Remember the .ME landrush? Well, that’s all done now and tomorrow, the auctions will begin. Yes, it looks like there were several people who became interested in similar domains, so now GoDaddy’s going to auction the popular domains off.

I reserved 5 during the landrush. And, all are going on auction. I’ve decided not to bid on them.

Why?

Well, 3 reasons:

1) At $49.99/year, those domains are already too expensive for me to maintain.

2) GoDaddy made it a bit difficult to participate in the auction, having to come up with different logins and all that; and

3) The whole domain auction thing just doesn’t suit me.

So, chances are, I’ll lose those domains. That’s fine with me. I’m just looking forward to getting my initial deposit back and investing the money elsewhere.

I’m curious to see, however, if any of these domains will eventually take off and make money for those who end up investing in and owning them.

What do you think? Did you buy some .ME domains? Are they going on auction? Are you planning on participating in the auction?

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Why .ME isn’t going to be for me.

There’s a new domain extension in town! Yes, the extension .ME has arrived recently.

New extensions don’t usually excite me, since I’m mostly a .com kind of domain purchaser. And, I’ve only experimented with .net, .tv, .info, and .biz before. I generally avoid purchasing alternative domain extensions.

However, today, I’ve decided to give .ME a big go. Yes, even though at the moment, it costs a whopping US$49.99/year to register a .ME domain (w/minimum of 2 years per registration) at GoDaddy.

During this time called a ‘landrush’, anyone may apply for the domains. After the landrush, domain names that are requested by one or more individuals will be auctioned off between those who made the request. The landrush ends on 26 June 2008.

I’m not sure if it’ll pay off, but I ended up with 5 new .ME properties today (pending approval). Actually, I had 10 that I really liked. But, shelling US$1,000 was out of the question at this stage for me. So, I cut my choices in half.

Now, how do I make money off these properties? Well, I have to wait and see. But, I’ll keep you posted.

How about you? Ready to jump in to the domain pool with .ME properties too? Do you think it’s worth investing in? Do you believe it’ll take off?

Some domain names that I checked that were already gone/unavailable include: Teach.Me, Bite.Me, Buy.Me, Money.Me, Feed.Me, and Give.Me.

Also See:

• Top 5 Things To Consider When Getting a New Domain Name
• Poll Results: How Many Domain Names Do You Own?
• Open Mic: Domain Name Registrars
• Domain Cash Parking

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Will You Invest in .ME?

(Guest post by Miranda Marquit)

The Internet is full of ideas that purport to help you make money online. And one of the more interesting ideas for making money online is to lend your money to other people. The idea is that you can make loans to others, and then get your money back — with interest. The Internet provides a place for you to connect with those that need money, allowing you to find a wide variety of people to lend money to. The Internet is making it possible for you to more easily make money the same way other lenders do.

Microloans to those in poverty

Microloans are my personal favorite way to make money online by lending to others. This is because you can help someone in a poverty stricken area of the world get the capital he or she needs to improve his or her situation. There are many reputable organizations like Grameen Bank and Kiva that can help you find — via the Internet — entrepreneurs in impoverished countries that could use your money. It’s not a hugely sexy return, averaging about seven percent, but it is a return. And the warm feelings you get from helping someone else find a loan that they can handle (rather than leaving these folks to the mercy of usurious sharks) are priceless.

Lending to those in less “needy” circumstances

Another way to make money online through lending is by sharing your resources with the more affluent in the developed world. You lend money (at a higher rate than microloans) to someone who might want some cash for debt consolidation or a vacation. They make payments into your account, and you earn a return through interest, plus the money you lent is paid back. Programs like Prosper Lending and Fynanz (for student loans) let you use the Internet to find those that want loans, and facilitate the payments. But the risk (like the return) is higher with these programs than with microloans.

If you have some extra cash lying around and you want to see about earning a return on it, you can consider using the Internet to turn it into an investment. Of course, you can also visit the Web site of an online broker and set up an investment account as well.

Miranda Marquit is a freelance writer and professional blogger. On the b5media network, she writes about personal finances for Yielding Wealth.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Make Money Online — By Lending Money to Others