Here’s some interesting facts:

• Panoramio is a web-based, geo-tagged-image storage company that agreed to be acquired by Google on May 31st of this year.
• The whois record for the domain was updated yesterday and now reflects an acquisition company as the registrant.
• Where I sit in the world, the domain redirects to this site. That might change as a DNS change propagates, but we’ll see….

Anyone want to give odds on whether Google bought the domain?

Technorati Tags: .info, domain investing, panoramio

Seems cheap to me, considering the company just launched a revolution on the shoulders of the iPhone brand.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone

As an aside, DomainNameWire live blogged the auction from the conference.  Need any more evidence of the power of blogging?  I didn’t think so.

The value of “hot topic” domains, in contrast, shifts as the focus of the collective mind shifts. Think WorldSeries.com, 2008election.com, and even parishiltonjailpics.com. Determining the value of these domains is a bit trickier than others because it requires a timing component and an assessment of the sustainability of the underlying topic.

The sustainability calculation is relatively straight-forward for some topics. Think about the 2008 election. People are already interested in the topic, and we know (approximately) when that interest will begin to fade. The value window is quite well-defined, and the value of domains tightly related to that topic will likely remain high in the window, and drop once the window closes.

Sustainability for other topics, though, is quite difficult. Think about poor Paris Hilton. Surely people are thinking about photos of her in jail today…but how long will that remain the case? What if she gets thrown in the slammer again…and again? What if she truly did find religion?

DNJournal reports that, this week, Iran.com sold for $400,000. From a US point-of-view, it seems to be a “hot topic” domain with uncertain sustainability. How long will Iran be on the collective mind? It’s probably a safe bet that we’ll be thinking about it for awhile, but that focus could also disappear overnight (perhaps some Tuesday night in November of next year).

The key for domainers, though, is that it shows that “hot topic” domains with questionable sustainability can still hold significant value. The interest in domain investments is reaching new highs, and it’s good to see the value of these speculative plays increase as well.

Technorati Tags: domain names, iran.com

The surface computing concept - using the surface of a computer monitor as the primary user interface - received a significant boost a few weeks ago when Microsoft announced its plans to develop a product line based on the technology.  (the Microsoft demo videos are amazing).

The race for generic surface computing domains started just before the Microsoft announcement and peaked on the day of.  And deals are already being made.  Surface.tv recently sold for $27k, which is apparently the highest price ever paid for a .tv domain.

Hmmmm…I wonder if there’s an interest in usesurface.com, usingsurface.com, surfacedemo.com, cometosurface.com, moresurfacearea.com, playonsurface.com, surfacefuture.com, theworksurface.com, workingsurface.com, workonsurface.com or usethesurface.com?

Did you hear? Najafi Cos. sold Network Solutions for a cool $800M (and a 3500% profit). Nice…and encouraging for the domaining set.

Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal article on the deal focuses on the private equity aspect of the story…and all but misses the underlying domain aspect of the story. I know private equity LBO’s are shaping up to be the financial story of 2007, but it’s too bad they missed the “there’s gold in them thar hills” angle.

Schilling has more.