Virtual Landlord Unlocks Campaign Websites — for a Fee

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There's a lot to vote on this year in California — with 17 measures on the statewide ballot this November, and campaigns seeking websites for and against each one, there is demand for at least 34 domain names this year. Creative Commons image by

By Laurel Rosenhall, CALmatters

Andrew Naylor was working at a digital advertising firm in Silicon Valley when the “a-ha” moment struck.

It was 2008, and money — more than $83 million — was gushing into the advertising world as Californians prepared to vote on Proposition 8, the measure to limit marriage to heterosexual couples (later ruled unconstitutional).

“I saw what was happening with politics in California and everything was just huge. The amount of money both sides were spending, for and against, on online advertising and television ads was just incredible,” said Naylor, who lives in Menlo Park. And it opened his eyes to a potential ballot proposition campaign bonanza: domain names.

Read the complete story at CALmatters. 

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