered" banner flashing in red whenever I checked a
potential name. When I typed in Jerichocane.com, however, I was shocked to receive an "Available Name" flashing in green. My hands started shaking as I tried to complete the transaction and purchase Jerichocane.com. I
envisioned dozens of other people buying the domain name seconds before my sale was finalized. Fortunately, after a thirty-second credit card approval that felt like an eternity, I was the official owner of
Jerichocane.com and thus a future millionaire. For six months I patiently waited for End of Days
to be released in theatres. On November 14, 1999, I arrived at the cinema hours before the movie started, expecting long lines for a sold out premier. When the movie was finally underway there were only about 15 other people in the theatre, but I knew that blockbusters often started with little momentum. I laughed, cried, and was inspired with every one of Arnold's heavily accented lines. I gave a standing ovation as the credits rolled. I believed in my heart that the movie would take off like
Titanic, but sadly, the film's popularity proved average at best. Although the Jerichocane.com purchase didn't work out, I still have high hopes of hitting it big in the domain name business.
Since imagination is more important than knowledge, I have expanded my domain holdings to ensure my status as a future millionaire. If Michael Jordan has a son named Steven, who goes on to play professional basketball
(Stevenjordan.com), or if Sylvester Stallone gets around to filming Rocky VIII (RockyVIII.com), I will be a very rich man. |
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