i-Weddings' namesakes

Darn those name stealers and cyber squaters! They have been the bane of i-Wedding's existence since i-Weddings established our little cyber-space patch through http://www.i-weddings.com.au/.

I'll demonstrate. Go to Google. Type in i-Weddings. The third link on the list is www{dot}iweddings{dot}com{dot}au. It appears to be an Australian wedding directory. And it takes the name iWeddings! *shakes head* I'm not sure if I should be happy that some corporation has imitated the i-Weddings name in the hope of leveraging on the i-Weddings name. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

On the other hand, if you type in www{dot}i-weddings{dot}com, you'll find yourself a cyber squatter. These individuals/corporations trawl the internet looking for businesses who may have a, for example, http://www.i-weddings.com.au/ which is i-Weddings' web address. They then buy up all other variations of this web address, for example www{dot}i-weddings{dot}com, in the hope that one day these businesses will want to buy that name off them.

I wrote to the owner of www{dot}i-weddings{dot}com. He/She/They wanted $8000 for the name. That's highway robbery. Or more accurately cyber robbery.

So don't be fooled. The only original i-Weddings is at http://www.i-weddings.com.au/. Imitations just won't do.

A tip for those small businesses out there. Buy up all variations of your business web address if you could. For example .com, .com.au, .net, your name + s etc etc. Otherwise you'll fall prey to these unscrupulous people who will just leverage on your hard work.