SEATTLE, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Colin Pape, founder of ShopCity.com, a company with a portfolio of over 8,000 developed "geo" domain names, will give the keynote address at the 1st Annual Epik.com Domain Developer Conference. The keynote event will be on September 16, starting at 1:30 pm at the Bell Harbor Conference Center Bay Auditorium in Seattle. Following the speech will be a live auction featuring 100 developed websites. Both events are open to the public and people are encouraged to attend.

Pape's company built their $60 million portfolio into a network of local Internet marketplaces such as ShopNewYork.com, ShopBoston.com and ShopSeattle.com. Each territory is licensed to local partners, similar to a franchise model. The collection of domains was assembled over a ten-year period by merging the portfolios of three competing companies.

"Few people understand the individual intricacies of both domain names and domain development as well as Colin Pape," says Rob Monster, Epik's Chairman and CEO. "As he has expertly demonstrated with ShopCity.com, the power of descriptive domain names, combined with the right domain development platform has the potential to generate significant, sustainable revenue. His in-depth, hands-on knowledge makes him the perfect Keynote Speaker for the Epik.com Domain Developer Conference," says Monster.

ShopCity's geographic domains are the keys that open doors to relationships with local governments, media companies and business groups, but the company's networked software solution is what has enabled Pape to command hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees for a domain name that would sell for much less on its own.

"Domains have tremendous inherent marketing value, but unless you leverage that potential and convert it to revenue, you're missing out on 90% of the benefit," says Colin Pape. "Domain development is the process of creating the applications, payment gateways, management and reporting systems that work together to turn a concept into a business that creates value that can be measured and improved," says Pape.

The Epik.com Developer Conference features workshops covering the entire domain development lifecycle, for maximizing the sale price of a domain name, as well as a live auction of revenue producing websites and, a first-ever "domain swap meet" where owners can trade domains as a way to expand specific areas of their domain portfolio.

"I'm honored to speak to a group of Domain Investors who've made the commitment to move beyond parking. Domain development improves the user-experience, increases the value of the domain, and enhances the perception of the domain industry," says Pape.

For more information about the Epik Developer Conference, visit http://www.epik.com/conf/.

About ShopCity.com

ShopCity.com is a local shopping network of more than 8,000 geo-domain names including ShopNewYork.com, ShopBoston.com and ShopSeattle.com, that help local businesses compete with large Internet shopping websites and brick-and-mortar 'big box' discount retailers. The platform enables SMBs to create custom deals, gift certificates and marketplace listings that make it easy for local shoppers to find them and keep dollars flowing within the community.

About Epik.com

Epik was founded in 2009 with a simple goal - to help domainers evolve from a singular dependence on domain parking to a more diversified array of value creation strategies that unlock the potential associated with an intuitive domain name. Epik is based in Seattle and is a leading provider of managed solutions for domain investing individuals and institutions that seek exposure to the domain name asset class. Learn more by visiting http://www.Epik.com

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SOURCE Epik.com