The majority of internet domains are worth very little, but what about Google.com?
Google has revealed how much it paid the person who owned Google.com for a whole minute.
In October last year, former Google employee Sanmay Ved was searching Google Domains when he discovered the domain was available to purchase.
He shelled out a lowly $12 to own the address, but the purchase was reverted one minute later.
As a reward for discovering the issue,
The figure was chosen because it spells out Google numerically; “squint a little and you’ll see it,” says Google.
However, Ved opted to donate his reward to charity, so Google decided to double the amount as a bonus.
At the time of the purchase, Ved said: “…for one minute I had access. At least I can now say I’m the man who owned Google.com for one minute.”
Related: Best Web Browser 2016
It’s not the first time a tech firm has encountered a domain snafu. In 2003, someone scooped Hotmail.co.uk from under Microsoft’s nose.
Fortunately, the buyer returned the domain to Microsoft, reminding the company about the importance of renewing domains.
Do you own any interesting domain names? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
