The "I hate gTLD's" thread

[McDuke]

Tired of annoying web extensions?

Wish it was a .com only world?

Feeling negative, cynical, grumpy, or you just want to join the fun?

Well here is the place for you.

The I Hate gTLD's Thread​

 

[Colin Campbell]

I just joined Namepros. Although, I have been in the industry for years I focused more on the Hosting infrastructure side. Hopefully I can provide some counter arguments as to why the gTLDs should at least not be ignored.

I believe that .com will rule along with the cctlds. Lets just agree up front that there is no comparison. Smartphone.com is going to be worth a lot more than smartphone.club or smartphone.guru at least in our lifetime. That being said, smartphone.com may cost 500,000 while smartphone.guru might go for a few thousand dollars. Is there a business around either of these names (which I think is the true test). I actually think you could build a business around any of these names. Fundamentally, when the .COM is not available or to expensive to acquire, the next best alternative will be a new gTLD that has meaning that can work with the concept one is trying to launch.

Colin Campbell
CEO, .CLUB.

 

[Joseph Green]

I just joined Namepros. Although, I have been in the industry for years I focused more on the Hosting infrastructure side. Hopefully I can provide some counter arguments as to why the gTLDs should at least not be ignored.

I believe that .com will rule along with the cctlds. Lets just agree up front that there is no comparison. Smartphone.com is going to be worth a lot more than smartphone.club or smartphone.guru at least in our lifetime. That being said, smartphone.com may cost 500,000 while smartphone.guru might go for a few thousand dollars. Is there a business around either of these names (which I think is the true test). I actually think you could build a business around any of these names. Fundamentally, when the .COM is not available or to expensive to acquire, the next best alternative will be a new gTLD that has meaning that can work with the concept one is trying to launch.

Colin Campbell
CEO, .CLUB.

Welcome to NamePros! Among all of the launched and proposed new gTLDs thus far, .club is one of my top 3 favorites. I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective, and I think it will become more obvious as large and successful businesses continue to use these to their benefit. A lucrative and often overlooked avenue for new gTLDs is as a marketing tool. With every business fighting for consumers' attention -- and spending billions each year to do so -- using a creative and fresh new gTLD is a great way to stand out from the pack; it opens up marketing campaigns to ingenious angles that were never possible before. I, for one, am very excited to see companies begin to take advantage of this great opportunity. The future prospects are fascinating.

 

[JB Lions]

That being said, smartphone.com may cost 500,000 while smartphone.guru might go for a few thousand dollars. Is there a business around either of these names (which I think is the true test). I actually think you could build a business around any of these names. Fundamentally, when the .COM is not available or to expensive to acquire, the next best alternative will be a new gTLD that has meaning that can work with the concept one is trying to launch.

Colin Campbell
CEO, .CLUB.

Names like smartphone.com of course are either being used or will be very expensive however, instead of going with smartphone.guru, you could go with smartphoneguru.com. I think that's the next best alternative, rather than going with a new extension. Just get another .com, be original and make up a name for reg fee in an extension everybody is already familiar with or find another .com that you can pay for. A lot of companies do that and you can get some nice names for low x,xxx.

 

[Colin Campbell]

I agree it makes sense to get smartphoneguru.com although I would point it to smartphone.guru.....but when you put the two beside each other....the smartphone.guru just seems so much more sexy.

 

[Joseph Green]

I agree it makes sense to get smartphoneguru.com although I would point it to smartphone.guru.....but when you put the two beside each other....the smartphone.guru just seems so much more sexy.

I have been doing this with .co domain names. I prefer .co over .com, but I also understand that the general public isn't familiar enough with much other than .com yet, so redirecting [name].com and [name]co.com to [name].co has been the perfect solution for my businesses.

I've had people ask me why I would do that and the answer is simple: branding. For instance, [name].co is more iconic in my eyes than [name]co.com or any other two-word .com domain name.

 

[Colin Campbell]

I thought this was the right place to release this information "The Official I Hate the gTLD Thread" given how skeptical this group is already with respect to the new gTLDs.

I have had a few people ask me if Nicole Campbell is related to me after ntdstats reported her registration numbers of 2400 a few days ago. Given the current environment, and in the spirit of openness at .CLUB, I thought it best to provide some clarity. My sister indicated to me that she had registered a number of new gTLD registrations with the majority being .CLUB domain names. I was not aware until ntldstats reported it a few days ago how many new gTLD registrations she did register and I do not know the breakdown between .CLUB and other tld investments. The fact is, I do not have any ownership in her domain company and nor does she have any ownership in .CLUB. All of her registrations were made openly (with no hidden agenda) and with no privacy or proxy. She received no special treatment acquiring her names through normal channels.

I appreciate the support of her and other domain investors who believe in the .CLUB vision. She has told me she is excited about .CLUB and a few other TLDs and plans to continue to invest in the new gTLDs as they come market.

 

[Domainstore]

Not everything seems bad of the new extentions.
But now => An enormous amount of domains are so-called "premiums", that cost more /year then normal pricing.
At .donuts they ask then 230 USD/year (general avalability) for a good name. They try to gain the money that domainers would like to gain.
And then there are the reserved names.

 

[Domainstore]

I have been doing this with .co domain names. I prefer .co over .com, but I also understand that the general public isn't familiar enough with much other than .com yet, so redirecting [name].com and [name]co.com to [name].co has been the perfect solution for my businesses.

I've had people ask me why I would do that and the answer is simple: branding. For instance, [name].co is more iconic in my eyes than [name]co.com or any other two-word .com domain name.

I agree with this totally about the fact that .CO is very interesting ! + Very interesting remark and how you forward to .CO, because you like it better. Now the pricing of renewals of .Co still has to go down to be very very interesting.

 

[JB Lions]

I agree it makes sense to get smartphoneguru.com although I would point it to smartphone.guru.....but when you put the two beside each other....the smartphone.guru just seems so much more sexy.

You would point a .com to a .guru? Most people wouldn't tho. Really doesn't make much sense when you have an established extension like .com, and point it to something like a .guru.

 

[Joseph Green]

You would point a .com to a .guru? Most people wouldn't tho. Really doesn't make much sense when you have an established extension like .com, and point it to something like a .guru.

It's mostly a personal preference if you own both of them. If you go with .guru, visitors may experience a bit of reservation at first, but those reservations will dissipate over time as people become familiar with new gTLDs. I'd prefer to see smartphone.guru in my address bar rather than smartphoneguru.com. I'd rather see it in an ad, as well. It's more unique. Less common. More interesting. Less boring.

I don't know about you, but I suffer from a slight case of "domain blindness" (similar to ad blindness) where I don't pay much attention to the domain name anymore while browsing around, but a non-.com tends to catch my eye. That can be a powerful tool.

For example, if realestate.com redirected to real.estate, I'd be in awe and absolutely love it. And in my opinion, it would look significantly better. In all fairness, I would use realestate.com for offline advertising since people are most comfortable typing in .com domain names. For online advertising, I would use real.estate all day long.

 

[JB Lions]

It's mostly a personal preference if you own both of them. If you go with .guru, visitors may experience a bit of reservation at first, but those reservations will dissipate over time as people become familiar with new gTLDs. I'd prefer to see smartphone.guru in my address bar rather than smartphoneguru.com. I'd rather see it in an ad, as well. It's more unique. Less common. More interesting. Less boring.

I don't know about you, but I suffer from a slight case of "domain blindness" (similar to ad blindness) where I don't pay much attention to the domain name anymore while browsing around, but a non-.com tends to catch my eye. That can be a powerful tool.

For example, if realestate.com redirected to real.estate, I'd be in awe and absolutely love it. And in my opinion, it would look significantly better. In all fairness, I would use realestate.com for offline advertising since people are most comfortable typing in .com domain names. For online advertising, I would use real.estate all day long.

Oh brother. real.estate over realestate.com? So it's awe, love it, sexy, looks better.......... The insane stuff I read on forums.

You would use 2 different domains for advertising? That doesn't make any sense. If you own realestate.com, you use that everywhere.

 

[DU]

Names like smartphone.com of course are either being used or will be very expensive however, instead of going with smartphone.guru, you could go with smartphoneguru.com. I think that's the next best alternative, rather than going with a new extension. Just get another .com, be original and make up a name for reg fee in an extension everybody is already familiar with or find another .com that you can pay for. A lot of companies do that and you can get some nice names for low x,xxx.

Seems you are presenting the view as an end user more than a domainer ? The value proposition to them is entirely different - either way you're talking yourself out of a career Loads of decent .coms available for cheap and regfee... very true

A good gTDL will make sense to some - there are plenty of businesses on .TV ... combine those massive numbers of new options with .com availability and sooner or later the secondary market will have to change (at the lower entry end). I was watching a number of sensible names in .SYSTEMS and .TECHNOLOGY and a lot of them went pre-open season... that's not a lot of registrations but at higher prices (so factor that into your reg count matters calculator).

I agree it makes sense to get smartphoneguru.com although I would point it to smartphone.guru.....but when you put the two beside each other....the smartphone.guru just seems so much more sexy.

Sexier than smartphone.sexy? smartphone.club ? smartphone.ninja? smartphone.web ? smartphone.io? smartphone.uk? smartphone.co? smartphone.net?... etc

As some point things need to make some sense. Nothing ending in .guru sounds professional unless you're single, self-employed, and a hipster.

.club has limited value but at least it has meaning. RedwoodOriginal.Club would make a great site.

I've had people ask me why I would do that and the answer is simple: branding. For instance, [name].co is more iconic in my eyes than [name]co.com or any other two-word .com domain name.

The answer is simpler: it's your preference. I don't see that branding is much of an issue here - how is branding change with these options? Did you prove this out or is it purely gut-check? (Genuinely curious)

Not everything seems bad of the new extentions.
But now => An enormous amount of domains are so-called "premiums", that cost more /year then normal pricing.
At .donuts they ask then 230 USD/year (general avalability) for a good name. They try to gain the money that domainers would like to gain.
And then there are the reserved names.

And what about the end user who doesn't want to pay that money to a domainer? You're seriously mad because the risk on your investment just went up? Oh, boo frickin hoo.... Maybe a mom and pop gets MyService.Systems for $230 instead of the domainer asking $X,XXX. $230 seems cheaper than most domainers want and more than a lot would pay - seems priced right for a balance to me. Go get your .tk now !

 

[JB Lions]

Seems you are presenting the view as an end user more than a domainer ? The value proposition to them is entirely different - either way you're talking yourself out of a career Loads of decent .coms available for cheap and regfee... very true

No, because there is a market for good domains. And if somebody can get the domain they want (and you have it) at a reasonable price, then sales happen. The scenario I posted about is just an option that some choose.

 

[Joseph Green]

Oh brother. real.estate over realestate.com? So it's awe, love it, sexy, looks better.......... The insane stuff I read on forums.

If you own them both, yes please. It's perfectly sane, I assure you.

You would use 2 different domains for advertising?

Yes, this is done all the time. It's a great way to track a marketing campaign. You may be confusing the domain name with the brand name. The brand name remains the same across all advertising channels.

The answer is simpler: it's your preference.

Yep, it's my personal preference. Vine.co is a good example.

 

[JB Lions]

Yes, this is done all the time. It's a great way to track a marketing campaign.

Actually, it's not done all the time. There are other ways to track marketing campaigns, as companies have been doing.

You may be confusing the domain name with the brand name.

You may be confused and not understand that they're one in the same with a lot of companies. If you were running marketing and your idea was to introduce confusion when there isn't a need too, you should be fired. In the example being used, there is no benefit of a realestate.com, using real.estate. You actually posted you would used real.estate for online, even if owning realestate.com. Most businesses wouldn't do that.

 

[Joseph Green]

There are other ways to track marketing campaigns, as companies have been doing.

Like I said, I would do it for offline advertising only. To track such a campaign, the options are limited. A unique domain name is one of the best techniques to do so, since it provides useful demographics about each visitor.

In the example being used, there is no benefit of a realestate.com, using real.estate. You actually posted you would used real.estate for online, even if owning realestate.com. Most businesses wouldn't do that.

We are all entitled to our opinions.

Edit: Just to clarify, none of my comments have been about value; they are about making bold moves that may or may not help a company stand out.

 

[Colin Campbell]

I think the example real.estate doesn't make much sense as one doesn't think of breaking that word up. If its realestateclub.com vs. realestate.club I go for the second. But I am biased This is the real question though. As I stated in my opening post on this forum, nothing will ever come close to competing with .com. Its like suggesting silver will be more expensive than gold. It is technically possible but highly unlikely.

 

[loupe]

The market for silver could explode if there is not enough gold to cater to many new people looking for value

Great job on the .club TLD ! I believe the awareness being created for .club and slowly other tlds will be positive for most of the others too.

 

[McDuke]

I think the example real.estate doesn't make much sense as one doesn't think of breaking that word up. If its realestateclub.com vs. realestate.club I go for the second. But I am biased This is the real question though. As I stated in my opening post on this forum, nothing will ever come close to competing with .com. Its like suggesting silver will be more expensive than gold. It is technically possible but highly unlikely.

I think real.estate makes perfect sense and is the shortest possible combo for these two words and will be the shortest combo, forever! :D

I agree realestate.club is better than realestateclub.com but adding realestate to .club seems silly imo.

Regarding the name realestate.club, what i think would be better is having estate.club then building the sub extension real.estate.club because it is then very memorable and easy to read with the dots.

Regarding extensions;

realestate.management
realestate.tips
realestate.news

etc, are awesome!

The trick when registering these new gTLDs is getting the most sensible premium combos because they are rare!

I do not own any .clubs but kudos to the .club guys for actually marketing! book.club, night.club, chess.club would be amazing domains to have. They are after all, the shortest domains with those keywords....

 

[DU]

Like I said, I would do it for offline advertising only. To track such a campaign, the options are limited. A unique domain name is one of the best techniques to do so, since it provides useful demographics about each visitor.

As JBL says, there are many better ways of doing this.

I think real.estate makes perfect sense and is the shortest possible combo for these two words and will be the shortest combo, forever! :D

Except it's a compound world. The domain is keyword "real" for the extension "estate" and it makes no sense. I don't see why anyone would register a .estate at all. Maybe in countries where subdivisions are also called estates?

Regarding the name realestate.club, what i think would be better is having estate.club then building the sub extension real.estate.club because it is then very memorable and easy to read with the dots.

Having domain name sub-domains is something that domainers always talk about but has very limited use. It's perfect for signing up users or sites on the fly (such as WordPress, Tumblr etc) but as a standalone domain to qualify something. Stupid.

I do not own any .clubs but kudos to the .club guys for actually marketing! book.club, night.club, chess.club would be amazing domains to have. They are after all, the shortest domains with those keywords....

Lots of fake value. Night.club, chess.club - great sounding domains but who would buy them for what purpose?
Most clubs have names, or regions. If you want to be informational about clubs there are other options.

ChessClub.Directory
ChessClub.info
ChessClub.Chicago
OrlandaoChessClub.org/net/com
ChessClub.guru
So what is compelling about chess.club? It's a club for chess.I just don't see the huge upside in most of these names. Night.Club? What would you do there? It's a bastardization of the NightClub.

The best domain I could think of was BabySeal.Club and it's taken.

.club is ok for people that want a site for their club. For investment it's total shit.