WWW.GLMARSHALL.ORG

2 Qs

Why G.L. Instead of Gary, and Why Org Instead of Com?

Here in the pixel cave, I give my wife my money and she handles all the bills.

There are only a couple of exceptions, mostly related to little online things, and so in the regular order of domestic bliss, I missed the renewal of my domain name, www.glmarshall.com.

No biggie. I'll just get it back.

And the price was $5,400.

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I've long had a deep hatred for people who hold domains hostage. I've been in this biz so long, I was building sites before Congress cracked down on domain hijackers. Way back in the day, when we did the very first website for Paramount's Kings Dominion theme park, we had to use www.pkd4fun.com as the URL. They weren't going to pay the ransom.

And neither was I.

The Age of the Name is a Factor in the Price

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This domain is 25 years old. At the time I registered G.L., it was being used by a realtor in Georgia. Click here to see the site. It's hilarious.
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As a young reporter, I changed my byline from Gary to G.L. because I thought it made me sound more grown-up. There were lots of initials in use at the New York Times, so I figured I'd eventually fit right in. The theory is you have to manifest your destiny into existence, but sorry to say, that part never worked out.

Nowadays you can tell the age of my friendships as to what first name they use for me, G.L. being way back, Gary more recent. At my last job a lot of people called me "Coach." That's the kind of nickname you earn. I liked it a lot.

In 1999 I felt good about my change in career path, from news to web, especially when you compare the look of gl-dot-com to gary-dot-com. I used the site to drum up freelance web business, and as a magazine writing outlet for a recovering reporter.

The Price Has Dropped

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First they use automated bots to hijack your name. Then they conveniently offer financing to make it easier to pay the ransom.
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There are lots of other domain extensions available today, — .me, .info, .us, even .io was popular for awhile — but they all seem a little gimmicky to me.

Dot org was a natural fit, as I've spent the past dozen years at dot-orgs, but it also serves a higher purpose.

Just as using the initials G.L. was going to get me to the New York Times, someday I'm going to hit the lotto, and dot-org is where I'm going to go all Mackenzie Scott in giving away money.

You have to manifest these things into being, you know.

-30-

Mr. Marshall, who speaks in third person in his italicized footers, once had a crazy crush on a Mrs. G.L. Marshall who was in the process of divorcing a fella named Greg. What are the odds on that?