Google has been putting focus on getting businesses online and is using a lot of domain names to help in its effort. The latest is GYBO.com, a domain name they recently acquired from its past owner for an undisclosed amount.

Back around July 2011, Google Inc. started buying domain names related to "Get Online" and including  U.S. state names with each term. Like GetOnlineWisconsin.com, WisconsinGetOnline.com and GetWisconsinOnline.com .

Now Google has taken the acronym approach to the generic term of "Get Your Business Online" and has launched GYBO.com. Get Your Business Online!

GYBO.com is basically a U.S. map showing the 50 states. You select a state from the map that relates to you and Google then provides you with information related to getting your business online, for free by creating a website.

How did Google buy the domain?

They used the domain name buying service "NameAdvisers.com" and purchased the domain name GYBO.com on 2/4/2012.

Interestingly enough… it would appear, based on whois history records… that NameAdvisers THEN parked the domain name with SmartName! (interesting) as DNS changed to SmartName.com after the purchase and whois went into privacy.

Whois records remained that way until 3/5/2012 when Google was displayed as the owner of the domain name GYBO.com

Google also owns GYBO.ca but does not own GetYourBusinessOnline.com.

Moniker is sending one of its own into the domain name auction pool and is giving a shot to others to own the domain name Others.com!

The Others.com auction will start tomorrow, so if you want in on the action, I’d suggest placing your backorder today.

Why would Moniker be offering Others.com for sale?

Hard to say but the domain name has had some odd whois history to it! Did Moniker actually own it? Did Oversee.net own it? Or did somebody else own it? I dug into several of the whois history records for Others.com and this is what I found:

From about 2004 to 2007, whois history records basically do not show anything other than some generic whois data (really nothing), but not pinning the domain name to a specific owner.

By December 5, 2008 the whois records shows "Oversee Acct" as the owner.

On December 11, 2008 whois records show "Domain Recovery" and a dispute@moniker.com for an email address.

August 2, 2009 whois records show "Company Owned" and a legal@moniker.com for an email address.

April 4, 2011 whois records show "Role Moniker Accounting Moniker, Unpaid Domain Names Department" and a accounting@moniker.com for an email address.

Feb 22, 2012 the domain goes "Expired – Pending Delete" with an expire date of 1-30-2013 (not the normal PendingDelete, Monikers form of it which basically sends it to auction in-house)

Clearly the whole story can not be told by just looking at whois history records, but this is one of the odd ones that I have seen in some time! It would appear that Oversee.net has owned the domain name for sometime now, at least as early at 2008 and maybe all the way back to at least 2004. The domain was registered with Moniker since at least 2004.

By 2009, the domain was "company owned" by Moniker, yet by 2011 the domain goes into an "Unpaid Domain" department? Didn’t Moniker own the domain already?

A lot of speculation on my part but it’s based on the whois data information!

The domain name may have been sold prior and Oversee/Moniker maybe played a middle man, escrow agent?

Either way, based on whois information, Moniker appears to have owned the domain (aka Company Owned) since about 2009 and would appear to be taking the "expired domain" route to dish it off for whatever reason. Either way, if they would have auctioned the domain, lets say at DomainFest… they would have got money for it. If they sell it as an expired domain auction, they will get the money for it. Or will they? Moniker/SnapNames was recently sold to KeyDrive!

Somebody will get the money from the auction and I’m sure there is more to the story of Others.com that we may never know the reason behind the activity in whois history records.

Google registers a lot of domain names and it seems like they use "some" of them overtime and others not at all. Google isn’t one to just buy a domain for fun though and often times they go big when they buy.

With that in mind, why did they register GoogleShowy.com on 2/27/2012?

They do not own Showy.com at the time of this article but the domain is owned by somebody and parked at Fabulous. Google did use a generic / privacy protection in whois, with the generic "DnStinations Inc." information and the domain name registrar MarkMonitor that they commonly use.

I’m not sure why they would use the generic whois information, because clearly having "Google" in the domain, tips off who registered it. Clearly MarkMonitor isn’t going to allow any of its clients to register the domain, so I’m 99.9% sure Google was behind the registration even though whois isn’t currently displaying them as the owners.

Showy has a definition of: strikingly bright, colourful, or ostentatious.

So that doesn’t really reveal much of what it could be, other than maybe something bright and pretty!

I wish I had some more info on this but at least you know about it ahead of most people. If we see "Google Showy" launched at some point by Google, we will see what it is.

Tiny Tidbit (not related to the above story)

I have a very strong hunch that the domain name Site.com has been sold! I contacted the past owners but they have not replied to my email. The domain has went into privacy protection and a DNS change has taken place, so that is why I think it sold. The site doesn’t currently resolve. The domain was owned by SITE Services Inc.

 Some news coming from me shortly (likely a week or two), so be on the look out for that.