The Future of Domain Names

[Phronesis]

If you look back over the past century, technology changes so quickly and part of me wonders how long the internet will continue to exist in its current form. I think one of the biggest long-term risks to domain name investors is the potential that the web, as it is, and how we get information (by searching specific sites - domains) could change dramatically thus making domain names obsolete and if that happened, the value of domain names obviously worthless. I realize this may be a touchy subject as many of us have a lot of cash (credit?) invested here. But I'm curious what people think about it.

 

[quality]

Rubbish.......they are gonna be around for the forseeable future certainly
for the rest of our lives so values of key names will just keep rising....in fact.
I suspect some of them will look to be bargains in future years just look
at what happened to quality artists and paintings. I am of course talking
mainly about prime domains eg property.com for $750,000 will be a bargain in 10 years time as will $1million for cars.com etc

 

[GreenGambler]

I think they are here to stay for at least another 50 years. Whith sooo much time and money invested in DNs worldwide I don't see a change coming. Even if they come up with some new and improved method I don't think it would pass or become common for at least that long.

All of us DNers, business owners and everyone else would have to transition to what ever new system was developed and that alone would take time, I'm sure.

DNs and the internet will probably be here as long as we are, or until 2012 when everything goes to hell!!

If anyone out there, with the know how and resources, is scheeming up a new internet, I hope they stop. They should be concentrating on more important issues like global warming, poverty, disease and the continuence of the human species by getting us off of this rock. (We are sooo stupid all siting here with all of our eggs in one basket.)

 

[Traveler]

This point is going to touch a lot of nerves. I personally have a lot wrapped up in domain names, but I believe without a doubt that they will all be rendered worthless at some point in the future by new technology. I haven't seen or heard of anything on the horizon so I feel safe a least for a while but I would be surprised if 25 years from now we are still typing .com

 

[jeter4982]

I think domain names are here to stay for at least the next 50 years, as even if the internet changes dramatically, which I could see it doing, you still need a way to access the information within the internet. A domain name is the simplest way to remember where the information is IMHO. I just don't really see what else could be implemented to replace them.

Tom

 

[GreenGambler]

Just a thought--------


How long have phone #s been around or licsense plate #s. Have those changed all that much??

 

[thegenius1]

Just a thought--------


How long have phone #s been around or licsense plate #s. Have those changed all that much??

Great point they arent going anywhere but International :hehe: , but even with changes in phone technology like Voip you still are able to retain your same phone number so your point is very valid.

 

[Phronesis]

Just a thought--------


How long have phone #s been around or licsense plate #s. Have those changed all that much??

That is a very good point. And DN's are just easy ways to remember IP addresses which makes their longevity seem inevitable. However, 50 years ago, you'd only have one home phone number. Now "wired" phone service seems to be going the way of the dinosaur as more people move to wireless phones. The evolution of the web may not be that DNs become obsolete overnight but maybe that easier, more effective means of providing information emerges.

 

[domainstosell]

That is a very good point. And DN's are just easy ways to remember IP addresses which makes their longevity seem inevitable. However, 50 years ago, you'd only have one home phone number. Now "wired" phone service seems to be going the way of the dinosaur as more people move to wireless phones. The evolution of the web may not be that DNs become obsolete overnight but maybe that easier, more effective means of providing information emerges.

I agree, and I think the "elephant in the room" (so to speak) is Internationalized Domain Names. I'm not here to start a my-dot-com-is-better-than-your-dot-com bash fest, but it is amazing to see that, when people start to talk about internet trends; especially domainers, who are or should be closest to internet phenomena, IDNs still don't get a lot of mention.

IDNs are that "easier, more effective means of providing information" - to quote Phronesis. The major difference, though, is that it is a convenience (or more pointedly - necessity) for other languages and cultures, not America. I think that plays a large part in the hurdle that American investors face when looking at IDNs as an investment opportunity.

 

[gou]

Things may change if the internet gets privatized.

 

[bocanames]

I think they're here for at least 25 years. When the next new thing comes along, and it always does, it will be an abstraction to the current domain name system - just as domain names are an abstraction to the IP addressing. Just as IP addressing is an abstraction that allows you to do things you could not with only MAC addresses. Software evolves in this way.

DNS allows you to maps several domain names to an IP, and define different services running at different places all for one name. The next evolutionary wrinkle may allow new possibilities for using the underlying domain name system. So there are benefits to be realized by clever abstractions, just as the notion of "files" prevents you from dealing with some of the nastier OS details below.

Sooner or later of course a much better scheme will come along, and will disrupt the evolutionary process. But I'll be very old (and hopefully we'll all be rich from domain names) by then.

 

[vimkar]

50 ... :hehe:

 

[thegenius1]

I agree, and I think the "elephant in the room" (so to speak) is Internationalized Domain Names. I'm not here to start a my-dot-com-is-better-than-your-dot-com bash fest, but it is amazing to see that, when people start to talk about internet trends; especially domainers, who are or should be closest to internet phenomena, IDNs still don't get a lot of mention.

IDNs are that "easier, more effective means of providing information" - to quote Phronesis. The major difference, though, is that it is a convenience (or more pointedly - necessity) for other languages and cultures, not America. I think that plays a large part in the hurdle that American investors face when looking at IDNs as an investment opportunity.

Very well put , very soon they will no longer be looked at as IDN's to us and will just be Domain Names like the rest of the pack.

 

[bocanames]

Well if they last 50 or 100 years we'll need to ease up on restrictions again. Get ready for up to 1024-character long names in more IDN flavors including extensions. Anyone care for Klingon IDNs? This guy is betting domain names will be around for a while: http://futuredomainnames.com

 

[r4h]

I think it's a similar question as to..

how long is civilization going to last?

and more importantly, how long is the US economy going to last.

I think there may be some bumps in the future as far as the economy goes, but those historically only last a year or two.

as far as the global warming and stuff... I could only bring myself to click at least 25 years

 

[domainstosell]

Anyone care for Klingon IDNs?

Would that be an Intergalactic Domain Name?

 

[thegenius1]

Would that be an Intergalactic Domain Name?

:hehe: Good one, according to some people thats what we are investing in ,

" We want to type in domains in our own marshan language enough of this english crap ! " lol

 

[fab]

I voted for "At least 50 years"

 

[ForexPros]

I voted for "Domains will stay forever"

What else can be more descriptive than a domain name and its tld (.com - commercial, .org - non-profit, .us - United States)?
What else can be easier to remember than a domain name?

I am sure if the new technology will come up the domain names are not going anywhere.

 

[Phronesis]

Well, my hope is the optimists are right.

 

[peaches017]

I think 25 years is a good benchmark. In the realm of future technology, typing in a website and having to remember the name may very well be, well, tedious.

They (we) will most likely have more efficient methods of getting to websites, or virtual portals by then.

 

[Jo]

Words and numbers are humankind's forte, the way we communicate. Letters...numbers...that has never changed. I cannot see it changing that much. It would have to be radically different. Sounds and colours would not work. Maybe the way we access the domains could change...speech instead of typing. But you are speaking of the whole domain extension concept? Yes, that could change but I agree with others it would take some time. How about a future where we are all hooked up to computers 24 hours a day? Installed at birth. Sort of cyborg-humans. They talked about bar-coding people, how about installing personal mini-micros into our bodies? Ok, I am way off and out into outerspace

 

[.X.]

i went with 25 years,,,although i think they will be here alot longer...25 was my comfort zone-LOL...I feel certain there will be changes in the way the net is used...I don't think it will be domain names in general...i think it will have more to do with how country extensions are used....I think .net will fade to null in due time... .info will become a pure form of information only... .us willl become an american house hold typin,,The same with .co.uk and .in ,House hold typins for the respective countries to access thier own countries sites...very small cctlds such as .im will have no significant use,I think many of these cctlds will be dropped in due time...they are very profitable for registers...but small country-island codes will carry no value.Just my thoughts and opinion.

 

[Keral_Patel]

Humm... I would also vote for 50 years.

But even if it goes down. We can dream of selling it as rare collections of the past. :D

Old coins and stamps are selling for BIG $$$'s so maybe even if this is past thing. Someone will buy it for collection.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

First we had postal mail addresses. They are still here.

Then came phone numbers. They are still here.

Then came domain names. They will be here at least as long as the phone and postal addresses. When postal addresses and phone numbers are obsolete then we can talk about domain names going away.