.mobi Is .MOBI really dead?

[sky]

Hi,

I just reg'ed a couple of .COMs, and a friend suggested I get the .MOBI extension for the names to since it is also applicable for cell phones, etc...

But I'm thinking it's a waste of money and little use to me from the standpoint of making any profits in any form whatsoever, ever and even of little or no use to end users.

Is there any data to support or refute this bias I've developed based on hearsay over the past few months?

 

[mjnels]

developed sites are a completely different story.

when people say "mobi is dead" they are almost always referring to simple speculation. domaining. buying and selling with zero content. you can develop and monetize ANY TLD in the same way (well, except .TEL )... but it doesnt necessarily make the TLD 'alive' as a whole.

im not a pessimist, im not an optimist.. i just tell it like i see it.



<edit>
i just re-read the OP's post and i have to say they appear confused. Original Poster: you are going to have to more clearly define exactly what you are trying to ask here.

are you asking whether its POSSIBLE to monetize a .mobi domain with a developed site... or PPC? or your odds on flipping the domain to someone for any kind of significant profit.

Technology is making strides and .mobi is further marginalized every day that goes by, because it's already obsolete.

technology of mobile devices has absolutely nothing to do with people developing mobile websites from the ground-up considering most companies that advertise a domain for mobile use either subdomains, /mobile, or some type of completely different address. this is a tired, unresearched argument that doesnt exclusively apply to .mobi... the trend is to use a completely different address for mobile websites whether its mDOT, /mobile, .mobi, or something entirely different - this is the reality of what is happening right now.

 

[Pred]

Hi,

I just reg'ed a couple of .COMs, and a friend suggested I get the .MOBI extension for the names to since it is also applicable for cell phones, etc...

But I'm thinking it's a waste of money and little use to me from the standpoint of making any profits in any form whatsoever, ever and even of little or no use to end users.

Is there any data to support or refute this bias I've developed based on hearsay over the past few months?

well to answer the original post
i have to say firstly im always dubious of the sincerity of a post with a title like this as it always attracts the trolls

anyway. you have just regged some coms.
well im guessing if you handregged thenm they arent earthshattering and i doubt any enduser will buy. so no point regging the mobis either

if however you plan to develop them , or one, wait and see if its a mild success and then you could reg a .mobi, beauty is you could free get the content on the .com mobilized for free by the rgistrar and instant mobilizer.
a damn site easier paying $7 and branding up a mobile site for that price. course you dont have to you can go for a m. if you're more technically minded and sort your end

but theres a lot of ifs and buts. the .coms are unlikely to be much cop and theyre not even devloped, so dont reg any

as far as is it dead. far from it, you can believe the rhetoric from the resident trolls or do research.

companies are using more and more, not cos technically they have to, although does offer a guarantee, but its also about branding.

a few sites people came across past couple days

http://www.europapress.es/
http://europapress.mobi/

big news agency in spain

www.promogranprisma.mobi

another johnson and johnson site

http://wbul.mobi/home

florida student union radio

http://onetribe.mobi/sites/controller.php/OneTribe/

another vodafone site


etc

a lot of companies are bringing out loads of niche sites and satellite sites.
theres a lot a foot, a few people posting here would do well to take their head out their ass and stop cut and pasting stuff from 2 years ago. and yes my portfolio is 80% .com & .co.uk so i'm no noob just into mobi. and i dont jump into aisa or tel or .us etc

this mobi thing is gonna prove a lot of people wrong , im brave (or stupid enough) to speak out loud about it too.
as far as setting dates, only fools do that. all i know is i see progress every day

post your domains here btw out of interest (o/p)

 

[scandiman]

well to answer the original post
i have to say firstly im always dubious of the sincerity of a post with a title like this as it always attracts the trolls

anyway. you have just regged some coms.
well im guessing if you handregged thenm they arent earthshattering and i doubt any enduser will buy. so no point regging the mobis either

if however you plan to develop them , or one, wait and see if its a mild success and then you could reg a .mobi, beauty is you could free get the content on the .com mobilized for free by the rgistrar and instant mobilizer.
a damn site easier paying $7 and branding up a mobile site for that price. course you dont have to you can go for a m. if you're more technically minded and sort your end

but theres a lot of ifs and buts. the .coms are unlikely to be much cop and theyre not even devloped, so dont reg any

as far as is it dead. far from it, you can believe the rhetoric from the resident trolls or do research.

companies are using more and more, not cos technically they have to, although does offer a guarantee, but its also about branding.

a few sites people came across past couple days

http://www.europapress.es/
http://europapress.mobi/

big news agency in spain

www.promogranprisma.mobi

another johnson and johnson site

http://wbul.mobi/home

florida student union radio

http://onetribe.mobi/sites/controller.php/OneTribe/

another vodafone site


etc

a lot of companies are bringing out loads of niche sites and satellite sites.
theres a lot a foot, a few people posting here would do well to take their head out their ass and stop cut and pasting stuff from 2 years ago. and yes my portfolio is 80% .com & .co.uk so i'm no noob just into mobi. and i dont jump into aisa or tel or .us etc

this mobi thing is gonna prove a lot of people wrong , im brave (or stupid enough) to speak out loud about it too.
as far as setting dates, only fools do that. all i know is i see progress every day

post your domains here btw out of interest (o/p)

One of the better posts in a while, unfortunately the system won't let me rep you, I'll nail you elsewhere. :lol:

 

[Traveler]

One of the better posts in a while, unfortunately the system won't let me rep you, I'll nail you elsewhere. :lol:

I agree, great post, but I can't rep him either. Damn it Pred, spread out those rep worthy posts. :bingo:

 

[cobo]

Hey Pred,
I repped you for Scandiman, Bodhi and cobo.
You owe us all.....biiiiiaaaaaattttcccchhhhhnik! :D

 

[namenut]

Hi,

I just reg'ed a couple of .COMs, and a friend suggested I get the .MOBI extension for the names to since it is also applicable
for cell phones, etc...

But I'm thinking it's a waste of money and little use to me from the standpoint of making any profits in any form whatsoever,
ever and even of little or no use to end users.

Is there any data to support or refute this bias I've developed based on hearsay over the past few months?

Hello Sky,

You buy it/them to protect the com's brand. If the name you bought is
strong enough for development then the option to use the mobi extension
will be an added selling point and a smart defensive strategy.

If the com is a simple flip then the mobi would have to be a true "premium"
name. Even then a "package" is a good selling tool.

Simple enough Mate :D
nn

 

[Pred]

Hello Sky,

You buy it/them to protect the com's brand. If the name you bought is
strong enough for development then the option to use the mobi extension
will be an added selling point and a smart defensive strategy.

If the com is a simple flip then the mobi would have to be a true "premium"
name. Even then a "package" is a good selling tool.

Simple enough Mate :D
nn

even i would say dont bother. its not developed and its a handregged com, very recent. why bother? IF you find a buyer they prob wouldnt be bothered or could handreg a shorter .mobi anyway if they wanted

plus there are unregged .mobis for top 20k alexa sites and better, i dont see anyone racing to nail his, if we knew what the domain was, so dont fret

I'll nail you elsewhere. :lol:

round the back of the bike sheds at 4pm?
:D

. Damn it Pred, spread out those rep worthy posts. :bingo:

oops :D :cy: :bingo:

 

[snoop]

developed sites are a completely different story.

when people say "mobi is dead" they are almost always referring to simple speculation. domaining. buying and selling with zero content. you can develop and monetize ANY TLD in the same way (well, except .TEL )... but it doesnt necessarily make the TLD 'alive' as a whole.

Sums it up well I think.

 

[Pred]

From Sedo itself, pornuk.mobi

"Visitors to this domain’s website: 13 (previous 31 days)"

http://www.sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=pornuk.mobi&partnerid=14460&language=e

pornuk.com alexa over 10 million

on a sidenote with sedo parking , well, i have said many times they will be investigated some time imho as everyone i know has parked there then moved elsewhere and miraculously get more hits and higher payouts
i know both mobis in question are at sedo though

i have some adult mobis getting 600 uniques up each at parked a month

sex will be in a league of its own dont forget

the porn.mobi domain would be a better one to check but as we know alexa still doesnt check mobile traffic and they havent developed it yet

in short, get them developed as parking is only going to pay pencil shavings for most domains in most extensions, that includes .com

 

[scandiman]

From Sedo itself, pornuk.mobi

"Visitors to this domain’s website: 13 (previous 31 days)"

http://www.sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=pornuk.mobi&partnerid=14460&language=e



Sums it up well I think.

he said UKporn, not pornUK

http://www.sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=ukporn.mobi


Visitors to this domain’s website:

156 (previous 31 days)

 

[Pred]

he said UKporn, not pornUK

http://www.sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=ukporn.mobi


Visitors to this domain’s website:

156 (previous 31 days)

ukporn.com
alexa 23 million

looks like the mobi is getting more traffic than the com roflmao :sold:

 

[snoop]

he said UKporn, not pornUK

http://www.sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=ukporn.mobi


Visitors to this domain’s website:

156 (previous 31 days)

Thanks misread that, even the .com wouldn't get alot of traffic (maybe 10-20 uniques per day) so the chance of ukporn.mobi getting natural type in traffic is minute in my view. Most likely spillover traffic for another site or bot traffic.

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/ukporn.com/?metric=uv

 

[namewaiter]

I think you need to appreciate just how popular an extension needs to be before people will start type in names in any significant way. Even .net which has been around a long time and is widely known tends to get low type in flow on even the best names. Something like .mobi just isn't on the radar of people naturally typing in names. Think bot traffic and typos on some rare cases only.

well this is where it takes some foresight and why the defined purpose and restrictions of .mobi is so important.

as opposed to simply typing in anything.net just to see what's there (and honestly having no idea what's going to populate), typing in anything.mobi means the user is looking for a very specific type of site (one specially designed for those on the go).

 

[snoop]

well this is where it takes some foresight and why the defined purpose and restrictions of .mobi is so important.

as opposed to simply typing in anything.net just to see what's there (and honestly having no idea what's going to populate), typing in anything.mobi means the user is looking for a very specific type of site (one specially designed for those on the go).

Foresight in what way? I don't follow you at all, people aren't typing in anything.mobi in any meaningful way, this is a debate about nothing in my view.

 

[namewaiter]

Foresight in what way? I don't follow you at all, people aren't typing in anything.mobi in any meaningful way, this is a debate about nothing in my view.

foresight as in accepting the idea that the mobile web may become something all unto itself, and .mobi might have something to do with it.

 

[mo_dork]

this is a debate about nothing in my view.

It kind of is a debate about nothing, as there are some people here who are very informed about the world of domaining, debating with people very informed about the world of mobility.

foresight as in accepting the idea that the mobile web may become something all unto itself, and .mobi might have something to do with it.

Somewhat unto itself. But the mobile web is also just a massive expansion of the current web with new services and businesses. All requiring new domains. If I can't get a dot com, and infact I don't want one, too expensive etc, then hey there is .mobi and its perfectly suited. If mobi becomes universally recognized as a relavent mobile website, then it will compete directly with .com. Meaning it will be the #2 TLD in the world in due course. Buying a generic name in the #2 TLD in a massively expanded market than the current web is worth the risk.

 

[HeyNow]

Foresight in what way? I don't follow you at all, people aren't typing in anything.mobi in any meaningful way, this is a debate about nothing in my view.

I beg to differ. I'm typing in Fidelity.mobi several times a day to trade. Fidelity has plenty of customers like me. Fidelity tracks every account transfer and trade and knows how they were done. My account rep at Fidelity knows about .mobi, and probably so do the rest of her clients.

 

[snoop]

If mobi becomes universally recognized as a relavent mobile website, then it will compete directly with .com. Meaning it will be the #2 TLD in the world in due course. Buying a generic name in the #2 TLD in a massively expanded market than the current web is worth the risk.

That is a massive "if", especially since the tide is going the other way. Maybe 18 months ago the above looked like a possiblilty, before the backers made their initentions not to use the extension clear etc. I think realistically the best people can hope for is that this becomes an alt tld for people looking at estbalishing a mobile site.

I beg to differ. I'm typing in Fidelity.mobi several times a day to trade. Fidelity has plenty of customers like me. Fidelity tracks every account transfer and trade and knows how they were done. My account rep at Fidelity knows about .mobi, and probably so do the rest of her clients.

You're a real pisser snoop! Your predictable, venom-spewing vitriol is not accurate, and it's too bad you're such a miserable person you feel the need to BS others whom are enthusiastic about something.

This isn't natural type in traffic, it is people typing in a site that already know of, ie the site has been advertised.

 

[sky]

That is a massive "if", especially since the tide is going the other way. Maybe 18 months ago the above looked like a possiblilty, before the backers made their initentions not to use the extension clear etc. I think realistically the best people can hope for is that this becomes an alt tld for people looking at estbalishing a mobile site.



This isn't natural type in traffic, it is people typing in a site that already know of, ie the site has been advertised.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, I think "mobi" sounds clumsy or a bit goofy. I don't think most people would have a natural affinity for it as much as for other extensions. I also think the 4th character is a liability that would only help if it was a really desirable term in and of itself.

For example .LOVE, hot, .ZNTQ, not hot.

I could be wrong, but that could be part of the subtle factor behind .MOBI's failure to really take off. I think .CELL would have been vastly better than .MOBI. I realize that .MOBI is designed for mobile devices in general, but that nerdish distinction is quickly lost.

I bet if the .MOBI TLD announced it was changing the TLD to .CELL and taking all existing registrants with it, there would suddenly be a lot of VERY happy .MOBI owners and that TLD could be on it's way to taking off. Just a hunch.

 

[mo_dork]

That is a massive "if", especially since the tide is going the other way.

Its not though. Its moving in the right direction.

How are you judging, by the pathetic resale prices? This is a bad indicator IMO, end users are always behind the curve a little, domainers are too focused on domaining. You have to look beyond this and study the underlying stats of the mobile market and then crunch the number on new mobile business ventures. You have to see the trends in many regions and know that the .com owning western markets are not necessarily where the growth will come from. You also have to have a long term view. But you can aswell look at the RSS feeds on mobility and see everyday huge corporations adopting .mobi. The headlines are not, kodak launches .net site of microsoft launches .tel site. its that they are launching .mobi sites. Nokia has many such sites, MS also many.
This is literally the tip of the iceberg- http://why.mobi/brands.php

I asked the question yesterday, do you agree that the primary way to access the web will be via mobile phones in 5 years?

From a purely aesthetic point of view, I think "mobi" sounds clumsy or a bit goofy. I don't think most people would have a natural affinity for it as much as for other extensions. I also think the 4th character is a liability that would only help if it was a really desirable term in and of itself.

For example .LOVE, hot, .ZNTQ, not hot.

I could be wrong, but that could be part of the subtle factor behind .MOBI's failure to really take off. I think .CELL would have been vastly better than .MOBI. I realize that .MOBI is designed for mobile devices in general, but that nerdish distinction is quickly lost.

I bet if the .MOBI TLD announced it was changing the TLD to .CELL and taking all existing registrants with it, there would suddenly be a lot of VERY happy .MOBI owners and that TLD could be on it's way to taking off. Just a hunch.

The 4th character is fine. If you can write an email on a phone, you can write a 4th character. remember the trend is towards smart phones, we will all have one in due course.

'Cell' is a very US centric word, not international at all!
Also Cell relates to a mobile phone, doesn't necessarily include all mobile devices. Phones are more than phones these days. I am sure the term mobi has been thoroughly thought through and analyzed in many languages. I have heard in certain European languages it sounds very appealing.

 

[snoop]

I bet if the .MOBI TLD announced it was changing the TLD to .CELL and taking all existing registrants with it, there would suddenly be a lot of VERY happy .MOBI owners and that TLD could be on it's way to taking off. Just a hunch.

I don't think so personally. "Cell" is a very US centric term also, I don't think it means much for probably half the world.

How are you judging, by the pathetic resale prices? This is a bad indicator IMO, end users are always behind the curve a little, domainers are too focused on domaining. You have to look beyond this and study the underlying stats of the mobile market and then crunch the number on new mobile business ventures.

It is a bit like saying stock prices are a bad indication of the value of a company. At the end of the day those prices are low because domainers like you and me think things have changed for this extension. You can look at all the stats you like but current prices simply reflect how people see things. Maybe the market is wrong and you are right...I don't see it personally.

But you can aswell look at the RSS feeds on mobility and see everyday huge corporations adopting .mobi. The headlines are not, kodak launches .net site of microsoft launches .tel site. its that they are launching .mobi sites. Nokia has many such sites, MS also many.
This is literally the tip of the iceberg- http://why.mobi/brands.php

To be honest I haven't seen any evidence of this. The big players are using sub domains, google, yahoo, youtube, facebook. Go through the largest 10 sites on the web and none are using .mobi, all are using sub domains.

The examples of sites using .mobi are sites of near no importance, foxnews, bank of america, purina etc.

I asked the question yesterday, do you agree that the primary way to access the web will be via mobile phones in 5 years?

No idea.

 

[mjnels]

I could be wrong, but that could be part of the subtle factor behind .MOBI's failure to really take off. I think .CELL would have been vastly better than .MOBI. I realize that .MOBI is designed for mobile devices in general, but that nerdish distinction is quickly lost.

I bet if the .MOBI TLD announced it was changing the TLD to .CELL and taking all existing registrants with it, there would suddenly be a lot of VERY happy .MOBI owners and that TLD could be on it's way to taking off. Just a hunch.

.CELL? dude, no offense but how old are you? this is like Jeff saying .TEL is "highly brandable"... who calls it a telephone nowadays? same with "cellphone" or "cellular phone"... those terms will die off eventually and was never even really that popular in any other parts of the world besides usa..

i thought .mobi sounded a bit funny at first too but it turns out the word is even being used by mobile-focused companies all over the world that dont even necessarily own or know about the .mobi domain. apparently mTLD (the registry) did some extensive research on this issue and determined .mobi would be the best fit.. and considering the other options i will have to agree.

 

[000]

I agree with comments made from both sides of the table. And I, for one - although I don't agree completely with all his posts -think snoop is spot on a lot of the time (thanks for that).

Here are some of my thoughts for ya'll to chew on.

- The majority of .mobi's I see around here and regged in general are, and always will be, crap... of course there is a possibility that some day perhaps end users will come along for a few of them... but most are just $$ down the drain.

- I'd say that easily half (ok, more than half) of all .mobi's regged are worth nothing or next to nothing.

- I can't imagine 'normal' people blindly typing in .mobi's at this point. Someday maybe... maybe not. It's not uncommon for some of my .mobi's to get, say, 60 views a month at Sedo. But I don't believe that much of it is real, 'natural' traffic. Bots, maybe. Domainers, maybe. But I can't believe that it's 'normal' people for the most part. There is no reason for people to randomly type in .mobi's.... they would definitely strike out way more often than not, so why would they form that habit?

- I believe that as long as the mobile web is around, so will .mobi. Some companies/websites will use it, others won't. There will never be a sole 'standard'.

- There is definitely money to be made, if you know what you're doing. I know of a couple members here who have found a very profitable development niche that makes them $$$$/month. I've made some decent money with .mobi (yes, even recently) just by making wise investments in a down economy. But I am also a DEVELOPER, and I only buy domains that I have plans for... so in most cases I don't even expect just the domains themselves to make me much of any money. Helps keep my head out of the clouds... I wish more people would follow my example, but I could say the same thing about any extension. And at the end of the day it's their money, not mine.

- Many people will lose a good deal of money on .mobi because of making not-so-wise investment choices. .Mobi will not compete with .com; it's just another alternative choice extension. Some generics will hold value, and yes, development will be a key part of making a profit with .mobi... but, most domainers never really get around to developing much of anything, so........

- The majority of companies that supposedly "use .mobi" really are doing nothing more than protecting their brand. All these alleged ".mobi investors/backers/supporters" mean nothing to me unless they're ACTUALLY promoting their .mobi. Think Fox News, Disney (promotes .mobi on TV), Zagat, BofA, etc. I don't give a crap if they redirect or not, because 'normal' people don't care or even notice. All they pay attention to is what they're told to visit.

 

[snoop]

Agree with with your points Egnited, good post.

 

[mo_dork]

It is a bit like saying stock prices are a bad indication of the value of a company.

It definitely can be. Like right now, prices are really low, so all companies are bad... or maybe good time to buy?

In the tech sector you get a lot of bubbles in specific hot industries. Sectors can be worthless and then become hot. Do you buy after the price goes up or before?