Salesforce.com, Inc. $CRM Q4 FY18 Results, LIVE Webcast Replay

Salesforce Projects Revenue That Tops Estimates

Bloomberg Technology video published Feb 28, 2018: Bloomberg's Cory Johnson discusses Salesforce's earnings on "Bloomberg Technology."

Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM):

UPDATE: NYSE: CRM Feb 28, 5:35 PM EST 116.25USD Price decrease -0.22 (0.19%)
After-hours: 118.10 Price increase +1.59%

Salesforce.com, Inc. - Investor Relations--Salesforce's Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2018 Results--Salesforce Announces Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2018 Results Feb 28, 2018, Highlights:
Raises FY19 Revenue Guidance by $150 Million to $12.60 Billion to $12.65 Billion
- Fourth Quarter Revenue of $2.85 Billion, up 24% Year-Over-Year, 21% in Constant Currency
- Full Year Revenue of $10.48 Billion, up 25% Year-Over-Year, 24% in Constant Currency
- Deferred Revenue of $7.09 Billion, up 28% Year-Over-Year, 25% in Constant Currency
- Unbilled Deferred Revenue of Approximately $13.3 Billion, up 48% Year-Over-Year
- Fourth Quarter Operating Cash Flow of $1.05 Billion, up 49% Year-Over-Year
- Full Year Operating Cash Flow of $2.74 Billion, up 27% Year-Over-Year

LIVE Webcast Replay Feb 28, 2018 5:00 PM ET

For those who prefer to dial-in:
Domestic 866-901-SFDC (7332)
International 706-902-1764
Passcode: 9190744

Replay available until March 30, 2018:
(855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406
Passcode: 9190744"
Tweets by salesforce_IR

Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) Q4 EPS of $0.35 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.85B (+24.5% Y/Y) beats by $40M--more at SeekingAlpha.com.

Salesforce.com Reports Earnings On Wednesday Above The Cloud With An Elevated P/E Ratio - Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) | SeekingAlpha.com: "Fundamentally, the P/E ratio is elevated with the 2017 actual of 434.62 according to Nasdaq.com. Technically, Salesforce is a pure momentum stock. It’s above a ‘golden cross’ on its daily chart and is overbought on its weekly chart."

📌 .@Isobar just launched a Digital Strength Index to measure the digital performance of the top 1000+ public companies in America like @McDonalds @Google and @adidas: https://t.co/TLqutDjjcV pic.twitter.com/qmeNfw1V0H

— Salesforce (@salesforce) February 25, 2018

Digital Transformation Drives Future Revenue Growth: The Isobar Digital Strength Index - Salesforce Blog | salesforce.com: "In short, companies that invest more in digital transformation actually outperform their peers over time. Those companies are more prepared for disruption, better able to monetize new digital channels, and build a bigger user base. This phenomenon exists regardless of industry. Interestingly, it tends to be somewhat stronger in laggard industries."

A new app “Philanthropy Cloud,” built by Salesforce & distributed by United Way aims to connect employees to their corporate-matched donations, & offer a platform to encourage more giving, more volunteering, & more connection to the causes being funded. https://t.co/cKQdqRfVkD

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) February 27, 2018

See also on Domain Mondo: News Review | ICANN WHOIS & EU GDPR: Points of View (Salesforce video).

What is a CRM?

Salesforce video above published Aug 14, 2017: This is a simple definition of CRM: Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.

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DISCLAIMER

Hearing Update on the Restoration of Puerto Rico’s Electric Infrastructure

Update on the Restoration of Puerto Rico’s Electric Infrastructure | U.S. House of Representatives, Energy and Commerce Committee: February 28, 2018 Hearing, 10:15 AM EST, LIVE video at the link above.UPDATE Feb 27, 2018: "The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 28, 2018, at 10:15 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed to a date and time to be announced. The hearing is entitled “Update on the Restoration of Puerto Rico’s Electric Infrastructure.”"

Background:

Puerto Rico’s Power Authority Effectively Files for Bankruptcy | nytimes.com July 2, 2017 (almost three months before Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017).

It's difficult to describe lawyers' situation in Puerto Rico, but hurricanes' damage was 'extreme' | .abajournal.com: "... the extent of the damage the hurricanes caused to the island’s infrastructure was extreme. The most significant damage was to the electric power grid, which collapsed almost completely."

Puerto Rico's power and water utilities require wholesale rebuilding to achieve resilience against the next big storm:

"Before the storm hit, Puerto Rico had the worst drinking water quality of any state or territory in the nation. Nearly 70 percent of the island’s water customers received their tap water from systems that were found to have unlawfully high levels of contaminants like coliform bacteria, volatile organic compounds and harmful byproducts of disinfection, or that were not treating their water in accord with federal standards."--
Puerto Rico Needs More Than Bandages | The New York Times | nytimes.com Feb. 13, 2018.

Puerto Rico’s ongoing nightmare shows no sign of going away | ThinkProgress.org: "Blackouts like the one that hit northern Puerto Rico on Sunday [Feb 11, 2018] — affecting 1.36 million people — are another trouble plaguing the island." See also: Puerto Rico recovery efforts plagued by power company’s financial troubles | ThinkProgress.org

'Exodus' from Puerto Rico: A visual guide | CNN.com Feb 21, 2018: "Hurricane Maria sent thousands fleeing devastation in Puerto Rico. Federal data obtained by CNN suggest migrants have moved to every US state -- even Alaska."

Citigroup Drove Puerto Rico Into Debt. Now It Will Profit From Privatization on the Island | theintercept.com February 21 2018.

Puerto Rico | The New York Times | nytimes.com: News about Puerto Rico, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

See also on Domain Mondo: News Review | ICANN61 & Puerto Crypto, San Juan, Puerto Rico (ICANN61 starts March 10, 2018, and Puerto Crypto starts March 14 in San Juan).

It is impossible to get an accurate count of the exact number of Puerto Ricans who left the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria, but data obtained by CNN shows that it's not just Florida--Puerto Ricans have relocated to all 50 states and DC. https://t.co/kgXBiCOTmY #FightForPR

— Vamos4PR (@Vamos4PR) February 22, 2018

Power companies pull workers from Puerto Rico as many remain without power https://t.co/b6anr27i2d #TheHillLatino

— Diana Marrero (@Diana_Marrero) February 27, 2018

5 months after Hurricane Maria, companies like @Tesla and Sonnen are interested in transforming the antiquated energy grid of Puerto Rico. Congress also needs to work on rebuilding a stronger and more resilient Puerto Rico: https://t.co/xSlDhRLxMM #Power4PuertoRico

— Power4PuertoRico (@Pwr4PuertoRico) February 22, 2018

Latest facts and figures on our activities in #PuertoRico and #USVirginIsland (As of Feb. 26) pic.twitter.com/xocZfwa30v

— USACE HQ (@USACEHQ) February 27, 2018

See also Committee on YouTube.com.

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DISCLAIMER

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Testifies Before Congress Tuesday

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m. ET to deliver the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress and to discuss the state of the economy.

"Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy"

Hearing entitled “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy” | House Committee on Financial Services: Tuesday, February 27, 2018 10:00 am ET in 2128 Rayburn HOB (Full Committee)--Witness List: The Honorable Jerome H. Powell, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Committee Memorandum (pdf) embed below:

Next week, Chairman Powell presents the Monetary Policy Report to Congress, read the report in advance: https://t.co/bYN2p3JtNZ

— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) February 23, 2018

Report embed below:

On Thursday March 1, 2018, 10:00 a.m. ET Fed Chair Powell testifies before Senate Banking Committee--The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress - Hearings - U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: "March 1, 2018 10:00 AM 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building,  hearing on “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.” The witness will be: The Honorable Jerome H. Powell, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System."

.@FederalReserve Chairman Powell testifies before our committee tomorrow for the first time. He’ll update us on monetary policy and the state of the #economy. Tune in: https://t.co/HAoSusodnH @ 10am ET. pic.twitter.com/QUcqplMX23

— Financial Services (@FinancialCmte) February 26, 2018

“This man will be a steady hand." https://t.co/Lc19jodHr0

— TheStreet (@TheStreet) February 26, 2018

How will the Fed’s Jerome Powell characterizes the implications of current market conditionss for Fed policy, and more to watch when the new chairman faces lawmakers this week https://t.co/FR65dcwRkP

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 26, 2018

Jerome Powell may be willing to accept inflation rising as high as 2.5% as they seek to extend the almost 9-year economic expansion https://t.co/mILxQ4zF8I pic.twitter.com/HINXKmtU2r

— Bloomberg (@business) February 26, 2018

See also:

• Fed chair Jerome Powell | Google.com

• Markets watching Fed chair Powell as he testifies in Congress | cnbc.com: "Fed chair Jerome Powell makes his first major appearance Tuesday and Thursday, when he testifies on the economy before congressional committees."

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DISCLAIMER

Global Internet And Jurisdiction Conference 2018, Feb 26-28, Ottawa

Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference 2018 - Day 1

Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network LIVE on Feb 26, 2018, 2:00 pm ET

Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference 2018 - Day 3

Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network LIVE on Feb 28, 2018, 9:00 am ET

The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network addresses the tension between the cross-border nature of the internet and national jurisdictions. Its Paris-based Secretariat facilitates a global multistakeholder process to enable transnational cooperation. Participants in the Policy Network work together to preserve the cross-border nature of the Internet, protect human rights, fight abuses, and enable the global digital economy.

Global Internet And Jurisdiction Conference 2018 | conference.internetjurisdiction.net: Feb 26-28, 2018, Ottawa, Canada.

WORKSTREAM I
DATA & JURISDICTION
How can transnational data flows and the protection of privacy be reconciled with lawful access requirements to address crime?

WORKSTREAM II
CONTENT & JURISDICTION
How can we manage globally-available content in light of the diversity of local laws and norms applicable on the internet?n

WORKSTREAM III
DOMAINS & JURISDICTION
How can the neutrality of the internet’s technical layer be preserved when national laws are applied to the Domain Name System?"

Background (source: Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network):
The 2nd Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network will be an important milestone in addressing one of the greatest global governance challenges of the 21st century: how to manage the coexistence of national laws on the internet.

When they convene in Ottawa, Canada, on February 26-28, 2018, key senior-level representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups and countries will work toward the development of policy standards and operational solutions to at the same time fight abuses, protect human rights, and enable the global digital economy. This is necessary to preserve the benefits generated by the cross-border nature of the Internet for future generations.

The 2nd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is organized in partnership with the Government of Canada and institutionally supported by the OECD, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and ICANN.

Taking stock of the outcomes of the 1st Global Conference in 2016 in Paris, and the intersessional work in the Policy Network’s three Programs Data & Jurisdiction, Content & Jurisdiction, and Domains & Jurisdiction, the 2nd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network will be an important opportunity.

Stakeholders will decide on concrete focus and priorities, as well as a clear methodology and roadmap for the Policy Network to advance the development of policy standards and operational solutions for submission at the its third Global Conference. It will take place in Berlin in June 2019, and will be, after France (2016) and Canada (2018), organized in partnership with Germany.

Time has come to accelerate the collective effort to address growing jurisdictional tensions on the internet through joint action. 

Tweets by IJurisdiction

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DISCLAIMER

Mobile World Congress LIVE, Barcelona, Feb 26-Mar 1, #MWC18

Mobile World Congress | mobileworldcongress.com: Mobile World Congress is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, organised by the GSMA and held in the Mobile World Capital, Barcelona, 26 February – 1 March 2018,  Agenda and Sitemap.

• 108,000+ Attendees
• 2,300+ Exhibitors
• 400+ Operator companies
• 10,000+ Operator attendees
• 208 Countries represented
• Keynote Speakers

MWC 2018 LIVE | Mobile World LIVE--The MWC 2018 Livestream

#MWC18

The official hashtag for Mobile World Congress 2018 is #MWC18. Join & follow the conversation on social media https://t.co/VwS32L0tUm pic.twitter.com/rME94n8wSS

— GSMA (@GSMA) January 15, 2018

Tweets by mobileworldlive Tweets by GSMA

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DISCLAIMER

News Review | ICANN WHOIS & EU GDPR: Points of View (video)

Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-02-25) with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) ICANN WHOIS & EU GDPR: Points of View (video),  2) Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference - GoDaddy $GDDY,  3) ICYMI Internet Domain News: China, George Soros, and Turkey, 4) ICANN news: SSR2-RT: Letter from GNSO Council to SO/AC Leaders, and more, 5) Names, Domains & Trademarks, 6) Most Read.

1) ICANN WHOIS & EU GDPR: Points of View

What is GDPR?

Salesforce.com, Inc. video above published Nov 10, 2017. "Learn about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ... the new EU regulation." Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM), is a cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Editor's note: notice the completely different angle of approach taken by Salesforce as compared to ICANN (see below). Salesforce, an American technology company operating globally, has fully embraced the EU's GDPR as consistent with Salesforce's own core values ("trust"), is clearly prepared, confident, and proactive in educating and preparing its own stakeholders (customers) for the GDPR effective date of May 25, 2018 (now less than 90 days away).

ICANN, on the other hand, as of today, is still clearly unprepared--Letter from ICANN CEO Göran Marby to Chair, Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), Manal Ismail | ICANN.org Feb 22, 2018: "As I noted in the 2 February webinar, we are seeking a single model for both the contracted parties and ICANN org to follow."--and has yet to publish its "single model" for use by ICANN and its "contracted parties" (registrars and registry operators).

On Thursday, Feb 22, 2018, I asked ICANN CEO Goran Marby (who is a citizen of Sweden and the EU): "1) When did you first become aware of the ramifications of the EU GDPR for ICANN, and 2) what caused ICANN to be so late in preparing for the May 25, 2018 effective date?"

Marby replied that it was a "good question" and answered that he first became aware in May 2016 (when he first came aboard as ICANN CEO), and that ICANN should have been involved in this (the GDPR) "four years ago." Marby also indicated that ICANN has had difficulty in dealing with the GDPR both as an organizational compliance issue as well as in its policy-making [which is driven by the ICANN community dominated by special interests (lawyers, lobbyists, contracted parties)]. The ICANN WHOIS policy (see further below) is a dinosaur reminiscent of Silicon Valley circa 1999:

Sun on Privacy: 'Get Over It' | WIRED.com Jan 26, 1999: "The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sun Microsystems said Monday that consumer privacy issues are a "red herring." "You have zero privacy anyway," Scott McNealy told a group of reporters and analysts Monday night at an event to launch his company's new Jini technology. "Get over it.""

See also:

• Data protection | European Commission | ec.europa.eu

• 2018 reform of EU data protection rules | European Commission | ec.europa.eu

What is WHOIS? 

About WHOIS | ICANN.org: "Every year, millions of individuals, businesses, organizations and governments register domain names. Each one must provide identifying and contact information which may include: name, address, email, phone number, and administrative and technical contacts. This information is often referred to as "WHOIS data." But the WHOIS service is not a single, centrally-operated database. Instead, the data is managed by independent entities known as "registrars" and "registries." Any entity that wants to become a registrar must earn ICANN accreditation. Similarly, registries are under contract with ICANN to operate a generic top level domain, such as .COM, .ORG, or one of the new gTLDs such as .STORAGE and .LINK.

"Based on existing consensus policies and contracts, ICANN is committed to implementing measures to maintain timely, unrestricted and public access to accurate and complete WHOIS information, subject to applicable laws. To do that, registrars and registries provide public access to data on registered domain names. Anyone can use the WHOIS protocol to search their databases and identify the domain name registrant.

"In 2016, new ICANN Bylaws replaced the WHOIS obligations originally established by the expired Affirmation of Commitments. These Bylaws require periodic reviews to assess the effectiveness of the current gTLD Registration Directory Service (RDS, formerly known as WHOIS) and whether its implementation meets the legitimate needs of law enforcement, promoting consumer trust and safeguarding registrant data. In addition, those Bylaws require ICANN organization to use commercially reasonable efforts to enforce its policies relating to RDS, while exploring structural changes to improve accuracy and access to generic top-level domain registration data, as well as considering safeguards for protecting such data."

ICANN WHOIS & EU GDPR--Points of View: 

• What is going on with WHOIS? | R Street Institute | Rstreet.org: ".... The intersection of WHOIS and GDPR highlights the ways in which Internet governance is increasingly bumping into traditional regulation by nation-states. If it ever was, the Internet is no longer a domain outside the reach of governments. It is still a global ecosystem, but, as in this case, global policy can be swayed by regulations in a particular region. Maintaining the legitimacy of private Internet governance rather than government intervention is likely to become an increasingly difficult but important struggle." (emphasis added)
• Data Protection/Privacy Update: Latest Developments | ICANN.org Feb 14, 2018: "My last blog of 25 January focused on the input received on the three proposed interim models for collecting registration data and implementing registration directory services in preparation for the 25 May 2018 enforcement date for the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As you'll recall, input on the models which, along with feedback requested from community discussions on this topic, are contributing to the assessment of each potential option. From those inputs, either variations or modifications to one of these models, each of which includes a tiered/layered access approach to WHOISdata, will be identified ..."--Goran Marby, ICANN President & CEO 
• GDPR Resources: .... | eNom.com: "ICANN came back with three suggested models, each of which has significant flaws .... but we are proceeding with our GDPR implementation work as planned, relying on our legal counsel to help find the balance between compliance with ICANN and the GDPR itself."
• Explaining the GDPR to an American | iapp.org: "... when customers share their data with us it is not ours, but rather theirs, at least as the European Union sees it and as reflected in the GDPR ..."
• European Commission pitches in on ICANN's proposals for making the WhoIs register GDPR-compliant | Lexology.com: ".... ICANN has not much time left to solve the privacy issues of the WHOIS system, as the GDPR is set to become applicable in the EU on 25 May 2018. Whatever ICANN comes up with: As the Commission notes, it will be for the Member States data protection authorities and ultimately for the courts at national and EU level to assess the compliance of ICANN's new rules with the GDPR."

Editor's note: a little more than a year after completion of the IANA transition in which ICANN escaped from direct oversight by the U.S. government, the organization is now confronted with the task of complying with the European Union's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) by May 25, 2018, or facing substantial penalties. As noted by Rstreet.org above, neither the internet, nor ICANN, is beyond the reach of governments, the "IANA transition" notwithstanding. Yes, the U.S. government no longer has direct oversight of ICANN (via a contract with NTIA), but the reality is that since ICANN is no longer a U.S. government contractor, it is (or should be) viewed as an independent organization exercising the powers of a global monopoly in its policy-making and granting of global monopoly franchises of generic top-level domains (gTLDs), e.g., .COM and .NET, to enterprises such as Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN). Under ICANN's multi-level scheme of "privatized" global internet governance, ICANN unilaterally imposes its "taxes" (a/k/a 'fees' or 'the vig') at every level: upon 1) domain name registrants, 2) registrars, and 3) registry operators. Not a bad racket, if you can get away with it, which may also explain why ICANN's compensation and benefits packages are "sky high," and in at least one case, kept secret, an apparent violation of U.S. public disclosure laws applicable to tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations like ICANN.

Today, ICANN and its hundreds of gTLD registry operators, operate without benefit of any grant of authority from any government, or intergovernmental authority, or international treaty, but like everyone else, are subject to regulations and laws promulgated by governments all over the world, as demonstrated by the EU's GDPR, as well as China's internet regulatory regime, and their ensuing legal liabilities and penalties. This may be just the beginning. As I noted during the IANA transition, be careful what you ask for--

"I think if we get rid of that [IANA] contract we will be free of the pressures."

                    -- ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehade, February 10, 2015

See also: 

• Data Protection/Privacy Issues | ICANN.org

• Legal Analyses, Proposed Compliance Models, & Community Feedback | ICANN.org

2)  Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Monday February 26 - Thursday March 1, 2018 (free registration for audio of presentations at the link above):

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) is presenting at the conference at 1:15 PM PT Monday.

GoDaddy reported Q4 FY2017 results on Thursday, Feb 22, 2018, after the market closed. On Friday, $GDDY shares gained more than 10% (chart above).

Other presenters at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Monday include Intel, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Alphabet (Google), NVIDIA, and Cisco. Full schedule Monday-Thursday at first link above (after registering). Highlights Tuesday-Thursday:
Tuesday: 10:15 AM PT Netflix
Wednesday:
8:45 AM PT Twitter
8:45 AM PT T-Mobile
9:45 AM PT IBM Corporation
10:30 AM PT AT&T
10:30 AM PT Square, Inc.
12:00 PM PT Facebook
Thursday: 8:55 AM PT Salesforce
Miss a presentation? They are also available afterwards “on demand” at the first link above.

3) ICYMI Internet Domain News:

a. China: China’s former internet chief Lu Wei charged with taking bribes | thetimes.co.uk

b. George Soros: Defending our 'freedom of mind' from Google and Facebook | afr.com

c. Turkey Has The Most Jailed Journalists Worldwide | Statista.com:

4) ICANN news

a. SSR2-RT: 06 Feb 2018 Letter from GNSO Council to SO/AC Leaders (pdf)  [published 21 Feb 2018 by ICANN] re: Input of the GNSO Council on the current status and next steps of the Second Security, Stability, and Resiliency of the DNS Review Team (SSR2-RT), embed below (highlighting added):

b. Request 16-11: Travel Reservations SRL, Spring McCook, LLC, Minds + Machines Group Limited, Famous Four Media Limited, dot Hotel Limited, Radix FZC, dot Hotel Inc., Fegistry, LLC | Letter from Flip Petillion on behalf of Requestors to ICANN Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee, 22 Feb 2018, reconsideration-16-11-trs-et-al-petillion-to-icann-bamc-redacted-22feb18-en.pdf [516 KB] embed below (highlighting added):

c. ccNSO Personal data publication consent form (template): ccNSO Personal data publication consent form (template) (pdf)

d. ICANN Webinar: Replenishment Strategy for the Reserve Fund | ICANN.org: Webinar Date & Time: 1 March 2018, 17:00 – 18:00 UTC, via Adobe Connect.

e. ICANN Public Comment periods closing in March, 2018 (subject to change):

• ICANN Draft FY19 Operating Plan and Budget and Five-Year Operating Plan Update--Close Date 8 Mar 2018 23:59 UTC.
• Proposal for Korean Root Zone‬ Label Generation Rules--Close Date 17 Mar 2018 23:59 UTC. 

5) Names, Domains & Trademarks

a. ccTLD .au: Small businesses face expensive fights for ".au" web addresses as experts sound warning over new domain changes | smartcompany.com.au

c. International SEO and search trends: How does it all work? | searchengineland.com: "The main takeaway here is that you must ensure you have the correct domain for your international SEO requirements."

c. New gTLDs: Christa Taylor talks [new gTLD] domains | DomainNameWire.com: interview by Andrew Allemann, editor of Domain Name Wire, of Christa Taylor of dotTBA.com, a new gTLDs consultancy. Ms. Taylor honestly acknowledges the disappointing numbers in new gTLD registrations, the faulty expectations ("if we build it, they will come") and projections, doesn't deny that mistakes were made by new gTLD applicants and ICANN, confirms through her own personal experience, the "Universal Acceptance" problems with new gTLDs [Editor's note: better get a .COM domain for an email address], and describes the challenges of IDNs from working with a client registry operator in the Middle East.

6) Two Most Read posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com: 

1. Tech Review | India Fines Google, China Fines Alibaba & Tencent (video)

2. News Review | ICANN Copes With Failing New gTLDs' Impact On Income

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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DISCLAIMER

Tech Review | Big Tech vs Competition, Innovation, Opportunity (video)

Tech Review (TR 2018-02-24)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Big Tech vs Competition, Innovation, Opportunity? (video), 2) Peter Thiel vs Silicon Valley's Suffocating Group Think (video), 3) Investing: This Week, Investing Notes, 4) ICYMI.

1) Big Tech vs Competition, Innovation, Opportunity? (video)

Markets Are No Longer Competitive says Scott Galloway:  Scott Galloway, NYU Stern professor, and Roger McNamee, Elevation Partners (domain: elevation.com) co-founder, discuss the need to break up big tech to create more innovation and opportunity in the market. CNBC.com video above published Feb 15, 2018. See also The Case Against Google | The New York Times | nytimes.com: Foundem's case against Google exposes flawed arguments of a self-correcting internet economy and why antitrust laws are essential for tech growth.

New York Times Magazine's Charles Duhigg: The Case Against Google

CNBC.com video published Feb 21, 2018: Charles Duhigg, New York Times Magazine, discusses his article about concern over Google allegedly halting other innovation.

2) Peter Thiel vs Silicon Valley's Suffocating Groupthink (video)

Why Peter Thiel Is Backing Away From Silicon Valley: Bloomberg's Ellen Huet and Mark Milian discuss why Peter Thiel is relocating his home and personal investment firms to Los Angeles. They speak on "Bloomberg Technology" on Feb 15, 2018. See also: Like Peter Thiel, Tech Workers Feel Alienated by Silicon Valley ‘Echo Chamber’ | WSJ.com.: "... Several tech workers and entrepreneurs also have said they left or plan to leave the San Francisco Bay Area because they feel people there are resistant to different social values and political ideologies. Groupthink and homogeneity are making it a worse place to live and work, these workers said ..."

3) Investing

This Week The Index: S&P 500

S&P 500 Index UP almost 3% since the end of trading in 2017

Volatility Jumps, But It’s Still a Bull Market | MorganStanley.com

Wall Street's Charging Bull

Investing Notes:

• Fiscal Stimulus: The Cost of  Acceleration To Reach "Escape Velocity" from the Fed's historically unprecedented 9 years of QE & ZIRP--US Treasury Posts Gigantic $1.16 Trillion Shortfall in Fiscal 2017, Hilariously Points out “Where We Are Headed” | WolfStreet.com. 

• Too many stock-market pundits are wrongly freaking out about inflation | MarketWatch.com: "Inflation may pick up a bit, but it won’t be for a while and it won’t be as bad as doom and gloomers expect. Investors should stop acting as if this is the end of the world." 
• Jobless claims plunge to 222,000, second-lowest mark in decades

• BlackRock Says Buy U.S. Stocks as Tax Plan Supercharges Earnings | Bloomberg.com: "world’s largest money manager says impending fiscal stimulus will boost already strong momentum for earnings growth."

• Deficits? $1.2 Trillion Asset Manager: Forget Volatility, The Real Financial Timebomb Is Public Pensions | Zero Hedge.com: "the question is what happens when the music stops, liquidity dries up, and economic contraction besets (or catch up to) the markets?"--Editor's note: Answer--That's easy, just ask The Donald--"The Art of the Deal."

• 'Crumbs' Crushed - Soaring Economic Optimism Could Ruin Dems' "Blue Wave" Midterms | Zero Hedge.com

• China: Idle and abandoned: the hidden truth of China’s economic ambitions | South China Morning Post | scmp.com

• EU: Don't Be Complacent About Italy's Elections | Bloomberg.com: "The country's public debt is a threat to global financial stability ... the European Central Bank's policy of quantitative easing [QE] has helped mask Italy's fragility. But the ECB is likely to stop buying new bonds in the fall. When that happens, Italy's deep-seated problems will return to the fore ..." Editor's note: 4 March 2018 is the date of the Italian general election. 
• But is the Eurozone in a QE Trap? Reuters poll: ECB rate rise? You have a very long wait, say economists.
• Too Big To Fail? RBS Forgery Scandal Metastasizes Days before Crucial Earnings Report | WolfStreet.com: "bailed-out megabank hasn’t had a year in the black since 2007."
• Walmart [NYSE:WMT] posts worst day since January 1988 | cnbc.com Feb 20, 2018: shares of Walmart shed 10.2 percent. [Editor's note: In 2017, Walmart U.S. eCommerce sales rose 44% and same-store sales increased 2.1% vs. 2016's 1.4% growth rate. But those results and the 2018 forecast fell short of estimates. Oh well, progress not perfection.] See Walmart sets full-year profit guidance below expectations | SeekingAlpha.com. "Your margin is my opportunity"--Jeff Bezos.

4) ICYMI Tech News:

• Amazon’s Latest Ambition: To Be a Major Hospital Supplier | WSJ.com: Amazon is expanding its business-to-business marketplace, Amazon Business, into the medical supply industry, plotting to become major supplier to US hospitals. Jeff Bezos: "Your margin is my opportunity."
• Baidu: The Value Of Being The Gatekeeper - Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) | SeekingAlpha.com
• Google Assistant multilingual support for English, French, and German and will be available in 30+ languages including Hindi and Thai this year--9to5Google.com.

• The SEC says companies must disclose more information about cybersecurity risks | TechCrunch.com

• Tesla Model S outsells German luxury flagships in Europe | europe.autonews.com. Tesla Semi Trucks: the difference between the purchase price of a Tesla Semi and a traditional diesel truck could be paid off in less than two years due to savings on maintenance and fuel, says DHL executive which has ordered 10 of the Tesla Semi trucks scheduled to roll out in 2019. 

• With $9 billion stake, China's Li Shufu, Chairman and principal owner of Geely in China, is now the largest shareholder (10%) of Germany's Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE), manufacturer of Mercedes Benz cars, trucks and vans. Chinese car manufactuer Geely owns Volvo cars and the maker of London’s black cabs. Next largest Daimler shareholder is Kuwait Investment Authority (7%).

• Gartner reports first ever global decline in smartphone sales | TechCrunch.com

• Why the iPhone Is Losing Out to Chinese Devices in Asia | WSJ.com: Apple’s market share is stagnant or declining in Asia.
• Google launches Android phone recommendation program for businesses | TheVerge.com

• AT&T will launch mobile 5G in Atlanta, Dallas and Waco in 2018--engadget.com. See also SeekingAlpha.com.
• Scammers use Zelle (domain: zellepay.com), a P2P payments service, to defraud online buyers who trust the service because it is backed by US banks--Techcrunch.com

• Say goodbye to Android Pay and hello to Google Pay | TechCrunch.com

• Another reason to get a nice Chromebook and dump Microsoft--Running Windows 10? Here's how Microsoft plans to milk more profits out of its cash cow | ZDNet.com: "PC sales are down. Windows licensing revenue is flat. In its financial disclosures, Microsoft says it's actively looking for new monetization opportunities."

• Google I/O 2018: May 8-10, 2018, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA--apply to purchase a ticket by 2/27 5pm PST.

• Uber Express Pool offers the cheapest fares yet in exchange for a little walking | TheVerge.com: Uber launches Express Pool, which gives cheaper fares to those willing to walk to shared rides, in SF, DC, LA, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, Denver, Boston.

• Brand: Supreme Helps Bring Logos Back, And Retailers Must Respond | Bloomberg.com

• Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages to create hundreds of jobs in Plantation, Florida | South Florida Business Journal | bizjournals.com: "Virgin Voyages' first ship is expected to sail in 2020 from PortMiami with 2,700 passengers and 1,150 crew members. It will be one of the few cruise lines for adults only."

• Nokia-branded Android phones reportedly outsold Google, HTC, and OnePlus over the holidays | TheVerge.com

• Terrible people have learned to exploit the internet. Yasmin Green is fighting back. | MIT  |TechnologyReview.com

• After Florida School Shooting, Russian ‘Bot’ Army Pounced | The New York Times | nytimes.com: "One hour after news broke about the Florida school shooting, hundreds of suspected Russian-linked Twitter bots released divisive posts on the gun control debate."
• Fake News CNN & MSNBC: Flashback: CNN and MSNBC Helped Russia Sow Discord by Promoting Fake Anti-Trump Rally: "A check of their November 12 [2016] coverage showed both CNN and MSNBC gave enthusiastic coverage to the Russian-organized anti-Trump rally that day, with live reports every hour. Correspondents celebrated the idea that it was “a love rally,” and repeated the marchers’ anti-Trump mantras, such as: “We reject the President-elect.”"

From the Reuters.com feed:

• WhatsApp to go ahead with 'full feature' money transfer service in India

• Alibaba, Tencent rally troops amid $10 billion retail battle

• Snap chief earns $638 million in 2017, third-highest CEO payout ever

• Hyperinflation meets tech: Cash-scarce Venezuela sees boom in payment apps

• Qualcomm gets hedge fund nod with raised offer for NXP

• Hackers stole $6 million from Russian bank via SWIFT system: central bank

• BoE's Carney says Bitcoin has 'pretty much failed' as currency

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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DISCLAIMER

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google: Let's Play Monopoly (video)

Let's Play Monopoly

L2inc.com video above published Feb 22, 2018: "Pass Go, collect $200, and go bankrupt as big tech buys all the properties"--Scott Galloway.

Sources:
(0:17) “Amazon To Launch Delivery Service That Would Vie With FedEx, UPS,” The Wall Street Journal, February 2018. https://goo.gl/9cSryV
(0:25) Yahoo Finance.
(0:36) “Amazon's New Delivery Program Shouldn't Hurt FedEx, UPS,” CNET, February 2018. https://goo.gl/etwxfU
(0:47) “FedEx: Long-Term Financial Goals Pre-Fiscal 2Q18 Earnings,” Market Realist, December 2017. https://goo.gl/jqFT16
(0:47) “Amazon's New Delivery Program Shouldn't Hurt FedEx, UPS,” CNET, February 2018. https://goo.gl/etwxfU
(1:07) “Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space: Air Cargo,” Reuters, December 2016. https://goo.gl/tzcqF9
(1:54) “Apple Music on Track to Overtake Spotify in U.S. Subscribers,” The Wall Street Journal, February 2018. https://goo.gl/vzP6fh
(2:00) “Apple Music Struggles to Keep Pace With Spotify’s Growth,” Statista, February 2018. https://goo.gl/Q1peih
(2:06) “1 Billion Apple Devices Are in Active Use Around the World,” The Verge, January 2016. https://goo.gl/vQhS2j
(2:17) “Apple’s New App Store Rules a Big Boon for Netflix, Hulu & Co.,” Variety, June 2016. https://goo.gl/vNErjw
(2:22) “Paying For Spotify Through Apple,” Spotify. https://goo.gl/tbHmzR
(2:30) “Spotify Says Apple Won’t Approve A New Version of Its App Because It Doesn’t Want Competition for Apple Music,” recode, June 2016. https://goo.gl/93R5Y8
(3:07) Census Bureau.
(3:11) “The U.S. Listings Gap,” Credit Suisse, U.S. Global Investors.
(4:00) U.S. Senate, Commerce, Science And Transportation Committee Hearing, February 14, 2018

Auto-generated transcript via YouTube.com:
00:00 [Music]
00:01 in this week's winners and losers we
00:05 talk about monopoly monopolies the
00:11 latest sector that Amazon has put in
00:13 jail
00:14 the shipping sector Amazon announced it
00:16 was getting into delivery of goods
00:19 immediately UPS and FedEx stocks crashed
00:21 five percent on opening bell or about
00:24 eight billion dollars market
00:26 capitalization continuing a pattern of
00:28 cascading stock prices within hours of
00:30 Amazon announcing interest in any given
00:32 sector analysts claim the threat is
00:34 overblown pointing to UPS and FedEx
00:37 complex infrastructure and that Amazon
00:39 accounts for approximately just five
00:41 percent of total revenue and pointing to
00:44 all the capex expenses about five
00:46 billion each for FedEx and UPS in the
00:48 most recent year last year we correctly
00:50 predicted that Amazon would get into
00:53 this business if Beezus tamal said we
00:55 see overnight delivery as a huge
00:57 opportunity
00:58 150 billion dollars a market cap of DHL
01:00 FedEx and UPS would begin leaking to
01:02 Amazon Amazon claimed last year when
01:05 they started leasing airplanes and
01:07 buying tractor trailers that they were
01:08 only supplementing holiday demand
01:10 well it appears that FedEx and UPS
01:12 should get ready to be supplemented it
01:14 doesn't matter what the reality is the
01:17 perception that Amazon will win is a
01:19 self-fulfilling prophecy as they will
01:21 begin choking access to the mother's
01:23 milk of business Capital prediction
01:26 FedEx and UPS regardless of the reality
01:30 will lose 20% of their value in the next
01:32 six months and Amazon will increase its
01:35 market cap by about sixty billion
01:38 dollars as analysts begin to sharpen
01:40 their pencil and look at a new gangster
01:42 in town and shipping Amazon another
01:45 player with billions of hotels on any
01:47 property you might land on Apple Apple
01:50 music is now growing faster than Spotify
01:52 in the US Apple music is gaining
01:54 subscribers at a rate of five percent
01:56 per month versus Spotify
01:58 2% growth Spotify still has twice as
02:00 many subscribers but Apple has a
02:02 built-in advantage as it comes
02:03 pre-loaded on 1 billion iOS devices I
02:07 get in my car and Apple music begins
02:10 automatically playing by the way Apple
02:12 has literally
02:13 ruin to YouTube for me i can't turn that
02:15 up Apple takes a 30% cut of all
02:18 subscriptions sold through its App Store
02:20 Spotify decided to avoid the charge by
02:22 preventing new customers from
02:24 subscribing to Spotify Premium through
02:26 the App Store Apple retaliated by
02:29 blocking the Spotify update when you're
02:31 building a platform and you unfairly
02:33 restrain the competition that's direct
02:35 evidence of Monopoly abuse what is the
02:39 growth engine of our economy tech tax
02:41 cuts no it's small business if you look
02:45 at the front page of any business
02:46 section however or turn on CNBC you
02:49 think thousands of businesses were being
02:50 formed every day and night by shiny
02:53 grads from Berkeley Stanford and MIT not
02:55 to mention all the dropouts starting
02:57 billion-dollar companies but what's the
02:59 reality startups are in freefall
03:01 specifically over the last four decades
03:03 new business formation has been cut in
03:06 half the number of public companies has
03:09 also declined dramatically why there's
03:11 some macro reasons people have more debt
03:13 coming out of school and because they
03:14 have to pay to listen to this book so
03:16 they're less inclined to start a
03:18 business maybe because of the housing
03:19 crisis they're less likely to move
03:21 however we would argue that the real
03:23 reason here is it's harder to get
03:25 funding small businesses can't compete
03:27 with big tech when I'm in VC meetings
03:30 and I'm in a lot of them budding
03:31 entrepreneurs have to adopt a basic
03:33 narrative and that is we don't compete
03:35 with Amazon Apple Facebook or Google but
03:37 we make great acquisitions which is
03:40 effectively an oxymoron so if there's a
03:43 shot you'll be bought by an enormous
03:44 company you can raise billions at the
03:46 same time as not compete with them
03:47 however every other good idea raises
03:50 zero it has never been easier to be a
03:52 billionaire and never been harder to be
03:55 a millionaire under the category of
03:57 strange bedfellows this morning Ted Cruz
03:59 just that Ted Cruz senator from Texas
04:01 referenced an article that we wrote in
04:03 Esquire how do we feel about it kind of
04:05 like kissing our hot cousin a mixture of
04:08 very conflicted emotions or better yet
04:10 some of the dreams I've been having
04:12 about magnum p.i specifically a physical
04:15 encounter with Tom Selleck initially a
04:18 bit off-putting but then I find I start
04:20 to like it and then he screams out I'm
04:23 Magnum 3.14 which really gets the ball
04:26 rolling if you know what I mean
04:30 [Music]

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DISCLAIMER

GoDaddy $GDDY Q4 FY2017 Results, LIVE Webcast Feb 22, 5pm ET

$GDDY shares are up over 51% since Feb 22, 2017 (as of Feb 21, 2018)

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY), the world's largest domain name registrar, financial results release for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017, on Thursday, February 22, 2018, after the stock market closes. GoDaddy management will host a conference call and LIVE webcast at 5:00 p.m. ET, Feb 22.  To hear the call via phone, dial (866) 393-4306 in the United States or (734) 385-2616 from international locations, with passcode 7396408. The live webcast of the call and recorded replay will also be available on GoDaddy's investor relations website at https://investors.godaddy.net.

View the Presention ( PDF )

Excerpt from the release:

• Total revenue of $602.2 million, up 23.9% year over year.
• Total bookings of $657.9 million, up 25.4% year over year.
• Net cash provided by operating activities of $104.3 million, up 17.1% year over year.
• Unlevered free cash flow of $109.2 million, up 42.6% year over year.
• Customers of 17.3 million at December 31, 2017, up 17.6% year over year.
• Average revenue per user (ARPU) of $139, up 7.4% year over year.
• Domains revenue of $281.6 million, up 16.1% year over year.
• Hosting and Presence revenue of $228.8 million, up 29.5% year over year.
• Business Applications revenue of $91.8 million, up 37.6% year over year.
• International revenue of $207.3 million, up 52.9% year over year.

Operating Highlights

• GoDaddy's GoCentral is seeing continued strong adoption, increasing conversion from free to paid, and generating positive customer feedback and rising net promoter scores.
• GoDaddy continues to enhance GoCentral's features, recently launching Online Appointment scheduling, payments via Square, blogging capabilities, and integration with Google My Business, among many other features. GoCentral users can now book client appointments online 24x7, sync with the most popular calendars, get paid easily offline or online, and create powerful online identities via Google.
• GoDaddy continued its successful integration of HEG, including the recent launch of localized marketing efforts in multiple European markets.
• GoDaddy announced it will acquire Main Street Hub for approximately $125 million in cash plus up to $50 million in potential future earnouts. Main Street Hub provides small businesses with a complete "do-it-for-me" service for managing engagement on the most popular social networks. The transaction is expected to close late in the second quarter of 2018.
• GoDaddy appointed Mark Garrett to its board of directors. Mr. Garrett, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Adobe, brings deep financial technology leadership to the board.
• GoDaddy announced it will host an Investor Day on March 28, 2018 at its Global Technology Center in Tempe, Arizona. Given limited space, interested shareholders and analysts are encouraged to email investors@godaddy.com for an invitation.
• GoDaddy completed a secondary offering of 7.2 million shares of its Class A common stock sold by certain of its stockholders at $47.32 per share in December 2017, increasing the publicly available float.

SeekingAlpha.com: GoDaddy Q4 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.47. Revenue of $602.2M (+23.9% Y/Y) beats by $7.63M.

GoDaddy's (GDDY) CEO Scott Wagner on Q4 2017 Results | Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking.com

About GoDaddy (source: GoDaddy.com)

"GoDaddy powers the world's largest cloud platform dedicated to small, independent ventures. With over 17 million customers worldwide and nearly 73 million domain names under management, GoDaddy is the place people come to name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers and manage their work. Our mission is to give our customers the tools, insights and the people to transform their ideas and personal initiative into success."

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DISCLAIMER