Susan Boyle Cybersquatting Fiasco

With her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation. Days after her TV debut, just about every possible domain containing the term “susanboyle” was registered.

Despite her fame, Susan Boyle still doesn’t have her own website. In fact, the show’s production company, Talkback Thames, did nothing to help her secure a domain, despite knowing her potential for fame after the show was pre-recorded.

Journalist Gary Ennis emailed the company about this:

…surely you have a responsibility to Susan, to help protect her best interests, and with the knowledge that she was likely to become the subject of media interest (given the show is pre-recorded), I find it difficult to understand why you (acting on her behalf) did not takle measures to ensure the relevant domain names were secured in advance of such public exposure, and therefore protecting her online identity for the future.

Susan Boyle is famous and millions are searching her name on search engines. But she won’t get a penny for it. Maybe if she had been advised to register a name ahead of time, she could have received her deserved gain from all the Internet hype. Everyone- from performers to Joe Schmoe- needs to give more thought to Internet publicity.

Source: Web Journal 2.0