question Should I bother with domain hack versions of my .com domains?

[notabot]

So I have a number of domains which will be the core of some sites I am developing, namely (assume the .com for all) - topicwise, townwise, profilewise, bleepwise, pagewise, searchwise. I also have the "domain hack" versions of these, i.e. topicwi.se, townwi.se etc. I got these initially because I thought it might be nice to have a slightly shorter version of the name that would save a few characters in links.

What I'm wondering is, what do you think of those .se domains? Is it worth keeping this sort of "domain hack" version of your .com (assuming you're running a real website, as I am, which people are posting to and about, so there will be links around the web to these sites).

Also, I'm curious how people regard Sweden (.se) in terms of freedom of speech. There's been a lot of cancel culture going around lately, and I'm wondering if I have, say, a website that goes against, let's say, a certain political narrative, how does Sweden usually stand in those situations? In other words, do they tend to "let it be" and resist cancel culture when it happens, or are they quick to take domains away if someone complains? Just curious if anyone here has a handle on that.

So bottom line... is .se worth keeping? Domain hacks in general, if you already have the .com of the name... worthwhile, just for a version of the name that is 3 chars shorter?

Thanks!

 

[Rahul Jat]

Okay. That's very helpful to know. Please accept my sincere thanks.

 

[richardhope]

I think the hack/branded version is actually better than the .com, so in my opinion the answer would be yes.

 

[jhm]

I think the hack/branded version is actually better than the .com, so in my opinion the answer would be yes.

The .COM carries more weight, and it depends how good the hack is

Search wise dot com vs searchwi.se. I would take the .COM any day, with regards to credibility, strength and overall appeal as a domain

 

[richardhope]

The .COM carries more weight, and it depends how good the hack is

Search wise dot com vs searchwi.se. I would take the .COM any day, with regards to credibility, strength and overall appeal as a domain

Of course, ".com" was the first TLD to be pumped-to-popularity by people looking to make money from it, but other than that it really has no value.

The TLD also makes no sense... Why on earth would anyone want an abbreviation for the word "commercial", to be appended on to the end of their business name?!

I think if you were offered the choice of either a .com, or it's hack equivalent, prior to the ".com" mega-pump that happened in the mid/late 90's, you'd have chosen the hack. Clearly, you would have seen this as a much more credible and authoritative identity, and it would have made more sense to you - in every possible way.

 

[Amit V]

I have a couple of decent hacks but have never received a reasonable offer for any of them. Also I noticed they have a disvantage in search results. Asking myself the same question. Dont think I will buy any hacks anymore.

 

[HotKey]

As always, really depends on the name + extension but for the most part once we start hacking away at domains with more than one keyword things start to look really chopped up.. keep it simple and readable.

Of course, ".com" was the first TLD to be pumped-to-popularity by people looking to make money from it, but other than that it really has no value.

The TLD also makes no sense... Why on earth would anyone want an abbreviation for the word "commercial", to be appended on to the end of their business name?!

I think if you were offered the choice of either a .com, or it's hack equivalent, prior to the ".com" mega-pump that happened in the mid/late 90's, you'd have chosen the hack. Clearly, you would have seen this as a much more credible and authoritative identity, and it would have made more sense to you - in every possible way.

There is a certain beauty in legendary hacks that is truly appreciated by a few but the natural appeal is in the "normal" state of things, which .com brought. Do you really think there will ever be anything else like it again?

 

[richardhope]

Do you really think there will ever be anything else like it again?

I won't answer this directly, as to do so might imply that I am assigning some degree of credibility to the TLD (.com). Instead, I will simply say that domain hacks (branded names) are now very much appreciated by companies who are looking to successfully brand and market their offerings.

I have seen a lot of evidence of this in my own branded name portfolio, particularly over the last 2 years or so.

Of course, .com won't go away. There are plenty of desperate folks in the world, who are prepared to continue reciting the tired old mantra of ".com is king!", in the hope of making some $$$...

 

[MadAboutDomains]

First off, I HATE the name and "Domain Hack" comes off as sketchy and potentially illegal to many end users. I've mentioned it in conversation and gotten weird looks (+ comments if I was hacking websites) and in my experience, most companies buying domains don't have a clue about the aftermarket to begin with and think you're a scammer or thief, so just try dropping "Domain Hack" on them. CLICK.

I like the name "domain hack". Hacking isn't always bad. They just need explaining to them what it refers to (to chop) and there's no issue.

At the end of the day if someone wants the domain they understand that it's a domain hack, they just don't know the terminology, otherwise they wouldn't have expressed interest in it.

Looks like another thing to change just because people don't know something or it plays to their sensibilities. It's a domain hack!!

 

[notabot]

In this case, I have both the .com and the .se versions of the domains, e.g. I have topicwise.com and topicwi.se. Similarly for townwise, profilewise, bleepwise, pagewise, searchwise, all different aspects of the network of sites I'm building. I am currently letting the .se domains expire, because, in no particular order:

1. I have found they are quite difficult to "say" out loud to people, you have to really work to describe where the dot goes. The benefit of .com here is that everybody knows how that works and you don't have to explain it.
2. There is some uncertainty and doubt as to whether there would be any actual benefit in terms of freedom of speech that would be "allowed" to me with a EU domain (see previous discussion in this thread).
3. They are quite pricey, $25 per year to renew, so I'd like to actually use them if I'm keeping them; however, since I have the .com of each already, I will almost certainly use that in preference for the "main" versions of each site. So then the utility of the .se names seems to be simply that it's a little shorter, which is offset by the difficulty for "normal" people to understand that it doesn't have ".com" on the end but rather a dot in a weird place that you have to describe every time.

I do still like the aesthetics of having "just" the name itself, with no extraneous ".com" tacked on the end, as someone mentioned above, the .com fad was quite arbitrary in what it chose to be the sole flag bearer for the movement. However I think there's a reason for that: People tend to gravitate around ideas that are easy to express and "dot com mania" was just an easy way to refer to the whole mess. So it's just a meme that took on a life of its own, really, and embedded itself into our culture and collective consiousness in a way that came to represent the entire idea of "starting an internet company". I think there's something very powerful in that, which cannot be discounted or ignored at this point, no matter what our personal opinion of the aesthetics. Even websites that originally started off as domain hacks, like del.iciou.us, eventually moved over to using the .com version of their name. It's a nice idea, and cute, and I do like it. But if we are trying to communicate with "normies" who aren't technical and mentally lock up and shut down at the slightest whiff of "computer speak", then "dot com" is the way to go. I'm just not sure it's worth keeping the domain hack version of my names, if I already have the dot com versions. If they were cheaper to keep then I might be more inclined, but at $25 a pop I'm talking $150 a year, which isn't a whole lot, but also isn't nothing if you don't have much money at the moment (which I don't, having just spent several thousand buying pagewise.com and searchwise.com). So, I'll probably just let them drop.

And finally, once again, I'm not looking at this from the perspective of investment or monetary worth. I'm simply looking at it in terms of pure functionality and utility, as someone developing an actual website (or set of websites). I'm still a bit conflicted, but right now, since I need to save money and can't really see a way I'd be using them, I'm probably just going to continue to let them expire.

Thanks again, I thought this discussion had ended but apparently someone thought it was worth reviving... have at it, but I'm pretty much decided at this point, fwiw.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I'm not buying the domain hack version of my main website, however, I do see the value in them and I like them especially for on social media, but the name I have is already short enough

 

[richardhope]

I have found they are quite difficult to "say" out loud to people, you have to really work to describe where the dot goes. The benefit of .com here is that everybody knows how that works and you don't have to explain it.

All you have to say, in the example of "domainha.ck", is: "Visit us at DomainHack, the dot is between the A and the C". Job done.

Many people now are aware of ccTLD and ngTLD extensions, and this number is quickly increasing, and so it's just a case of where to enter the dot... #radiotestpassedwithflyingcolours