REPRESENTATION: The attack on IDNs.

[MAINNET]

🗣 This thread is dedicated to our fellow investors and forum members who are bilingual and/or value the power of language both online and offline. We’re talking about those who respect culture, history, inclusiveness and diverse representation in the digital age.

In a perfect world, everyone would be an extension of the aforementioned; but we’re all aware the real-world is NOT perfect. Much of humanity’s not-so-flattering nature is conveyed through bias, discrimination and hatred. All of which are prevalent in domain investing too.

An obvious indicator that bias, discrimination and hatred exist in the domain space can be spotted in the overarching disdain many investors have for IDNs. (International Domain Names). Some go to EXTREME lengths to convince others IDNs have no place online.

In fact, they do. They exist right?!

IDNs are names that support the ability to connect with others in more languages than English. They type and resolve just like their standard counterparts; but have the unique ability to resolve in two ways instead of one. In essence, they’re equipped with dual-resolution.

It’s disheartening to see domain investors shame IDN purchases and use; while clearly being aware English isn’t the only language in existence. It’s something unethical about the company with a Spanish name being led to believe an English domain is their only option.

️ Granted, the origins of language eradication throughout history go a lot deeper than the domain space. However, this thread is meant to acknowledge the various languages that exist; while reiterating that representation, without shame, in domain investing is well overdue.

May the centralized domain space do better.

As usual, The Downvote Gang will likely come out swinging; and the mods might even move this thread to an obscure part of the platform for whatever reason. Nevertheless, the truth expressed here will be valid regardless. It should be considered a nod to the opportunity for us all to progress forward……TOGETHER.

QUAD Domains

 

[Future Sensors]

Some trivia:
Häagen-Dazs, the American ice cream brand, sold worldwide, uses the domains haagen-dazs.se /.fi in Sweden and Finland respectively, even though ’ä’ is on our keyboards (usually a dedicated key). Not only that, häagen-dazs.se/.fi aren’t even registered for name forwarding or brand protection purposes.

That's another great example indeed.

People rarely know how to spell that name correctly -- whether with or without the special accents

 

[tnames]

i own 2 Spanish idn dictionary and city single word domains and think their sale potential is huge

 

[MAINNET]

i own 2 Spanish idn dictionary and city single word domains and think their sale potential is huge

Individuals and businesses that pride themselves in speaking the Spanish language would likely find these types of names appealing/valuable. Even if just for their cultural relevance. Language IDNs might be a niche in the eyes of some; but they surely have an undeniable place in the grand scheme of inclusive digital representation. Kudos!

Mel
QUAD Domains

 

[biggie]

Hi

basically, the same premise, just with different topic title:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/the-abcs-of-a-great-domain-name-or-not.1305244/#post-8954766

as said before, i own a couple of IDN's since 2006, but they get visitors and earn some ppc $.

if they don't convert to $, then they have no reseller value.

imo...

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I just wanted to add that I agree with your call for domain investors to respect and see opportunities in multiple languages, I just don't agree that IDNs are not doing well because investors have some conspiracy against them.

Only 13% of the world's population speak English as their first language. Yes, I do realize that so far the predominance of the large domain sales have been of English words, but we should not assume that it will always be that way. I think that smart investors will, and do, find opportunities in multiple languages, and as other economies continue to take more of the global market share, that will accelerate.

I am pleased that ICANN have efforts to make sure that IDN domains are widely supported. It is as it should be.

I don't think that broadly speaking what domain investors do influence very much what end users decide. That in itself is an interesting question I may try to address in an article sometime. When more end users are willing to pay a premium for IDN names, then more investors will fill the space.

-Bob

 

[tnames]

I just wanted to add that I agree with your call for domain investors to respect and see opportunities in multiple languages, I just don't agree that IDNs are not doing well because investors have some conspiracy against them.

Only 13% of the world's population speak English as their first language. Yes, I do realize that so far the predominance of the large domain sales have been of English words, but we should not assume that it will always be that way. I think that smart investors will, and do, find opportunities in multiple languages, and as other economies continue to take more of the global market share, that will accelerate.

I am pleased that ICANN have efforts to make sure that IDN domains are widely supported. It is as it should be.

I don't think that broadly speaking what domain investors do influence very much what end users decide. That in itself is an interesting question I may try to address in an article sometime. When more end users are willing to pay a premium for IDN names, then more investors will fill the space.

-Bob

agree with the "no conspiracy" theory, but as most talked world languages are English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish it is not a surprise at all that a whole new market for Premium IDN blows in a very near future. For example names like España.com and others like that. I hope so.

 

[A1EX]

I have sold 2 IDN's over the past year for $2500 a piece, seems like money to me Not sure on windows and android phones, but on iPhones and Macbooks many IDN letters can be accessed by holding down each letter for 1 second. Now both of the IDN's I sold were "1 char" IDNs, which many investors say there not 1 char because of the whole "xn--" thing, but if you type œ with one key and add a .com after it, to me œ is one character so its 1 character! àáâäæãåā can all be accessed by pressing and holding a on a keyboard. Now with that being said I only bought these names because the were one char, and I know those sell well but I personally have no interest in using an IDN only because in the US its hard to describe to someone, but in other country's, I totally see the value! It's not just IDN's... I see decent domains sometimes that get pushed under the rug, and I see really bad domains that people are asking 50k for... At the end of the day you can learn a lot from investors, but thinking outside the box may climb you right past that investor on the ladder!

 

[Joe123]

Nothing will light up the average domainer's eyes to IDNs as a heap of solid sales. Multiple $x,xxx+ IDN sales weekly on namebio/DNJournal would do it. As Jerry Maguire says, "show me the money".

 

[MAINNET]

I have sold 2 IDN's over the past year for $2500 a piece, seems like money to me Not sure on windows and android phones, but on iPhones and Macbooks many IDN letters can be accessed by holding down each letter for 1 second. Now both of the IDN's I sold were "1 char" IDNs, which many investors say there not 1 char because of the whole "xn--" thing, but if you type œ with one key and add a .com after it, to me œ is one character so its 1 character! àáâäæãåā can all be accessed by pressing and holding a on a keyboard. Now with that being said I only bought these names because the were one char, and I know those sell well but I personally have no interest in using an IDN only because in the US its hard to describe to someone, but in other country's, I totally see the value! It's not just IDN's... I see decent domains sometimes that get pushed under the rug, and I see really bad domains that people are asking 50k for... At the end of the day you can learn a lot from investors, but thinking outside the box may climb you right past that investor on the ladder!

Agreed! Love your take. Congrats on the sales. There's an obvious opportunity with IDNs. You made a great point about selling single-character IDNs and how they merely require you to hold a key for literally 1 second to type. It seems some investors conveniently overlook this obvious variable when arguing their stance on IDN value. In many respects, the "xn--" doesn't really matter when typing the single character. Furthermore, the fact IDNs can be typed two ways rather than one just means they have an edge on their one-way counterparts.

Many domain investors have been 'groomed' to have an infinite bias against IDNs; which is doing nothing more than bringing contradictions center-stage. For example, if shorter is considered "better", then 'á.com' would beat 'alphabet.com'any day. At least as it relates to length. I could guarantee you typing á is far more convenient than typing a-l-p-h-a-b-e-t. I have a hunch some investors simply don't like the idea of IDNs disrupting the value narrative they tend to lead with when pitching/selling names. However, narratives MUST evolve with time.

In closing, IDNs have value too. Whether they're better web addresses is a matter of preference. Truthfully, IDNs have a stylized element that can be leveraged by any 'creative investor'. If it's a shortsighted investor who doesn't believe in evolving, then maybe not. Many of the shortsighted types will argue that "sales talk"; but even with a high-figure IDN sale most would merely say it's a fluke or money laundering. Never that it was a name with value based on something other than the status-quo and centralized industry politics. It's a reality that hinders the industry's growth.

Kudos again on the sales and seeing the logic in IDN value.

Mel
QUAD Domains

 

[ananittarhib]

🗣 This thread is dedicated to our fellow investors and forum members who are bilingual and/or value the power of language both online and offline. We’re talking about those who respect culture, history, inclusiveness and diverse representation in the digital age.

In a perfect world, everyone would be an extension of the aforementioned; but we’re all aware the real-world is NOT perfect. Much of humanity’s not-so-flattering nature is conveyed through bias, discrimination and hatred. All of which are prevalent in domain investing too.

An obvious indicator that bias, discrimination and hatred exist in the domain space can be spotted in the overarching disdain many investors have for IDNs. (International Domain Names). Some go to EXTREME lengths to convince others IDNs have no place online.

In fact, they do. They exist right?!

IDNs are names that support the ability to connect with others in more languages than English. They type and resolve just like their standard counterparts; but have the unique ability to resolve in two ways instead of one. In essence, they’re equipped with dual-resolution.

It’s disheartening to see domain investors shame IDN purchases and use; while clearly being aware English isn’t the only language in existence. It’s something unethical about the company with a Spanish name being led to believe an English domain is their only option.

️ Granted, the origins of language eradication throughout history go a lot deeper than the domain space. However, this thread is meant to acknowledge the various languages that exist; while reiterating that representation, without shame, in domain investing is well overdue.

May the centralized domain space do better.

As usual, The Downvote Gang will likely come out swinging; and the mods might even move this thread to an obscure part of the platform for whatever reason. Nevertheless, the truth expressed here will be valid regardless. It should be considered a nod to the opportunity for us all to progress forward……TOGETHER.

QUAD Domains

Thanks for your such a valuable information here!

 

[Rippa]

I rather agree with QUAD DOMAINS, but feel an important lesson is somewhat lost. Some commentators are discussing market trends, or protecting newbies, and from the mainstream perspective of domain investors, their observations are both helpful & correct. It would be extremely rude to suggest there's ignorance involved. But it's also hurtful to argue that cities, families, or the wide world are better-off with Anglo-American names and brands. The world is changing, Señora Hernández certainly has a right-to-life, and people from Köln, København & Göteborg surely laugh at Anglicized confusion. Is QUAD DOMAINS attempting something parallel to asking a small grocer to stock tasty-but-odd foods such as unsweeted yoghurt, choripán, or kimchi? If the grocer pays for such stock and can't sell it, it's clearly bad advice when the grocer loses money. But get the riches of the world for yourself and for your friends. We can enjoy Rösti, Börek, ウイスキー, кофе, pâtissier, pølser, うなぎ, maça, 비빔밥, вареники, Bánh mì, älg, mató, and pâté. [Sorry, can't resist:] Let them eat cake