The end of domaining as we know it

[mole]

Things have dramatically changed since I started collecting domains back in 2000:

1. The drop game is all about the fattest wallet.

2. Everything is transparent and there is no benefit to homework. Everyone can search for the best drops for the day using very powerful public databases that sort to the T.

3. New GTLD and 2LD extensions keep flooding the market with hope. Old extensions keep those without hope, hopeful.

4. Direct contact with existing registrants seems to be the best, but most costly, solution.

5. There are now forums abundant that share and enlighten novices the "secrets" that were kept hidden in the past to selfish advantage.

6. The economy of plentiful is now long gone. Everyone fears for the future, and domains will never again be that "magical" solution to profits.

7. Search engine and browser technology has conditioned a new spoon-fed culture and made curious "what the hell is the Internet???" type-ins a plaything of the past "duh" culture of the early Internet.

8. Companies of a bygone era 5 years ago (how long was that??) continue to drop their names through disillusionment with the 24/7 cut-throat nature of Internet business, to the delight and glee of the new and naive newcomers.

9. .COM is still king, but SEO and technology is the emperor in the navigation race.

10. This is just the beginning... of the second coming of the broadband Internet.

Amen.

 

[VisualArtistFrankBonilla]

I think you are right

Things have dramatically changed since I started collecting domains back in 2000:

1. The drop game is all about the fattest wallet.

2. Everything is transparent and there is no benefit to homework. Everyone can search for the best drops for the day using very powerful public databases that sort to the T.

3. New GTLD and 2LD extensions keep flooding the market with hope. Old extensions keep those without hope, hopeful.

4. Direct contact with existing registrants seems to be the best, but most costly, solution.

5. There are now forums abundant that share and enlighten novices the "secrets" that were kept hidden in the past to selfish advantage.

6. The economy of plentiful is now long gone. Everyone fears for the future, and domains will never again be that "magical" solution to profits.

7. Search engine and browser technology has conditioned a new spoon-fed culture and made curious "what the hell is the Internet???" type-ins a plaything of the past "duh" culture of the early Internet.

8. Companies of a bygone era 5 years ago (how long was that??) continue to drop their names through disillusionment with the 24/7 cut-throat nature of Internet business, to the delight and glee of the new and naive newcomers.

9. .COM is still king, but SEO and technology is the emperor in the navigation race.

10. This is just the beginning... of the second coming of the broadband Internet.

Amen.

I think you are right, wise Mole. Of course, I am at the other end, the new guy. But, it seems to me, you are very right.
1) Nothing is guaranteed anymore by buying a .com.

2) Everything seems to be hit and miss. You might hit it big with a .org, a .de, a .info, a .cn, or other.

3) Sometimes nothing makes sense. Even though I currently have many domain names listed at www.GreatDomains.com, I can't even figure out why they would list some of the names they list!!!

4) A domain name you do all your homework on, as you say, doesn't do worth a crap. A domain name you bought that you now realize is crap, is doing pretty good, surprises you, and it sells!!

Anyway, jusy agreeing with you, even though I'm at the other end!!

Frank

 

[Mark]

Correction ~

The end of domaining as we know it

is now : The end of domaining as we knew it :lol:

I'd say the changes from just the past year have definitely altered the ways Everyone will do Business from now on ~ I'm an old manual Reg man still - and Don't particularly like the changes ..... :bah:

 

[jeter4982]

I agree with you Mole! I havent been in the business as long as you, but I see the same things you do. I think as both of you have said, a domain is pretty much hit or miss. Most names I see, either sell near reg fee - under $100 , or they reach the middle $xxx range. I think .com is still king. People associate the interenet with .com , even if a .net , or .org fits a domain better. Last, I think the expired domain names has pretty much been ruined by programs like Snapnames. With such huge prices for these services now, I find it easier to just make new registrations for 8 bucks, and then test my luck on the market. Just my thoughts,

Tom

 

[mole]

11. The wind of optimism and luck blows deep and keeps passions and ambitions alive.

 

[Qwert]

I saw #10 happing from a while back...

Well it's not all that bad is it? 2 internets, 1 will most likly work differently then the other, then you can also trade multi-net domains LOL.

 

[Coastalguy]

11. The wind of optimism and luck blows deep and keeps passions and ambitions alive.

So true.

ST

 

[WebForging]

hmm...

Good on all counts. Sounds a lot more like work now than the old goldrush days when just staking a claim could be worth a bunch to the next guy.

In any kind of gold rush, the guys that always make money are the ones selling the picks and shovels.

 

[mole]

In any kind of gold rush, the guys that always make money are the ones selling the picks and shovels.

So true. He who rules the Interchange rules the world.

12. There are still surprisingly good .COM pickings that will emerge in the coming years even after 33,000,000, if you know precisely where to dig.

Always read http://www.redherring.com , a bygone fad of the .COM boom, a new indicator of the reemerging Internet.

 

[phptech]

Your thread title is appropriate, it's the end "as we know it" but certainly not "the end". When domains such as blingtones.net and funnypictures.com sell upwards of 5K, it's simply time to rethink reg strategies.

 

[inflames]

there will always be a demand to domain names , no matter what changes . you just might have to change your ways and sometimes change is good

 

[mole]

When domains such as blingtones.net and funnypictures.com sell upwards of 5K, it's simply time to rethink reg strategies.

13. When people turn right, turn left.

there will always be a demand to domain names , no matter what changes . you just might have to change your ways and sometimes change is good

14. Change is good, but change cuts both ways. If .CO.UK changes to .UK for example, a lot of people will find their the value of their investment (past-current-future), come down, or go up.

 

[TheOwner]

im new to this business. so is it not a
good thing to get into? turn around now?
or keep going forward with this?
thanks..

 

[Grrilla]

Excellent synopsis, mole.
To underline your point concerning drops, a year ago, new registrations for 3LL .infos were avail. 3LL/3NN .Biz and .US drops could be picked up w/o using a drop service. (I manually regged 195.US on Jun 16, 04, which must have been one of the last, if not the last, 3LL/3NN tld/major cctld name to have been picked up w/o a drop service. I still don't know if this was a drop or if the name simply slipped through the radar- last time i looked, Wayback Mach wasn't providing data for .us names). The last half dozen Snapnames auctions for 3LL .infos that I have participated in have all gone for a minimum of $180.

In any kind of gold rush, the guys that always make money are the ones selling the picks and shovels.

The guys who saw the need, had the necessary resources and abilities, and were the first to pull into town and open their store had a decided advantage in the ensuing years. The service providers have their own rush going on.

I like historical analogies, because they give us the advantage of seeing an overview of the big picture, the cause and effect, the beginnings and the end. Borrowing from the gold rush model, the first wave of adventurous spirits moved quickly into the open territory and staked their claim on the prime real estate. (Early, old-school .commers). The next wave didn't have the same prime pickings as the earlier arrivals, but they were still able to stake out claims on adjoining property, they had the advantage of seeing what the first group was doing and they were able to expand into previously undiscovered property. (A few top and second tier .com names, the first shot at top tier, new tld names). The third wave, (which accounts for the vast majority of today's domainers), still had some real estate available to pick over, (including properties that had already been mined by groups one and two), and were still able to find some large nuggets, but the number of prospectors had dramatically increased, the cost of the prime real estate, that had once been free or had been purchased for pennies, had gone through the roof, the competition had become fierce, there were snake oil salesman at every corner, and the new arrivals were often easy pickings for the oldtimers who, by then, were established and often in bed w/ the local government.

And, of course, there were the original occupanants, who really got screwwwed. The native, indigenous people, (those who had not been overcome by technology and/or disease), were rounded up and stuffed into unhospitable, desolate spaces that had been especially "reserved" for them. And when it was discovered that there were actually resources, (oil), hidden underneath their wasteland homes, they were screwed again, by those holding the reins. The lesson that we domainers can learn from the plight of this latter group, is that we should keep our eyes on those who are holding the reins, lest we too, become the screwed. I can't think of a better way to stay aware of what is going on around us in the domain name world, than staying tuned in here at NamePros. :talk:

 

[MissFlora]

It becomes a more challenging yet tough business...but I don't agree that it is the end. Still lots of nice domains out there to be handreg, really depends how you pick them.

Flora.

 

[mole]

It becomes a more challenging yet tough business...but I don't agree that it is the end.

15. There is no end when there is no beginning to the Internet. Internet surfing, so the saying goes, is just looking for the joy ride on the next big wave.

 

[Grrilla]

Internet surfing, so the saying goes, is just looking for the joy ride on the next big wave.

-and-
"We, who are an expression of the Universe's desire to understand itself, are hanging 10 at the edge of the expanding cosmos." -Grrilla :hehe: :wave:

 

[mole]

-and-
"We, who are an expression of the Universe's desire to understand itself, are hanging 10 at the edge of the expanding cosmos." -Grrilla :hehe: :wave:

16. There is a visible future, and there is StarTrek.

 

[MissFlora]

Lol, it's like fashion I suppose. And it sure looks like more people are in the "domain trend" nowadays.

Flora.

 

[Grrilla]

16. There is a visible future, and there is StarTrek.

16a. There is a Middle Earth, and look... there goes a mole!