Women in Domaining (Part 2)
Welcome to part 2 of our 5 part series, “Women in Domaining.” Today we will profile ladies that work at two of the most popular registrars in the industry.
First up is Bari Meyerson/Enom, from her days at Moniker, Bari has been known for her excellent customer service and attention to detail.
My “domain career” began in October 2006 when I accepted a position as a Sr. Account Executive for Moniker; a top 10 domain name registrar. With a sales background in online payment processing, I quickly became fascinated with the intricacies of domain names. Guided by my mentors Monte Cahn and Victor Pitts, I became intrigued in all things associated with the domain industry.
Before becoming part of the inner circle of domainer’s, I viewed a domain as simply a word and nothing more. What I quickly learned was that these letters that begin with WWW were part of a very powerful and lucrative market of buying, selling, domain monetization and website development.
Two weeks into my job at Moniker, I attended my first TRAFFIC conference, where Moniker was conducting a live domain name auction. I was stunned by what I had seen. Millions of dollars exchanged for domain names! It was incredible! Over the next 5 years, I learned as much as I could. Although I no longer work for Moniker, what I learned is invaluable.
In May 2012, I joined Demand Media as part of their Business Development team where I’m responsible for growing/managing Enom’s existing domainer client base as well as targeting domain investors. In addition, I’m focused on identifying strategic opportunities around domain parking, premium names, and value-added services. So far, it’s been yet another incredible chapter – with lots to learn!
To answer your question: “Do I feel that domaining is an equal opportunity industry for men and women alike?”
I do feel that domaining IS an equal opportunity industry for men and women. When I attended my first DomainFest Global conference in January 2007, I was impressed by the number of women that attended. I had conversations, meetings and closed many deals with women! I quickly realized that the “domain game” wasn’t only for men. In September of that year, I (personally) purchased my first domain name.
For more info on Enom click here
Next up the Name.com Trio, Caroline Temple, Ashley Forker and Melissa Dafni are all integral parts to a registrar that has a very unique culture. Name.com (an advertiser) navigates the domain industry in its own unique way, from its own reality show “The Dot” to TrenD which gives insight into pop culture with a domaining spin in a series of daily videos. Let’s hear from the ladies and get their insight. (We did not ask them what it was like to work with comedic legend Jared Ewy).
Ashley Forker – I work full time as an industry professional for Name.com leading
the charge for a lot of our marketing efforts. I’ve been around for a
couple of years now so it’s safe to say i dig the industry. We have a
heavily skewed male customer base so at times it can be difficult for me
to step out of my shoes to get the message right in terms of how it
resonates among an (international) male crowd but that’s one of the only
obstacles I have to overcome as a female and it can be a pretty fun
challenge.
doubt treated fairly and equally. I believe if you hustle and make smart
investments as a domainer the industry is equal opportunity for both
men and women. That said, networking events can get tricky.
much is the domain industry an equal opportunity for men and women but
simply, why are there not more women in this industry? My thought is
that historically it’s very technical and with that there are more male
developers and web masters in the space than females. At the end of the
day everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and if you can figure
out how to leverage your strengths and fill your weaknesses success is
inevitable, no matter who you are.
for a Domain Registrar – Name.com. Name.com took me under its wing and
taught me everything I know about domains. They started me in support –
I realized I like working with the domainers so I transitioned into a
Domain Concierge role – and then became interested in Affiliate
Marketing so I transition to the Affiliate Program Manager. Been with
Name.com since 2008!
I’m not a domainer myself, but in supporting them I’ve never felt
discouraged or that I couldn’t do it myself. I’ll admit sometimes men
would be surprised to have a woman on the phone, but they’ve always
accepted my advice and support without judgement. Until you asked the
question, I never really thought about it. I guess it is interesting
that you don’t hear about more women as domainers – but I don’t think
that’s because we’ve been discouraged from participating in the
industry. It’ll be interesting to see once the new gTLDs drop if you
hear of a few women domainers taking advantage.
in to the domain industry about 7 years ago. The company I worked for
owned a rather large domain portfolio and it had gotten to the point
that they needed someone to take control of it and manage it and so I
was moved into that position. While I have since changed companies, I am
still doing much of the same. While I do have my own small domain
portfolio, it is more specific use based. As managing domain
acquisitions and sales both for my company and for our customers is my
job, to do more actually violates my position. In essence, I am an
oddity in the domain industry. I am a full time domainer, but none of it
is for myself.I think domaining is very much an equal opportunity
industry for both men and women. Like many other tech fields, women do
have to work a tad harder to be taken seriously and are often assumed at
domain conferences to be merely a plus 1, or I have heard of some cases
thought to be “Booth Babes”. The industry is male dominated and so
there is a propensity to assume that women aren’t there for business.
But, that is rapidly changing. I see more and more women coming into the
industry every year and they’re making their mark. I know plenty of
women who have solid domain portfolios and the negotiation skills needed
to move them. One of the best things about the domain industry is
regardless of how old (or young) you are, where you’re from, or what sex
you are, if you’re willing to put forth the effort, you can do well.
Bari is the best, the only reason why I have an account with Enom.