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Squatters snatch up domain names for possible Palin presidential run
THE HILL ^ | 11/24/10 05:08 PM ET | By Sara Jerome

Posted on 11/24/2010 11:30:27 PM PST by onyx

Sarah Palin will need to shell out some cash if she wants youbetcha2012.com on yard signs during the next presidential campaign.

Or, for that matter, sarah2012.com, spalin2012.com, or mamabear2012.

It doesn't matter that the next presidential election is a year away and the list of contenders is foggy at best. A healthy market has cropped up for Palin URLs in anticipation of her potential run.

The site names have been gobbled up by domain name squatters who want to profit on the resale or who want to use the real estate to politick on their own.

For potential candidate Palin, the speculation presents some risks.

She could wind up handing over a hefty sum to a hosting company if she gets intent about having the domain name of her choice, with the Web's most expensive URLs sometimes pricing into the millions.

But the larger threat may be political.

"The risk is that you don't want to have the egg on your face if someone else takes the URL and puts something on it you don't like," said Dave Grossman, a digital strategist at the firm Engage, which specializes in new media campaigns for conservative candidates.

For Palin, critics have already gone there. Sarahpalin2012.net, for instance, is home to a blog for "a few like-minded skeptics to voice our opinions on the [bleep] spewed daily by the talking heads in the media and by the public." The commentary on the site is critical of the Tea Party movement that Palin has associated herself with.

The most-expert instance of web squatting may have been the critical commentary that has cropped up on a fake Twitter feed about the BP spill. The satirical tweets chimed in with such comments as "BP has pledged 75 million dollars towards the 40 billion dollar cleanup cost." This form of criticism can be tough for the real image-makers to push back on.

Still, when it comes to websites, Grossman said the land grab is less of a liability now that URLs are becoming less central to campaign branding.

That's because candidate websites are usually accessed through search engines such as Google, meaning candidates need not display their web addresses prominently on campaign literature. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), for instance, replaced the URL on some signs with a text message number.

Beyond that, websites are no longer the hub of a digital campaign, according to Grossman.

Lots of campaign content is migrating onto Twitter and Facebook, he said, with Palin in particular showing a knack for launching weeks of news stories with a few sentences on her social networking sites. For instance, nearly 2.5 million people "like" Palin's Facebook page.

It's tempting to read the URL market as an indicator for campaign momentum, but Grossman said that might be off base. Not taken — despite a squatter already sitting on spalin2012.com? Hbarbour2012.com, mromney2012.com, and mhuckabee2012.com.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2012; cybersquatting; domainsquatting; palin; sarahpalin; sarahpalin2012
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HAPPY AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING!


1 posted on 11/24/2010 11:30:33 PM PST by onyx
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To: onyx
Obama sure screwed it up for who ever staked out ChicagoOlympics.org
2 posted on 11/24/2010 11:34:38 PM PST by kbennkc (For those who have fought for it freedom has a flavor the protected will never know .F Trp 8th Cav)
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To: kbennkc

ROTFLOLOLOL


3 posted on 11/24/2010 11:41:05 PM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: onyx

Damn, I can’t believe that Sarah’s people didn’t secure these URLs a year ago. Oh well, two can play at that game.

Sarah’s people can tell these URL squatters that time’s a wastin’, and that the value of their real estate deeds is dropping by the minute, just prior to the start of the campaign.

Start a bidding war among the squatters, and award the sale to the lowest bidder. The prices will drop quickly, to a more reasonable level.

Of course, the competition will make offers to the squatters, too. Again, two (or more) can play at that game.

Could be a very interesting side story to the 2012 election.


4 posted on 11/24/2010 11:45:28 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: onyx

I typed FUBO2012 and it’s an ebay seller, and .com is taken.


5 posted on 11/24/2010 11:51:26 PM PST by max americana
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To: Windflier

I thought about it....too bad I never acted on it. I would have donated it to her campaign. We might think about squatting on a couple of others, but she allready has SarahPAC and $P and others. She likely owns Sarah Palin 2012. We might try to “pick” her running mate and “sit” on those domain names....lol.


6 posted on 11/24/2010 11:53:34 PM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: max americana

ROFLOLOLOL.


7 posted on 11/24/2010 11:54:09 PM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: Windflier

Well, sure sign it’s time for me to sign out - typing is worse than normal - I meant to type C4P...lol.


8 posted on 11/24/2010 11:55:45 PM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: onyx
Well, sure sign it’s time for me to sign out - typing is worse than normal - I meant to type C4P...lol.

Heh...I did sort of go "Huh?" when I saw that one. Time for me to sign off, too.

We'll beat on the trolls some more tomorrow ;-)

9 posted on 11/25/2010 12:05:24 AM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: onyx

That is the worst investment anyone can make; they’ll be selling them back for pennies on the dollar. She is one of several leaders of a movement; she will never be (and doesn’t deserve to be) President. If our Afro-Muslim and GWB weren’t worthy, she isn’t either. I would still like to see her air her views and support her candidates; that isn’t the same thing. She is a brave & courageous woman, who made choices that certainly were going to have difficult consequences down the road; GOOD FOR HER!!! She is praise-worthy, but not President-worthy.


10 posted on 11/25/2010 12:10:21 AM PST by kearnyirish2
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To: kearnyirish2
Doesn't deserve? Since when is the presidental election been about the candidate who "deserves" to be president? Sarah Palin is as "deserving" as anyone out there, and she's completely qualifed.

10 Qualifications Sarah Palin Has Over Five Recent Presidents (Part One)

A History of Palin Accomplishments: Part 1, Wasilla City Council 1992 – 1996

A History of Palin Accomplishments: Part 2, Wasilla Mayor 1996 – 2002

A History of Palin, Part 3: Oil and Gas Conservation Commission 2003 – 2004

The Integrity Gap, Part I of III: Gov. Sarah Palin

10 Qualifications Sarah Palin Has Over Five Recent Presidents (Part One)

A History of Palin Accomplishments: Part 1, Wasilla City Council 1992 – 1996

A History of Palin Accomplishments: Part 2, Wasilla Mayor 1996 – 2002

A History of Palin, Part 3: Oil and Gas Conservation Commission 2003 – 2004

The Integrity Gap, Part I of III: Gov. Sarah Palin

A Blessed and Happy Thnaksgiving to you and your family!

11 posted on 11/25/2010 12:30:50 AM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: kearnyirish2; onyx

>She is praise-worthy, but not President-worthy.

If you’re trolling for Democrats, Obama, or some RINO, you don’t deserve your paycheck. You’re too obviously a fake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qKcJF4fOPs

onyx: Nice collection!


12 posted on 11/25/2010 12:50:21 AM PST by ROTB (Without a Christian revival, we are government slaves, or nuked by China/Russia during armed revolt.)
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To: kearnyirish2
she will never be (and doesn’t deserve to be) President.

Darn, there goes another perfectly good tagline down the drain.

So, before I waste another one, who is your recommendation for my next presidential tagline?

13 posted on 11/25/2010 12:56:13 AM PST by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
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To: onyx
  I think it says something that no one has snatched up the domain name: obamanowmorethanever2012.com.
14 posted on 11/25/2010 12:57:43 AM PST by Maurice Tift (You can't stop the signal, Mal. You can never stop the signal.)
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To: ROTB; Anamnesis

THANKS VERY MUCH, ROTB!

The reseach is the combined work of a lot of good people and all the work was posted here by Anamnesis! I compiled a list to post on various threads when applicable...(or not) ...lol.

Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to you and your family!!!


15 posted on 11/25/2010 1:03:00 AM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: meadsjn

LOL.


16 posted on 11/25/2010 1:03:56 AM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: Maurice Tift

You’re very clever to think of that one.
Maybe you ought to “sit” on it, or “be a “squatter.”
His ego would love that!


17 posted on 11/25/2010 1:05:25 AM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: kearnyirish2

Spoken like a true idiot.


18 posted on 11/25/2010 1:09:59 AM PST by Outlaw Woman (Lock & Load-Coming to a Neighborhood near you)
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To: Outlaw Woman; ROTB

See ROTB’s (post #12) you-tube link....HILARIOUS.


19 posted on 11/25/2010 1:14:21 AM PST by onyx (If you truly support Sarah Palin and want on her busy ping list, let me know!)
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To: onyx

lol..good one

It’s a good thing I don’t have the power to suspend accounts on here. :O


20 posted on 11/25/2010 1:29:25 AM PST by Outlaw Woman (Lock & Load-Coming to a Neighborhood near you)
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