Congratulations, America. You just rewarded a company that came up with the worst Super Bowl ad of the season.
We have observed a spike in domain name transfers, which are running above normal rates and which we attribute to GoDaddy’s prior support for SOPA, which was reversed. GoDaddy opposes SOPA because the legislation has not fulfilled its basic requirement to build a consensus among stake-holders in the technology and Internet communities. Our company regrets the loss of any of our customers, who remain our highest priority, and we hope to repair those relationships and win back their business over time.GoDaddy CEO Warren Adelman • In a statement sent to the press on Domain Transfer Day, an anti-SOPA protest organized after it became clear that GoDaddy was a major supporter of the legislation. Note the phrasing — they don’t just not support SOPA, but oppose it. Think they’ve apologized enough?
Anyone else move their service away from GoDaddy today?
I think that the backlash against their support was a lot more swift and severe than they’d anticipated. Their initially glib ‘lol, whatever’ response was replaced by ‘oh god, please stop punching us in the quarterly financial report!’ real fast.Mashable chief architect Chris Heald • Discussing how he received a call from GoDaddy regarding his decision to move 50+ domains to a different service in a boycott of their now-reversed stance on SOPA. Apparently he wasn’t alone. So the real question, then, is whether it’s too late for GoDaddy to get all those customers back. Based on the fact that Heald isn’t budging, and the fact that they called two days before Christmas, signs aren’t looking good for the company. source (via • follow)
Good work, Internet: GoDaddy has rescinded their support of SOPA. ”Fighting online piracy is of the utmost importance, which is why GoDaddy has been working to help craft revisions to this legislation - but we can clearly do better,” said Warren Adelman, GoDaddy’s CEO. “It’s very important that all Internet stakeholders work together on this. Getting it right is worth the wait. GoDaddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it.” The company says it had been working closely with its general counsel, Christine Jones, on hepling to mold and revise the legislation — prior to now.
joost5 says: Most of the Redditors responding to the boycott are tech-savvy and ready. GoDaddy will end up feeling the sting of being on the wrong side of this issue. But even if they don’t respond, leaving GoDaddy is the right thing to do.
» SFB says: Yep, that’s exactly true, and they certainly will. But ultimately, your first point is the most salient: People who post at sites like Reddit or Hacker News are on a whole more likely to be aware of issues like this. Those aren’t the people who need to be reached, however. The people who need to be reached are the ones who are more likely to see Danica Patrick’s car on TV than a meme from Reddit. They don’t know what SOPA is, and if they did, they might understand the larger issue enough to boycott. Remember, 50 million domains go through GoDaddy; they can stand to lose a few thousand if it helps their bottom line. — Ernie @ SFB
Not a good day to be Danica Patrick. Spurred on by a Reddit thread earlier today (we mentioned it here), a snowballing boycott against the world’s largest domain registar has picked up such tech-industry luminaries as Cheezburger Inc.’s Ben Huh and Y Combinator’s Paul Graham. And Graham’s Hacker News is currently loaded with GoDaddy-related posts tonight, including this post about how to extricate yourself from GoDaddy’s service. But while the movement is certainly noble, it’s one that could face a lot of trouble going forward. Here’s a quick summary of the challenges boycotters may face going forward:
People upset with the Stop Online Piracy Act have a small reason to cheer this morning. The anti-piracy bill, which many Internet users feel could have a chilling effect on the Web, got tabled until early next year, giving a brief respite and an opportunity for alternative bills (such as Rep. Darrell Issa’s OPEN act) to gain footing. Being a creative bunch, many users have taken to design tricks, boycotts, even music to protest what they feel is a dangerous bill. Here are just a few examples of SOPA protests online:
If someone wants to register ShortFormBlog.xxx, go for it. But don’t blame us if you don’t find any actual news there. Really, the fun here is buying a site along the lines of PornHub.xxx and forwarding it to Disney.com.
» Big business in cheap domains: Why so much? Well, GoDaddy’s role as the most popular registar online means the company drives huge revenues — they’re expected to top $1.1 billion this year.
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