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When Craig Nine – a 32-year-old SEO consultant and web developer living in Japan – first became interested in IDNs, he didn’t just register a couple of domains to test the waters, he dove in headfirst. Nine is not only the owner of one of the strongest Japanese IDN portfolios, he is also the owner and founder of IDNForums.com, the premier IDN discussion and sales forum, and one of the top sites about Internationalized Domain Names.
Nine, better know as “Olney” to the many members at IDNF.com and in the domaining world, took the time to talk to IDNcyclopedia.com about IDNs and the future of domaining.

IDNcyclopedia: How did you first become interested in domaining, and what is the first domain you ever registered?

Olney: I've been buying domains for my own projects since 1999. Since I was always focused on Japan, all the domains I own were always Japan related; even Japanese domains with English letters. So when I heard that Celebrity.com was bought I registered the term in Japanese in ASCII letters.

The first domain I bought for personal use as a reg was J99.com. Of course I dropped it years ago, but it's no love lost. I was not a good seller of my ASCII domains. I mainly registered for development.


IDNcyclopedia: How about IDNs? How did you first become interested in them, and what was your first IDN?

Olney: I became interested in IDNs initially when I saw a post on DNForum by Dave Wrixon (now better known in the domaining industry by his nickname: Rubber Duck). I was arguing with him because he posted punycode. I didn't understand that part of IDNs at all. After finding out that punycode was just the mapping system & not what Japanese were expected to type in I was hooked. I already knew that my Japanese domains in English letters have little SEO value. Also there are several ways to write any Japanese name in English but only one way to write "correctly" in Japanese (usually).

And the funniest thing is since I'm a Mac user I didn't know until 2006 that Windows users couldn't use IDNs at all with Internet Explorer. I know that Dave always wrote about IE7 is coming but I thought it just meant IDNs would show as native characters. I never used a Japanese version of Windows to ever check.

After I found out where to register and did a bit of research, I went straight after the domains I could find with the highest OVT [Ed Note: Overture score; now Yahoo! Search Marketing – a gauge of the popularty of a term based on the number of searches per month], and in 3 days I bought about 20 IDNs. I think my first was 自動車趣味.com which is Japanese for AutomobileHobbies.com. The first domains that I sold were some Japanese prefecture domains for an undisclosed price.


INDcyclopedia: What led you to start IDNForums.com?

Olney: I started IDNForums because there was a clear misunderstanding of the IDN market. Instead of actually doing research, most just assumed. Technology never stands still. Posting about IDNs in domaining forums at the time just took away from time to do constructive research. I thought it would be better to have a quiet place for IDNs where the outlook was generally positive.


IDNcyclopedia: You obviously believe strongly in IDNs. Why do you feel they will be successful?

Olney: I believe in IDNs because I already know the Japanese market well. Even though English is like a decoration in Japan, Japanese do not function in English. All of my assumptions come from natives in Japan. These are the people who will benefit from IDNs.


IDNcyclopedia: What do you have to say to the IDN naysayers; those people who believe IDNs are a “fad” that have no practical use?

Olney: I've heard a lot of inaccurate information like writing English is just easier. Writing in Chinese is hard etc. If any of these statements were made about English we'd think the person would be crazy. I think inaccurate statements should be replied to with facts.


IDNcyclopedia: What advice can you give to people who want to get into IDNs?

Olney: I would try to look into new markets or start buying in the Aftermarket if interested in IDNs. I don't see IDNs for everyone. I'm American but I know many of us are timid on dealing with anything in another language. So I'd pick a target language & find out a bit about the structure of the writing system of the language. I'm fluent in Japanese so Japanese or Chinese will be the two markets I deal with.


IDNcyclopedia: What do you see for the future of IDNs?

Olney: I see IDNs in Tokyo being advertised on TV & on the subway systems massively. Now in Tokyo if a poster has a domain on it, you can guarantee that it will not be remembered. IDNs change that. In every press release about IDNs in Japan I always see "finally domains we can remember".


IDNcyclopedia: What do you have planned for the future of IDNF.com?

Olney: I'm looking to help establish the Japanese IDN market & the domaining industry in Japan. I can't reveal everything yet though…


Not long after this interview, Olney announced the beta version of a new social news site for domaining. Users can visit the new site at www.DNFocus.com.

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