Ah I remember 2005, like it was… a few years ago.  GoDaddy grabbed headlines by doing their first Super Bowl ad with the controversial Candice Michelle.  They made fun of the wardrobe malfunction in the previous year’s Super Bowl and had a hard time getting the final version of the commercial onto the air.

Now let us fast forward, because unfortunately GoDaddy refuses to raise the bar…

• 2006 = Another Super Bowl Controversial Commercial
• 2007 = Another Super Bowl Controversial Commercial
• 2008 = Another Super Bowl Controversial Commercial

Ok, so GoDaddy has kind of run the idea of having a pretty girl in a controversial commercial into the ground.  They shoot a commercial, tell us the Super Bowl commercial gods refused to air it, release that one Online and then give us a “censored” one for the Super Bowl.

So that brings us to today, and myself reading a press release on theWHIR’s web site:

For its fifth consecutive year advertising during the NFL championship, discount hosting provider Go Daddy has shot two racy new ads this week featuring IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, to appear in the Super Bowl, following NBC’s approval.

Oh joy, another couple of racy ads for the Super Bowl.  Let me guess, one is “too hot for TV” and the other one is “just right for the censors”.

“We have two options and they’re both absolutely ‘GoDaddy-esque,’” Go Daddy chief executive officer and founder Bob Parsons said in a statement. “They are fun, edgy and slightly inappropriate; surely network censors will have a sense of humor, people could use a good laugh these days.”

Come on GoDaddy, I was behind you the first year, waited for the encore the second year - but after that I think you have run this idea into the ground.

We have all seen some weird company names when it comes to web hosting.  You have OutGay, for those looking for web hosting with an alternative lifestyle.  You have FatCow, which sounds like something you’d call your mother-in-law, not your web host.

Now for some of the weirdest (and possibly greatest) web hosting names just just never got off the ground…

Perfect Toilet Hosting - The name was suppose to inspire downloads and 5th grade humor, but flushed itself before it got started.

Hamster Dance Hosting - What else were the guys behind the original annoying Internet meme suppose to do?  The hook here is they will only host your content if you Rick-roll, claim all your base are belong to us, or have a love for dancing babies.

Tighty Whitey Hosting - For when you want hosting with that secure fit.

Kentucky Fried Hosting - Inspired by the fried chicken king, this web host was unique in fact that promised a free bucket of chicken for every hosting plan you purchased.  The bad thing was, sending chicken through US mail ended up with very stinky surprise once it made it to your house a few weeks later.

GoMommy - Well, there is a GoDaddy - so why not a GoMommy?  The downfall of GoMommy as a company happened when she caught you trying to register adult domains and told you you’ll go blind if you do it too much.

TWO - Launched as a competitor to 1&1 Hosting, but nobody else got the joke.

What is in a name?  Well if you make me giggle like a school girl when I have to say it in public, it could be both a good or a bad thing.  It could be considered memorable or it could be considered embarrassing.  It all depends on if your glass is half empty or half full.

I am back in my chair with the microphone strapped to my head, so that only mean one thing. It is time to talk hosting from the free file hosting choices you have out there all the way down to GoDaddy’s lackluster marketing team. The Web Hosting Show is on the air and ready for download.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 174!
Running Time: 12 minutes | File Size: 5.45 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• What is Domain Sniping?
• GoDaddy Shoots Super Bowl Commercial, and Fails to Raise the Bar
• The List of The Greatest Web Hosts That Never Made It
• 10 Alternatives to Free Rapidshare Hosting

Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:

• Aventure Host Launches Web Hosting Affiliate Program
• Hivelocity Offers Customers Unlimited Bandwidth and Double the RAM

Yes, as of late - I have been on a movie-title themed podcast naming trend haven’t I? Well, I can’t promise Jack Nicholson, but I can promise you that listening to this podcast weekly will make the wacky and wild world of web hosting make a little more sense to you.

Not just any podcast, the Web Hosting Show is back this week for episode 165. What is lined up for this week’s broadcast across the web hosting world? Well we have a little scam brewing with one domain name register, and we also have a lot of handy FeedBurner tools I bet you didn’t know existed.

All that and a bucket of chicken on this week’s edition of the Web Hosting Show.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 165!
Running Time: 13 minutes | File Size: 5.66 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:

• How to Read Bad Hosting Reviews
• Domain Hijacking, Not for Gangsters
• Best FeedBurner Analysis Tools
• Free Performance, Availability and Traffic Monitoring

Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:

• Google to Build Data Centers that Float?
• EstDomains.com Involved in Hundreds of Online Scams?
• Hostway Gives Away More Apple iPhones
• GoDaddy Races Sing This Song, Doo-dah! doo-dah!

Web hosting world, you had better get ready cause we got yet another great podcast from pillar to post to share with all of you. Give a download, listen to it, and let me know what you think!

You may have caught wind of some of the .me buzz last week, as GoDaddy started taking registrations for them for $20 a year (and you have to sign up for two years, so that should really be $40).  According to Mashable.com several people were claiming to have registered the same domain name, which is going to be a disappointment for some.  If eight people say they registered it, that will leave seven people really unhappy about the whole ordeal.

GoDaddy has also released this response to the claims that there was some wacky stuff going on during the first day of .me domain name registrations:

We knew the .ME Open Registration response would be tremendous, but it went beyond even what we had expected. As a result, we experienced some system issues in our communication with the registry.

As soon as we became aware of the issue we began taking steps to correct it. It is now resolved.  For our customers, if we did not successfully register the domain name requested they will receive a full refund.

Now that the first week’s hype is over, it might be a little easier to search around and see what .me domain names you can register from GoDaddy.  Only problem your left with is, are all the good names taken already?

In my opinion, the worst thing that could ever happen for the web hosting industry as a whole would be if Google bought GoDaddy. Now before you write me off as being some crazy anti-corporation loon let me explain the web hosting industry’s doomsday scenario.

The Merger Begins

Lets say in this alternate reality, Bob Parsons (the man in charge over at GoDaddy) gets an offer he can’t refuse from the Google team. He decides to sell to Google for (well, insert large dollar amount here) and Google is now the world’s biggest search provider and the world’s biggest domain name register all in one smart business move.

A few months down the road, Google announces it will get into the web hosting game. They have the money, servers and resources to start doing serious web hosting at any given moment now. Some might say they already are with their page creator service - but I don’t really count that as it has yet to even really get any decent buzz. If they needed a base for it, they could always use GoDaddy’s hosting business as a starter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen we now have Google Daddy.

Google Daddy Takes Over Web Hosting

With their two tier plan, you can get unlimited disk space, bandwidth and resources for free. Then they charge you five dollars for a domain name and your web site is up and running. Where is the catch? Well Google’s main business is not search - it is advertising. To pay for the hosting, you will agree to put Google AdSense ads on your web site and split the profits with Google 50/50. They get half of your ad revenue (on top of what they take from AdSense profits already) and you get reliable free hosting.

The End is Upon Us

Over the next few months, web hosts would start to drop like flies. Nobody out there can compete with Google Daddy and in one year or so down the road (after that acquire the Planet, Rackspace and a few other dedicated server hosts) they control seventy-five percent of the hosting market. What Google was just a little over a year back for just search they are now for search, domain registration and web hosting.

That would be the ultimate doomsday scenario that would bring the web hosting world to its knees. Google Daddy controls the three things that pretty much defines the Web as we know it and there is not a major force that can stand in their way.

I hear you need a favor. You need a little something to listen to, to help pass the time at the data center you work at. Well, I’ll do you this little favor and provide episode 142 of the Web Hosting Show free of charge. I won’t even ask for a favor in return.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 142!
Running Time: 12 minutes | File Size: 5.35 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Best of the WordPress Magazine Themes!
• Web Hosting Show is Nearly 3 Years Old?
• Google + GoDaddy = Web Hosting Armageddon!
• Server Status Monitoring with Firefox? (link)
• What is so Great About PHP 5 over PHP 4?

I am the Dick Van Dyke to your crazy web hosting musical. You won’t catch me hanging out with Mary Poppins or trying to convince people I’m a music man. I only have room for one passion and woman in my life and that lovely lady’s name is web hosting.