Predictions For Domains In 2005

[mole]

Where do you think the domain industry is headed in the next 12 months?:

Will .COM value finally get real as speculators/investors trying to liquidate their accumulated assets for a "big" payoff after waiting out the dismal plummeting in .COM resale value in 2000-2003 - finally realise that the big time buyers are actually very few and far between?

Will the new gTLDs like .INFO and .BIZ introduced in 2001 finally see the light of day?

Will .CO.UK finally be forced to go 2LD into just .UK in line with the launch of .EU to the public late this year to "keep up with the times".

 

[geoffe]

I look at it in a different light. I own quite a few stocks and that is my main interest, however I have noticed that when the market is up the domain names are also up. As for 2005 the big market speculation is a return to tech and .com stocks so we shall see. I am dumping my .biz in favor of .com and perhaps .info but I would not be supprised to see .us finally take over as a major leader in the new TLD's for the USA.

 

[Premium]

I think that the .info will gain popularity and also the .TV will rapidly grow and become a very popular type of domain.

.US will creep out as well!

 

[dgridley]

My predictions for the future.. watch relevant .info's to rise and eventually outpace their .com counterpart, .us will increase in value and number of registrations.. with over 1 billion people as a potential market, .cn will begin to gain more favor over the next 5-10 years.

 

[1rrr1]

i think that .cn willl definitely boom as the china markets boom as well. More users will have money to speculate domains

 

[dgridley]

I'd bet 60 - 70% of the speculative .cn regs come from foreign investors hoping to capitalize on that boom.. and I bet China is banking on that prediction as well. They'll also need to relax their restrictive attitudes a bit.

i think that .cn willl definitely boom as the china markets boom as well. More users will have money to speculate domains

 

[mole]

i think that .cn willl definitely boom as the china markets boom as well. More users will have money to speculate domains

Agreed. 2005 will be a definining year for the emerging importance of geo-targeting and the more simplified structures of 2LD ccTLDs.

2LD .CN, .SG, .IN - all happening now. .EU, in Q3/4 of this year, .UK may happen sooner than we expect.

When 2LD .UK happens, it will wipe clean the continued relevance and appeal of a whole but relatively brief generation of .CO.UK namespace.

The only constant is change. Change is good.

 

[harpo]

Where do you think the domain industry is headed in the next 12 months?:

Will .COM value finally get real as speculators/investors trying to liquidate their accumulated assets for a "big" payoff after waiting out the dismal plummeting in .COM resale value in 2000-2003 - finally realise that the big time buyers are actually very few and far between?

Will the new gTLDs like .INFO and .BIZ introduced in 2001 finally see the light of day?

Will .CO.UK finally be forced to go 2LD into just .UK in line with the launch of .EU to the public late this year to "keep up with the times".

Ok im gazing at the crystal pyramid sparkly light is starting to take form in i hear words like that of soft wisphers gentle guiding the future in the present moment, there are hoards of new users spawned by the youth with excitment for the future , i see in the matrix sybols of old tibetian charectors written in the frameboard, and visions that are to bright for these old wary eyes to absorb wait wait there it is ......when the big fish give up all they hoard the phoenix will rise.....................

 

[RJ]

-RJ-'s predictions for 2005

This will be a good year for the domain name industry. :tu:

Several very highly publicized multi-million dollar name sales will take place triggering a second gold rush reminiscent of 1999 when the dot com boom was in full swing. Thousands of new speculators will try to get in on the action... to soon find that it's not so easy to strike it rich in domains. (But they'll still have fun trying.)

The rich will get richer. As traffic domains become more in demand due to surging PPC rates, speculators with deep pockets capture most all expiring names with any semblance of traffic. The trend for speculators will be on quantity (traffic) over quality.

The .mobi extension will be a flop.

Domain theft will be on the rise. :td:

Verisign will doing something else to tick off domain owners.

The .info extension will gain in mainstream popularity due to continued low cost registrations. Look for it to start showing up in television commercials and print ads for small businesses.

The big battle this year will be in domain parking as companies battle it out to get you to park your domains with them, promsing higher payouts than the other guys. Look for more players in this niche as well, as registrars get in on the action as well.

Other remarkable things will happen in our industry that you didn't expect. I have a few ideas.... but don't want to ruin the surpise.

Peace and a prosperous new year to all!

 

[geoffe]

-RJ-'s predictions for 2005

Other remarkable things will happen in our industry that you didn't expect. I have a few ideas.... but don't want to ruin the surpise.

Peace and a prosperous new year to all!

OH I HATE SUPRISES!!! Sort of like waiting for Christmas. As to the competitiveness of parking services, I believe who ever ends up offering the best customer service, such an easy request, will become a major player.

 

[jeter4982]

I think the market will stay pretty much the same. I think .com is going to stay the "superior domain" , followed by .net , but then, instead of .org being #3, I think some of the new country extensions like .us and .eu will move into the number 3 spot. I dont think .biz , .tv , or .cc will ever get popular. I think the .info domains will stay the same in value for the first 3/4 of the year, but then towards the end of the year, when most of the free .info domains expire, I think you will see a rise in value, heading towards big $$$ for .info in 2006

 

[Jammer]

Slow and steady increases in org,but no blockbuster deals.
An increase in info as people begin to imagine the possibilities.
Media names will become "hot" commodities.

 

[Badger]

more and more worthless .coms (especially i.t. / domain orientated names) will drop.

domain speculators will finally realise that 3 and 4 word regged are pointless.

sales will become more a luck than a skill

end users will continue to brand 'phrases' as websites and be less reliant upon SEO. Choosing instead to advertise their sites in recognised forms of media such as tv and newspapers etc

Internet and television will continue on its path of integration.

jm $0.02

 

[jroy]

I think that people will stop worrying about type in traffic and start registering brandable names with cctld's

 

[AdoptableDomains]

My predictions

Pricing:
Domain resale prices will continue to rise, with a few high profile domains pushing things upward. A few huge sales will cause a new gold rush of newbies asking astronomical prices for crap (more than the past couple years).

New registrations will remain about the same, with some registrars giving discounts under the $6.75 mark for bulk purchasers. Various regisries will compete with the low price or free specials following what .info has done. The ccTLD's .ws and .cc will come down to more realistic pricing to match the new domains, and find a sharp rise in sales by doing so.

Extensions:
The .net registry will be awarded to someone other than Verisign, who will do major promotion and try to tie it in to the Microsoft ".net"/xml initiative giving it the "networking" designation it was originally intended. Pricing will remain the same with most of the registrars absorbing the proposed $.75 per domain ICANN operating fee.

The .info TLD will continue to gain moderate growth, with more site being developed worldwide. There will be a huge drop on the anniversary of the free info giveaway, but the drop catchers will see strong interest in picking up a portion at the $60+ rates.

.biz will have moderate growth, with more acceptance as good .info domains are more scarce. Howerver, it will be mostly in the English speaking countries. Europeans will instead turn to the .eu TLD.

.us will heat up as domain become more scarce, and there will be some competition between .us and .eu tld's.

Third level .name will have to become free with the purchase of second level paid email services to keep from losing numbers.

All the new semi-approved sponsored domains (.travel, .mobi, .post, .jobs) will share similar successes as the last round (.coop, .museum, .pro, .aero). New gTLD applications will be taken, but will be put off until late 2006.

There will be at least 2-3 more ccTLD's converted to general use further adding to market confustion and helping drown out any major headway for .ws and .cc.

Domain Drops:
ICANN will not do anything about the elimination of domain drops in 2005, by changing registar TOS agreemenents to convert them to registar ownership to auction as they please....If only to not give Verisign the chance to get their WLS.

We'll see at least one more major registrar (maybe more) create services similar to pool, club drop, etc. Godaddy will end up converting their fixed price backorder to an auction service like everyone else, or risk losing their share of drop market and drop partners.

Other:
As ebay, paypal, and the banks begin to get a handle on phishing schemes, the scammers will start preying on domain owners posing as registrars and hosting companies.

A major bank or financial powerhouse will come to market with a credible alternative to paypal with FDIC protection for US based users. (Okay, not a prediction for '05, but a wish). I'm really surprised Citibank, Intuit, or some other company hasn't done this already.

Spam won't get much better, but whois harvesting will slow somewhat as more registrars put better controls on access.

Here's to a good 2005 for domains!

 

[dgridley]

Interesting viewpoint, with some potentially correct calls there..

My predictions

Pricing:
Domain resale prices will continue to rise, with a few high profile domains pushing things upward. A few huge sales will cause a new gold rush of newbies asking astronomical prices for crap (more than the past couple years).

New registrations will remain about the same, with some registrars giving discounts under the $6.75 mark for bulk purchasers. Various regisries will compete with the low price or free specials following what .info has done. The ccTLD's .ws and .cc will come down to more realistic pricing to match the new domains, and find a sharp rise in sales by doing so.

Extensions:
The .net registry will be awarded to someone other than Verisign, who will do major promotion and try to tie it in to the Microsoft ".net"/xml initiative giving it the "networking" designation it was originally intended. Pricing will remain the same with most of the registrars absorbing the proposed $.75 per domain ICANN operating fee.

The .info TLD will continue to gain moderate growth, with more site being developed worldwide. There will be a huge drop on the anniversary of the free info giveaway, but the drop catchers will see strong interest in picking up a portion at the $60+ rates.

.biz will have moderate growth, with more acceptance as good .info domains are more scarce. Howerver, it will be mostly in the English speaking countries. Europeans will instead turn to the .eu TLD.

.us will heat up as domain become more scarce, and there will be some competition between .us and .eu tld's.

Third level .name will have to become free with the purchase of second level paid email services to keep from losing numbers.

All the new semi-approved sponsored domains (.travel, .mobi, .post, .jobs) will share similar successes as the last round (.coop, .museum, .pro, .aero). New gTLD applications will be taken, but will be put off until late 2006.

There will be at least 2-3 more ccTLD's converted to general use further adding to market confustion and helping drown out any major headway for .ws and .cc.

Domain Drops:
ICANN will not do anything about the elimination of domain drops in 2005, by changing registar TOS agreemenents to convert them to registar ownership to auction as they please....If only to not give Verisign the chance to get their WLS.

We'll see at least one more major registrar (maybe more) create services similar to pool, club drop, etc. Godaddy will end up converting their fixed price backorder to an auction service like everyone else, or risk losing their share of drop market and drop partners.

Other:
As ebay, paypal, and the banks begin to get a handle on phishing schemes, the scammers will start preying on domain owners posing as registrars and hosting companies.

A major bank or financial powerhouse will come to market with a credible alternative to paypal with FDIC protection for US based users. (Okay, not a prediction for '05, but a wish). I'm really surprised Citibank, Intuit, or some other company hasn't done this already.

Spam won't get much better, but whois harvesting will slow somewhat as more registrars put better controls on access.

Here's to a good 2005 for domains!

 

[billinchina]

I believe dot com prices will continue to rise and so will sales prices. With the ppc boom, prices are already being adjusted upward. The other tlds will add a little more value but dot com is still where most of the action lies.

 

[Badger]

netsol will collapse and their fraud mongering owners wil be tried for treason and then summarily executed....

Oh s*, maybe that was just a fantasy dream i had last night, sorry all. Come to think of it, im not sure what a naked Shania Twain was doing as the judge... :red:

 

[ftech]

I think the time of cc TLDs is comming. The 2005. may as well be the breaktrogh year.

.ws .sc .tv even .bz are gaining inpopularity, .co.uk is well established and with .IN .EU around the corner this will be the ccTLD year.

.net and .biz will loose most value in this race, IMHO.

 

[mole]

.net and .biz will loose most value in this race, IMHO.

Are you kidding me?