Mobile ads the end of keyword search ads and keyword domains?

[Venga]

During the presentation of Apples new mobile ad network iAd Steve Jobs claimed:

"On mobile, search hasn't happened. People aren't searching on their phones. People are spending their time in apps."

“The average user spends over 30 minutes every day using apps on their phone. If we said we wanted to put an ad up every 3 minutes, that’s 10 ads per device per day. That would be 1b ad opportunities per day.”

If people "turn to targeted apps to find answers", what are the chances this will overtake computer use in general, thus making keyword domain names obsolete?

 

[biznews]

What you said will happen. Very slowly. Then all domainers will transition into buying and selling apps.

 

[HappyBunny]

"turn to targeted apps to find answers"

I am not sure what you mean by this. Can you give an example?

 

[Venga]

Let´s say people travel to Paris and need a hotel, there may be a "Paris Hotel Finder" app able to show all hotels nearby. They could open the browser, type a search request and wade through the results, but people don´t seem to (although internet browsing is one of the main features of the iPhone). Now consider that the iPad doesn´t have a mechanical keyboard, either.

 

[HappyBunny]

In that case, you will need to search for the app first, install it, and run it. Do you think it is worth the trouble to repeat this process for each query you might have? You might end up with thousands of applications in your iDevice...

 

[u8l2]

I was watching the news last night. CTV to be exact and they were talking about apples iphone and ipad apps and the commentator ended with this statement. Of the hundreds of thousands of apps available from the app store only 1% are useful. Now if you think this kind of negative remark doesnt sink into the minds of millions of people that watch the 6 oclock news everyday think again. I am also sure that this commentator isnt alone in his thinking.

 

[Ray]

im sorry to say, but this will most likely never happen.. Those apps are created by people.. on computes... who use the internet! Most i devices have a browser. who says that safari wasnt included in that 30 mins of app use.. Of the 40 some apps on my phone, safari is the only one i use multiple times a day

Also, those apps also have to be synced.. with a computer. there will always be a market.

 

[Venga]

According to comscore "Search Growth Slows In The U.S."

 

[exsedo]

Its a delicate balance. If the apps have embedded ads, a percentage will avoid the app. If the ads can be turned off, a lot will turn them off. Even Steve Jobs doesn't get everything he wishes for.

 

[Timewarp]

Its a delicate balance. If the apps have embedded ads, a percentage will avoid the app. If the ads can be turned off, a lot will turn them off. Even Steve Jobs doesn't get everything he wishes for.

Something that is happening already is free apps that are ad supported and pay versions (usually only $1-$2) with no ads.

 

[Jaco]

What you said will happen. Very slowly. Then all domainers will transition into buying and selling apps.

99.99% of "domainers" are completely screwed at this point.
Developing apps is a skill (and a rather complex one at that). Owning a domain is not a skill.
Any idiot with $50 in the bank and a debit card can own a domain name.
Not any idiot can develop an app.
The barriers to entry for domain ownership are non-existent. Anyone can do it.
The barriers to app development is knowing how to write apps, which is something a relatively miniscule portion of the public knows how to do.

Once an app goes live and starts to get users and earning profit, the ownership of that app is a fully functioning business- no different than a fully functioning website that earns revenue. While there are people who trade in profitable, full-scale e-businesses and a few of them might tangentially be considered to be 'domainers' - and it's possible these people would start to transact in the ownership rights of profitable apps- these folks are light years above the "domainers" we all think of.

To be sure, if apps ever begin to dominate browsing and internet use, only the top 0.001% of "domainers" will see any action from the app market, and those will be the ones who own the category-killing .com names that the rich app developers will want.

 

[biznews]

99.99% of "domainers" are completely screwed at this point.
Developing apps is a skill. Owning a domain is not a skill.
Any idiot with $50 in the bank and a debit card can own a domain name.
Not any idiot can develop an app.

Once that app goes live in the store and starts to get users, the ownership of that app is a fully functioning business- no different than a fully functioning website that earns revenue. While there are people who trade in profitable, full-scale e-businesses, they are light years above "domainers".

To be sure, if apps ever begin to dominate browsing and internet use, only the top 0.001% of "domainers" will see any action, and those will be the ones who own the category-killing .com names that the rich app developers will want.

I agree completely. Domainers not looking into the crystal ball will have a rude awakening one day. Especially those with large holdings. New ideas and inventions may completely throw the desktop browser and dns based economy into oblivion. Remember, only a few months ago, every Joe and Mary couldn't stop talking about Netbooks.

Be informed. Be nimble.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

These "Apps will kill .com!" arguments to me are just stupid. We have already been down this road over the past 15 years, in reverse.

There was a time when we had to search for programs, install them and then click a desktop icon for each individual task. We had encyclopedia.exe, weather.exe, TVlistings.exe, email.exe, etc... you name it. This is essentially where mobile apps are right now, and they will suffer the same fate as these PC programs when people decide that accessing this stuff through a browser is the way to go.

What is standing in the way of that right now are developers who don't take mobile seriously yet. When the average website is 100% compliant for mobile use, programs (or "apps" as Apple has carefully repackaged them to seem like something more awesome) are mostly done for.

Anyone who disagrees needs to explain to me why the masses need to have Encyclopedia.exe on their desktop and that Encyclopedia.com is a really bad idea. And don't say that mobile is just different. It isn't.