discuss Domain White Papers?

ThatNameGuy · Oct 10, 2020

I've worked and started businesses in a lot of different industries; the healthcare industry (medical billing), the legal industry (debt collection), the information industry (investigations) and the real estate industry. In each of these industries you can find "White Papers" about the industries in general, and particular aspects about each industry.

Just recently I was asked by a friend if there are any white papers written for the Domain Industry? I didn't know, so the first thing I did was Google; "Domain Industry White Papers".....sadly nothing

Then I thought Wikipedia might have something when I Google simply "Domain Industry", and the only Wiki page's I came up with are; Domain name - Wikipedia and List of Internet Top Level Domains - Wikipedia.

Then I think to try AboutDomains.com and DomainWhitePaper.com and nothing.

This brings me to why I started this thread.....as big as the domain industry is, why hasn't someone like ICANN Verisign or even GoDaddy done a "White Paper", or at least contracted with someone to write an industry white paper?

Can anyone contribute to this conversation? Thanks.

Joe N · Oct 11, 2020

"White paper" is really just a fancy (and perhaps even antiquated?) term for an in-depth discussion of a specific topic. Are there white papers that cover entire industries? That would be quite an undertaking. If you were to focus on an entre industry, I feel like that would be more of an overview than a white paper.

Anyway... If you look around, I think you'll find that plenty of research articles have been written to cover various aspects of the domain industry. Look no further than the blog posts by our own @Bob Hawkes and @James Iles.

Most well-established businesses in the domain industry have articles on their sites that cover specific domain industry topics that would be of interest to their users. BrandBucket is one that comes to mind. They have quite a few in-depth articles centred around the importance of domains as brands.

HotKey · Oct 11, 2020

White papers are actually very common and included in many techie startups offering a new service or system, especially crypto-based.
for example;
https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-paper
https://www.namebase.io/handshake-whitepaper

In terms of domain names and raw purpose and functionality, you would want to visit IANA for the back-end documentation of things, and the white paper for ICANN is here:
https://www.icann.org/resources/unthemed-pages/white-paper-2012-02-25-en

biggie · Oct 11, 2020

Hi

i read the black papers, that have white font
where there is more information written in between the lines, than within them

imo...

ThatNameGuy · Oct 11, 2020

Joe Nichols said:
"White paper" is really just a fancy (and perhaps even antiquated?) term for an in-depth discussion of a specific topic. Are there white papers that cover entire industries? That would be quite an undertaking. If you were to focus on an entre industry, I feel like that would be more of an overview than a white paper.

Anyway... If you look around, I think you'll find that plenty of research articles have been written to cover various aspects of the domain industry. Look no further than the blog posts by our own Bob Hawkes and James Iles.

Most well-established businesses in the domain industry have articles on their sites that cover specific domain industry topics that would be of interest to their users. BrandBucket is one that comes to mind. They have quite a few in-depth articles centred around the importance of domains as brands.

Thanks for your input Joe....from Investopedia;

"A white paper is an informational document, usually issued by a company to promote or highlight the features of a solution, product, or service. White papers are often written as sales and marketing documents used to entice or persuade potential customers to learn more about or purchase a particular product, service, technology or methodology.

White papers are designed to be used as a marketing tool before a sale, and not as a user manual or other technical document developed to provide support to the user after making a purchase."

A good friend of mine says, "if you want a good new idea, read an old book" There's a lot of truth to that Joe, and my view of the Domain Industry comes from that philosophy. You're right about "White Papers" being more specific in nature than being about an "entire industry" For instance, here at NamePros we're more about the Domain Aftermarket vs the Domain Industry in general.

As a startup instigator

I've always felt there's a "better way". TQM, aka Total Quality Management (read an old book) says there's ALWAYS a better way. That's what I'm seeking by starting this thread.

I know I'm not the only one who believes the Domain Aftermarket has room for improvement.....just ask Verisign. Do you think I'm the one to write the "White Paper" for the domain aftermarket Joe?

ThatNameGuy · Oct 11, 2020

HotKey said:
White papers are actually very common and included in many techie startups offering a new service or system, especially crypto-based.
for example;

In terms of domain names and raw purpose and functionality, you would want to visit IANA for the back-end documentation of things, and the white paper for ICANN is here:

Thanks for sharing that HotKey.....it's what I was looking for when I started this thread I believe an entire "White Paper" can be written for "outbound marketing" of domains. Who do you think would be best at writing that "White Paper"? Thanks again.

Joe N · Oct 11, 2020

HotKey said:
White papers are actually very common and included in many techie startups offering a new service or system, especially crypto-based.
for example;
https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-paper
https://www.namebase.io/handshake-whitepaper

In terms of domain names and raw purpose and functionality, you would want to visit IANA for the back-end documentation of things, and the white paper for ICANN is here:
https://www.icann.org/resources/unthemed-pages/white-paper-2012-02-25-en

Interesting... These examples are very heavy on the technical side. I always thought of white papers as an engaging (albeit detailed) marketing tool. Like a really in-depth blog post.

I suppose there are many ideas of what constitutes a "white paper".

HotKey · Oct 11, 2020

Joe Nichols said:
Interesting... These examples are very heavy on the technical side. I always thought of white papers as an engaging (albeit detailed) marketing tool. Like a really in-depth blog post.

I suppose there are many ideas of what constitutes a "white paper".

I think your right- had no idea about the marketing side of it. Depends on your source and/or experience I suppose!

Terms can be so fluid nowadays..

Bob Hawkes · Oct 11, 2020

Thanks for starting the discussion, @ThatNameGuy While the term white paper may be not as broadly used in the domain world compared to technology, business management, etc., there definitely are many white paper type documents.

As @Joe Nichols noted , a number of the registrars, marketplaces, organizations and others have released white paper type documents. I would regard a number of the postings on things like the Dofo blog as white papers. Also ICANN itself, such as this one regarding the forthcoming TLD expansion. Back in 2017 I planned a series of domain white papers but only got around to releasing the first (WP17001) which estimated how many domain names were needed globally.

I do think that the format could effectively find more use, and that might help visibility of domains within the startup, business and post-secondary education communities.

Bob

NickB · Oct 11, 2020

A white paper is just basically a comprehensive guide/insight on any given topic that is generally used for marketing purposes by companies to position themselves as thought leaders

Deloitte, PWC, KPMG, McKinsey, BCG etc write loads of them every year....

Get someone to write a 10,000+ piece, include some info graphs, some nice images stats, quotes from well known industry people and share it......viola you have positioned yourself as a thought leader and also it is really good for SEO.......

ThatNameGuy · Oct 11, 2020

Bob Hawkes said:
Thanks for starting the discussion, @ThatNameGuy While the term white paper may be not as broadly used in the domain world compared to technology, business management, etc., there definitely are many white paper type documents.

As @Joe Nichols noted , a number of the registrars, marketplaces, organizations and others have released white paper type documents. I would regard a number of the postings on things like the Dofo blog as white papers. Also ICANN itself, such as this one regarding the forthcoming TLD expansion. Back in 2017 I planned a series of domain white papers but only got around to releasing the first (WP17001) which estimated how many domain names were needed globally.

I do think that the format could effectively find more use, and that might help visibility of domains within the startup, business and post-secondary education communities.

Bob

Thanks for chiming in Bob....here is an excerpt from ICANN's overview;

The Need for Change:

From its origins as a U.S.-based research vehicle, the Internet is rapidly becoming an international medium for commerce, education and communication. The traditional means of organizing its technical functions need to evolve as well. The pressures for change are coming from many different quarters:

There is widespread dissatisfaction about the absence of competition in domain name registration.
Conflicts between trademark holders and domain name holders are becoming more common. Mechanisms for resolving these conflicts are expensive and cumbersome.
Many commercial interests, staking their future on the successful growth of the Internet, are calling for a more formal and robust management structure.
An increasing percentage of Internet users reside outside of the U.S., and those stakeholders want to participate in Internet coordination.
As Internet names increasingly have commercial value, the decision to add new top-level domains cannot be made on an ad hoc basis by entities or individuals that are not formally accountable to the Internet community.
As the Internet becomes commercial, it becomes less appropriate for U.S. research agencies to direct and fund these functions.

Bob....it's been said the domain industry is an industry that's hidden in plain sight, and when I tell people about it and how it works, especially the aftermarket, their eyes glass over. This is why I'm looking to start a "One Price" after market brokerage, and if an "end user" can't find a domain there, we'll do our best to find them one for the same price. Does that make sense?

ThatNameGuy · Oct 11, 2020

NickB said:
A white paper is just basically a comprehensive guide/insight on any given topic that is generally used for marketing purposes by companies to position themselves as thought leaders

Deloitte, PWC, KPMG, McKinsey, BCG etc write loads of them every year....

Get someone to write a 10,000+ piece, include some info graphs, some nice images stats, quotes from well known industry people and share it......viola you have positioned yourself as a thought leader and also it is really good for SEO.......

Nick...i never really thought of myself as a "thought leader", but when you see how much Afternic/GD is asking for ThoughtLeader.com you'll see why a well written "White Paper" affecting "change" is in the making.

NickB · Oct 11, 2020

ThatNameGuy said:
Nick...i never really thought of myself as a "thought leader", but when you see how much Afternic/GD is asking for ThoughtLeader.com you'll see why a well written "White Paper" affecting "change" is in the making.

I get forward to "https://mariesharpsusa.com" when I Go to ThoughtLeader.com

The point being is these White papers have been done so many times and promoted so heavily that they really don't carry the same weight as they use to, for me anyway......Any Tom, Dick and Harry can put one together.....so the above redirects sums it up perfectly

ThatNameGuy · Oct 11, 2020

I get forward to "mariesharpsusa.com" when I Go to ThoughtLeader.com

The point being is these White papers have been done so many times and promoted so heavily that they really don't carry the same weight as they use to, for me anyway......Any Tom, Dick and Harry can put one together.....so the above redirects sums it up perfectly
Go to Go Daddy's Official Site and key in ThoughtLeader.com and you'll see what I mean:

thoughtleader.com - premium
Estimated Value; $15,410
Interested in buying this Domain? It's available!
$99,999.00*

HotKey · Oct 11, 2020

Bob Hawkes said:
Back in 2017 I planned a series of domain white papers but only got around to releasing the first (WP17001) which estimated how many domain names were needed globally.

That's quite the overview you did there, and a great example of "white paper" from a personal, forecasting-based perspective, using some real world numbers as collateral. Thanks for the share. Previously wasn't aware of this kind of presentation of the term.

Domain names in and of themselves may always bring new surprises, while at the same time imo give a sort of stability in a world of constant flux, as in the tech arena.

CraigD · Oct 18, 2020

HotKey said:
That's quite the overview you did there, and a great example of "white paper" from a personal, forecasting-based perspective, using some real world numbers as collateral. Thanks for the share. Previously wasn't aware of this kind of presentation of the term.

Domain names in and of themselves may always bring new surprises, while at the same time imo give a sort of stability in a world of constant flux, as in the tech arena.

I'd always assumed that white papers were official government papers that are colour coded to indicate distribution, where white was the designation for those meant for public access.

CraigD · Oct 18, 2020

ThatNameGuy said:
I've worked and started businesses in a lot of different industries; the healthcare industry (medical billing), the legal industry (debt collection), the information industry (investigations) and the real estate industry. In each of these industries you can find "White Papers" about the industries in general, and particular aspects about each industry.

Just recently I was asked by a friend if there are any white papers written for the Domain Industry? I didn't know, so the first thing I did was Google; "Domain Industry White Papers".....sadly nothing Then I thought Wikipedia might have something when I Google simply "Domain Industry", and the only Wiki page's I came up with are; Domain name - Wikipedia and List of Internet Top Level Domains - Wikipedia.

Then I think to try AboutDomains.com and DomainWhitePaper.com and nothing.

This brings me to why I started this thread.....as big as the domain industry is, why hasn't someone like ICANN Verisign or even GoDaddy done a "White Paper", or at least contracted with someone to write an industry white paper?

Can anyone contribute to this conversation? Thanks.

Here's one not mentioned

ICAAN White paper on internet domain name expansion
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/white-paper-lux-11jul05-en.pdf

discuss Domain White Papers?

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