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Edited on Mon Feb-27-06 10:34 PM by Dunvegan
...and thought that if people don't know what it means, they might Google "Dubia" (a portmantu word made up of "Dubya" and "Dubai"...kind of like "Fitzmas" from "Fitzgerald" and "Christmas.")
They checked, saw that dubia.com was available, registered the domain name, and linked ads to it.
It's extremely easy to grab a new buzz-word as a domain name. When I want to register a new domain, it only takes me about 3 minutes via my web hosting ISP.
So, what probably happened is that someone saw a new word in the news. Three minutes and $5-8 later they've registered the domain. They well know that when you Google this new word, "Dubia"...it generates a top hit for dubia.com. Each hit is worth a penny or two depending on the ads they link in.
This happens with any news thing, like "Fuddgate"...sometimes even new names of average citizens that end up in the news (although you can sue to get "your_name.com" back if you want to bother.)
Happens all the time among those who live off pennies a hit.
And then there is the rare (but possible) chance you may hit the "domain name lottery"...that means if the buzz-word becomes extremely popular, you can sell the domain at a considerable profit...from hundreds to (it's happened) millions of dollars.
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