In the wacky world of online politics, especially presidential politics, domain squatting is prevalent. Often, squatters try to forecast campaigns far into the future. ObamaClinton.com was registered in November 2004. Gore08.com was registered in December 2003! Right now, as VP speculation runs wild throughout the Tubes, it’s easy to become overly excited upon hearing news of which domains exist and where they point to.

As noted on this Orlando Sentinel Blog, the domain of ObamaNelson.com actually points to the official Barack Obama campaign site. Whoa! Actually, this means nothing. Any URL (whether a domain or a page) can redirect to any other URL. Redirects are done all the time, and all they mean is that the person controlling the URL wants it to point to somewhere else.

It’s also incredibly easy to find out who actually owns a given domain. Like everything, you can just Google it. But you need to know a special keyword to use, and that’s “WHOIS”. So you can Google whois obamanelson.com, and you’ll have an answer.

Click on the top result, and scroll down to the “Whois Record”. The international body that regulates domain names (ICANN) mandates that real names and addresses be used when registering domains, and the truth often reveals itself. It does in the case of ObamaNelson.com.

Sometimes though, the registration will be by proxy, meaning the real owner pays for a service (by GoDaddy or a similar domain registrar) that protects their true identity. When you see this, then it’s really time for some wild speculation!