.COM will lose ground to xxxx.travel xxxx.news xxxx.ibm xxxx.mcdonalds?

[mathewka010]

Hi All NP'ers,

Having researched a little on the progression and development of ICANN's new proposal for TOP LEVEL DOMAINS- xxxx.weather xxxx.ibm xxxx.jobs xxxx.australia are we now going to see a new leader in the race for technology success!

Im currently in two minds and would love to hear everyones thoughts!

Thanks Mat

 

[Kate]

.COM will Always be king, but certain TLDs will be dominate like .DE but for the most part the more TLDs there are the more confused the general public will be.

Why just .de ? Quite a few countries are already using their ccTLDs extensively, even shunning .com.
Fore example .nl has more registrations per capita then .de.
So you can bet that the ongoing gTLD game will not have a huge impact in all those countries.

 

[MicroGuy]

For the most part, pure domaining (void of development) is dead.

My 13 years in domaining has led me to one conclusion: "don't waste your time with any extension other than Thy Golden Three™ (.com, .net, or .org.). Extensions like .TV, .PRO, .TEL, .MOBI, .THIS, .THAT, .ETC, .ETC have all been created/manipulated to generate renewal fees from domainers and dreamers.

The only area left in domaining is super high quality .coms, .nets, and .orgs (with the greatest emphasis on .com!).

 

[nicedomains]

I was thinking that extensions that would suffer the most are existing gTLDs that have been heavily traded but never became truly sought afer like .info, .biz, .mobi.

... Arbitrary gTLDs will adversely impact .NETs/.ORGs more than .COMs.

 

[snoop]

.Travel has one of the highest development ratios in the entire gtld space.

Yes, of the 4 names registered 2 have been developed. :wave:

---------- Post added at 09:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:24 PM ----------

It will hurt .com values... but not by much.

It will hurt the value all existing extensions to some extent. All it takes is one single end-user to go out and register mybusiness.nyc rather than buy mybusiness.com (as it's probably already taken) or register a compromised domain such as mybusinessnyc.com.

At the very least that $10 going to a different registry.

Multiply that by 100,000 or 1,000,000 end users and you will probably notice an affect.

Remember, just because you think .whatever is a stupid idea doesn't mean that everybody else will.

Of course down the track, the whole idea may have gone to the dogs with bankrupt registries all over the place and a highly confused internet public. In which case, things will probably revert back to the norm.

The other point is that any confusion about extensions may drive the general public to rely more heavily on search rather than guessing extensions. This could also devalue domains in general....

I think that sums it up well, more choice is never likely to be good for those who already have the market. I agree the effect is likely to be low, but it isn't positive for .com. I suspect the worst effect will be on alt tlds, it is very direct competition for them. I voted for the first option.

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 PM ----------

This won't make .com weaker, it'll only make it stronger..

How is that likely?

 

[snoop]

The concept of Unlimited gTLDs could just as easily it could fall flat on it's face, though. It's entirely possible that keyword.keyword is just too 'bizarre' for the .com conditioned public and they reject it. If not, though, Katie Bar The Door. The same power we all recognize as being inherent to keywords will suddenly be shifted to the right of the dot and premium .com names will devalue in direct proportion to the cost and availability of an eponymous TLD. We're in uncertain times.

Let's face it, that is the most likely outcome rather than it being a 50:50 bet.

One thing that's VERY important to note here is that what we're seeing with "build-your-own" TLD's is a universe away from what we saw in the past with stupid gTLD's like .biz, .asia, .pro and .info. It's a complete failure of logic to cite other lame ICANN fabricated gTLD's as being some sort of harbinger for the pending failure of completely custom TLD's. That's comparing a Yugo to a Ferrari and claiming them to be equal since they both have four wheels and an engine. Your own TLD is a very special form of self/business-actualization that is incomparable to simply buying a keyword on a generic 'special purpose' gTLD platform.

While it's 100% dead-certain that acquiring a TLD will only get cheaper over time, it's equally certain that the associated costs won't ever get all the way down to the domain name level, where the only barrier to entry is a few bucks and a debit card. You won't see guys in the 3rd World snapping up TLD's from internet cafes, before going home to their mud and twig huts.

Still, unlimited gTLD's is very very very interesting; people in the domain community are generally sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting "LALALALALA" rather than making a cool analysis of what might happen. Of course, based on what drop lists look like, I'm convinced the "domain community" is filled with idiots to begin with, which is a beautiful thing. Wherever idiots with money are found, there is profit to be had :D

Let's face it, everytime it is totally different and better otherwise nobody would buy the "new relovutionary change".

Going back in time,

1999: .cc and .ws - All the rage amoung new speculators was .cc, .ws and .tv - they were going to be serious competition for .com.

2000: new.net - this was different because of all these new extensions, .shop, .travel etc. ISP's were adopting this alternate route it and it was bound to take off and give serious competition to Icann. Indeed Icann was probably going to have to add all these extensions to the dns eventually. They'd have no choice if they wanted to stay relevant.

2001: .info and .biz - supposedly it would be different this time, these were the real deal, not lame repackaged country code extensions or alternate DNS names.

2002: .us This is the first real challenge to .com. Cctlds are the main extension in many countries around the world. How could this not get popular?

2006: .mobi - This is totally different! the first extension specific to the mobile web, this was bound to fly. It was totally unlike prior dud extensions (.info, .biz) in that it had a genuine rapidly expanding market and was back by the biggest Internet co's, Google, Microsoft etc, how could that ever fail?

Today: all the new extensions - It is totally different this time, unlimited new tlds, the world could easily change, get your credit cards ready!

Whilst alot of new players get involved in these you also see some people constantly make the same mistakes. I remember alot of new.net people going mad for .biz and .info and alot of them liked .us and then .mobi aswell. Every time it was going to be different.

My prediction is these names will be another repreat of the past, totally different, yet some somehow totally the same with much the same types of people investing (those who missed out perviously). It is a new set of extensions designed for selling "the dream" to domainers, it will be marketed mainly to domainers and cared about mainly by domainers. It will have a negative effect on .com, but only due to small numbers of co's using them, just like .cc, .tv, .info and .mobi.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

.com will not lose ground to anything as long as we are using domains as we know them today. Adding the ability of anyone with lots of money to start a domain will dilute everything but .com though, probably effecting info and biz more than the ccTLD's.

There is talk that there could be thousands of new TLD's, but I really don't see that happening. Companies aren't going to get their own TLD as many suggest (.mcdonalds) as it is just too expensive and pointless unless they can sell tens of thousands of second level domain on the TLD to make it worthwhile. Most who could afford it already have the .com and are happy with that. Maybe a few social sites like facebook .fbk or twitter .twit :D might benefit by selling users a short custom URL, but I think that will be limited, and you could forward any other domain to a longer URL already.

I think there could be a few moderately successful generic ones like maybe .blog, .video, or similar names that can help target content or formatting similar to what .mobi does. Even those don't really give much advantage over what's already available. The ones who now strictly enforced content sTLD's have not been very successful in terms of actual use or recognition as they limit their sales (think .jobs, .travel, .aero, .coop). The ones who don't enforce at all (think .biz, .info, .net) don't give users that content search advantage and become just another TLD.

If this does happen (I hope Icann comes to their senses), I predict we won't see thousands of new TLD's, but maybe a couple dozen. Most won't attract end users for primary use, but will be parked for income or parked on .com's as keyword URL's, limiting their resale value to two or three figures except the most prime keywords.

Any large number of new TLD's would also have trouble getting registrars to pick all of them up, so they wouldn't be very universal in being able to transfer or consolidate to your favorite registrar.

 

[Archangel]

I still know ppl who've never heard of .info. I personally like them but a person's best bet is going with a known ext like.com or .net.[

3-4 years ago somebody wouldn't have posted this comment because it would have been blindingly obvious. That .info gets singled out now as best in class and posted about for anti-alternative extension shock value is testament to the progress the extension has made.

I was walking down Oxford Street in London the other day and there were two buses waiting at the lights. Both had a full side advertisement for Vienna.info. Vienna.info is 3 off the top of the second page of Google for the keyword Vienna.

My local University bus company, Unobus, has Unobus.info on the side of their fleet of 50 buses. They rank number 1 for Unobus on Google. It says on their website that they drive 1.9m miles per year. That's alot of passers by picking up on .info.

The point to remember about alternative extension domaining is it's like investing in a small company. If the value of a small company goes from $10m to $20m, you make the same % profit as if you invest in a Fortune 500 company that goes from being worth $10bn to $20bn. Everything is relative.

 

[MicroGuy]

I also agree with most of what was said in the previous post, except I would use the following cities as analogies for the different TLDs..

COM = Manhattan, NYC
NET = Los Angeles, CA
ORG = Seattle, WA
INFO = Keene, NH
BIZ = Calcutta, India
MOBI = Pahrump, NV
TV = Bum*uck, Egypt

 

[akcampbell]

I'm don't think .pro competes against .com. If I can buy France.pro for $300 and people would consider France.com cheap at $3m, the two extensions are not really competing against eachother. It's like comparing a model plane to a fighter jet. .com competes against stronger ccTLDs locally, .net and .org compete against eachother, .biz and .info compete against eachother, new gTLD's will compete against eachother, but .pro orbits in its own little universe.

The part lifting of restrictions hasn't done much to aid .pros survival, RegistryPro collected in as much money with $99 reg fees and 6,500 .pros as it does with $20 reg fees and 35,000 .pros. Low reg fees drive take up but if you are only selling through 10% of registrars by volume and restricting registration to qualified professionals, no extension is going to get far.

RegistryPro has to renew it's management contract with ICANN in May 2010, they must have lost alot of money in the last 5 years so I can't see them wanting to continue running .pro unless ICANN remove the onerous restrictions. With new gTLDs on the way, all presumably unrestricted, that puts pressure on ICANN to level the playing field for .pro. If .eu, a muppet of an extension if ever there was one, can get to nearly 3m registrations, there has to be hope for .pro and any other new gTLD like .blog, .news, .help, .sport, .web, or .free that comes along.

 

[Kate]

.com is ingrained on the mind of everyone who browses the web, and will always be their first port of call.

And the ccTLDs...

You and I, however, will NOT make money on the vanity/branded gtlds.

That's the bottom line.

 

[nicedomains]

Hi All NP'ers,

Having researched a little on the progression and development of ICANN's new proposal for TOP LEVEL DOMAINS- xxxx.weather xxxx.ibm xxxx.jobs xxxx.australia are we now going to see a new leader in the race for technology success!

Im currently in two minds and would love to hear everyones thoughts!

Thanks Mat

Ya right buddy. Did you know .jobs and .travel have already been released for many years now ?!(your examples) Who the hell currently uses .jobs for their job search or job listings? Hey wait a minute when was the last time you booked a flight on a .travel site?? YOU HAVEN'T - That's because they never took off and their industries did not embrace them. What makes you think that .australia is going to overtake the Australia ccTLD .au or .com.au or that .canada will ever be more popular that .ca? Many ccTLDs are deeply rooted in their country. As far as .com losing ground, nah.

Personally, I think the release of unlimited gTLDs is a ridiculous idea and will only confuse internet users while being a total money grab for registrars and it's overseers (ICANN). I will predict that*maybe a handful of gTLDs will really succeed. Most will be failures and a total waste of cash. I blogged on this topic here if you want to read a bit more about it. Kieran McCarthy, an ICANN blogger responded to give it some interesting dialogue: NameTalent.com » Blog Archive » ICANN and the New gTLD’s

 

[Shane]

I agree with Nicedomains, this will not take off.

 

[bmugford]

First of all .travel has been around for awhile as was mentioned above. As you can see it has really taken off. This will be a huge bust as it is not being released by popular demand, it is just a cash grab.

I normally try to deal with end users directly to make sales. The first aspect is to buy respectable extensions. That means C/N/O and ccTLD.

Sometimes lesser extensions like INFO/BIZ are acceptable if the term is very strong, and there are potential buyers. Overall though with limited demand this won't matter much.

All the other .fails did not effect the value of the respected extensions.

Brad

For the most part, pure domaining (void of development) is dead.

My 13 years in domaining has led me to one conclusion: "don't waste your time with any extension other than Thy Golden Three™ (.com, .net, or .org.). Extensions like .TV, .PRO, .TEL, .MOBI, .THIS, .THAT, .ETC, .ETC have all been created/manipulate to generate renewal fees from domainers and dreamers.

The only area left in domaining is super high quality .coms, .nets, and .orgs (with the greatest emphasis on .com!).

 

[mainhoondon]

dot com will remain the king come what may !

 

[mjbenterprises]

This won't make .com weaker, it'll only make it stronger..

 

[localexperts]

I suggest people who think these will make a huge splash to go out and reg every .LA, .TRAVEL, .PRO, .TV, and .JOBS you can get your hands on. These extensions are available TODAY. No waiting line.

 

[-Adam-]

lol, .mcdonalds and .fail are the best ones i've seen for a gTLD. There are already WAY to many extensions to begin with and I totally agree that all these are designed for is to fill the pockets of the registrars. Do I think .com will lose ground.....um no. Nor do I see any of the new extensions trumping the other major remaining extensions such as net and org. Could the concept be conceivable possibly but it's probability of exceeding would be astronomical.

Just my two cents though.

 

[bmugford]

I totally agree. If another fast car is released does that make a Ferrari less valuable? No.

It is the exact same thing. There is only 1 .COM, it has been around for 20+ years, and it is the undisputed King and will stay that way for quite awhile.

Brad

This won't make .com weaker, it'll only make it stronger..

 

[ZOX]

This discussion is pointless imo.

 

[JoshuaPz]

Just playing a little devil's advocate here, though I don't personally hold this point of view: indeed, the alternate TLDs might confuse the hell out of consumers at first, but such can be said of any major technological change (like the introduction of Firefox or Bing, which provided more options). I think people will adjust over time -- the parts of our brains that memorize website extensions will simply expand to accommodate remembering keyword + arbitrary TLD.

Not that I believe arbitrary TLDs to be anything more than a cash-grabbing ICANN scheme. I can see trademark disputes escalating into absolute maymem.

I can see "some" market share sliced away from .COM with strong marketing efforts, but I doubt they'll shave any more market appeal off .COM than Bing did off Google. Arbitrary gTLDs will adversely impact .NETs/.ORGs more than .COMs.

 

[Robbie]

This discussion is pointless imo.

Agreed

 

[MicroGuy]

This discussion is pointless imo.

Amen.

 

[HelderLuis]

Dot Com will remain the strongest globally, though in a lot of countries the cctld beats the com

About new gtld's, they will never beat the com, and about those ideas of .france, .australia etc... i believe most countries will forbid their existence.

 

[bmugford]

I believe ICANN already stated they will not accept any confusingly similar extensions for example

Typos like .CON
Country codes where an extension already exists like .USA

Brad

Dot Com will remain the strongest globally, though in a lot of countries the cctld beats the com

About new gtld's, they will never beat the com, and about those ideas of .france, .australia etc... i believe most countries will forbid their existence.