Somebody is trolling for domain names

Last week I read a blog entry by some guy who was starting a new project. He had an odd name for his project, and he searched a few times to make sure the domain name was available. The next day, when he went to buy it, it was taken! He was convinced that somebody was intercepting domain searches and then "poaching" the domain names in order to re-sell them at a higher rate.

I thought this guy was a little off his rocker. I mean, what are the odds that this would be a good business model? And to top it off, the company that was doing it was a very well-known company.

And then it happened to me.

I also am working on a new project. It has an odd name, so I searched last week to make sure nobody had it. Nope. The coast was clear.

Today, however, I started worrying about the availability of the name. What if someobdy took it? So I went to lock in while the getting was good. And guess what. Somebody had my domain as well.

Now I'm not talking about SantaClaus.com or something like that. This guy and I both had names that aren't likely to be used by somebody else.

Perhaps I am on the paranoid side, but count me a believer. Somebody is intercepting domain searches and then squatting on the names. I believe it is somebody at Network Solutions, but I can't be sure. I certainly hope it is not a company-sponsored activity.