Mobi vs Com, Industry's backing!!

[sker]

sales of .Mobi are going through the roof, but mobile phone giant Nokia planned to launch "Ovi", Internet services gateway on .Com extension

(OVI.COM)

Conventional wisdom on Industry standard says the backing of industry leaders is necessary,that will follow with the market adaptation.

anyone agree with me? or you guys beg to differ?

V

 

[homebuyer]

Why?

http://www.s60.com/business/productinfo/builtinapplications/webrowser

I think that this browser says it all. Son-of-a . . .; and to think I recently added 12 more .mobis to my portfolio against my better judgment.

 

[sker]

It's a good point.

With over a year for everyone to watch the MOBI TLD develop, it's becoming clear the .MOBI has its place, but it's a TLD suited for companies that are MOBI-only. OVI by Nokia is a multi-platform social network, intended to be viewed on PC as well as mobile devices. So why would they not go with a .COM? That's what the public knows and understands already.

RJ

Very True....RJ

1. Rebranding is very expensive

2. Every mobile device need to connect to the internet....mobile is just the internet gateway, cracking that .mobi niche will surely have backfire from the .com incumbents.

3. New extensions have made some impacts ie. dot TV extension. few media companies have at least backed it and using it as their official website .... why they've been sucessful?????

because all they're trying to do is "Change their Identity" NOT "Disputing the current standard" ...

no new device,no new gateway,no new function and no new orders.... only identity have changed.

i would prefer, .com sites with multi-platform accessibility like language options in many sites..... l
V

 

[sashas]

one thing going against .mobi too: lack of domainer acceptance!

Most tend to overlook this fact, but domainers and domainer owned websites form an important portion of the internet. And .mobi does not have 100% domainer support. .com has complete domainer support.

 

[Ross]

.....It will be a minimum of 2-4 years before a uniformed technology is 'possibly made' for all to use to surf 'normally' and at least 3-5 years before iphone type of phones are affordable to everyone!!, and not just the fortunate few who can afford them prior....

Sorry if this is off topic:

This is not true. A sidekick ID is only $50 with 2 year contract and the data plan is only $20 month. This is cheaper than owning a razr which half the people in the world own. And yes the sidekick ID can do a lot of the same things an iPhone can do. My opinion .mobis have there place just not in the realm of where the .coms sit.

 

[sashas]

This is off topic too...T-Mobile Sucks!

 

[RJ]

one thing going against .mobi too: lack of domainer acceptance!

Most tend to overlook this fact, but domainers and domainer owned websites form an important portion of the internet. And .mobi does not have 100% domainer support. .com has complete domainer support.

Hmm.. I see what you're saying. Nothing has 100% domainer support but I wouldn't go that far as listing that as a negative against MOBI. Compared to TLD's like .EU and .PRO, maybe even .US, .MOBI has a lot more domainers championing it.. and probably a lot more that vehemently dislike it.

But without the support it has from the domainer community, the MOBI TLD would be even more obscure than it is. The press-release worthy sales at TRAFFIC and Sedo and non-stop discussion around domainer forums definitely keeps MOBI in the public eye.

RJ

 

[sashas]

MOBI has a lot more domainers championing it.. and probably a lot more that vehemently dislike it.

This is one thing playing against it too: .mobi is hated more than any other TLD. .eu, .us, .pro might not have too much domainer support, but at least they aren't hated as much. .mobi is hated by many, including the biggies Frank, Sahar, etc.
And the comparison here is with .com, not .pro
I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that .com has 99% domainer support, maybe even 100%.

 

[Jasdon]

This is one thing playing against it too: .mobi is hated more than any other TLD. .eu, .us, .pro might not have too much domainer support, but at least they aren't hated as much. .mobi is hated by many, including the biggies Frank, Sahar, etc.
And the comparison here is with .com, not .pro
I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that .com has 99% domainer support, maybe even 100%.

Hell guy - you've got a short memory! Most of your questions have been answered over at dnf in the past few days.

Remember you saying that .mobi won't take off because of branding/advertising would cost too much, or be confusing to mere mortals? Then do you remember the picture I posted?

Had you forgotten that, or just thought you'd come somewhere else to find a new audience to spew your hatred on?

Ah yes, the 'biggies' - what would you do if all your eggs were in the .com basket? If you were approaching the time where a sell-off was looking pretty attractive, and then this new extension comes in crashing the party - grabbing the headlines - that's right - you'd do exactly what they are doing, I know I would. Going public with their achievements, trying to dampen the mobi fire. Don't see them do that with .tv, .us, .anything else, do you? You know why? It's because those other extensions aren't a threat. Trouble with this kind of defence, is that they are actually stoking the fire, rather than putting it out.

Domainers hating an extension could help it fail? That just goes to show how little you understand. Should I tell you what stops extensions from thriving, same as any other product - indifference.

Ever heard of Marmite? It's a truly disgusting (IMO), treacly spread that people put on toast. Half the population love it, half hate it, but it's been thriving for decades and everyone knows what it is (in the UK - don't know if it's sold elsewhere). If noone gave a toss about it, it would have died soon after it was launched.

Now if the number of threads in the the .us and .tv areas start to go through the roof, and people are arguing about their pros and cons - it's time to start buying!

 

[akcampbell]

Marmite and .mobi is a funny analogy, I wondered about that myself. The only problem is a .mobi website is serving up marmite to everybody not just marmite lovers and no developer is going to write off 50% of their customers.

As far as I can make out alot of domainers thought .mobi sounded lame when it launched and thought the mobile internet championing was spurious because mobile browsers would soon be able to convert standard .com sites to smaller screen resolution.

.mobi then kicked butt on the aftermarket even though the raison d'etre for it's existence got shakier and shakier, so people who wrote it off initially hated it even more because what was happening was illogical from their viewpoint.

I protected my best .coms by preordering .mobis and I'm glad I did but I still think it's a busted flush long term because the word "MOBI" doesn't meaning anything and when people start using the Internet on handheld devices more actively I think they will go to their favourite .com sites because that's what they are used to.

Alternative extensions that don't mean anything will struggle because they aren't natural brands for a wide range of keywords. Mobile.mobi, Ringtones.mobi, Phone.mobi are all great but I don't get the logic for Loan.mobi, Debt.mobi, Mortgage.mobi. The keywords don't go with the extension.

I have always preferred .info and more recently the virgin snow of .pro because they these extension have international meaning. People use the Internet to find out information and anybody selling something or doing something wants to be a Pro at it.

 

[Kate]

...
no developer is going to write off 50% of their customers.

50% ?
Do you know a lot of websites that have 50% mobile visitors ?
I checked my logs and I have around 1%...
OK Reuters or CNN should have a more significant percentage (CNN uses cnnmobile.com anyway).

Let's look at some of the big 'backers' indeed:

google.mobi => redirect
microsoft.mobi => not resolving
visa.mobi => not resolving

Granted, it's not all of them but the least one could say is that they are not leading by example
They want us to buy into their hype ?
Industry backing does not always overcome consumer resistance... other standards have already failed in the past because they were shunned by the consumers.
To be honest there is more support and enthusiam for the ext here at NP than from the backers themselves :bah:

 

[Keith]

This is one thing playing against it too: .mobi is hated more than any other TLD. .eu, .us, .pro might not have too much domainer support, but at least they aren't hated as much. .mobi is hated by many, including the biggies Frank, Sahar, etc.
And the comparison here is with .com, not .pro
I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that .com has 99% domainer support, maybe even 100%.

You have to look at new trends and not be stuck in the past. To think that .com will rule forever as the number 1 tld is very naive. It's hard to see something knocking it off the throne right now but give it time. Nothing lasts forever including .com.

BTW, a few industry heavy weights will not make or break a new tld. They are against .mobi because it can and will take away traffic and value to their .com portfolios.

 

[sashas]

Come on Kate. Google, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, don't really matter. As long as mobi lovers can hype up every .mobi to have ever been created, .mobi will sell to folks like Alvaro for 600k. Heck, even I was swept away with the hype for a moment and thought about investing in .mobi seriously. But when I learned that the hype was created mostly by heavy mobi investors, I had to back off.

 

[-REECE-]

Profit is profit..

And yes, some people are pumping this extension until the cows come home...

Really sad when someone invests on "fake hype" that kind of money... I'd normally laugh it off and say it serves a noob right for investing without doing proper research beforehand (like some postings in the Domain Appraisal section), but not when we're talking about that kind of money...

Some people are putting their life savings in .mobi, and I believe that's a big mistake.

.mobi might pay off... But it's certainly not worth risking your life savings on... Nowhere near that guaranteed to succeed..

Come on Kate. Google, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, don't really matter. As long as mobi lovers can hype up every .mobi to have ever been created, .mobi will sell to folks like Alvaro for 600k. Heck, even I was swept away with the hype for a moment and thought about investing in .mobi seriously. But when I learned that the hype was created mostly by heavy mobi investors, I had to back off.

 

[Ross]

....But when I learned that the hype was created mostly by heavy mobi investors, I had to back off.

Exactly. Not end users or big companies.... .mobi investors. Who knows .mobi might catch on but not likely without the backing of huge companies. Like .tv has by many tv stations i.e. TNT and MTV.

 

[BocaVision]

http://www.s60.com/business/productinfo/builtinapplications/webrowser

I think that this browser says it all. Son-of-a . . .; and to think I recently added 12 more .mobis to my portfolio against my better judgment.

Amazing how many little roaches run around showing their ignorance....

First, everyone break out their web-enabled phones.

Don't go to your PC. For those that don't have web-enabled phones...go buy one, or stop moaning.

Question: Do you know that Nokia has launched and promoted 5 .mobi mobile websites during the last 10 months?

NONE of them redirect from a web-enabled phone.

Here are Nokia's .mobi sites:

1.) Nokia.mobi

2.) http://forumnokia.mobi/

3.) mosh.nokia.mobi/

4.) NokiaforBusiness.mobi - By the way..this dotMobi site arrives preloaded as the default in several NOKIA phones in Europe.

5.) s60.mobi - Contrary to what homebuyer wants you to believe, it does not redirect....use your phone, it stays s60.mobi

Don't listen to me or the Mobiphobic Mob.

Do your own homework.

Research, make phone calls, dig, listen, send emails...

Knowledge is power...there is an abundance of advancements with respect to the dotMobi namespace...some things presently seen, others hidden from plainview, and more we will see as time unfolds....

The market is speaking. Some don't want to listen.

Michael

 

[Jeff]

^^

Heck, even I was swept away with the hype for a moment and thought about investing in .mobi seriously. But when I learned that the hype was created mostly by heavy mobi investors, I had to back off.

Exactly.

Really sad when someone invests on "fake hype" that kind of money... I'd normally laugh it off and say it serves a noob right for investing without doing proper research beforehand (like some postings in the Domain Appraisal section), but not when we're talking about that kind of money...

Some people are putting their life savings in .mobi, and I believe that's a big mistake.

Agreed, and I'll take the my public lumps from time to time from the few most aggressive .MOBI Fanatics™ ... but I do very much worry for the new and newer members - obviously, and especially, here on our beloved #1 Namepros, IMHO.

Exactly. Not end users or big companies.... .mobi investors.

mTLD and those very, very few - this is an extremely narrow band of Usual Suspect™ investors - that got in early, in some form or fashion, with generic / "keyword" types of domains need to stay on the offensive, the hype, in order to protect their investments IMHO. :yell:

I also feel that keeping the domain name discussions lively and at the forefront (again, think of the new and newer users both registering and potentially purchasing .MOBI's in the aftermarket), embracing the not-really-so-newsworthy "press releases", pumping the non-End user and, at times, unverified "sales" at Traffic & Sedo, and massive lack of substantial developments and corporate usage (and their general denial and unacceptance that mobile technologies are moving fast ahead forward without .MOBI) IS, again to protect those early, early investments, the main A.G.E.N.D.A. :imho:

By now and definitely in early 2008, thankfully, most can and will be able to clearly discern between this aggressive hype ... and hard reality! :imho:

Happy Holidays! :santa:
-Jeff

 

[hawkeye]

Careful of getting baited Boca. We know where these things lead to. These are the same ones that will haunt you with spam 'Do you want to sell' emails, should it become mainstream or more popular than they 'think' it will be.

..and of course 'he' will show up.

 

[-REECE-]

I've sent out two (2) spam "Do you want to sell email" this year... I wish all informed .mobi investors all the best. But everyone should be entitled to both sides of the story... And when every single questioning of .mobi (which has far less traction and precedent than LLLL.coms) ends in flame wars, people eventually stop questioning .mobi and everything in the forum appears to be all rosey...

Again, nothing wrong with investing in .mobi... But everyone should be entitled to hear both sides of the story and unfortunately most newcomers have been denied that opportunity.

Careful of getting baited Boca. We know where these things lead to. These are the same ones that will haunt you with spam 'Do you want to sell' emails, should it become mainstream or more popular than they 'think' it will be.

..and of course 'he' will show up.

 

[Mike]

I still don't see the relevance of a .mobi extension when all it takes is a few lines of code to detect the incoming browser and if it's a mobile browser, to serve the correct format - from a .com based site. Less work, easier to oversee and track. Voila' - done.
Apple's iPhone hasn't done the .mobi extension any favors, the new smartphones have big enough screens to discredit the minimalistic site build of .mobi sites and to make matter worse for this extension, when i'm fumbling on a mini keyboard, i'm happy to type the shortest extension possible. Is one letter going to make a difference? Not at once, but in the long run, most definitely.
And all this leaves the branding, positioning and reputation of .mobi to still be discussed as it's practically non-existing at this time.
Granted, Nokia has some .mobi projects, but in the grand scheme, they have to- simply because their main market segment are cell phones. Most other companies that have diversity in their products are not using .mobi or redirect.
And as SDINC already pointed out:

google.mobi => redirect
microsoft.mobi => not resolving
visa.mobi => not resolving

This is a heavy indication of how well this extension is perceived by the power players.
In all reality. .mobi is not, nor has it ever been a threat. It's an extension that's largely promoted by domainers while the industry doesn't really take notice and purely secures their domains in various extensions to avoid squatting. see SDINC's comment.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not slandering .mobi as it has validity for some investors, i'm just afraid that this will be/is an extension that's not going anywhere but down in the coming months/years.

IB

 

[hawkeye]

Again, nothing wrong with investing in .mobi... But everyone should be entitled to hear both sides of the story and unfortunately most newcomers have been denied that opportunity.

....and 'how' have they been denied this?? Maybe because every other thread here in the discussion forum on .mobi been removed, and put in the mobi subsection with a "Mobi discussions are for the Mobi Subsection" notation!?

 

[Jasdon]

Profit is profit..

And yes, some people are pumping this extension until the cows come home...

Really sad when someone invests on "fake hype" that kind of money... I'd normally laugh it off and say it serves a noob right for investing without doing proper research beforehand (like some postings in the Domain Appraisal section), but not when we're talking about that kind of money...

Some people are putting their life savings in .mobi, and I believe that's a big mistake.

.mobi might pay off... But it's certainly not worth risking your life savings on... Nowhere near that guaranteed to succeed..

Who? Who has put their life savings into .mobi? Can you point to anyone who has done that?

As for Jeff with his "but I do very much worry for the new and newer members " - Jeezus man, I've seen some of the .mobis you reg'd - it's you that needs the help. If they are representative of what you think a good name is, you've got the wrong hobby!

Sasha

Heck, even I was swept away with the hype for a moment and thought about investing in .mobi seriously. But when I learned that the hype was created mostly by heavy mobi investors, I had to back off.

Wow....even you, eh - the ultimate domain investor

:hehe:

 

[Keith]

Exactly. Not end users or big companies.... .mobi investors. Who knows .mobi might catch on but not likely without the backing of huge companies. Like .tv has by many tv stations i.e. TNT and MTV.

How can you say no big companies are backing .mobi? Endless companies have regged their name in mobi and are using it. Here are some examples...

Bank of America
NBA
BMW
Polo
Nokia

Just to name a few, but the list is lengthy.

 

[RJ]

You have to look at new trends and not be stuck in the past. To think that .com will rule forever as the number 1 tld is very naive. It's hard to see something knocking it off the throne right now but give it time. Nothing lasts forever including .com.

Call me naive then, because there's nothing indicating that .COM is trending the opposite direction. To the contrary, every new TLD that is released only makes .COM stronger. This is unlikely to change within our lifetime, but what any of this has to do with MOBI is beyond me.

BTW, a few industry heavy weights will not make or break a new tld. They are against .mobi because it can and will take away traffic and value to their .com portfolios.

That's a myth.

How can MOBI take away traffic from COM portfolios? That would be like a McDonald's in Madrid taking customer's away from a McDonald's in New York. They serve two completely different markets.

Who? Who has put their life savings into .mobi? Can you point to anyone who has done that?

Who knows, but some people are highly defensive about their MOBI investments. What does that indicate?

Back to the OT. MOBI is one of several options for mobile-designed sites. It's as valid as any other. Nokia uses it on Nokia.mobi for their moble-only site (makes sense) and not on Ovi.com (makes sense). We don't need to over-analyze it.

RJ

 

[Keith]

Call me naive then, because there's nothing indicating that .COM is trending the opposite direction. To the contrary, every new TLD that is released only makes .COM stronger. This is unlikely to change within our lifetime, but what any of this has to do with MOBI is beyond me.

That's a myth.

How can MOBI take away traffic from COM portfolios? That would be like a McDonald's in Madrid taking customer's away from a McDonald's in New York. They serve two completely different markets.

Who knows, but some people are highly defensive about their MOBI investments. What does that indicate?

Back to the OT. MOBI is one of several options for mobile-designed sites. It's as valid as any other. Nokia uses it on Nokia.mobi for their moble-only site (makes sense) and not on Ovi.com (makes sense). We don't need to over-analyze it.

RJ

I am not saying you are naive because .com might decline. It is more so that people seem to have this belief that .com can never be anything but number one when talking about the internet. I tend to believe that anything is possible and things do change over extended periods of time.

Now, how can mobi take away from .com traffic? It is very simple. If I am out and want info on chocolate, I can theoretically go to chocolate.mobi to find what I need. Therefore, it was not necessary for me to access chocolate.com. If these domains are owned by different individuals then the .com has lost traffic. This sort of thing will not cripple .com but could happen on a large scale if .mobi becomes mainstream.

Also, mobi and .com are about the internet in one form or another. It is not really two different markets because the internet is still the internet whether it is accessed from your pc, mobile, or whatever.

 

[-REECE-]

No gtld has ever "become mainstream" other than dotcom... I'd peg 10-15% of the general population in Manitoba (where I live) have heard of even .net. As for .mobi? Only the ones I've told...

I agree with RJ 100%. Maybe .mobi forms a little niche of it's own like .org has done quite nicely, but much like .org, I don't see .mobi doing any damage to dotcom's domainance anytime soon.

I am not saying you are naive because .com might decline. It is more so that people seem to have this belief that .com can never be anything but number one when talking about the internet. I tend to believe that anything is possible and things do change over extended periods of time.

Now, how can mobi take away from .com traffic? It is very simple. If I am out and want info on chocolate, I can theoretically go to chocolate.mobi to find what I need. Therefore, it was not necessary for me to access chocolate.com. If these domains are owned by different individuals then the .com has lost traffic. This sort of thing will not cripple .com but could happen on a large scale if .mobi becomes mainstream.