.mobi My thoughts and concerns on mtld and the .mobi extension

[-REECE-]

I feel mtld has been exaggerating the nature of the contributions of some of the backers. Initially, it all looks fine and dandy... But then, ask yourself -- when in history have that many multi-billion dollar corporations sided together on anything? I don't think mtld is as special in this regard, as they attempt to portray themselves to be. Now, I'm not saying .mobi isn't a great idea -- I like .mobi myself and wouldn't have invested in it otherwise. However, I highly doubt the likes of some of these behemoths are really interested in whether mtld succeeds or not. From a global standpoint, these multi-billion dollar corporations are only interested in ensuring that the mobile web becomes a success and that standards are in place to increase the likelihood and magnitude of their success.

Look at the market capitalization of some of the companies that mtld claims are investors...

I don't blame mtld for taking the approach that they have -- it makes sense from a purely economic point of view. Look how many domain names in every single extension are owned by domainers... Mtld can gurantee themselves a decent payday, merely by pushing these names at us, regardless of the perception .mobi forms years down the road in the general public's mind.

And saying mtld is not running things the way they are, solely for profit -- is a major misconception IMO. I'll liken that to thinking ICANN is actually a real non-profit... http://www.isp-planet.com/letters/icann_money.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/05/icann_registerfly_litigation/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/25/0611209

Of course -- if one digs deep enough, once can dig up dirt on just about anything or anyone... But the fact remains, that all of mtld's moves so far have been carefully planned in an attempt to maximize revenue (i.e. RFP, premium name allocation, "investor propaganda",...)

Is this wrong? No -- they're a for-profit corporation... This is to be expected. However, what is troubling, is that this company is being run by a bunch of mid-level marketers, not experts in the field of economics, not former CEO's of companies... Just marketers -- no offence intended, but do they really think they have the economic know-how to properly undertake what they're attempting; foraging into unchartered waters?

Releasing those premium names will be a challenge in it's own right. Mtld has already proven themselves unprepared by the joke the RFP has become. We can give them excuses all we want -- the RFP was supposed to be settled months ago. Applications originally ended when? Was it not mid-December? I think that another word now comes to mind... Disorganized.

How on Earth could it take this long to sort this out? The applications were extended... But they still ended on February 16. This was for 4 names. Yes! Four names -- not forty, not four hundred, and certainly not four thousand! So, do we really think they're up to the task of releasing these premium names? I, personally, do not think they're up to the task. I believe they're doing about as bad of a job as imaginable. Every time they delay the RFP, they're telling the "backers", and us alike, that they're unprepared for the task at hand.

We're talking about a whole new Internet here... Are they really cut out for the task? A list of things which really need to be addressed follows:

1. RFP (who, what, when, why)
Who is going to win the RFP's? Is preference being given to large corporations over individuals or smaller organizations with comparable ideas?
What can be done to ensure that the RFP's don't end up in the hands of domainers? Price is not an effective barrier as many domainers have more money than developers.
When are we going to finally have the RFP results? When are future RFP's going to take place?
Why has this RFP taken so much longer than initially anticipated? Why will future RFP's be different? Why does mtld deliberately avoid the Namepros forum, which collectively has invested far more money than readers of their blog, or other websites they respond on?

2. Premium Name Allocation (what, when, why)
What method will be used to allocate the premium names? I find it hard to believe you're capable of releasing thousands of names via RFP (if the current ongoing one is any indicator), or via auctions, if profit maximization is your goal, which it appears to be.
When can we honestly expect premium names to begin being released at a meaningful rate?
Why are you loaning out the city names (i.e. Helsinki) rather than giving them to the respective cities, something which I thought was the assumed intention, early on for reserving them.

3. Nature of the investments made in mtld (what, when, why, how)
What is the nature of the investments made by these backers? Have they all made equal contributions? Are the contributions strictly monetary in nature, or are these companies also interested in aiding your extension in a meaningful way, other than to hedge their commercial interests?
When can we expect these backers to start using the .mobi extension in a meaningful way, advertising the .mobi extension, or otherwise promoting it's use?
Why are these investors interested in mtld? Are they strictly interested in the commercial applications of the mobile web and how standardization may assist them in initiating their corporate agendas?
How do you plan on recruiting additional backers? How do you plan on encouraging your current backers to promote .mobi specifically, rather than the mobile web as a whole? How do you plan on getting the general public interested in .mobi if the corporate backers aren't willing to risk promoting .mobi in a meaningful way, and prefer to spend their advertising dollars on the mobile web as a whole, so as to ensure that their marketing dollars are not wasted on a fledgling extension?

4. Convincing the general public and corporations alike of the need for a mobile web in light of the iPhone and future, even more capable devices (what, when, why, how)
What advertising efforts will you be undertaking in the near future to ensure that the iPhone, and competitors to it that many companies are currently working on, will not convince the general public that there is no need for a mobile internet?
When will you begin your Consumer Awareness Campaign? Technology changes very rapidly. Our video game consoles today are more powerful than the instruments NASA used to send man to the moon. You have a distinct advantage in beginning as soon as possible -- beginning before the iPhone and it's competitors hit the market gives you a competitive edge. Don't let the public be wowed enough by these devices that they see no reason for a mobile web when presented with reasons for one.
Why have you waiting so long to begin your Consumer Awareness Campaign? Is it because a large majority of people still don't use cell phones for internet browsing? If you wait until bandwidth costs come down, it will be too late. By then, there will be no need for the mobile web. Ever heard of the technology singularity? That isn't science fiction! As we get more advanced and build more advanced devices, the advanced devices in turn allow us to build more advanced devices. It's the same premise behind Moore's Law. Why are there so many technological breakthroughs recently? What makes you think that technology to allow enjoyable browsing on cell phones isn't in the very near future? Don't waste time! This is your chance, don't blow it.
How will you position your product (the dotmobi extension) in light of innovations such as the iPhone? How do you plan on convincing companies that .mobi is a better means for standardization than redirects to m-prefixed subdomains?


This is by no means an exhaustive list, merely a list of some of the questions which are at the very top of my mind -- and should be at the top of yours!
We need to get these questions answered... Not so I, Jeff, or Labrocca can be satisfied... We need these questions answered so that everyone making an investment in .mobi, whether it be in domain names or developments, knows exactly what they're getting into.

Until then, I'm forced to call it as Garrett previously did -- a gamble with better odds than 40 million to 1.

 

[eyedomainous]

I think its important to keep in mind that ICANN answers to the U.S. commerce department. Despite this connection ICANN, for the most part, has worked hard at maintaining a level of independence. True, under the current (Bush) administration ICANN's voice has been co-opted, on several glaring occaisons, by big business/the white house.

(BTW, Reece, I don't see anything wrong with non-profit workers getting good pay. They deserve it! "Doing well by doing good" should have no shame! And it helps insulate them from bribes. What is a shame, IMO, is the 'nobility of poverty' mindset).​

For example, the W3C's DIWG (Device Independent Working Group) recommended that ICANN "reject the ".mobi" proposal because of the detrimental effect on the Web that will result." The ".mobi gang" used its political clout to not only get ICANN to accept the proposal but the valuable work of the W3C DIWG was shut down... in March. Quietly.

Keep this in mind, for perspective, when you read stuff like (Bold emphasis added):

Thread for Dot Mobi Rep Correspondance:

"2) .mobi, as the top-level-domain designed for mobile, provides a lelev of trustworthiness to the user (although they may not explicitly know it). We have a set of best practices, developed with the W3C, that we expect our registrants to build their sites to. And theoretically the right to disable sites if they flaunt basic principles of mobile suitability."

Also, keep in mind that .mobi is a corporate sponsored TLD (sTLD). Sponsored by corps that 'own' the mobile market. The resulting mtld did Not, and does Not, include the independent users voice. It was set-up by providers for providers. And, it was set-up, to a large degree, to protect corporate trademarks and profits from domainers. So don't hold your breath.

Combine the above factual statements with the corporate .mobi 'dress code' and the boss's "right to disable" (fire you) and one soon realizes that .mobi is indeed a seperate web (as in global corp. intranet). One where the .mobi domainer is more of a 'temp worker' than an entrepenuer (compared to other extensions). And that proceed$, when they come (and I do think they will come), will be more inline with corporate profit sharing, than free market capitalism.

 

[Binfus]

I do sincerely appreciate and in fact share some of the concerns and apprehension that many of us .mobi investors have and that are articulated so well in the first post above. However, to be fair, what's being asked and expected of the registry people here has been never heard of in the domain business before. Remember the debacles just in the relatively recent past during the release of .info, .biz and .eu? Despite all the protests and requests from scores of domainers, does anyone recall anyone from any of those registries ever uttering a single word of explanation to the domainer community? In comparison to their fellow registries, .mobi staff has not only done an extraordinary job in promoting the extension but also have made themselves available to the domainer community more than anyone else....but, no thats not good enough for us...we want more results more quickly, and more answers if we don't see the results according to the timeline that "WE" have in mind ..!!

The simple fact is that all of us .mobi investors, myself first, made speculative investments in this extension by our own free will just like we've been doing with all the other extensions....the major differences being that here we found a registry that have been much more active in promoting the extension and the extension itself created a lot more buzz in the domainer community than any of its predecessors...and hence expectations of rich payoffs in short period of time...and therefore dissappointment when that does not seem to be happening...!! Its all our own doing....no one forced us into this....so we should try to show some patience and take responsibility for our investment decisions.

Lets look at it this way: among all the newer extensions, .info is probably considered to be the most successful.....its been out for almost 7 years now...and many of us who invested pretty heavily in it haven't yet seen the payoffs that we'd expected. Mobi is out how long? 7 months may be..!!! We want explanations for "delays" in the RFP process and a clear delineation for allocation of premium (reserved) domains....do we know if the registry itself has yet decided on the final process for this or is considering a "wait and see" approach depending on how things evolve? Since summer of 2001, Afilias has had locked up thousands of fake TM sunrise premium .info domains and have never articulated any plan as to what their future would be and how they'd be released even though their initial 5-year registration got expired almost a year ago.....so lets be all a little patient with this new .mobi baby here...

 

[-REECE-]

Thank you kindly eyedomainous for the very well written and explained post. I share many of your sentiments and you've even given me a reason to not hate ICANN as much

Binfus, you're correct in that I, and many fellow domainers, hold mtld to a higher standard than other registries. I can't speak for others here, of course, but when mtld makes such a bold claim as that they're different than the extensions of the past, I hold them to that claim and expect them to follow through. Whether it happens or not, time will tell... But I won't cut them any sympathy when they make empty promises. If they can't follow through with the lofty goals they've set, they might as well come clean. Telling us the RFP is just around the corner, month after month, does not help public opinion.

Yes, eyedomainous is right that they (mtld) were created to protect corporate interests, but nevertheless, these corporate interests shouldn't have the audacity to make bold claims they can't deliver on, and then simultaneously expect these domainers, their families, their friends and relatives,... to start using their extension and thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread...

If Web 2.0 and social networks have taught us anything -- it's the sheer power that can be unleashed via word of mouth. Let's keep the word positive

 

[Binfus]

Binfus, you're correct in that I, and many fellow domainers, hold mtld to a higher standard than other registries. I can't speak for others here, of course, but when mtld makes such a bold claim as that they're different than the extensions of the past, I hold them to that claim and expect them to follow through. Whether it happens or not, time will tell... But I won't cut them any sympathy when they make empty promises. If they can't follow through with the lofty goals they've set, they might as well come clean. Telling us the RFP is just around the corner, month after month, does not help public opinion.

In principle, I completely agree with you..but as we all know well, delays in product/service release in the business world are a commonplace and are due in large part to business and/or technical reasons; I'd expect former to be the likely reason here. As far as "public opinion" is concerned, I'm quite sure that in this context what we really mean by "public" is the "domainer community"....in all honesty, does any of us believe that the business community at large, let alone general public, is even vaguely in tune with this .mobi RFP thingy?

 

[-REECE-]

In principle, I completely agree with you..but as we all know well, delays in product/service release in the business world are a commonplace and are due in large part to business and/or technical reasons; I'd expect former to be the likely reason here. As far as "public opinion" is concerned, I'm quite sure that in this context what we really mean by "public" is the "domainer community"....in all honesty, does any of us believe that the business community at large, let alone general public, is even vaguely in tune with this .mobi RFP thingy?

Yes, the domaining community is what I meant by public opinion. One thing we have to remember here though, is that this is no ordinary business...

It's alot like semiconductor manufacturing fundamentally. For a company like Intel, AMD, or Nvidia, a 2 or 3 month delay often turns a great product/innovation into something mediocre. If it was mediocre to begin with, it's now been downgraded to poor.

Now, things aren't moving quite that fast with mobile technology, however the point to be made is that there is a limited window of opportunity associated with the mobile extension. The longer mtld waits, the less need the average (i.e. non-domainer) person will see for it. Devices such as the iPhone are already clouding people's judgement as to the need for the mobile web. Imagine what the iPhone's successor, or the successor to that will do to public opinion about the need for a mobile internet...

I stand firm by my prediction -- 5-7 years from now, we'll all have cell phones capable of running Windows Vista.

 

[labrocca]

Also, keep in mind that .mobi is a corporate sponsored TLD (sTLD). Sponsored by corps that 'own' the mobile market. The resulting mtld did Not, and does Not, include the independent users voice. It was set-up by providers for providers. And, it was set-up, to a large degree, to protect corporate trademarks and profits from domainers. So don't hold your breath.

I have the same sentiments about mTLD. You phrased it well.

does anyone recall anyone from any of those registries ever uttering a single word of explanation to the domainer community?

Those extensions didn't market themselves as an ecosystem. Nor did they withhold 5000 of the top names from domainers promising to release them fairly to qualified applicatants. mTLD also helped create development tools (kudos for it too). While I personally blame domainers for falling hook line and sinker into the sales pitch of mTLD...I also hold mTLD accountable for it's actions and deceit.

.info is probably considered to be the most successful.....its been out for almost 7 years now...and many of us who invested pretty heavily in it haven't yet seen the payoffs

Exactly why I didn't invest more than $100 into mobi. There has yet to be a successful launch of a new extension that really makes money for the average domainer. It's a crap shoot. You basically get lucky getting a name that some other sucker wants to pay good money for. Development potential on mobi is worthless and so is parking.

 

[hedgefund]

Also, keep in mind that .mobi is a corporate sponsored TLD (sTLD). Sponsored by corps that 'own' the mobile market. The resulting mtld did Not, and does Not, include the independent users voice. It was set-up by providers for providers. And, it was set-up, to a large degree, to protect corporate trademarks and profits from domainers. So don't hold your breath.

Combine the above factual statements with the corporate .mobi 'dress code' and the boss's "right to disable" (fire you) and one soon realizes that .mobi is indeed a seperate web (as in global corp. intranet). One where the .mobi domainer is more of a 'temp worker' than an entrepenuer (compared to other extensions). And that proceed$, when they come (and I do think they will come), will be more inline with corporate profit sharing, than free market capitalism.

Well said. mTLD people better spend time on marketing, attenting trade shows, organizing .mobi dev efforts, etc. than spend time chatting with our domainers. Sure, it would be nice for them to come here once in a while, but if they have better things to do some where else, I would not complain.

 

[-REECE-]

Well said. mTLD people better spend time on marketing, attenting trade shows, organizing .mobi dev efforts, etc. than spend time chatting with our domainers. Sure, it would be nice for them to come here once in a while, but if they have better things to do some where else, I would not complain.

I don't think that's quite what eyedomainous was saying. I believe what he meant was more along the lines of: Mtld was not created for domainers. Mtld was created for corporations. Mtld has no interest in seeing domainers profit and Mtld has and will continue to operate their business in a way that ensures slim pickings for domainers.

 

[garrett200]

I don't think that's quite what eyedomainous was saying. I believe what he meant was more along the lines of: Mtld was not created for domainers. Mtld was created for corporations. Mtld has no interest in seeing domainers profit and Mtld has and will continue to operate their business in a way that ensures slim pickings for domainers.

Reece,

Maybe there's a simple reason why they aren't coming to this forum answering questions. Maybe it's not that they are "hiding something" or are afraid to answer the tough questions. Maybe they simply don't care about domainers.

 

[binaryman]

"Maybe they simply don't care about domainers."

SPOT ON

 

[-REECE-]

Reece,

Maybe there's a simple reason why they aren't coming to this forum answering questions. Maybe it's not that they are "hiding something" or are afraid to answer the tough questions. Maybe they simply don't care about domainers.

That's indeed fully possible. But why have they even bothered with the RFP, premium names, etc? Why not just keep them all for themselves and their investors? That would ensure that they all get relevant content.

Why post on their blog about the prices received at auctions by .mobi names -- something which doesn't interest anyone but those trying to make a few bucks?

Why tell Namepros that you would slot us in and then be a no-show. Why not just politely decline stating your hectic schedule doesn't permit you any free time?

 

[GijsZePa]

"Maybe they simply don't care about domainers."

SPOT ON

Without those domainers...no business...

I hope they understand that...

Martin

 

[-REECE-]

Without those domainers...no business...

I hope they understand that...

Martin

I don't know why mtld would be (or is) anti-domainers. Domainers have been part of every single extension -- and are generally on the scene before these so called endusers actually arrive. When we think about it, who really is an enduser anyway? IMO, most developers can and should be considered domainers. How many people develop sites and don't intend to monetize them at some point? How many people put up 1000+ page sites and pay their reg fees, hosting fees, and other related expenses out of pocket because they don't want to put advertisements on their site? Those days are long over for most people... If I spend hours of my time putting up a relevant site, shouldn't I rightfully be compensated for my efforts? How is this any different than a domainer spending hours seeking out good names and then asking for a finder's fee (i.e. reselling at a premium)?

 

[labrocca]

Domainers have domain portfolios they work with. Developers might have have only a small handful of names they do develop into sites. I have a good friend that I sysadmin for. He has one site...one domain....and he makes $xxx,xxxx a year from it after only 5 years of running the site from scratch. How many domainers can say that? Do you think the owners of digg.com are domainers or website owners?


Domainers of course can also developed as I do. I just split up much of my time with development, buying, selling , and research.

 

[binaryman]

You're right Reece and you too Grijze Pa. I think the problem might be that domainers are misunderstood. Also that too often the term "domainer" brings up unwarranted and incorrect associations with cybersquatters.

 

[GijsZePa]

Domainers have domain portfolios they work with. Developers might have have only a small handful of names they do develop into sites. I have a good friend that I sysadmin for. He has one site...one domain....and he makes $xxx,xxxx a year from it after only 5 years of running the site from scratch. How many domainers can say that? Do you think the owners of digg.com are domainers or website owners?

True...but without domainers adapting an extension...the extension is doomed and very little business for the guys controlling that extension.

Martin

 

[-REECE-]

Domainers have domain portfolios they work with. Developers might have have only a small handful of names they do develop into sites. I have a good friend that I sysadmin for. He has one site...one domain....and he makes $xxx,xxxx a year from it after only 5 years of running the site from scratch. How many domainers can say that? Do you think the owners of digg.com are domainers or website owners?


Domainers of course can also developed as I do. I just split up much of my time with development, buying, selling , and research.

What I mean by developers being domainers -- is that they profit off a url just the same. I don't see how it should matter whether one profits via development or via parking. If we take content sites based around facts, how much more useful (to the enduser, not the owner of the site) are those than parked pages in the wikipedia age? Wikipedia is more accurate than 99.9% of the non-scientific sites (i.e. Pubmed being an exception) that are out there. So for all general purposes, they might as well be parking their names granted their sites aren't doing anything constructive for the benefit of enhancing the internet as a whole.

 

[eyedomainous]

I don't think that's quite what eyedomainous was saying. I believe what he meant was more along the lines of: Mtld was not created for domainers. Mtld was created for corporations. Mtld has no interest in seeing domainers profit and Mtld has and will continue to operate their business in a way that ensures slim pickings for domainers.

Your right on, Reece. And thanks for your earlier feedback to my feedback to your post. I read most every post you contribute and value your thoughts, & opinions.

Hedgefund is also right... as the mtld does spend their time "marketing, attenting trade shows, organizing .mobi dev efforts, etc." But not much of that is pro .mobi domainer. They are actively involved in "marketing" corporate involvement in ICANN, via membership in ICANN's business club/lobby, at the expense of domainers. The pitch goes like this...

"A strong business presence in ICANN is increasingly important. The voice of business - as a user of internet services - needs to be heard.

Let us hear your input on these issues:

bad faith use of domain names
cybersquatting, phishing and other user fraud
the mission and strategic plan of ICANN
the transfer and deletion of domain names
the ability of businesses to use WHOIS data
a revision to the UDRP - the way a business can get back a domain name being used in bad faith
new domain names."​

I view the Mtld as a cartel... with a political objective to marginalize domainers on their turf (.mobi). The good news is they can't get rid of all of us. Domainers come with domains. .mobi is where the big corps are circling their wagons... to keep savage domainers out. "Good domainers", ones that truly add value, in the eyes of the MTLD, will have to be let in... or the line will not hold.

 

[Carlton]

... the easiest way mtld could increase the value of the dotmobi extension would be to start developing mini-sites for the premium names they're currently holding.

Very good suggestion. In fact, those are the names most likely typed in by first time users ... and what a help if they could find something of value when visiting a premium name site.

 

[-REECE-]

Very good suggestion. In fact, those are the names most likely typed in by first time users ... and what a help if they could find something of value when visiting a premium name site.

Thanks And yes, that's exactly the way I see it