Go Daddy, we’re through

If you read Reel Girl, you’ve probably noticed my primitive blog address: http://margotmagowan.wordpress.com

A couple years ago, right when I started blogging, a kind reader got me the name “Reel Girl.” I think he was on Web Hero. My ex brother-in-law had gotten me margotmagowan.com maybe ten years ago, he was on Go Daddy. My New Year’s resolution was to transfer the names, sort it all out, and get a professional address for my blog (www. reelgirl.com). So about two weeks ago, my husband started talking to Go Daddy and getting the process rolling for me– three great men helping me out, which is quite nice, but I wasn’t paying much attention. Being the procrastinator that I am, I hadn’t gotten around to finishing the process, but I started seeing Go Daddy in the news for being against SOPA and then for being sexist. Apparently, Go Daddy has been sexist for a long time. Then I watched the Superbowl yesterday and I saw one of the most offensive ads I’ve seen in my life. It was for Go Daddy.

In the ad, Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels were using a naked model as a billboard (for much of the ad her head is chopped off the screen) writing things on her body like: “Get yours now” and “Get noticed.” They ask: “Who won’t notice a hot model in body paint?” It’s so depressing to see two women objectify a third, especially Danica Patrick who excelled as a Nascar driver, a sport dominated by men. She could be such an inspiring role model for girls and women.

This morning, I went to Go Daddy’s website where there was another horrible ad. Next to a photo of the Pussycat Dolls, the copy reads: “Too hot for TV.” Is this an advertisement for a web hosting company or porn? Two nerdy guys see the Dolls come out at them and wonder if they’re in heaven.Who is this ad for? Obviously, not me. This version of heaven sounds like the Taliban’s.

The Pussycat Doll ad promises that Go Daddy will improve your business with “E-commerce tools and 24/7 customer service” but obviously, Go Daddy couldn’t care less about its female customers. Clearly, to Go Daddy, women are not business owners or bloggers. They’re just objects.

So then I called Go Daddy. I told them I no longer wanted them to host Reel Girl. I told them that their Superbowl ad was offensive and horrible and it treated women not like customers, but like dehumanized them. The woman I spoke with was polite and helpful and said I would get my money back.

I hope all women bloggers and business owners stop using Go Daddy. I hope men do as well. I hope Danica Patrick gets a new job.

Just went to the Go Daddy site to put in the links to this post and the Pussycat Doll ad is no longer on the front page. Could they be listening?

20 thoughts on “Go Daddy, we’re through

  1. Let me know how the move goes. I left GoDaddy after last year’s Superbowl, but chose the wrong company and it was a disaster. My blog was down for almost two months, and I went back to GoDaddy to be sure the problem would end. I need a reliable registrar and website host that knows what it is doing.

    • There are plenty of other reliable registrars and webhosts. You should not feel like you have to be forced to use the GoDaddy Slime balls. I run a webhosting business but please use anyone other than GoDaddy.

      • Well, I would say don’t use “anyone other than GoDaddy.” For example, the one I used, Bizland, could not get my blog, hosted by Google, connected to my domain name. And when you switch, you can’t switch again for some amount of time – I think it was 60 days- unless you switch directly back to your former company. So my blog was down for two months. Then more trouble when I tried to leave them. I spent hours and hours on the phone and on email trying to resolve the problem over the course of two months. When I went back to GoDaddy, my problem was resolved immediately. I don’t know what to ask, though, to ensure that doesn’t happen again. It would be great, Carl, if you could give us some pointers on what to look for. I am very nervous about trying again.

      • Hi Erin,

        If I understand your situation correctly. Google was your webhost and GoDaddy was your Domain Name Registrar right? Why not just use Google for your Domain Name Registrar too so everything is in one place? Google did Domain Name Registration last time I checked.

        I would first ask your host what their name server addresses are or if they have a domain manager control panel to get them yourself. There are two host name server addresses and you need both of them. Next I would ask your Domain Name Registrar if they could point your domain name to your host’s name server or if they have a control panel so that you can point your domain name to your host’s name server yourself. This basically means you type in the name server addresses provided by your host in your registrar’s domain name control panel. A DNS update might take up to 72 hours but should not be 2 months.

        If for some reason you can’t get Google to be your domain name registrar to combine everything together, then you may want to consider Yahoo as a domain name registrar since I know they have a domain name control panel. I use them to point to websites hosted by Blootow all the time. You can also use Blootow as a registrar but you can probably get a lower price from Yahoo for domain names especially on the first year if you catch one of their $1.99 for the first year deals. Future years they will raise the price significantly though. Blootow’s “Domain Included Hosting Plan” is a good deal for those who want to start a site/blog from scratch with a new domain name and hosting combined. Free hosting up to 250MB is always available as well.

        Hope that helps.

  2. Please let me know how your move goes. I dropped GoDaddy last year after the Superbowl, and I told them why (sexist marketing). But I chose the wrong provider so it was a disaster and my blog was down for nearly two months, and I ended up back with them so I could be certain that the disaster would end. When I find a reliable registrar and webhost that knows what it is doing, I will switch.

  3. I was the only lady in the room at my Super Bowl viewing when that commercial aired, and I wasn’t really happy about it, trust me. The boys were thrilled, of course, but they sobered a little when I pointed out how degrading it was.

    I was already opposed to GoDaddy for their support of the SOPA bill, and this is the final nail in their coffin. If I were I to buy a domain name in the near future, it would definitely be through a company with a little more respect for its clientele.

  4. Hi margotmagowan,

    I heard your interview on KGO 810am today and I could not agree with you more about how degrading to women the GoDaddy commercials are. On Dec 29th 2011 I posted a youtube video to support the “Dump GoDaddy Day”. I started Blootow in 2007 and it is an ethical website hosting alternative. Hopefully when enough women close their GoDaddy accounts we will not have to see those stupid GoDaddy commercials anymore. How could Danica be such a sellout for money when she is such a role model to so many little girls? Perhaps every SuperBowl is a great day to make the official “Dump GoDaddy Day”. Don’t let those sleaze balls get away with that nonsense.

    Consider our webhosting company instead at:
    http://blootow.com

    Also see our last “Dump GoDaddy” video on youtube at:
    http://www.youtube.com/user/Blootow

    • One more thing I completely forgot to mention…

      We have a really good Affiliate Program where you can receive 50% commission for every person you get to switch from GoDaddy’s paid plans to one of Blootow’s paid plans. Imagine getting a whole year of webhosting and your “reelgirl.com” domain name fully paid for by only getting two women to “Dump GoDaddy!”, which is a good thing anyway. At the third person you get to “Dump GoDaddy!”, your website will start making some “reel” money. What better and honest way is there to make a little money than to sink the GoDaddy sleaze balls. It can be as simple as putting a “Dump GoDaddy” clickable banner that you can make yourself and put on your blog.This is a Win-Win situation for sure. Don’t worry they deserve it.

      Check out Blootow’s affiliate program here. Perhaps you can get your husband to set it up if you are not super tech savy or feel free to ask me any questions.
      http://blootow.com/hosting-affiliate-program.html

      • MM,

        If Web Hero is working for you than you should definitely stick with them. Anyone but GoDaddy! You can still use the Blootow affiliate program on your site for free even when hosting your site with Web Hero.

        Cheers,
        Carl

  5. Well Margot,

    I am surprised you haven’t discovered the truth about godaddy a long time ago. They have been running ads like that since before Eli Manning was out of diapers.

    I never used them because I felt they came late to the registrar party, and I resented them for the arrogance of Super Bowl ad buys, as well as their pathetic attempts to seem hip because they had hot women shilling for them. As a self-proclaimed man pig, I respond very negatively when a corporation uses women and sex to entice me to buy something. It is not a fraternity for me. I hate godaddy, but for different reasons.

    Oddly however, I read the phrase “two women objectify a third” and I do get turned on. A lot. I get a huge kick out the idea that some people find your blog because of searches like that. Huge kick. Keep it up!

    • Hi Alex,

      Yeah, I was outed on radio for being a tech phobe, a procrastinator, and letting 3 men do my work for me. I am trying hard to redeem my wicked ways by finding a new host ASAP. At least you got some benefit out of it.

      MM

  6. I totally agree. As I watched the game with my 9 year old daughter, I rushed to explain how substantive Danica Patrick truly is so perhaps she could focus on the hard work, risk-taking and leadership Danica represents rather than the sexual object she was made into. I wrote Go Daddy a letter- hopefully they’ll feel the pressure. As an aside, don’t you find it tough to read the comments you get on SFGate?

    • Hi Noalmode,

      I’m so glad you wrote to Go Daddy! And what a bummer for your nine year old daughter to see that. That really sucks.

      The SFGate comments were hard the first day I blogged for them. I was shocked at the personal attacks that had nothing to do with my arguments. Now they mostly crack me up. I let them stay up there (I have the option not to accept comments) because they are so sexist, ironically, they help prove my points. I wrote about this is a post titled “It’s my birthday, I’m 43” or something like that if you want to read more.

      MM

  7. The Super Bowl commercial was appalling. Just really disheartening. Danica Patrick, especially, is a knife in the back to all women. What do we call a lady Uncle Tom?

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