.us Petition for Ron Jackson to further discuss "ccTLDs- Is North America Immune" panel

[Jaco]

http://www.dnjournal.com/lowdown.htm

After Latona's opening comments, the show's first business session got underway with Neustar's Ken Hansen and Steve Smith of WebNames joining me in a panel discussion titled ccTLDs are Taking Over the World - Is North America Immune? The session, moderated by Rick Silver, covered the prospects for America's .US extension and Canada's .CA as they try to gain recognition on a continent where they have been overshadowed by .com.

(L to R in the photo above) Ron Jackson (DN Journal), Ken Hansen (Neustar, operator of the
.US registry) and Steve Smith (registrar Webnames) discuss the prospects for .US and .CA.

With conference activity to cover almost around the clock, I won't have time to get into the specifics of the business sessions until we produce our comprehensive conference review article a few days after the conference ends but I can say that the overall consensus from this seminar was that .US and .CA are both making slow but steady progress as more businesses use the extensions (in the case of .US, Maserati.us, Shell.us, Transamerica.us, Hitachi.us, BASF.us and Carrabas.us are just a few examples) and search engines giving them favorable positions in local search results.

Please provide an overview of this and discuss in the greatest detail possible.

Signed

Jaco

 

[snoop]

The very fact that you spend so much time trying to convince everyone that this extension is no good tells us that it must have some real potentials.

I spend alot of time naysaying in .tv, .mobi, llll.com and in the past lll.com aswell. Indeed over the last 2 and a half years I've been overall negative on the domain market (inlcuding .com) and have been reducing exposure to it until the picture is clearer. If I thought .us had good potential the logical thing would be to invest in it, not tell people not to.

All smart domainers know that ccTLDs are the way of the future and like it or not that is going to include .US to a great extent too.

It is worrying when someone starts a sentence with "all smart domainers". The fact is .us hasn't done well. Let's not lump .us (and other low quality cc tlds) with the dominant ones like .co.uk, .de. They aren't comparable

All we want to do is to accelerate the acceptance of .US by the general public, so that it will get its fair share of the market a lot sooner.

The whole idea of this is unrealistic. Seconadly I'd argue it already has the share of the market that is justified.

.US might never replace .com (although we shouldn’t say never ), but even if it gets 25% of the market share in the United States that is enough to put it on the front stage.

It is easy to pluck a % from thin air but if you look at actual registration numbers it isn't on course to ever achieve that. I don't even think it is keeping up with growth in other extensions. Its market share may well be in decline.

what you are saying against this extension is derived from your need to protect your own (and others') domain investments from any new challenges.

I have no interest in protecting anything, because it isn't protectable. If I think something is going to do badly I sell, if I think it is going to do well I buy. My views have zero effect on the market.

---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:45 PM ----------

Ask yourself a question, if you did not own any .us domains, would this thread exist ?
Answer = NO
So very politely and with no offence intended, is this not a pumping thread ?

Not sure I 'd call it "pumping" thought it was obviously start with a pro .us intent. But then again most threads are pro or against something.

 

[oldtimer]

It is easy to pluck a % from thin air but if you look at actual registration numbers it isn't on course to ever achieve that. I don't even think it is keeping up with growth in other extensions. Its market share may well be in decline.

I might make some educated guesses when coming up with percentages when it comes to making future forecasts, but you seem to be denying the facts that “all smart domainers” seem to be aware of about .US .

This is according to Verisign’s domain name Industry brief of June 2010 :

“Among the largest ccTLDs, there was notable zone growth quarter over quarter in the United States (.us) with 15.9 percent, Poland (.pl), with 7.5 percent, and .ru with 7.4 percent growth. Switzerland (.ch) saw no change, while Spain (.es) saw a slight decline of 0.2 percent.”

Source:
http://www.verisign.com/domain-name-services/domain-information-center/domain-name-resources/domain-name-report-june10.pdf

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[snoop]

but you seem to be denying the facts that “all smart domainers” seem to be aware of about .US .

I don't follow this. Never said anything like that. Domainers know about .us.

This is according to Verisign’s domain name Industry brief of June 2010 :

“Among the largest ccTLDs, there was notable zone growth quarter over quarter in the United States (.us) with 15.9 percent, Poland (.pl), with 7.5 percent, and .ru with 7.4 percent growth. Switzerland (.ch) saw no change, while Spain (.es) saw a slight decline of 0.2 percent.”

Source:
http://www.verisign.com/domain-name...-name-resources/domain-name-report-june10.pdf

-

Not sure of the reason for the jump in that quarter but if you you look at prior reports .us has never been mentioned in the list of fast growing cctlds.

Domain Name Industry Brief - Domain Name Registry from VeriSign, Inc.

Over the last 2 years its ranking in term of most popular cctlds has steadily fallen. It is now no longer in the top 10 list.

Go back a year and it was ranked number 10.

http://www.verisign.com/domain-name...-name-resources/domain-name-report-june09.pdf

Two years ago it was number 8

http://www.verisign.com/domain-name...-name-resources/domain-name-report-june08.pdf

 

[oldtimer]

Not sure of the reason for the jump in that quarter

I have been doing a search for the string below occasionally which shows some of the .US websites that are active, it seems that their numbers are increasing which corresponds to the increase in the number of registrations since last year.

site:.us -inurl:state -inurl:ci -inurl:co -inurl:fed -inurl:k12 -inurl:lib

608 mil results (June 2010) google
76 mil results (Feb 2009) google


(This search string is meant to filter out the official .US websites that are used for schools, libraries, Cities, and such in order to focus more on private use, numbers indicated might not be exact.)

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[snoop]

I have been doing a search for the string below occasionally which shows some of the .US websites that are active, it seems that their numbers are increasing which corresponds to the increase in the number of registrations since last year.

site:.us -inurl:state -inurl:ci -inurl:co -inurl:fed -inurl:k12 -inurl:lib

608 mil results (June 2010) google
76 mil results (Feb 2009) google


(This search string is meant to filter out the official .US websites that are used for schools, libraries, Cities, and such in order to focus more on private use, numbers indicated might not be exact.)

-

For years we've been getting these search strings for different alt tlds and new extensions. Not once has anyone done any real analysis like a comparison to the total size of the google index (which has grown rapidly over time) or the growth of other extensions.

In short the argument is always that extension ".[insert any extension]" is growing quickly yet what what most domainers can see with their own eyes is very different.

 

[Greg]

PS: As the OP suggested it would be nice to hear from Duke (who is a .US fan himself) about any new plans that might have been discussed in the last domain show concerning the future of .US .

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Last time I posted on this thread I noticed Duke was viewing the thread. He knows what is being discussed here and only time will tell whether he chooses to write about it.

 

[HeyNow]

Last time I posted on this thread I noticed Duke was viewing the thread. He knows what is being discussed here and only time will tell whether he chooses to write about it.

Yes, he knows what is being discussed, and so do you ... nothing of any substance. The same crap that Neustar's been proferring for a couple of years, garbage like "new promotional campaign soon" and "lots of action behind the scenes." Then the next domainer convention rolls around and Ron sits there next to the Neustar guy and doesn't bother to ask about the BS promises from Neustar reps in past conventions.

If you're waiting for Neustar to make your domains worth more, don't hold your breath.

If you're waiting for Ron Jackson to provide follow-up journalism, my advice is to not hold your breath.

These people have an interest in painting rosey pictures of an industry that's really in dire straights due to the recession, and made worse by cheats, shills, scammers, manipulators, carnival barkers, and one-eyed jacks posing as journalists.

 

[oldtimer]

Most of us here feel your frustrations, but you are being a little mean spirited here towards Ron, if there is any chances of .US fans coming together to do something about this situation we need to be a little less harsh with our words and be able to have a constructive discussion without all the insults, accusations, and the drama.

Yes, he knows what is being discussed, and so do you ... nothing of any substance. The same crap that Neustar's been proferring for a couple of years, garbage like "new promotional campaign soon" and "lots of action behind the scenes." Then the next domainer convention rolls around and Ron sits there next to the Neustar guy and doesn't bother to ask about the BS promises from Neustar reps in past conventions.

If you're waiting for Neustar to make your domains worth more, don't hold your breath.

If you're waiting for Ron Jackson to provide follow-up journalism, my advice is to not hold your breath.

These people have an interest in painting rosey pictures of an industry that's really in dire straights due to the recession, and made worse by cheats, shills, scammers, manipulators, carnival barkers, and one-eyed jacks posing as journalists.

 

[snoop]

These people have an interest in painting rosey pictures of an industry that's really in dire straights due to the recession, and made worse by cheats, shills, scammers, manipulators, carnival barkers, and one-eyed jacks posing as journalists.

Agree with the general theme here. Though talking about Ron specifically though I don't think that he has really been painting a picture that is all that rosey. To some extent though his role is to promote the industry so you can't really expect alot of pieces on domain industry layoffs and bankruptcies.

Certainly though I'd say though in regards to new tlds the main problem has been over speculation. People coming in with expectations that are way too high. That has be driven by registrars/registries perhaps but the main culprit is speculators themselves who are constantly hoping for the second coming. The end results is that if these extensions had a 5% chance of having success without speculation it is probably down to 0% once you add in all the speculators holding names.

I can't see a way out of this situation for new tlds, personally I think pretty much everything that comes out will not do well long term.

 

[jmcc]

Agree with the general theme here. Though talking about Ron specifically though I don't think that he has really been painting a picture that is all that rosey. To some extent though his role is to promote the industry so you can't really expect alot of pieces on domain industry layoffs and bankruptcies.

The sales data on DNJ is very interesting but some of Ron's fanboy journalism where nothing really bad happens to TLDs gets a bit much at times.

Certainly though I'd say though in regards to new tlds the main problem has been over speculation.

Speculation is good when the TLD has development to support it. Without a serious development trend in a TLD, speculation on its own will kill off a TLD. They have to operate together.

People coming in with expectations that are way too high. That has be driven by registrars/registries perhaps but the main culprit is speculators themselves who are constantly hoping for the second coming.

Or they are hoping to make back their losses on the last new TLD. The same mistakes were being made from .info/.biz onwards through .eu, .mobi, .asia and .tel.

The end results is that if these extensions had a 5% chance of having success without speculation it is probably down to 0% once you add in all the speculators holding names.

Speculation and brand protection drive the Sunrise and Landrush phases of new TLDs but they need ongoing development to survive. The .asia sTLD stats for 2008 ( HosterStats.com: Detailed .asia Statistics 2008 ) illustrates this curve perfectly. The cross TLD comparison of .asia shows that it is only 3.9759% unique. That means that when compared with com/net/org/biz/info/mobi/tel, only 7259 .asia domains are registered in .asia only. The way that .asia is losing domains, it will be lucky to stabilise around 175K domains this year.

I can't see a way out of this situation for new tlds, personally I think pretty much everything that comes out will not do well long term.

Some will fail. Some will become zombie TLDs (zTLDs) with little new registration activity. Others will do well. And a very few will be million plus registrations successes.

One of the problems of dealing with a ccTLD like .us is that the obvious comparison is made with .com TLD figures. This is a classic mistake because it compares a ccTLD (limited geographical market) with a global TLD (global market). Even comparing .us with the numbers of US hosted .com domains does not work because many of these domains will be owned by non-US registrants who are using US hosting (Godaddy is the biggest hoster in the world with approximately 23% of the gTLD domain market). All ccTLDs are competing with .com TLD. The sign of a strong ccTLD is that it has more registrations than the number of gTLD domains registered in its country. The .us ccTLD has a long way to go because the .com is so deeply psychologically embedded that it is difficult to dislodge. The first step would be to position .us domains as a "must register" domain on shopping carts. This would require proper marketing, branding and cooperation with US registrars and resellers and a lot of that is down to the registry promoting the ccTLD.

Regards...jmcc

---------- Post added at 08:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:00 AM ----------

For years we've been getting these search strings for different alt tlds and new extensions. Not once has anyone done any real analysis like a comparison to the total size of the google index (which has grown rapidly over time) or the growth of other extensions.

There's only one reliable way of measuring the usage in a TLD and that's by actually checking each individual site and categorising its usage. It is a tough process but for .us ccTLD, it would probably take a month to do properly. I recently did the monthly Irish websites survey (approx 250K websites) and it takes a few days to process the results because there is a limited number of languages (Irish and English) and I've already written the parsers to detect all those different flavours of parked and holding pages. The mickey mouse "sampling" methodology that I've seen some consultancies use is just that - mickey mouse methodology because you've got to check every domain to be certain and classify duplicate content websites effectively.

In short the argument is always that extension ".[insert any extension]" is growing quickly yet what what most domainers can see with their own eyes is very different.

The .eu is a classic example of this - most of the EU political and regulation websites use .eu ccTLD now and they account for the bulk of the pages seen in a site:.eu search. But when you check on a site by site basis, the numbers of developed .eu websites are down there with the numbers of developed .biz websites. Each country (apart from the ones with a broken ccTLD) is operating on a .com/.ccTLD axis and the numbers of .net/.org/.biz/.info/.mobi/.asia domains registered in those countries falls off dramatically the further away the TLD is from .com/.ccTLD.

Regards...jmcc

 

[oldtimer]

For the record,

Amenzl, I do not need your advice and I do not want to engage in any kind of a discussion, negotiation, or deal with you for any of my domains now or at any time in the future. If you keep bringing this subject up in every thread you will be wasting your time as I am not interested in having a dialog with someone who employs this kind of a bullying tactic with other fellow domainers.

$x,xxx is real money and a serious risk to start an auction for a .US name of that caliber imo "oldtimer"; $xx,xxx is beyond the scope/capacity of supporting some kind of marketing campaign such as you suggest and is unrealistic.

I'm leaving out a lot of words here. More money than the cost of the name would go into the project - All on my dime. It would be an example - A Primo example. I could care less if you'd want to piggyback on the results, but the dialog so far suggest you cannot see any other picture except what you have in your own mind.

Comprende?

---------- Post added at 08:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 AM ----------

Or they are hoping to make back their losses on the last new TLD. The same mistakes were being made from .info/.biz onwards through .eu, .mobi, .asia and .tel.

Considering all the statistics for different TLDs that you have access to, do you agree with Snoopy as far as bunching up .US with all those less successful alternative extensions, or do you believe that .US as the official ccTLD of one the biggest economies in the World deserves a better status. Do you think that the .com/ccTLD model that is working in so many other countries also has the chance of becoming the norm here in the US in the near future.

-

 

[jmcc]

Considering all the statistics for different TLDs that you have access to, do you agree with Snoopy as far as bunching up .US with all those less successful alternative extensions, or do you believe that .US as the official ccTLD of one the biggest economies in the World deserves a better status.

I think that .us ccTLD deserves a far better position than it occupies at the moment. It should not yet be considered in the same light as .de and .uk (these are super ccTLDs in that they cover markets that are massively ccTLD positive). The road to a country level market going ccTLD positive (where the number of its ccTLD domains is greater than the number of gTLDs registered by people in that market) is a long one. However there has to be natural development in the ccTLD as this is what drives its growth. Speculation in a gTLD like .com is fine because there is such a huge volume of registrations and type-in/direct navigation works. With a ccTLD, direct-navigation is not as effective because in a country level market, people think in terms of brands and what they know locally. With proper marketing and a few brand champions, .us ccTLD could easily equal .de in registrations.

Do you think that the .com/ccTLD model that is working in so many other countries also has the chance of becoming the norm here in the US in the near future.

It could take a long time but it could happen. The key element is the attitude of the registry in marketing the ccTLD. Where ccTLDs are successful, there is a far greater engagement of the registry with the local registrars and in marketing the ccTLD. The registry in a ccTLD is of critical importance. If the registrars and resellers feel like they have no input other than paying fees, they are far less likely to promote the ccTLD. It is a lesson that most of the larger ccTLDs have learned the hard way.

Regards...jmcc

 

[DotUSDomains]

Back on topic a little

I'm pro .us and know it will do well in the future,

But it's unfair to ask anything more of dnjournal or ron.
he does more than most. and i'm sure when .us was mentioned he shared his views/ideas as he like myself and lots of others is havily invested in .us and can only gain from it getting more exposure.

If you were to send a nice emaiil to him, i'm sure he would share his views/plans if he has any.

Back of topic

when the day comes you dont have to argue with snopp then .us has made it big LOL

 

[oldtimer]

I think that .us ccTLD deserves a far better position than it occupies at the moment. It should not yet be considered in the same light as .de and .uk (these are super ccTLDs in that they cover markets that are massively ccTLD positive). The road to a country level market going ccTLD positive (where the number of its ccTLD domains is greater than the number of gTLDs registered by people in that market) is a long one. However there has to be natural development in the ccTLD as this is what drives its growth. Speculation in a gTLD like .com is fine because there is such a huge volume of registrations and type-in/direct navigation works. With a ccTLD, direct-navigation is not as effective because in a country level market, people think in terms of brands and what they know locally. With proper marketing and a few brand champions, .us ccTLD could easily equal .de in registrations.

It could take a long time but it could happen. The key element is the attitude of the registry in marketing the ccTLD. Where ccTLDs are successful, there is a far greater engagement of the registry with the local registrars and in marketing the ccTLD. The registry in a ccTLD is of critical importance. If the registrars and resellers feel like they have no input other than paying fees, they are far less likely to promote the ccTLD. It is a lesson that most of the larger ccTLDs have learned the hard way.

Regards...jmcc

So we are not exactly wasting time by discussing different ways of promoting .US to the small businesses and American public. The potentials are certainly there for this extension to gain a much bigger mindshare and market share in the US if we as .US fans take a more active part in getting this extension off the ground.

I agree that it might take a long time for United States to become ccTLD positive (if ever) and honestly that is not our goal here, .US doesn’t have to be a super ccTLD in order for us as .US domainers and investors to prosper, as I had mentioned before even if .US gets 25% of the market share in the United States through increased end-user registrations and usage that will be something that we can realistically aim for.

Now as far as how we could go about promoting this extension to end-users that is something that needs to be discussed among all those who have an interest in seeing .US become successful. If things are left as they are it might take 10 to 15 years before .US becomes popular, we need to find a way to make that happen in less than 2 years before the Internet is overtaken by all those 500 or so new TLDs that are supposed to be released soon. Although ccTLDs for major Countries such as .US are less likely to be overshadowed by these new TLDs in the long run, but in the short terms the release of all those new TLDs will certainly amount to more competition that we have to deal with for the mindshare and market share here in the US . So we better hurry and put some wheels into motion before the new TLD rush gets here.

-

 

[jmcc]

So we are not exactly wasting time by discussing different ways of promoting .US to the small businesses and American public. The potentials are certainly there for this extension to gain a much bigger mindshare and market share in the US if we as .US fans take a more active part in getting this extension off the ground.

You've got to keep promoting it and keep marketing it. But the development aspect is important. It is no use registering a .us domain and immediately putting it on a PPC nameserver. In an underdeveloped TLD, any developed website will probably gain traffic by the simple fact of being developed.

as I had mentioned before even if .US gets 25% of the market share in the United States through increased end-user registrations and usage that will be something that we can realistically aim for.

If you can define what 25% of the market is in the United States, yes. Don't measure it by the entire number of .com registrations. There is a point at which new registrations in a ccTLD begin to cascade forcing the ccTLD to overtake gTLD registrations in that market. It is almost like the ccTLD acquires a critical mass of mindshare.

we need to find a way to make that happen in less than 2 years before the Internet is overtaken by all those 500 or so new TLDs that are supposed to be released soon.

I don't think that it will be anything near 500 new gTLDs in the short term. Most of them will struggle to gain market share and will not be a major threat to the established gTLDs or ccTLDs. The ones that will be a threat will be the large city gTLDs that have a large enough population/market to create what is in effect a city's own ccTLD. (These city gTLDs will also demolish the value of those cityname geo domains in .com and .net TLDs.)

Although ccTLDs for major Countries such as .US are less likely to be overshadowed by these new TLDs in the long run, but in the short terms the release of all those new TLDs will certainly amount to more competition that we have to deal with for the mindshare and market share here in the US . So we better hurry and put some wheels into motion before the new TLD rush gets here.

With ccTLDs it is best to think about how to change things rather than worrying about what may or may not happen. The movements in ccTLDs are from the ground up. It is the small businesses and stores that have to start using the ccTLD. They, rather than the big brands, fuel the change from .com to ccTLD. The small businesses establish the credibility of the ccTLD by their sheer volume. The big brands are good to have but there are not that many of them and they generally end up following trends rather than setting them.

Regards...jmcc

 

[oldtimer]

If you can define what 25% of the market is in the United States, yes.

A major part of promoting .US has to be geared towards small businesses and individuals who are just now trying to get an online presence. So this is not as much about getting people to change from .com to .US because most likely that won’t happen since those who already have a .com website have already established a brand or name for themselves under .com and most likely have already paid a high price to obtain their desired domain, although we might be able to get some of them that are stuck with an awkward name to switch to a better quality .US domain, but the main target of any promotion or marketing for .US probably has to be those who are getting their domain for the first time, especially those who can’t afford the higher .com prices in the aftermarket.

-

 

[snoop]

If things are left as they are it might take 10 to 15 years before .US becomes popular, we need to find a way to make that happen in less than 2 years before the Internet is overtaken by all those 500 or so new TLDs that are supposed to be released soon. Although ccTLDs for major Countries such as .US are less likely to be overshadowed by these new TLDs in the long run, but in the short terms the release of all those new TLDs will certainly amount to more competition that we have to deal with for the mindshare and market share here in the US . So we better hurry and put some wheels into motion before the new TLD rush gets here.

-

The only way an extension is ever going to do well is through natural growth, because people want to use it. Instead of trying to promote this extension time would be better spent on extensions that work. If you like country codes I'd be looking at .co.uk, .de etc.

At the moment it is like trying to sandbag a tsunami, whatever is going to happen, will happen, domainers have zero control over it.

 

[oldtimer]

The only way an extension is ever going to do well is through natural growth, because people want to use it. Instead of trying to promote this extension time would be better spent on extensions that work. If you like country codes I'd be looking at .co.uk, .de etc.

At the moment it is like trying to sandbag a tsunami, whatever is going to happen, will happen, domainers have zero control over it.

You might be right about all the other extensions, but when it comes to .US we can’t wait for natural growth because .US is in a very unique position since the majority of the American people are not even aware that they have a ccTLD and so if things are left the way they are it might take forever for .US to reach critical mass in end-user registrations and usage.

I and many other .US fans here are in this for the long haul, but I am sure that we can find a way to accelerate the acceptance and growth of .US among small businesses and ordinary people so that we won’t have to wait forever.

Looks like we are repeating the same arguments over and over here, so unless the .US fans (including Duke) want to discuss the different ways of promoting this extension there is really not going to be anything new to say at this point.

-

 

[oldtimer]

You are not a charitable public servant as you portray yourself to be, you have proved by your comments in this and other threads that you are an opportunistic and greedy bully who wants what other people have and can’t take no for an answer. I am not going to waste my time with you anymore.

End of communication.

I want to say something here, but it's pointless...You're acknowledged. I really don't want to conduct business with someone such as yourself. As long as you own that name, I will be after it. You are not a fellow domainer and you started it in the appraisal thread.

As far as reaching some kind of critical mass in regards to .US and the American people other people have already said that the space needs to be used, the names developed. What kind of budget do you think these small businesses have?

If you really want to get the word out about the .US extension, then I think a well articulated message, something that doesn't make you want to take a shower after reading it or require you to be a brain surgeon to appreciate, and a service such as Eric Ward's URLwire would be a good start. That will only cost about $500.

 

[steven22]

I have been reading this thread for days and I come away with one thing I agree with

The only way an extension is ever going to do well is through natural growth, because people want to use it.

You guys talking about PR, Associations and whatever else to promote .us are dreaming and wasting your time and probably money.

IF and I will repeat, IF .US is going to be successful it will be through a slow natural progression from actual usage.

Not speculation and not from domainers telling them its great and they need to use it.

The truth is .com is the US CCTLD...it is what people know and respect.
If your not buying .US with the notion of it being the 2nd choice to .com, your a fool.

I personally buy .US with the hopes that when the .com is taken and in use, the second choice will be .US and not .NET or .org or whatever else comes up.

Neustar had tried several things to promote the .US. While the attempts have been pathetic, they are trying and spending some money. They have white papers on .US and a fan page on Facebook to promote the extension to name a few. They have tried to form arrangements with companies to build out key properties and work to have development deals to increase the mindshare and marketshare of .US

Just because you know nothing, does not mean nothing is going on.

What the hell is all this talk about Ron Jackson...SHUT UP!

Ron Jackson doesn't owe you or I a damn thing. He has a large portfolio in .us and supports the extension in a positive manner.

If we are not careful, Neustar will select Snoopy as the ambassador of the .US extension :hehe:

 

[HeyNow]

Neustar had tried several things to promote the .US. While the attempts have been pathetic, they are trying and spending some money.

You're joking, right? How can Neustar be "... trying to spend some money ..." and not succeed in spending any? Either they spend the money or they don't.

The only obvious money they've spent on "promotion" is on airfare + hotel rooms for their spokespersons to attend domainer conventions to pack sunshine up the asses of anyone who asks the simple question: "What are you doing to promote .us?" Year after year it's the same answers: "A new promotional campaign soon ... lots of work behind the scenes." Yeah, right.

Buy decent .us names for long term investment, and develop or not develop. Just realize Neustar spews BS through toothless mouthpieces at these domainer conventions.

 

[snoop]

You're joking, right?

It is a fact that they've spent money promoting it. The thing is though people will never be happy with it because the kind of budget that the average registry can afford is never really going to have an effect. Ironically the only registies that can really afford a decent amount on advertising are the ones already big (.com, .co.uk, .de etc), and they don't need to spend a dime.

With 1.7 names registered and wholesale price of $5.50 (I think) so you've got revenue of $9 milliom per year, after costs I really doubt much can be justified on marketing, maybe a few hundred thousand. Even if they spent a million per year, what is that going to do?

---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:56 PM ----------

The only obvious money they've spent on "promotion" is on airfare + hotel rooms for their spokespersons to attend domainer conventions to pack sunshine up the asses of anyone who asks the simple question: "What are you doing to promote .us?" Year after year it's the same answers: "A new promotional campaign soon ... lots of work behind the scenes." Yeah, right.

Have you considered that marketing to domainers may be the most direct way for a domain registry to increase sales?

Perhaps you can tell us what you think they should do and how much that would cost?

 

[jmcc]

Have you considered that marketing to domainers may be the most direct way for a domain registry to increase sales?

That has been at the heart of much of the growth problems experienced the new TLDs launched over the last few years. It is a great way for building registration volume but it doesn't necessarily encourage development. Perhaps domain registries have to encourage development rather than just marketing to domainers? It also runs the risk of creating a bubble TLD.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Kate]

I think that the way the registry behaves can have a lot of impact on local end users. It's not just about promotion of the extension (or the lack thereof) but trust, predictability.

For example, when people read horror stories about the registry 'confiscating' or censoring names, the trust among end users vanishes.

If we look at Eruope, .de has nearly 8 times more registrations than .fr.
In my view it's not just because of the restrictions, the attitude of the French registry also comes into play. .fr has been somewhat domainer-adverse although the registry seems to have improved its stance in recent times. Let's note that there are several alternate dispute mechanisms in place and the French tribunals are not so well inclined. As a result ownership of .fr domains is perceived to be more risky. It's another TLD that has been loosening restrictions slowly and at a late stage.

Another factor is when the authorities at all levels fail to lead by example. When the authorities use their ccTLD it is a statement/endorsement that it is credible and trustworthy.
When they shun their own ccTLD, it suggests it's too shoddy or otherwise not dependable.
At the end of the day, not all ccTLDs are equal.

 

[HeyNow]

Have you considered that marketing to domainers may be the most direct way for a domain registry to increase sales?

Not in this recession. Not when I see domainers selling domains here in this forum for $20, having paid $380 for that same domain two years ago.

As far as Neustar spending money on the "promotional campaigns" they promise at domainer conventions, I just don't see it, and I lurk in all the usual domainer forums. Do you have an example?

Snoop, when I think about the amount of BS you spew, I liken in to Mr. Creosote vomiting on the back of the maid (cleaning the floor on hands and knees) in Monte Python's, "The Meaning Of Life." It shoots out like water from a fire hose.