14 DAY TRIAL // The world is in a frenzy because of Ebola, as scientists are working to contain it, but some are looking to make money off of it all. One Internet domain trader, for instance, just sold Ebola.com to a medical marijuana company.
Blue String Ventures, who owns about 5,000 domain names, including Ebola.com, was offered some $50,000 (€40,000) in cash and 19,192 shares of Cannabis Sativa Inc, a subsidiary of Weed Growth Fund, a company that promotes medical use of marijuana. The shares by themselves are worth close to $170,000 (€134,000).
Considering that the domain cost $13,500 (€10.600) back in 2008, this is a $200,000 (€157,000) profit after the original purchase.
The deal isn’t the most profitable for the company, as others have sold for more, the Blue String Ventures told the Huffington Post, such as LasVegasRealEstate.com and PaydayLoans.com. “People don’t understand what we do. We don’t buy domain names hoping there’s a disaster,” said Chris Hood, junior partner with the company.
Of course, the company had also owned Birdflu.com, which has most likely sparked the controversy around ebola.com getting sold as well, two maladies that have scared the world.
On the other hand, there’s the concern that people will believe that pot is the answer to curing Ebola now that the owner of the domain is a company promoting medical use for marijuana, which is, of course, far from the truth. While cures are currently being tested out, there’s no guarantee that these will work either. At the same time, making the shots is a slow and tedious process, which goes against the people’s desire for everything to get fixed immediately.
The site will host information about Ebola
In spite of all the criticism, however, Hood says they’re not harming anyone. “We’re not causing anyone to get the disease, we’re not preventing anyone from getting treatment; we’re not out there fear-mongering… we’re just kind of sitting back and watching our investment in that particular URL,” Hood said.
Even though the site is now owned by a company that promotes weed consumption for medical purposes, Eric Miller, CEO of Weed Growth Fund, told the International Business Times that the site wouldn’t be centered on their business. Instead, it’s going to be like a “Drudge Report for Ebola,” bringing all the information about Ebola together in one place.
In order to get some of the money back, the site will be sporting ads, the company said. Right now, the site already hosts some information about Ebola, but it could certainly be a lot broader, to include more data, including about the outbreak, protection methods, new infections and so on.