Why I Registered CaitlynJenner.com

I registered the domain name CaitlynJenner.com this morning at 8:23 am Central Time and this is how and why I did.

I had discovered some information this morning (I’m a domain detective) that lead me to believe that Caitlyn Jenner was going to mean something in the very near future that wasn’t currently. During my research, I had some pretty strong proof that “Cait” or “Caitlyn” may be the new name of the former Bruce Jenner.

I have literally helped millions of people here at DotWeekly, offering domain name advice since 2008 and advising how important domain names are. It gives me a sad face when people do not know of or follow my advice. Domains are vital assets to own, to protect your brand, products, services and simply help you to be found online.

Sadly, in situations like product launches, companies often forget that it is important to own the exact match term as a domain name, because “the term” becomes “keywords” that people search for and know. The internet is run by keywords. This is no different for personal branding.

Another thing that happens, is when things start to become public and the domain name is not owned or registered by the source ahead of any public info, these terms are registered as domain names and can be held hostage or used in a manner that one wouldn’t like it to be used for. This morning, when I had discovered what I did, I strongly felt that this domain name would have been snapped up, likely “by a bad guy” and it would be very difficult for Caitlyn Jenner herself to obtain it if she so chooses. Well, I’m a good guy and I made the defensive domain registration of CaitlynJenner.com and CaitJenner.com with the intentions of donating the domain names to her and prevent them from going into the wrong hands.

Domain investing is not full of bad people. Generic domain names are great investments and is a real, billion dollar industry! A lot of domain name investors would give you the shirt off their backs! They are also some of the brightest and forward thinking people in the world.

With-in 25 minutes of the official Twitter account Caitlyn_Jenner going live, I redirected both domain names to the account, simply because I thought it was the right thing to.

So, I will be donating the domain names CaitlynJenner.com and CaitJenner.com to her as soon as I get in touch (if somebody can help me do that, it would be helpful), simply because nobody from her camp (or herself) thought of it and they should have. I didn’t want the domains ending up in the wrong hands and creating an unwanted headache, legal fees etc. because she has enough to worry about already.

June 17, 2015 Update: Both CaitlynJenner.com and CaitJenner.com are now officially in control by her team after a lot of searching and contacting different parties, I was finally able to get in contact with the right people to transfer ownership of the domain names to them.

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87 thoughts on “Why I Registered CaitlynJenner.com

    1. @ Tom T
      Thank you Tom! There really are a lot of great people in the domain industry and I try to do my part.

  1. You’re going to donate them to someone who killed someone in a car accident and is trying to get out of compensating the person’s surviving family? You should forward it to the article about what Jenner did.

    1. I think you just made his point…. to keep the domain names out of the hands of ‘folks like you!

      Kudus Jamie..

    2. The victims “STEPCHILDREN” who are 57 and 60 years old and who the victim barely had a relationship with are the ones suing Bruce Jenner and the only reason they are suing is because they are the only ones left that can legally sue Jenner under a wrongful death suit. I just think you should know and understand the facts. In California unlike most states STEPCHILDREN have the legal right to sue for wrongful death. They are just looking for a big payday and nothing more.

      Nice job Jamie.

      1. Why does age matter? And who knows what their relationship was? You must believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction too because the media said so. And instead of remorse and hiding from the public after causing someone’s death, instead he’s going on talk shows, magazine shoots, etc… He must feel real bad about causing another human to die.

        http://www.tmz.com/2015/02/12/bruce-jenner-photos-crash-car-accident-problems/

        The facts (from photos and not subjective opinion) are he’s smoking a cigarette, towing around a dune buggy, and caused someone to die. But hey, let’s reward him. Sad.

        1. A sixty year old stepchild who has no contact and living thousands of miles away. Come on man they are only looking for some free money and you know it. Their dad probably left everything to her when he died and they are bitter and looking for a paycheck.

    1. @Harold,
      Thank you. I do agree that Caitlyn will be profiting and likely already has with the magazine cover but helping somebody is a nice thing to do and that was what I decided.

  2. Looks like Frank Schilling owns Caitlyn.com.

    We’ve done the same on a few occasions and still have one we are trying to get in the right hands. Glad to see these in your hands (for the moment)… 🙂

    1. @Eric,
      That surprised me as well. I’m sure this wasn’t an overnight decision and it’s not like domain names are something totally new. Since Kim K spoke at a domainer conference, one would think she would have helped a little or has talked about it or it’s in some kind of checklist of things to do prior to etc.

      1. I think everyone was/is still trying to register it all (no pun intended). Kim K spoke at a “web” conference, remember? Webfest, because Domainfest took a break for a year. I worked at DomainSponsor at the time.

  3. I´m not sure if this is a correct move Jamie … Domainer is somebody who register domain names to resell them for profit.
    That´s our business. Register domains to give them away or to protect somebody sounds like ANTI-Domaing. I don´t know who is
    (or will be) “Caitlyn Jenner” but even if it was my mother I wouldn´t gift her the domain. My business is to SELL Domain Names.

    1. @Webmainer,
      I like to make money and provide for my family, but I also enjoy helping others. Money is money and I really have very little of it, but there is a feeling you get when you help people that can not be replaced with money.

  4. Personally,…I think registering this domain is like messing with the primordial forces of Satan.

    Wouldn’t do it.

  5. As I was reading, I thought; no that’s not investing in a potential brand, that’s deviant squatting! But, alas, you’re donating if required 😉
    I’ve done that in the past. Not with personal names, but names that would be best off the net. (Government Cyber Junk Box).

  6. Maybe it’s just me, but wealthy celebrities seem to be an odd focus for charitable efforts. Why not focus your efforts on people who could really use the help? Or in a way that benefits society?

    On my list of people needing charity, a wealthy and privileged person who killed someone because they were texting and driving would be well on the bottom.

  7. I think this is a douche bag move, you are looking for a reward, otherwise you think you are going to come off looking like a hero, not your place to protect these people’s domains, they have lawyers, and agents to do such things.

    1. @Tom,
      I’m not looking for anything. I’m not a hero, just an honest guy who likes to help others. I have been helping people since 2008 with DotWeekly, I help countless other people who call me looking for advice and never charge them a dime. There are many people who can back this up. Also, whoever “they” have as lawyers / agents clearly didn’t do a very good job at securing it.

      1. If it were true you were seeking nothing, you would not have written this article to draw attention to yourself for doing it.

        1. AND THAT’S the money-shot. Jammy looks like a total fool with this move.

          “Oh look at me! Look at me! I’m doing something good for this dude…er…lady in Hollyweird! I’m broke…but, but, but I don’t want any money for this! I’m just happy to help society…er…this dude…um…lady get her domain! Oh, I’m so nice:-)”

          EPIC. FAIL.

        2. Well the thing is with domainers is a lot of them have probably did a whois and saw Jamie’s name before he wrote this. i know i did. i am always curious as to who registers these ‘trending’ types of domains.

        3. @Bill , I absolutely agree. Jamie would have just quietly donated the names without having to announce to the domaining world his intention.
          As far as being a “good guy” without an ulterior motive , I think it was Dr.Phil who said be very wary of the guy who repeatedly refers to himself as a “good guy”.

    2. @Tom – Keep in mind that sometimes it is hard for a famous person to win a legal battle to obtain the domain version of their name. If the domain owner is not using it in a way that violates the trademark/publicity rights, then the famous person might not win.

  8. You make it sound like you were the next Long Island Medium lol. So you registered the name of a cross dresser Its unimpressive. Had you done it last week, maybe. But the press package going around, not to mention the general buzz, said this was kind of obvious. The fat you are giving then to her suggests to me that that was your real motive. Are you a Jenner fanboi? Maybe crushing hard on her? meh.

    1. Hugh Johnson,
      Please visit my Domain Movers series here on DotWeekly and or which is now published on TheDomains.com and you will see hundreds of early discoveries by myself.

  9. I don’t think you’re going to get the overwhelmingly positive response you might think from the agent. It’s kind of like stealing someone’s car and returning it the next day, and then expecting a big pat on the back.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I haven’t considered similar opportunities – but let’s all be honest, this is not a ‘random of act of kindness’, this is a publicity stunt.

    1. @James,
      It’s not like stealing somebodies car and returning it the next day. A.) It’s not a car B.) I didn’t steal anything C.) I can keep the domain if I want or sell it or give it to somebody or delete it and see what happens or whatever. I paid the money on an available domain that holds no trademark and the term wasn’t tied to a “celebrity” prior etc. I help people all the time and this is no different. If you wish to think it’s a publicity stunt, so be it.

      1. If you didn’t write this post immediately after the purchase, most people would have assumed you did this for nefarious reasons and the negativity would increase.

        If you purchased privacy protection at the initial purchase, your cost goes up a little and the entire point of the purchase, giving it back, becomes a bit more difficult… (most don’t understand that emails are still delivered through the privacy protection email listed in the Whois & proving you are the owner becomes more difficult if you are initiating contact)

        If you didn’t purchase the domain at all, someone else would have (within seconds likely) & we can guess the odds of them doing it for the same reasons.

        Anyone who has followed your blog would know your intention was not publicity.

  10. I think it’s a brilliant move. I hope it lands you some of the mainstream positive ink you deserve for all the great advice, support and money-making guidance you’ve provided as a free service to this community for many, many years without ever asking for anything in return.

  11. I think it was a good move, especially if you get it to her. I like Cheech and Chong, so I caught CheechMarin.com on the drop a few years back. Simply reached out to his representatives and asked for my $69 costs (I was the only bidder). They were grateful and instead offered me free tickets and backstage passes at a Cheech and Chong show only two weeks away. We had a great time meeting the both of them after the show. I gave Cheech a printout of the WHOIS showing his lawyer as the new registrant and he autographed the other copy I brought. Now, it’s his main brand site. Domaining can bring unique life experiences and not just monetary reward. It’s up to you and how you want to do it.

    1. @Logan,
      It is my goal to get her the domain. When I was on the phone today with TMZ (yes they called and did an interview), I was able to suggest that Caitlyn’s team get in touch with me and Gary said he would pass along the info. I did get a call earlier but I was giving my son a bath and was unable to grab the phone, but no message was left.

  12. Kudos!

    I was floored when I went over to whois to see that the domain wasn’t owned by their camp, let alone Facebook and Twitter URL’s. Unbelievable.

    I think Caitlyn shoulda hired Kris.

    And they need to pay you on principle alone!!!

    (oh, and bigger kudos for 420K FB likes and 1.7M twitter followers in half a day)

    #BrandFail #PotentialSocialDisaster #NotAllMarketersSuck

  13. That drag queen is still going to be pissed that u registered his name and is going to think he is entitled to it.

    When u tell him that u are going to transfer the domain to him…he will respond by saying, “mother fuker, you better transfer it or i am going to sue” … instead of thanking u.

    Watch and learn…

  14. To be honest I was a little surprised someone didn’t register the name on April 15th when the first news really broke and they said his name was going to be Kaitlyn with a K.

  15. I’m proud of you, Jamie! I’m glad to see it’s going to the right hands. It is also great to see the majority of America ready for someone like Caitlyn Jenner. I’ve seen mostly positive comments.

  16. I think it’s great! Kudos. You really did everyone in the domain industry a great favor on this one. Forget the trolls who are not smart enough to see how doing this is a win/win/win. For you and your blog. More importantly for Caitlyn. And most of all, to prevent some idiot from rushing to register this and try to hold it for $1 million dollars. Good thinking Jamie!

  17. Just because you aren’t directly trying to profit by selling these names doesn’t make these registrations any less self-serving. Ultimately, I guess Caitlyn Jenner will be appreciative of your efforts, but the fact that you have already granted TMZ an interview and rushed to publish something about this suggests to me your motive for registering these names was not entirely pure.

  18. Good for you. Anti-squatter reg.

    Nice touch to forward to her Twitter page, did you set up any anylictics for interest?

    Here’s to domainer altruism.

  19. Nice people don’t remind people they are nice. Good people do nice things without asking for thanks.

    Why would you care about a person who has a $100 million fortune? Why worry if another person gets a hold of the domain name?

    What is the real truth? Do you want global attention? Need more traffic? Want to feel better about yourself? Why else would you write an article about a domain name you registered of a person who is the top subject right now?

    I don’t believe that you did this to show domainers can be good people. Good people don’t remind others they are nice. They do nice acts without seeking attention.

    There is more to this domain name registration than meets the eye. You’re worrying about a rich celebrity not getting their name. That is what lawyers are hired to do.

    If you acquired a great name and donated this to a charity, I would believe it to be a noble act. I would believe in your good act if you auctioned this domain name and donated the proceeds to the transgender community to help people.

    How is it a good deed to register a domain name of a trendy topic and say you want to protect this figure? Calling their team to inform them of your registration? I’m skeptic of your good deed.

    Congratulations on registering the most popular name first.

    1. I spent about 2 hours looking for contact details of Caitlyn’s manager, who I found out to be Brian Dow of APA Agency, who I sent an email to early this morning. I have also reached out to him via Linkedin. I have also tweeted @caitlyn_jenner yesterday. When TMZ called me yesterday, I asked that they pass along my contact details so I can get the domains to Caitlyn. Trust me, I’m putting in a great deal of effort, clearly which most people do not see and simply assume I’m just doing it for whatever reason.

      1. …I don’t give a fiddler’s folly what your reason may be, you’re doing the RIGHT THING!

        I hope that this gesture gets played all over the mainstream, entertainment and social media! Good DESERVES to be publicized! Tired of hearing negative shtuff all the time. THANK YOU!…

      2. You spent an additional two hours on this? I always shake my head when I see people bow down to celebrities or go out of their way for them like they are something special. This guy won an Olympic event almost 40 years ago, and then he hangs out with the Karcrapians – is rewarded with fortune/fame, IMO is responsible for a death in a car accident, and has regular guys going out of their way for him. Seriously?

        I like your blog, but this whole instance is a microcosm of exactly what is wrong with America. If you think what you did is “good” then not sure how you look at things.

  20. Good job, Jamie! That was very classy thing to do. And then it was great to share it, to perhaps inspire others to do the same, to look out for others who are less internet-savvy as well. Bravo!

    Don’t listen to the naysayers. Those of us who know your work are aware of your altruism – for example, I can say that you have personally reached out to me when you saw something happening related to one of my names that I needed to know – just to be a nice guy and to help out. And until now nobody else knew anything about it. And I do appreciate it.

    This is no different. I wish there were more like you. Thank you!
    Warren

    1. @Warren,
      Thank you for the kind words and knowing what my true intentions are.

      1. Ditto. Jamie reached out to me another time that I was personally involved. It is great to know Jamie is a friend.

  21. Care to share the traffic numbers you are seeing? I think that would give a good lesson and information to prospective domainers on the value of such a reg.

    1. @Dee,
      I didn’t put any traffic trackers on the domain and simply redirected it to Caitlyn’s Twitter account.

  22. I have found that running a blog is a little like being on a reality show. I am not saying this applies to Jamie, but anything I do becomes a possible topic for my blog, and sometimes I will be more motivated to do something just because I know it will make a good topic to write about. I suppose IRL if I had a lot of friends that I shared stories with, I might feel the same way, but I am a loner offline.

    My point is that having a blog changes my way of thinking ever so slightly in life. Jamie may not have been motivated to buy the domain just to make a blog posting about it, but it may have popped into his mind when he was thinking about whether to go through with it or not, and even if it didn’t, there shouldn’t be any reason for him not to write about it after the fact. It is not bragging, that is just what a blog is for. It is not like he told us how he gave money to a homeless person on the street, his blog is about domains, and this posting is certainly an interesting topic to domainers.

  23. What amazes me about this is that you obviously did a decent thing and yet there are so many who question your motives. I personally would question the ones who question you!!

    I used to work for a person who didn’t trust anyone and later on I realized why he didn’t trust anyone, because he himself was untrustworthy.

    I will side with the ones who believed you did the decent thing and ignore the naysayers.

    1. @John Langton,
      Thank you! One thing that people over look, are the comments. It takes a fair amount of time approving, reading and replying to comments. I could have easily turned off comments on this article but I didn’t think that was fair to both sides. I know the people that know me, know my intentions are good. The naysayers are always going to be around no matter how much good you do or how you do it!

  24. Jamie, you did what your heart told you was the right thing to do. You saw the names weren’t registered, knew someone would register them to try and resell them or use them for a website for their own personal gain. You beat the “opportunists” to their own game. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be transgender. But I can imagine what it would be like to know that someone owns my name and what they may do with it if they don’t agree with my changing my gender. Congratulations on sparing her additional stress.

  25. Mate, great effort peoples comments can be so cutting and rough , people become jealous because they didn’t think to do this first I have handed back domains to their rightful owners too only for the fact it is the right thing to do you knew this and knew to grab it first to stop someone else squatting on it who cares if he gets publicity he deserves it and good luck to you with your son you mentioned as this is the real meaning of life family not a silly domain name . Was told to never love something that will never love you back

  26. My own point of view is that, It seem you are putting a kind of legacy on the marble wall; a legacy that gives support and kudos to the wicked set of people.
    If truly he killed someone in a motor accident and not by mistake; a deliberate killing?
    Ah! Ah!! Ah!! IMO! It is bad a bad legacy act.for you to registered a name for him and to give it ti him for free absolute freeee, you should not consider that as act of kindness; for he will feel justified.

    However, if the killing was by mistake and no remorse I do not buy that idea, it looks curious to me.

  27. i purchased a few caitlyn jenner domains based off the amount of traffic she was generating online. i don’t plan on giving them away but i do hope they fall in to the right hands. i do believe these domains will have some value in the future

  28. Have you thought about the implications of your actions? Now every celebrity and their lawyers will be banging on domainers to do likewise and donate names instead of selling them. They can even use this incident to support their claims on a udrp lawsuit. I don’t know

  29. This situation is like domain mask/frame, but I would call cybersquatt mask. Inappropriate situation, wrong person and certainly will not be the result you want.
    Always is time to reconsider and analyze what we’re doing, this is definitely not for you.

  30. You are wrong. You STOLE the domain which spells famous person’s name. While millions of people were respecting other people rights to their names you stole the domain and bragging now with “teaching” the camp and “donating” the stolen domain. How pathetic of you to write “I am just honest guy”… You are a THIEF!
    How can people call you domainer after that. You are shame to community

  31. In your articles you used the personal pronoun “she.” I think “he” is more appropriate. If I cut off my you know what, it doesn’t make me a she.

  32. It is important for people to be more educated on the need to register their name’s domains so that they don’t get into wrong hands. Everybody cannot be like Jamie.

  33. Jamie – I applaud you. Have done similar things myself, putting .com’s of some fairly well-known public figures into the hands of their agents – mainly to keep those domains away from the types of “cybersquatters” who give our industry a bad name.

    If you hadn’t grabbed this name, it could easily have ended up being used by someone with evil intent. Yes, domaining is a for-profit business, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK to hold someone’s name for hostage (and/or post porn or whatever on it).

    Classy move by you, no matter what some people may think of the person whose name you reg’d.

  34. As of this morning 6/17/2015 both domains have been transferred to Caitlyn’s team. It took a lot of work to get a hold of the right people but once I was in contact, they were grateful for what I did. The reason the domains were not registered before hand? I was told “too many cooks in the kitchen” and everybody on the team thought somebody on the team registered it, but that wasn’t the case.

    I started sending emails and searching for her team on day one but on the 5th day I was able to get a good lead. It took 5 days from that day to get a reply and 12 days from first contact with them to get them to provide details for the push and accept the push.

  35. Hi there Jamie
    I would like to send Cait a message as I think it is so brave to do what she is currently doing and especially as people judge and think it’s just another way of getting attention but I truly admire her for being so amazing – how she handled it, discussed it etc. Could you assist me on how to get hold of her – email address of website where I can leave her a message please.

  36. I did something similar. On a domain auction website I found the EMD for a Dutch politician. I bought it at 60€ and contacted him using the email on a governmental website. The politician contacten me by phone to thank me personally.

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