.co .CO - The Discussion, Showcase and Sales Report Thread

[TOXX]

Well, it seems like Colombia will be releasing .CO to the internet market:
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http://www.mincomunicaciones.gov.co...ge=./mods/contenido/noticia_user_view&id=1043
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This could truly be a big competitor to .COM (especially being a "typo").
I would say with proper guidance .CO could REALLY have a bright future!
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Let me know your thoughts please.

 

[emjohn]

Congrats to the .co team. Quite an accomplishment.

I think what many are forgetting is that .CO has strictly business roots - they have been running a business from the get go. .com is a VERY different thing. It has been the "default" extension since the advent of the internet. Comparisons are futile. Getting a successful business up and establishing legs in a very tough industry must be applauded. I've been involved in similar entrepreneurial ventures before and it's not as easy as it looks.

Above all, their marketing layout has been one of the best I've seen in many years, in any niche. A blueprint for success, no doubt.

http://www.thedomains.com/2012/01/04/co-internet-recognized-as-world-finance-100-business-leader/

---------- Post added at 04:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:48 AM ----------

The full chart shows that they had fallen long before the decision to rebrand to O.co:

finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=OSTK+Basic+Chart&t=my

They have been struggling since the fall-off in 2008, long before .CO was on their agenda.

For a struggling company, band-aid solutions seldom work. It was not a bad idea purchasing O.co but to think it was going to save the company, well, that was unrealistic, in any case. However, it's a smart move to still use the name and put it into a secondary role. O.co will then still be a reminder to people that "O" is "Overstock".

PS Overstock will need "jolt" of some kind to get it back in the upward direction. It looks like it may be headed for low level consolidation for some time.

Who cares how much in products they sell, they have been consistently losing money.

Overstock shares were worth $20+ (July 20th, 2010) when the acquisition of O.co was announced.

Today shares closed @ $7.51, hitting a 52 week low.

After a disastrous rebranding effort, maybe Overstock is not as smart as you are giving them credit for.

Brad

 

[Kate]

I wonder how the management justified the 350K purchase to the shareholders.
Sure it was a bold move but 350K for a company that is struggling...

 

[DU]

.

Above all, their marketing layout has been one of the best I've seen in many years, in any niche. A blueprint for success, no doubt.

I don't think people question the success of .CO

But to compare .CO company success (so far - it's a young company) with domain investment success (even just implied) is also inaccurate statement of affairs for the audience here.

The audience here was the TARGET of the marketing, for the most part.

 

[emjohn]

As .co turns more pervasive, it is logical that the aftermarket will benefit from this pervasiveness. The .co aftermarket only stands to get better (and more expensive) when the roots are a growing World Finance 100 Company.

It's like saying (fallaciously) that the only ones benefitting from Google are Google. They make a ton of money from adwords but many people benefit from the service they provide. .CO is also providing a service, and many people will benefit from that as well, indirectly (investors) and directly (site developers).

I don't think people question the success of .CO

But to compare .CO company success (so far - it's a young company) with domain investment success (even just implied) is also inaccurate statement of affairs for the audience here.

The audience here was the TARGET of the marketing, for the most part.

---------- Post added at 05:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 AM ----------

If you look at the chart, it's clear something had to be done and stll something has to be done. O.co is an excellent name, but if the problem lies in the logistics of the company, no name in the world is going to save it. Operating efficiency has to be rethought on a very fundamental level.

I wonder how the management justified the 350K purchase to the shareholders.
Sure it was a bold move but 350K for a company that is struggling...

 

[MicroGuy]

The audience here was the TARGET of the marketing, for the most part.

I think this fact is what more people need to realize. :bingo:

 

[NovyTimm]

FREE Advertising in Discussion forums Marketing 101 d'oh!

...as an object of criticism and ridicule, d'oh!

The person who said "All publicity is good publicity" wasn't alive during the Internet age.

 

[DU]

The person who said "All publicity is good publicity" wasn't alive during the Internet age.

..or understands the internet better than most...

 

[BitcoinDK]

..or understands the internet better than most...

I agree with NovyTimm, we recently had a company on the news here in Denmark, who got really bad publicity, because of their treatment of their workers.

It was a "trendy" cupcake company with a couple of shops.

They really got negative respons, both on the news and on facebook, so much that they had to almost kiss their workers ..behind.

And they are still trying to get back from the negative publicity they have receive.

Since Internet where people have had easier to make their annoyance regarding a company public and where everybody can find any information on that said company when they search on Google, Bing and Yahoo, the saying "any publicity is good publicity" - is not true anymore.

 

[emjohn]

"Any publicity is good publicity" never referred to businesses that were physical product oriented. It refers to entertainment celebrities and the such who may gain popularity from being "infamous" or "famous". This stands true even more so in the internet age. The internet is 1000x more powerful than the "Enquirer" ever was. This benefits celebrities and public figures even more.

I agree with NovyTimm, we recently had a company on the news here in Denmark, who got really bad publicity, because of their treatment of their workers.

It was a "trendy" cupcake company with a couple of shops.

They really got negative respons, both on the news and on facebook, so much that they had to almost kiss their workers ..behind.

And they are still trying to get back from the negative publicity they have receive.

Since Internet where people have had easier to make their annoyance regarding a company public and where everybody can find any information on that said company when they search on Google, Bing and Yahoo, the saying "any publicity is good publicity" - is not true anymore.

 

[DU]

"Any publicity is good publicity" never referred to businesses that were physical product oriented. It refers to entertainment celebrities and the such who may gain popularity from being "infamous" or "famous". This stands true even more so in the internet age. The internet is 1000x more powerful than the "Enquirer" ever was. This benefits celebrities and public figures even more.

Exactly. I can't even find a hair to split

 

[JB Lions]

"The .co aftermarket only stands to get better (and more expensive) when the roots are a growing World Finance 100 Company."

This isn't like the Fortune 500 or anything like that. This 100 was open to nominations. They probably nominated themselves (that's good marketing). I've never heard of it before, but according to Wikipedia, only 3 lines on this magazine:

"World Finance is a financial magazine produced every two months by World News Media, based in the UK."

So congrats but keep a little perspective.

 

[emjohn]

The perspective is there. I never made an exaggerative statement. It's not world changing, but who said it was? Slow growth is nice, in any case.

I think people get lost in fighting hyperbole, and that's a shame. I don't condone hyperbole in any situation. If you think .CO business is ONLY hyperbole, I would disagree.

Maybe tracking down Robert Cline would be a better option...

"The .co aftermarket only stands to get better (and more expensive) when the roots are a growing World Finance 100 Company."

This isn't like the Fortune 500 or anything like that. This 100 was open to nominations. They probably nominated themselves (that's good marketing). I've never heard of it before, but according to Wikipedia, only 3 lines on this magazine:

"World Finance is a financial magazine produced every two months by World News Media, based in the UK."

So congrats but keep a little perspective.

 

[JB Lions]

"The perspective is there. I never made an exaggerative statement."

It was more to the using of World Finance 100 Company as if it was a big deal. Like, Oscar nominted actor __________. It's a magazine you've probably never heard of until today. Me either. I did little checks, like looking at Google News, putting that magazine in quotes and other financial magazines people have actually heard of. It only had 4 results, 3 being press releases. Now compare that to the others and that's what I was getting at. Speaking of Robert Cline, there's already one of them out there, let him troll the blogs.

"If you think .CO business is ONLY hyperbole, I would disagree."

Didn't say any of that, anywhere.

 

[NovyTimm]

"Any publicity is good publicity" never referred to businesses that were physical product oriented. It refers to entertainment celebrities and the such who may gain popularity from being "infamous" or "famous". This stands true even more so in the internet age. The internet is 1000x more powerful than the "Enquirer" ever was. This benefits celebrities and public figures even more.

The saying originated back in the days when press was very limited and tightly controlled. Thus any publicity -- bad or good -- was considered a rare gift. Nowadays, one can achieve worldwide exposure in 140 characters or less, which is then amplified and repeated ad nauseum by the blogosphere. One might argue the quality of press is more important today than ever before.

 

[emjohn]

Publicity is still publicity. Now it's just magnified with the internet. However, this doesn't relate to .co so much...

The saying originated back in the days when press was very limited and tightly controlled. Thus any publicity -- bad or good -- was considered a rare gift. Nowadays, one can achieve worldwide exposure in 140 characters or less, which is then amplified and repeated ad nauseum by the blogosphere. One might argue the quality of press is more important today than ever before.

 

[NovyTimm]

Publicity is still publicity. Now it's just magnified with the internet. However, this doesn't relate to .co so much...

Great point, so let's bring this back to .CO. Overstock.com bungles its rebranding effort with O.co. The resultant bad publicity from this one instance is enough for many people to overreact and condemn the entire .CO domain as a failure. Simply put, bad-publicity is bad, good-publicity is good, and no-publicity is a quaint notion in this age of Google.

 

[DU]

The resultant bad publicity from this one instance is enough for many people to overreact and condemn the entire .CO domain as a failure.

I'm not sure anyone noticed in the real world.

Domainers noticed but didn't change many minds - haters hated more, lovers made excuses. Maybe some undecideds got swayed.

 

[NovyTimm]

Let's open this can of worms...

Sedo's Premium .CO Auction: Success or FAIL?

What's your verdict?

http://coblog.co/sedo-premium-co-auction-success-or-fail/

 

[DU]

Let's open this can of worms...

Sedo's Premium .CO Auction: Success or FAIL?

What's your verdict?

http://coblog.co/sedo-premium-co-auction-success-or-fail/

For those that sold at a loss - fail
For those that sold at a profit - success

For those that didnt sell?

For .co reputation in domainer land - fail

In the real world - no impact unless the business does research.

Most harm/gain to .co?

Is whether local branding, consulting, seo groups push the extension. I don't think they ever did.

 

[Keith]

Let's open this can of worms...

Sedo's Premium .CO Auction: Success or FAIL?

What's your verdict?

http://coblog.co/sedo-premium-co-auction-success-or-fail/

It's neither a failure or a success. It simply is what it is for an alternative extention.

Personally I was happy with a few sales and highly dissappointed with a few others. I won't complain and I also won't submit my domains to a no reserve auction again :bah: