I'm sure by now everyone has read this post regarding the blantant pro-torture rantings of GoDaddy.com's CEO, Bob Parsons (and if you haven't read it yet, do so now!):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/20/73018/8947
I also assume that most folks are aware that since the backlash from pissed-off GoDaddy customers started yesterday, Parsons has scrambled to backtrack, as noted here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/21/84415/8270
Even better, we can actually get a front-row seat to the impact (more below the fold):
Just as with the Sinclair tv network debacle, where you could measure actual ratings numbers, we can actually keep track of just how much (if any) impact Parsons' "I Heart Torture" rantings will end up costing him:
Here's a link to the current (as of 6/13) market share (and raw numeric) data for GoDaddy and the rest of the top domain registrars in the world:
LINK
As of 6/13/05, as the #1 domain registrar (at least in the US), they were responsible for roughly 6.9 million domains total.
Here's their specific company profile:
LINK
As you can see, until 6/13, GoDaddy has been steadily increasing their business.
Keep an eye on these charts over the next few weeks; let's see what happens. Will there be a dramatic plummet? A levelling off? Or, in a worst-case scenario, will there actually be a spike in the chart due to the controversy/publicity? (this last thought is repugnant, but it's happened before...remember how sales of white Ford Broncos increased after the O.J. Simpson "chase"?
People react very strangely to some things.
Anyway, this could be interesting to watch.
UPDATE: I should also note that GoDaddy also owns the following:
"Together, The Go Daddy Group companies include three ICANN-accredited domain name registrars: flagship registrar GoDaddy.com; membership-based registrar Blue Razor Domains, Inc. (www.bluerazor.com); and reseller registrar Wild West Domains, Inc. (www.wildwestdomains.com). The Go Daddy Group also offers private domain name registration services through Domains By Proxy, Inc. (www.domainsbyproxy.com), as well as SSL Certificates through its SSL Certificate Authority, Starfield Technologies, Inc. (www.starfieldtech.com)."
LINK
I should also note that while domain name registrations are supposedly GoDaddy's main business, they most likely get a LOT more revenue from their web hosting business. Unfortunately, the info on that is a bit more sparse; it appears that they use Wild West Domains for this:
LINK