discuss .IO and the Next Generation of Web-Developers

[Duncan729]

As I thought it might be of interest to the community, I recently was looking at what young people recongise as a domain extension. I spoke to around 25 young people (15/16 years of age like myself). Everyone knew of .com and .co.uk (I'm British). What may surprise you is .IO was just a little lower than .net and .org in terms of recognition (around 40-50%). There is a clear reason for this in my view, many of the new popular "arcade style" online multiplayer games are .io domains (agar.io, slither.io and wings.io to name but a few). Who spends most of their time on these sites? KIDS!

Firstly, let's make clear what I mean by "recognising". I classed this as if they listed the extension in response to "What endings do you expect at the end of a web address/URL?". Before moving back to .IO it should also be commented on that there was near zero recognition of the new gTLDs of any sort. Of course this doesn't mean they won't have a place in the future of the internet. But I would take this as evidence of an already clear picture there's far far too many and they may well never catch on. Invest with caution, particularly with renewal prices of such a ridiculous nature.

So what use is this information to 'domainers'? I believe of quite a lot. If you have the next generation of web-developers and business owners well aware of .io domains that tells you exactly where they're going to look to create their website. Furthermore, when discussing the topic with those more interested in programming and web-development. I found they viewed .io domains as exciting and intriguing. Largely viewing it as "more modern and trendy".

If you haven't already got the idea, .io could well be the next big ".com alternative" go to or even first choice in the coming years. The lesson here is clear. Perhaps holding those one and maybe even two word .io domains isn't a bad long term investment. Of course there's always risk and a new extension could well come along and grab these new buyers or .net could well see another popularity rise. However, I believe it's well worth that risk.

 

[daica85]

I also think so, .IO will be the trend and the good alternative to .COM especially in technical market, start up firms or web development. IMO

 

[Kate]

It is a niche TLD, as such it's more like .me than .co. IMO these names are rather expensive to hold and most sales are taking place on Flippa, which is a telltale sign.

 

[dordomai]

A
If you haven't already got the idea, .io could well be the next big ".com alternative" go to or even first choice in the coming years. The lesson here is clear. Perhaps holding those one and maybe even two word .io domains isn't a bad long term investment. Of course there's always risk and a new extension could well come along and grab these new buyers or .net could well see another popularity rise. However, I believe it's well worth that risk.

first choice? are you kidding me? IO seems to be doing well but I don't see that being first choice ever.

 

[daica85]

first choice? are you kidding me? IO seems to be doing well but I don't see that being first choice ever.

I think it's a second choice after .COM in some niches

 

[viikka]

I am a big fun of .io domains. .io is very popular choice for tech startups.

 

[toughdomains]

agreed both .io for startups and .ai for artifical intenigence companies....but yes most people adults and kids still only remember the main extentions. .com .net .org IMO unless you have a one word .io like keyword.io then 2 word .com is still better

 

[Weber]

Lol. What's more appropriate for a startup than, "I owe".

 

[Keith]

It is a niche TLD, as such it's more like .me than .co. IMO these names are rather expensive to hold and most sales are taking place on Flippa, which is a telltale sign.

We just sold a .io 2 days ago for $7k via GoDaddy buy service. I'd also say that the "niche" you refer to is technology. That's a massive part of life as we know it today!

 

[vanvinh]

We just sold a .io 2 days ago for $7k via GoDaddy buy service. I'd also say that the "niche" you refer to is technology. That's a massive part of life as we know it today!

congratulations !
can you disclose about the name?

 

[Keith]

congratulations !
can you disclose about the name?

Thx. Parking...

 

[Asfas1000]

Thanks for the info.

A few thoughts...

1. Your sample (25 people) is very small and rather topical. Outside of UK or the city or neighborhood your experiment was conducted , the results may be very different. So your sample is not "representative" of what happens on a more global scale. Since you say you are 16 y.o. , refer to Wikipedia and statistics for more info.

2. "Recognition" of a tld and "value investment" in this tld are not necessarily related.

 

[Duncan729]

Thanks for the info.

A few thoughts...

1. Your sample (25 people) is very small and rather topical. Outside of UK or the city or neighborhood your experiment was conducted , the results may be very different. So your sample is not "representative" of what happens on a more global scale. Since you say you are 16 y.o. , refer to Wikipedia and statistics for more info.

2. "Recognition" of a tld and "value investment" in this tld are not necessarily related.

Well of course! This is not some professional study and the results should be taken with a pinch of salt! It's purely an observation. Of course they're to some extent related. You get zero direct search traffic if lets say you're using .technology extension isn't understood and the "googler" ends it in .com as well; you lose a customer.

 

[guessyoulike]

.io is very popular choice for tech startups.