As for Verisign, it's about time they started giving back to the domain name investors who have given so much to Verisign! As noted last week by TUCOWS (Hover) President and CEO Elliot Noss at the ICANN Public Forum, there's about a billion dollars (US$) of revenue built-in to Verisign's registry contract for .COM, and TUCOWS (among many others, I'm sure) would be willing to perform the contract for a lot less:
Elliot Noss of TUCOWS at #ICANN51 public forum: "dot COM is still KING!" Would do .COM contract for 25 cents per name! #ICANN #VRSN
— Domain Mondo (@DomainMondo) October 16, 2014
Regretfully, due to prior commitments, I can not be in Miami at TRAFFIC next week, however, for those of you lucky enough to be going, I have a few words of advice. A wise old man once told me: "First you learn to listen, then you listen to learn, then you learn who to listen to." The key advantage of going to TRAFFIC versus most other so-called "domain name conferences" is that there will be a lot more people there worth listening to.
As for the venue, the hotel and the location, it really doesn't get any better than this (anywhere in the world!). Back in the 1990s, when I was doing a lot of blue-water offshore sailing, I sailed into Government Cut and docked a Beneteau Oceanis at the Miami Beach Marina for a few days while awaiting delivery of some needed parts for repairs. I took advantage of that opportunity to walk around most of South Beach (southern part of Miami Beach), was seduced by the place and have been in love with it ever since. So if you have never been there, you have a treat awaiting you! While the Fontainebleu, which is located in the Mid-Beach area, has a lot on site, try to see at least a little of South Beach and beyond, if you have the time. My short-list recommendations:
Shopping: Lincoln Road; Collins Avenue/Ocean Drive district; also check out Espanola Way.
Sightseeing: of course, #1 is the Beach itself--my favorite part is from about 22nd Street to South Pointe; and see the rest of Miami Beach; beyond the Beach: Shark Valley in the Everglades, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Little Havana, and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Dining: too many to list! Look here and here. Among my personal favorites: Yardbird; Khong River House (and above it Patpong Road); Prime 112 (and Prime Italian, Prime Fish, Big Pink); and of course, the classic, Joe's Stone Crab; and beyond the Beach: Perricone's.
