Epik Blog

The time has come to to tell the Epik story.  August 19, 2009 marks the birthday of Epik’s blog.

The idea of Epik has been under development for more than 2 years.  It was not a direct route. There have been wins along the way. We also had our share of false starts and dead ends.   Aong the way, we learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work.  Epik is fundamentally about distilling what we believe works, and applying it across a network of direct navigation properties that converge great domain names, with great content, and intuitive user interfaces.

Epik’s goal is simple. We aim to be the domainer’s best friend — helping domainers to cross over from a singular dependence on domain parking to a more diversified array of value creation strategies that unlock the potential associated with an intuitive domain name. After two years of learning and listening, we are more convinced than ever that opportunities for value creation abound.

While there is no set master plan, we believe the internet will evolve in some ways that can be anticipated, even if the timing is unpredictable. Along the way, we will do our level best to be guided by principles:

• We aim to help build an internet that is truly better than the one we found.
• We will build, partner or acquire to assemble the best ideas, brightest minds, and most desirable assets.
• We will listen carefully to both our fans and our critics, recognizing that “the crowd” usually does get it right though indivduals often don’t.
• We will do our level best to be fair and transparent in our business practices seeking enduring win-win with our partner.

Epik’s primary customers are the individuals and enterprises who control the vast majority of the world’s undeveloped domains.  We believe that the raw land of the internet is ultimately worth more when it can be integrated into an integrated network.  As much fun as the “wild west” days have been fun (and lucrative) for much of the last 17 years of domaining, it must eventually give way to a new paradigm.  As domainers, we can either embrace this transition, or have it foisted upon us. As I will discuss in future posts, Web 3.0 and the Semantic Web 3.0 are good news for domainers.

Our approach to domain development can be best described as four distinct types:

1. Parked domain – A domain submitted to Epik is automatically accepted into the Epik parking network.  It is our least-preferred option but it is a default option when no other immediate option exists. At Epik, “parking” is a temporary state, and still part of the network.
2. Template site -  Epik is building a robust content management platform which allows undeveloped domains to be populated with useful content that maps semantically to the domain name.
3. Platform site – Epik is partnering with platform partners to create high quality networks of sites based on platforms. Early platforms include (1) directory sites, (2) geography sites, and (3) workflow sites. More about these in future posts.
4. Development ventures – Epik will  partner with domain owners to create entire businesses around a domain name, forming businesses with their own capital structures that can go on to attract outside capital, as well as acquire established companies.

Thanks for reading.

Rob Monster
August 19 2009
Seattle, WA