discuss Are domain names becoming less valuable in the near future?

[Fayaz Ahmed]

Just thinking out loud:

Interests in Social Media and advancements in Search Engine algorithms caused the decline in low & no content website traffic severely.

gTLDs and possibility of an alternate decentralized domain naming system such as unstoppable domains (more likely a more open and non-profit future version of something similar) diluted the domain name industry even further.

Popularity of smart phones and phone apps made many services available to mass people that were previously mainly served by websites. So the app market, on one hand facilitated the creation of new brands (hence more brandable tech domain names), but on the other hand, it contributed to the decline in web traffic. Besides, as we are reaching to an equilibrium point to the number of these new brands, eventually the smart phone app market are more likely to contribute to the further decline of interest in websites and hence domain names.

And last but not the least, the recent advancements in Ai implementations like ChatGPT is threatning website traffic even with content.

So, are domain names as a whole becoming less valuable in the near future because of all these?

Surely ultra valuable domain names will most likely still remain valuable in the foreseable future. But what about the others?

To summarise, in the near future (say 5-10 years):

• What sort of names will prevail?
• What sort of names are most likely to fade away?
• What's your thought on this overall concern?

Please also provide your reasoning behind those thoughts.

Note: I'm not asking this to spread negativity. Instead, please look at it as a discussion to better prepare for a probable foreseeable future.

 

[lock]

Near future refers to near and problem is some domains will need to age a little so how many are worth aging for more or selling at todays market? Need to either make turn over or cover it.

 

[Kuffy]

A domain name with a website gives you an internet home, but you have to do some work to keep it clean and attractive. Being on social media is like sleeping in a giant dormitory. It has staff to keep it clean, but it also has millions of people watching you dress and undress. If they don't like the colour of your underpants, you may find yourself demoted and unpopular. This can mean that you have to move to a new dormitory, and lose much of your investment in your old home. I think all content management systems have mobile friendly templates, so viewing devices shouldn't be a problem.

With a profitable domain name, you are building an asset for yourself, and not for the media barons.

 

[MKA]

Not necessarily. You can do it with Apps as well.

Right, but apps aren't replacements for sites, they're a way to make a service more accessible (primarily on mobile devices).

Furthermore, it's also possible with alternative domain naming systems. I know no such alrernative naming system exists that is a threat to the current one, but that could all change.

That's true. But like you suggested, ICANN is a non-profit organization, heavily regulated, with powerful infrastructure leaving no room for competition.

At the moment U.S. government mainly controls domain naming system. This is understandable, since the web is an innovation of U.S. army research. However, the world is becoming multipolar. In the future, countries like China, Russia, Iran etc. may want alternative domain naming system so that U.S. cannot unilaterally block them whenever it wants for whatever reason.

China, Russia, and Iran already have their own DNS roots (most notable are their ccTLD: .cn, .ru, and .ir) which are fully managed by information networks under the governments of these countries. ICANN has no influence over these.

And China has already done a lot, Google and YouTube are banned (instead they have BaiDu and Youku). They also have content regulation, meaning you can't access sites on their blacklist.

But they're still using .com for most of their services.

I think what you're forgetting here is that the Internet is meant to be open (as opposed to an intranet, which is meant to be closed), and international trade are an important facet of every country's economy.

This will inevitably initialte the downfall of the current domain naming system sooner or later. Possibly something like an open decentralized system will become popular instead.

A DNS root can't be decentralized because it's an infrastructure that perpetually requires resources to maintain (programmers, servers, etc.). It further needs to be safe to access, and be subject to legal review, which requires it to be centralized.

 

[Future Sensors]

A DNS root can't be decentralized because it's an infrastructure that perpetually requires resources to maintain (programmers, servers, etc.). It further needs to be safe to access, and be subject to legal review, which requires it to be centralized.

I'd say it's highly decentralized nowadays. There is 1 DNS root zone, it's managed by PTI under contract. There are 12 organizations hosting the DNS root zone, 13 root hostnames, and already over a 1,000 instances around the world which have a copy of the root zone and serve it through IP anycast.

 

[branding]

I'd say it's highly decentralized nowadays. There is 1 DNS root zone, it's managed by PTI under contract. There are 12 organizations hosting the DNS root zone, 13 root hostnames, and already over a 1,000 instances around the world which have a copy of the root zone and serve it through IP anycast.

Go enlighten the fake TLD supporters you're right though.

ALTs have been tried before. Failed miserably. They failed yet again and will continue to do so.

No governance = no trust = no traction = no adaptation.

All hype, little substance.

 

[Fayaz Ahmed]

No governance = no trust = no traction = no adaptation.

Open and distributed governance is not no governance. Linux, JavaScript doesn't work centrally like domain naming system. But they wrok better than most.

Central governance works faster than open and distributed governance, that's why they are easily adopted by the masses. However, once a group of people can make open and distributed governance work, they become the standard.

Open and Distributed naming system (not like unstoppable, more like JavaScript and GNU/Linux) will eventually become a reality. However, I don't think they'll outright replace the current naming system, rather they'll work parallel to each other - more as an enhancement and alternative, not as a complete substitution.

 

[uiuiu]

 

[Zaryab Tahir]

That said, domain names still hold significant value, especially for established businesses that rely on their online presence. As long as the internet remains a crucial part of our lives, domain names will likely remain valuable assets.

 

[Registry Services]

such as unstoppable domains (more likely a more open and non-profit future version of something similar)

Handshake (handshake.org) - open blockchain ROOT, non-profit

 

[GFBK.com]

The premium ones will getting more and more valuable, and the long and complex names will lose thier value year by year

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

What names will fade away:
The same as it's always been - certain niches. Some will stick around, some will pop up out of nowhere, and some will fall. If anything it will be certain extensions that will continue to fade away.

Like the utterly pointless .co extension

 

[magnificentdomains]

I think search is on course to drastically change due to AI which will affect the domain industry. I think there will be a dropoff for premium domains that would have been blog/informational web sites. This will probably balance out with an increased demand for premium domains in the ai/robotic space.

The number of new businesses has been increasing by 20% + / yr post covid. I think that trend will continue as more and more people start their own businesses / projects. Every startup needs a home online and people recognize good vs cheap domains. That will be a constant driver for premium domains.

I could also see the premium domain space getting much more crowded as new generations and large companies become more familiar with the unique advantages of domain investing. The reality is there is nothing quite like this business and only a teeny, tiny segment of the population is truly familiar with it.

 

[777domains]

As the internet becomes more mature, domain names are becoming more valuable in terms of their brandability and SEO value. This is because businesses have started to realize the importance of having a good domain name to stand out from the competition. So, although the domain name industry is witnessing a decline in web traffic due to the factors mentioned above, it is still a very important part of the online landscape and businesses are still very much interested in investing in well-branded domain names.

 

[twiki]

Came back to say this.

They are so less valuable that in Spring 2023 I can't get anything anymore at drop.

 

[Daniel Owens]

I would really prefer that .com had a system where it was a one time fee instead of yearly renewal I think it's the blockchain domains that have 1 time fee. It would be nice if .com had a $10 fee and one time. Darn that would change the market a lot though. Rather instead .com renewals have been rising every couple years. Probably by 2025 .com's will cost us more than $10 to renew. So I know it's wishful thinking about one time fee for .com. On the topic of if domains will go away, I think domains will be replaced more by apps as less and less domains are available. Long-term I think domains will be used by hobbyist and small businesses, but big businesses will continue to shift over to apps. The result of this could lower the value of .coms because we won't see as many xx,xxx sales when they can just get an amazing app domain & traffic. Alternatively even some small businesses may consider going the app route if they think they can get the perfect app name. Long-term apps are the future as more and more people use mobile devices for web.

 

[TRY]

If you have to ask then you're in the wrong business.
Web3 is and will be for a long time a niche. Social media has hindered domain names the past 10 years but that's ending. Metaverse will be open and domain names will be needed to navigate it since the metaverse is the internet (webxr).
Domain names without commercial use such as informational sites will go down in value because of Ai.
More people will opt for shorter domain names in cctlds rather than a 3 or 4 word .com.

 

[Jeffrey]

The apps won't replace domains in the current setup. Building an app is a lot of hard work and costs money.

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

As the internet becomes more mature, domain names are becoming more valuable in terms of their brandability and SEO value. This is because businesses have started to realize the importance of having a good domain name to stand out from the competition. So, although the domain name industry is witnessing a decline in web traffic due to the factors mentioned above, it is still a very important part of the online landscape and businesses are still very much interested in investing in well-branded domain names.

Brandable marketplaces like BB, SH and Brandpa plus premium .com brokers and auctioneers will be the main beneficiaries of this shift.

 

[karmaco]

Unstoppable sure has quietly been collecting trademarks

https://file.trademarkia.com/owners/Unstoppable Domains, Inc.?reset_page=false

 

[HotKey]

Unstoppable sure has quietly been collecting trademarks

https://file.trademarkia.com/owners/Unstoppable Domains, Inc.?reset_page=false

Anything related to their own "unstoppable" branding, good for them. Lots of dead, abandoned on attempts to mark actual extensions or terms outside that.

Srsly... "crypto", "doge", "wallet", "bitcoin" etc they are certainly ambitious. Like a clown wearing a stethoscope and trying to TM the word "doctor".

 

[Anthony Ettinger]

i just picked up some good webxr domains. with apple vision pro supporting webxr i think its going to supercharge this tech.

 

[trelgor]

Most people are giving answers that sound like I asked: "Are domain names becoming obsolete?".
I guess that's why I got all the negative votes / downvotes. Fair enough.

But please note: I've never claimed or asked if domain names are becoming obsolete.

So, some of of these answers are completely wrong, not because the content of those answers are wrong, but because that's not the question I've asked.

So once again, to summarize, I've asked:



Also,



Please answer keeping in mind the subtle difference.
Or better yet, please read my oroginal post without prejudice before anwsering.

Hopefully then, this thread will become really constructive and people coming in will learn something from the posts.

Thanks again everyone for your kind contributions

The future is going to be brick and mortar.

"Online".

Lol. BS.

And what good is a name anyway? No one ever really needed one.

Superfluous.

Right?

And who's to say one name is better than another?

Could be anything, just as well.

Doesn't matter.

It's "all in the eye of the beholder" anyway.

 

[branding]

It's "all in the eye of the beholder" anyway.

That's a very common misconception.

 

[STIJL]

The internet and addressing properties will never go away, no matter who you are on the planet the opportunity to have a global presence can happen for little to no money.

With 66% of the global population currently using the internet we have some upside.

 

[branding]

The internet and addressing properties will never go away, no matter who you are on the planet the opportunity to have a global presence can happen for little to no money.

With 66% of the global population currently using the internet we have some upside.

I like your style