question Is .xyz / .pro going to replace .net / .org?!

[Andreas B.]

Hey There,

first of all - no hate ...

I am not against anything, neither .org, nore .net, nore ...
you got what I mean

But one development becomes quite evident:

There is a big "fan-base" for newly emerging tlds, and a "fan-base" of far more conservative tradionalists

However, we can still ALL agree that .COM is the number 1!

I think we can also agree, that for any use-case, there might be a very good (alternative) tld., which might not be suitable for a broad audience, but for a specific task:

As for ex. .app or .club or .live.

The one thing, where all the problems come in, is the question about the leadership on the 2nd / 3rd - world - ranking (international usable, for any general purpose).


It always used to be a non-debatable thumbrule:
If you can't get .com, .net is the alternative
(not a very attractive one, as it 'signals' "hey, I am on the 2nd rank", but next to .org the only real international one).

But since 5+ years we see a 'splitting' of these old rules into a more 'get the specified / exact tld, which you need' rule.

[The same, just as example, is happening in the magazine industry:
There used to be few magazines/ newspapers with a huge subscribtion base, nowadays the trend goes towards specified magazines (focusing on one particular topic), and a split of the subscription base into many (smaller) subscriptions.]

We had that upcoming of .io for new, hyped, tech start-ups, which was totally fine.
I think it was a great instrument for the upcoming generation to start their own business, as .coms / .nets were given away,
and this was the chance they had / have.


Now, we see that .xyz domains, which are widely used by (again) new tech, web3 & blockchain platforms and start-ups, getting real traction.

Next to it, some good domains with .pro extension, as it signals: We are specialized on that one topic - we are professionals.


So, is it time for the veterans, to overthink their position when it comes to these new tlds, and the way the domain industry dealed with .net and .org (as 2nd and 3rd ranked) for so long?!

In my opinion, even .org is still a hot extension - but only for non-profit, community driven stuff
("get the specified tld, which you need").
Just that here comes, that these projects don't have that big money to pay high prices for .org domains.
(as the community is already there, they may take another name or tweek a little bit to get a quite similar .org name).


Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there truly a big shift happening in the domaining industry?!


In addition, you have to incooperate all the new web3 extensions, which are thrown onto the market.

.eth, which is totally hyped in the web3 sphere, .sol 'the 2nd hyped' one (all depends whether you are an ethereum or solana fanboy),
and of course extensions from undeveloped like .nft / handshake domains, etc.

Some browsers, built upon googles chrome, already coming out with the possibility to USE those extensions!

Maybe this is not just a shift, but the start of a new paradigm?!


Thanks for reading / & or debating.


Andy

 

[bmugford]

Is .xyz / .pro going to replace .net / .org?!​

No.

I am not sure why .PRO is even in the discussion honestly.

Brad

 

[jhm]

Is .xyz / .pro going to replace .net / .org?!​

No.

I am not sure why .PRO is even in the discussion honestly.

Brad

Not sure why @bmugford post was down voted there. What is the significance of PRO? No serious business cares for this extension. Is XYZ / PRO going to replace NET / ORG? Well no, I see no evidence of that today, whether that's what people want to hear or not

 

[HotKey]

Is .xyz / .pro going to replace .net / .org?!​

No.

I am not sure why .PRO is even in the discussion honestly.

Brad

Why do people always think of this as "replace", anytime something gets popular or begins to pick up. Lol. It's like the mindset always has to go to the extreme end of things, and entire generations of ingrained traditional domains are going to be "replaced".

My answer to this is: We are are going to see stuff living alongside each other. Simple as that guys.

 

[bmugford]

Not sure why @bmugford post was down voted there. What is the significance of PRO? No serious business cares for this extension. Is XYZ / PRO going to replace NET / ORG? Well no, I see no evidence of that today, whether thats what people want to hear hear or not

I am honored when the anonymous downvote patrol targets me...Truly honored.

I would prefer someone actually makes a comment, but if they would rather sit behind their keyboard in anonymity, more power to them.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Why do people always think of this as "replace", anytime something gets popular or begins to pick up. Lol. It's like the mindset always has to go to the extreme end of things, and entire generations of ingrained traditional domains are going to be "replaced".

My answer to this is: We are are going to see stuff living alongside each other. Simple as that guys.

"Paradigm shift" is one of the most annoying hype terms. It is in the pantheon of overused startup lingo with terms like "game-changer", "disrupt", and others.

Brad

 

[Andreas B.]

Is .xyz / .pro going to replace .net / .org?!​

No.

I am not sure why .PRO is even in the discussion honestly.

Brad

Thanks for your comment.

As I said, I can totally understand why communities / non-profits are using .org,
and that might stay just the way it is
(but is also a reason, why .org sales are in decline, as
a) the big money isn't usually to be found here, and
b) naming isn't that important in non-profit org's etc. - at least you can use a slightly diff. domain, as the community will get to know it for sure).

But for .net, my thoughts are:
I imagine myself in a position of ownership of a nice retail platform, in the 90s.
And I would like (love) to have the .com name for it.
But it is already gone / alternatives are too expensive.

As the usage of the internet is growing exponentially, and I am interested in earning some money with it, I - not quite satisfied but from a perspective of commercial thinking - agree on using .net

I tell myself:
It's still worldwide recognized, and other tlds (like .co) are not widely used / attractive to users
(.io not at all at that time)


So, if you would ask me then, in the 90s, in that position:
Would you like to choose
a) 2nd rank international tld - still commercially succesful, but people will see you were not able to afford .com / not creative enough to find a good .com,
and users may tend to change to .com competitor later on [maybe even same domain in .com]
- or -
b) specified tld, which was not there in the 90s.
But something like today:
.io
or .xyz
or maybe .tv / .app

I think I would have loved to choose a specified one, not a 2nd ranked one.
Which does not mean that .net is always 2nd rank for me - for sure scenario based,
as I know some good financial .net sites
but NOT in e-commerce, retail, etc.
(imagine amazon or google .net)


Just my thoughts.

 

[DNGear]

As I own 1500 .pro domains, Personally I don't feel much traction on .pro.
I have sold only 41 domains since 2015.
But, I have sold around 550 .xyz domains since 2015.(20K domains)
Maybe it would help to assess both of them.

 

[bmugford]

Thanks for your comment.

As I said, I can totally understand why communities / non-profits are using .org,
and that might stay just the way it is
(but is also a reason, why .org sales are in decline, as
a) the big money isn't usually to be found here, and
b) naming isn't that important in non-profit org's etc. - at least you can use a slightly diff. domain, as the community will get to know it for sure)

Well, you are wrong on "sales in decline" -

The numbers tell a different story.

Let's look at reported NameBio sales for .ORG.

2020 6,032 sales $5.6M

2021 6,627 sales $6.8M

2022 4,547 sales $5.1M (8 months)
Over a full year that projects to around 6,800 sales and $7.6M

Are those declining?

Also many Web3 and crypto projects use .ORG. It is a very dated view to just see .ORG for non-profit use.

Brad

 

[Andreas B.]

Well, you are wrong on "sales in decline" -

The numbers tell a different story.

Let's look at reported NameBio sales for .ORG.

2020 6,032 sales $5.6M

2021 6,627 sales $6.8M

2022 4,547 sales $5.1M (8 months)
Over a full year that projects to around 6,800 sales and $7.6M

Are those declining?

Also many Web3 and crypto projects use .ORG. It is a very dated view to just see .ORG for non-profit use.

Brad

Agree.

web3 projects are very often community projects.

So this is quite reasonable and you can argue for it.

 

[jhm]

As I own 1500 .pro domains, Personally I don't feel much traction on .pro.
I have sold only 41 domains since 2015.
But, I have sold around 550 .xyz domains since 2015.(20K domains)
Maybe it would help to assess both of them.

41 PRO domains since 2015 averages out at like 5 or so per year. Isn't terrible by most standards

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I don't buy the OP statement that .org is in decline. As the dollar volume results comparing the first 6 months of 2022 to the similar period for the preceding three years, .ORG has kept rising each year. Source: https://www.namepros.com/blog/the-first-six-months-of-2022-a-look-at-domain-name-sales-data.1278026/ More .org are in use in for-profit than many believe, although still a mix of both of course.

I think .xyz is finding a place as an alternative, particularly in certain sectors like web3, when the .com is unavailable or priced out of reach of the prospective buyer. The momentum for .xyz seems well established now. Still much smaller than .com of course.

The .co and .io is a little harder to decide. There might be a drop-off to some degree, but that is mainly because they did very well last few years. Studies of names chosen by startups show a fair number still using these, although .com first choice by pretty big margin.

I don't quite know why .pro part of the discussion. Yes Swetha and a few others have had some nice sales recently, but still pretty small part of the dollar volume pie.

A number of new gTLDs are finding some startup use. They are not really totally general, but also not totally specific like say a .homes would be. I am thinking things like .tech, .network, .app, .one, .dev and many more. After .app, individually they don't account for much of pie, although in total they are finding use, particularly in startups.

I 100% agree with comment of @HotKey above that replace is not the right terminology, but we should look at a side-by-side role for certain other country code, legacy generic, and new gTLDs as having a role along with the dominant .com.

I am always surprised when the Y-combinator analyses find so few .net and .org among startups. They are solid TLD choices with a strong overall use base, but don't seem high on list for many startup managers. I am not sure why. See e.g. @narbuq superb analysis posted a few days ago.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/ycombinator-w22-and-s22-name-analysis.1280532/

Thanks to OP @Andy Power and all responders for interesting discussion.

Bob

 

[Andreas B.]

My answer to this is: We are are going to see stuff living alongside each other. Simple as that guys.

Is .co able to live along side .com?!
- my honest opinion: com has almost eaten co.

And I fear, it might get like this with other tlds too.

.io isn't that hyped any more as it used to be. -
can you imagine to develop a website for a new tech (like web3) using a .net domain?

A shift starts slowly, and then turns fast.

 

[HotKey]

"Paradigm shift" is one of the most annoying hype terms. It is in the pantheon of overused startup lingo with terms like "game-changer", "disrupt", and others.

Brad

Yes it's certainly drained the significance out of the term, in terms of relation of it with our industry. And nearly everything is a "game changer" isn't it?

Dot-pro is an interesting choice to use alongside dot-xyz, I'm not sure how it could ever been seen as a fallback for an alternative to dot-com. It's way too specialized in its term.

There is no doubt we are seeing a drift into non-coms, new G's, I think it's only natural when things get saturated with usage and availability dwindles that people will take matters into their own hands. People aren't stupid. But at the same time there is no need for current quality well-named domains in traditional extensions to have any concern about "replacement" they will live on indefinitely. Roots are deep, and have stretched wide. As they should be.

Trust takes time to build. We have new domains being discovered and seeded, particularly dot-xyz, but really we should give it a good decade to see how well they have rooted.

Though, I'm wondering if our idea of longevity will change along with an approach to choosing domain extensions. Maybe it will be ok to have something stick around for just a year or two for the newer generations. It will certainly be reminiscent of our ever-evolving gadgetry.

 

[Andreas B.]

I don't buy the OP statement that .org is in decline. As the dollar volume results comparing the first 6 months of 2022 to the similar period for the preceding three years, .ORG has kept rising each year. Source: https://www.namepros.com/blog/the-first-six-months-of-2022-a-look-at-domain-name-sales-data.1278026/ More .org are in use in for-profit than many believe, although still a mix of both of course.
Show attachment 221014
I think .xyz is finding a place as an alternative, particularly in certain sectors like web3, when the .com is unavailable or priced out of reach of the prospective buyer. The momentum for .xyz seems well established now. Still much smaller than .com of course.

The .co and .io is a little harder to decide. There might be a drop-off to some degree, but that is mainly because they did very well last few years. Studies of names chosen by startups show a fair number still using these, although .com first choice by pretty big margin.

I don't quite know why .pro part of the discussion. Yes Swetha and a few others have had some nice sales recently, but still pretty small part of the dollar volume pie.

A number of new gTLDs are finding some startup use. They are not really totally general, but also not totally specific like say a .homes would be. I am thinking things like .tech, .network, .app, .one, .dev and many more. After .app, individually they don't account for much of pie, although in total they are finding use, particularly in startups.

I 100% agree with comment of @HotKey above that replace is not the right terminology, but we should look at a side-by-side role for certain other country code, legacy generic, and new gTLDs as having a role along with the dominant .com.

I am always surprised when the Y-combinator analyses find so few .net and .org among startups. They are solid TLD choices with a strong overall use base, but don't seem high on list for many startup managers. I am not sure why. See e.g. @narbuq superb analysis posted a few days ago.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/ycombinator-w22-and-s22-name-analysis.1280532/

Thanks to OP @Andy Power and all responders for interesting discussion.

Bob

thanks Bob as always.

 

[bmugford]

Is .co able to live along side .com?!
- my honest opinion: com has almost eaten co.

.Co always had an issue with being so similar to .Com IMO.

To many, if not most, people it just looks like someone forgot to put the "m" at the end.

There have been several reports from Overstock and others about traffic and email loss because of that.

While I am not really a fan of many alternative extensions, some of the others at least have their own identity.
.CO was always piggybacking on .COM to me.

Brad

 

[enterscope]

Pro does seem to be gaining traction as of late, but still a ways to go.

 

[biggie]

So, is it time for the veterans, to overthink their position when it comes to these new tlds, and the way the domain industry dealed with .net and .org (as 2nd and 3rd ranked) for so long?!

Hi

since veterans have already established their business models, then any new investments in other extensions, would be their prerogative to choose.
however, the difference is the newbie, who is influenced by the hype of sales from a few individuals.
they are the ones who become confused as to which way to go.... not the vets.

those who came late to the party have to choose from what's left.
that includes .pro and .xyz and as is, majority of the top-tier keywords in those extensions have already been taken.

one might find better terms available in .org or .net, which still are more recognized and trusted, than .pro and .xyz

imo...

 

[Andreas B.]

Thanks for the interesting discussion!

Eye opening, I will think different about .org.

I like .org, to me it was always synonym to non-profit, community stuff. - But to be honest, never for commercial sites.

.com & .net is (& was always) the commercial side of the globalized internet for me.

Thus, the unavoidable equation with 2nd rank here
(but, as I said, not always - there are exceptions, like good financial / service websites with .net;
.net might claim a special internet history & reputation for itself).

However, of course humans like to think in categories, and in rankings

So, just tried to recapitulate the last impressions I got from surfing the site...


I truly also think, it is a question of age (of the user).

Younger users might get used to xyz aso faster, than older users.
Who have a good experience using / or trading orgs and nets.


Take care.

 

[Andreas B.]

Hi

since veterans have already established their business models, then any new investments in other extensions, would be their prerogative to choose.
however, the difference is the newbie, who is influenced by the hype of sales from a few individuals.
they are the ones who become confused as to which way to go.... not the vets.

those who came late to the party have to choose from what's left.
that includes .pro and .xyz and as is, majority of the top-tier keywords in those extensions have already been taken.

one might find better terms available in .org or .net, which still are more recognized and trusted, than .pro and .xyz

imo...

not fully agree.

Yes, com net and org are long gone ;

but xyz just came out in 2014 (I think), which is not such a long time in domaining (is it?).

Me personally, I do not so much care about sale stats (quantity and prices), but MUCH more about what successful (new) websites use as extension.

To me, opensea.io for ex. sounds better than opensea.net / or .org ever would have sounded.

Still, I even would have prefered to categorize it into different tlds:
.io for tech start ups
.xyz for blockchain, nft, web3 projects.

So in my personal eyes, opensea.xyz would have looked best

(oh gosh, I know what's coming next )

And i put one more:

xyz would have looked even better than com to me



G'night.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I had a look at .org names that had sold for $1000 plus (NameBio recorded) and that had a developed website. It is sometimes hard to separate nonprofit and for profit, even when going through the About on the site, but I estimated that 56% of the developed .org sites were for-profit.

You can read the details here:
https://www.namepros.com/blog/who-is-buying-org-domain-names.1250064/

By the way, some, even Sedo!, refer to .pro as a new gTLD, but it was not part of the new extension program. It was introduced in 2004, about a decade prior to the new extension program release. It was originally restricted to accountants, engineers, lawyers and medical professionals, and registrants had to satisfy requirements they fell within one of those groups. Registrant use was broadened significantly in 2008 in that you could hold it as long as a licensed professional by some government in any profession. In 2015 the TLD was totally open to unrestricted use. You can read more here.

A number of other alternative legacy extensions, like .mobi and .tel, are sometimes confused with being part of the new extension program.

Bob

 

[bmugford]

A number of other alternative legacy extensions, like .mobi and .tel, are sometimes confused with being part of the new extension program.

Bob

.travel, .museum, .aero are some others that predated the program by many years as well.

Brad

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

Is .xyz / .pro going to replace .net / .org?!​

No.

I am not sure why .PRO is even in the discussion honestly.

Brad

Prob because Swetha once again has built herself a good number of dictionary word.pro names

 

[Andreas B.]

Prob because Swetha once again has built herself a good number of dictionary word.pro names

I have nothing to do with swetha.
No affiliation, etc.

Actually, I did not just mean .pro -
I ment all 3 digit extensions, which make sense.

As:
.one, .dev, .top, .app
etc.

thx