Dead-on Post by Rick Schwartz about Established TLDs

[Ms Domainer]

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This is one of the smartest posts I have read by a domain blogger:

http://www.ricksblog.com/2013/10/bi...ception-everything-review-current-extensions/

Rick Schwartz analyzes the possible effects that .whatever might bring to the table for the existing ccTLDs and gTLDs.

Like Rick, I see cautious optimism regarding established TLDs, including .us.

My opinion :I believe that .web could be a game changer, but it depends how its registry markets it.

What do you think?

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[JB Lions]

And maybe I just drank some Coke and the chemicals got me loopy.

Or maybe a lot of craft beer before logging on.

 

[mjnels]

katz pis always makes me loopy

 

[jmcc]

A fascinating thread. One can already see the next set of new gTLD fanboys and fangirls forming. However the biggest thing that the new gTLDs will have to overcome is the pre-existing set of registered domains. And many of these domains are in constant use. When there is confusion in the marketplace, customers will generally opt for certainty and that means .COM and the local .ccTLD.

Regards...jmcc

 

[mjnels]

A fascinating thread. One can already see the next set of new gTLD fanboys and fangirls forming.

in this thread?

so far i dont see anyone saying they are going to buy them, just arguments of why they'll become normal eventually.

 

[jmcc]

in this thread?

so far i dont see anyone saying they are going to buy them, just arguments of why they'll become normal eventually.

That's why. Most of them will never become normal in the way that .COM and the .ccTLDs have become normal. It took some ccTLDs almost ten years or so to be accepted. But once the ccTLDs gained critical mass, the gTLDs (non-COM) started to slide. Many domainers approach TLDs like .COM as being a global TLD and in terms of generics in widely used languages, it almost is such. However it is actually a set of smaller markets, many of them being country level markets making up one large TLD. When you break down some of the newer TLDs by country, there are some interesting concentrations. There is one set of IPs that seem to be the most popular for a few new TLDs such as .CO ccTLD and that's Godaddy's coming soon/PPC lander pages. Upwards of 40% of some new TLDs are PPC parked on these IPs. The same pattern is probably going to emerge in many of these new gTLDs. The problem for domainers is that many of the high value keyword generics may be reserved by the registries or sold off before domainers ever get a chance to get them.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Ms Domainer]

Another Rick Schwartz Post on the New gTLDS

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In “Stahura of Donuts.co to me 'Dot com is your father’s TLD.' The Noise Begins!”

Schwartz has responded:

http://www.ricksblog.com/2013/10/stahura-donuts-co-dot-com-fathers-tld/

Let the fun begin.

BTW, I don't plan to invest, but I do believe that, over time -- a long time -- the new gTLDs will dilute the .com space.

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[jenna323]

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“Stahura of Donuts.co to me 'Dot com is your father’s TLD.' The Noise Begins!”

Stahura's comment infers that the new gTLDs are age or demographically-related, but i'm not sure I agree with that. The gTLDs are simply an evolution of the Internet and have little to do with someone's age.

The idea that gTLDs are just "young and funky" is entirely misguided imo, as they are MUCH MORE CREDIBLE than .com's.... and that means greater perception and credibility; and this is directly in opposition to the idea that they're all new, silly, and unproven etc...

As for "noise", well I guess you would say that when your own names are being threatened and your 'voice' in the domaining community is losing its way...

 

[Keith]

The idea that gTLDs are just "young and funky" is entirely misguided imo, as they are MUCH MORE CREDIBLE than .com's.... and that means greater perception and credibility; and this is directly in opposition to the idea that they're all new, silly, and unproven

Something can't have credibility without a proven track record. The perception that these are new and unproven isn't really perception at all, it's a fact.

How is the general public going to become aware of these? The millions of established .coms will continue to build and promote their brands. Will there be that many new players with large enough budgets to put these new tlds on the map? No way! So IMO, these are not only silly, new, and unproven, they are also a huge waste of money. Looking over the list is laughable...

 

[mjnels]

Will there be that many new players with large enough budgets to put these new tlds on the map? No way! So IMO, these are not only silly, new, and unproven, they are also a huge waste of money. Looking over the list is laughable...

oh i dont know, not like some have VC backing of half a billion dollars..

whats silly is hanging onto the idea that with thousands these things in existence that website addresses are going to look exactly the same 20 years down the line. its not realistic..

 

[Keith]

oh i dont know, not like some have VC backing of half a billion dollars..

whats silly is hanging onto the idea that with thousands these things in existence that website addresses are going to look exactly the same 20 years down the line. its not realistic..

Oh I thought we were dealing with the reality of today. Yes 20, 50, 100 years from now we'll be teleporting and flying to work in cars

 

[mjnels]

Oh I thought we were dealing with the reality of today. Yes 20, 50, 100 years from now will be teleporting and flying to work in cars

what, you cant walk and chew gum?

silly me talking about the future on the internet...

 

[Keith]

silly me talking about the future on the internet...

Every time a new extension is released it's the same thought...ah yes, this one is the future! And then as history shows, they flop.

Yes yes yes this time it's different because .camera, .giving, and 1000 other dots are flooding the market at once. It's not the market that rejected all the previous "extensions of the future", this is a new market that will welcome these with open arms :lol:

 

[mjnels]

Every time a new extension is released it's the same thought...ah yes, this one is the future! And then as history shows, they flop.

riggggggggght.... hey, why didnt video sharing sites on the internet "take off" until 2005?

was that the first time "they" had tried that idea?

 

[Keith]

riggggggggght.... hey, why didnt video sharing sites on the internet "take off" until 2005?

was that the first time "they" had tried that idea?

Video sharing as in a type of social networking? Yes I believe all those were and are being built with .com!

 

[mjnels]

Video sharing as in a type of social networking? Yes I believe all those were and are being built with .com!

im talking about just the idea of user-uploaded videos - not the TLD they're built on. why did it take until 2005 for one of them to take off and the general public to notice?

the idea had been tried many times before and never gained critical mass... why several tries later did it actually work?

lots of people seem to hold onto the silly idea that if something doesnt work the first 10 times it wont work the 11th time - for the reason being it didnt work the 10th time...

 

[Keith]

lots of people seem to hold onto the silly idea that if something doesnt work the first 10 times it wont work the 11th time - for the reason being it didnt work the 10th time...

Not to say the idea of trying and trying again is a bad thing. However the probability of something working on attempt number 11 when it's failed the first 10 times is extremely poor!

 

[mjnels]

Not to say the idea of trying and trying again is a bad thing. However the probability of something working on attempt number 11 when it's failed the first 10 times is extremely poor!

...yes but this time try 11 through 1,000 is happening all at once.

this time its a group effort to change the way website addresses look as a whole... even with 500 horrible failures theres another 500 pushing ahead.. thats sorta different from what has happened up until now. collectively i think this will eventually chip away at the .com "mindshare" and the sky high prices they command today.

because its not 1 or 2 TLD's catching on - its the entire beast of an idea that website addresses are just 2 words separated by a dot. thats different than trying to get 1 or 2 TLD's to "gain traction" and "become recognized."

so this really hasn't been tried before like this..

 

[Keith]

this time its a group effort to change the way website addresses look as a whole... even with 500 horrible failures theres another 500 pushing ahead..

The so called group effort is led by Icann and the registrars who care about making money, not changing the internet. Further down the pyramid are the tld owners who invest a bundle in an attempt to make money. The bottom is reserved for guys like us who may or may not buy the bull and donate our money to icann, registrars, and registries.

Caring about the internet would be to award tlds based on the best applications and skip the $xxx,xxx fee. And let's be honest, if 10 of these gain mass exposure I'll be shocked. Thinking hundreds have a chance may be a bit naive IMO.

 

[mjnels]

The so called group effort is led by Icann and the registrars who care about making money, not changing the internet. Further down the pyramid are the tld owners who invest a bundle in an attempt to make money. The bottom is reserved for guys like us who may or may not buy the bull and donate our money to icann, registrars, and registries.

Caring about the internet would be to award tlds based on the best applications and skip the $xxx,xxx fee. And let's be honest, if 10 of these gain mass exposure I'll be shocked. Thinking hundreds have a chance may be a bit naive IMO.

so when profit is the motive it equals failure?

 

[En]

Talking of the extensions as a whole (as keeps beings mentioned here regarding 1000s of new extensions), and the gTLD campaign of 1&1.
3 million pre-reg divided by 1000 = An average of a 3000 registrations per TLD.
Is that going to be enough to keep most of them alive? I suspect not.
And actually, it is unlikely that some extensions will even make a few hundred registrations.
No where near enough to cover their costs.

Some other facts, let's look at the eBet.com sale. Why didn't they just go with eBet.gambling? Or eBet.casino? Simply because if you're eBet.gambling, then you're eBet.gambling, not "eBet". You have to brand as eBet.gambling to avoid consumer/brand confusion. With 1000s of new extensions this is only going to get worse, I suspect.

I think some new gTLDs will do well, judging by the pre-reg facts .app, .web, .shop, but most will make huge losses and will ultimately have to fail.

This is still a big experiment and nothing more. Just because there are a billion new extensions to choose from doesn't mean that everyone knows the names of all of them, or wants one of them. Look at the planets, most are uninhabitable hell holes, but some are just right, like .com

---------- Post added at 08:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 AM ----------

I mean Earth!

 

[mjnels]

Some other facts, let's look at the eBet.com sale. Why didn't they just go with eBet.gambling? Or eBet.casino? Simply because if you're eBet.gambling, then you're eBet.gambling, not "eBet". You have to brand as eBet.gambling to avoid consumer/brand confusion. With 1000s of new extensions this is only going to get worse, I suspect.

those extensions you mentioned dont exist.

besides, .COM still has mindshare today. they wanted the domain now, not an indefinite amount of time.

 

[Keith]

so when profit is the motive it equals failure?

In pyramids like this one the answer is yes, most investors are set up to fail.

 

[Kate]

im talking about just the idea of user-uploaded videos - not the TLD they're built on. why did it take until 2005 for one of them to take off and the general public to notice?

Bandwidth ?

 

[Name Trader]

Personally I see the work of the URDP process increasing by the number of available new gTLDs. Between 1000-2000%

 

[Keith]

Personally I see the work of the URDP process increasing by the number of available new gTLDs. Between 1000-2000%

Of course. Can you say money grab?!