The .TEL Discussion Thread

[brendan52190]

Hi

For this, let's assume that .tel will not be a total flop.

What type of keywords will be most valuable for this extension? Will it be geographical keywords, like newyork.tel, losangeles.tel, etc, or what else?

 

[WordWalker]

Telnic Blog Mention

Dated March '09. Worthy of a read:

GERBSMAN PARTNERS UPDATE – R.I.P. Dot Com. We barely Knew Ye! – Welcome the new sheriff in town the .TEL « Blog of Intellectual Capital

 

[saucey]

Everybody REP Henri.

Not that it really makes a difference... but it would be neat to see how many Rep points he could accumulate!

And let's face it.... he does deserve 'em. :imho:

Someone on this thread gave me "bad rep points" for the above post, and went on to say "Dont mess with the rep system". WTF? Does this make sense to anybody?

 

[hasseily]

Someone on this thread gave me "bad rep points" for the above post, and went on to say "Dont mess with the rep system". WTF? Does this make sense to anybody?

Don't worry about it, I have absolutely no interest in rep. Irrelevant.

 

[TechZone]

I wonder how the previously noted gathering is shaping up and if there is any uptake on the .Tel endeavor to expand the celebrity adoption of .Tel.
_______________________________________
Hollywood, California – Tuesday, 26th May 2009 – This year’s exclusive Hollywood Movie Celebration Weekend Party on Friday 29th May, hosted by television personalities Sway Calloway & Tim Kash, will have an added dimension to it through the participation of .tel.
________________________________________

On a side but related note, it appears that Ashton Kutcher has huge market appeal and, IMO, would be "over the top" ideal to endorse .Tel.

Thoughts?

 

[hasseily]

Unfortunately I was not a mod at the time the threads
were merged. Otherwise they would have stayed separate
as with all the other TLD's I didn't make the call, just
following a rule. and FYI, this was always the Discussion thread, the Showcase thread was merged with this one.
There is also no development restrictions on all the
other TLD's hence, showcasing makes sense at that point.

Until the "Development" restrictions change, your .tel will look like my .tel - so why an active link? why post it 50 times?

When things happen it'll be a blow out of showcasing, no doubt!
Until then, there is the social group.

mis_chiff, I am somewhat disappointed (but was expecting it nonetheless) at your analysis of .tel domains, especially in regards to the perceived negative aspect of development restrictions on the .tel.

You are looking at .tel from the viewpoint of someone building a website where form and function are driven by the restrictions of http+html. You've been operating within them for so long that you've learned not to get close to the boundaries. Hence, you don't see them. Nevertheless, they exist.

Requesting a web page is costly in time and resources. So you work on mobile-optimised versions as well as regular "heavy" versions. Similarly, because creating a single page is hard work, you try to make as few pages as possible. For both reasons, you rely on search rather than navigation.
Making any kind of data-driven site means "dynamic" website, which entails scripting and database backend, and therefore expertise in both (or passing knowledge, which results in a very average user experience).
And let's not discuss multi-dimensional visualization, which automatically means Flash, Java or some kind of 3D language.
and you can only convey text, not language inflexions. Well you can add an audio file, but that's pretty horrible. Then again you can switch to a podcast which is nothing like a web page. You can't even write the text you want, you're stuck with standard fonts. Which is partly why comic book artists scan their strips.

Now let's get to the subject at hand, .tel. With .tel, the form is set. You have two choices: fight it or be happy that you don't have to worry about it. If you're in the first camp, no problem, get any other TLD. If you're in the second camp, then we can start talking about the benefits of the form being set, and ultimately about the nature of .tel.

Which brings me to the real question that's at the root of the discussion: what are .tel domain builders?

The answer is really simple : Data architects. Librarians. Navigation interface designers. In more mathematical terms, graph creators.

And that is why banning showcasing .tels has hit such a raw nerve. Telsters aren't showcasing their HTML-fu, they're showcasing their graph building knowledge.
Yes, the current overwhelming majority of .tel domains contains very simple graphs, but that is why showcasing .tels is so important: learn from your peers. I don't think anyone on this forum is a librarian by training (please do correct me if I'm wrong!), but they're clearly eager to learn.

Beyond small business owners quickly understanding the value of owning a .tel filled with their contact info, a domainer who wants to build value in a .tel will view it as an incredibly easy-to-use, fast and efficient data source for contact and short textual info.

Think about building mobile apps where the only necessary data source is the DNS. That is of course what the iPhone app Superbook is about, or the TelProxy web application. But you could as well have a navigable compendium of all plant species in the Amazonian Forest, with web link cross references, image links to flickr photo albums, or IRC pointers to live discussions on how to best extract sap from a rubber tree. Without ever writing a single line of code.

Thanks for reading,
Henri

PS: apologies for the long-winded post, I was filling the 30 minutes to cross under the Channel in the Eurostar.

 

[steveteva]

"Originally Posted by mis_chiff :
Unfortunately I was not a mod at the time the threads
were merged. Otherwise they would have stayed separate
as with all the other TLD's I didn't make the call, just
following a rule. and FYI, this was always the Discussion thread, the Showcase thread was merged with this one.
There is also no development restrictions on all the
other TLD's hence, showcasing makes sense at that point.

Until the "Development" restrictions change, your .tel will look like my .tel - so why an active link? why post it 50 times?

When things happen it'll be a blow out of showcasing, no doubt!
Until then, there is the social group."

Showcase can be interesting because dot tel have nothing in common with other tlds. Also I like better a showcase of dot tel that looks all similar than dot something with full of junk links to affiliate program and others. But mis_chiff as a moderator I will accept or follow your rules, it's up to you not to open a showcase thread.

 

[mis_chiff]

Thanks for your opinions and thoughts guys,
it is appreciated.

As soon as I hear back, I will update.

 

[morganga]

Think about building mobile apps where the only necessary data source is the DNS.

There are also many existing apps that could benefit too.

I've made a feature request at Google Chrome: Integration with .tel

Integration with .tel: List .tel website records in suggestion dropdown list

The .tel tld allows owners to create website records in the dns for their .tel domain name.

As soon as chrome recognises that a .tel domain has been entered in the address bar, it would be great if chrome could perform a simple dns lookup on the .tel and include the available web sites in the suggestion dropdown list. This would save them having to visit the .tel contact page if they're interested in the website links.

I can only hope %%-

 

[steveteva]

Here is the first serious company that will use dot tel as main directory network for several cities in France:

http://afw.fr

So we now can see that .tel can also be used as directory with GEO tel.

 

[igo]

i emailed katalyst and was turned down for a benefit type endorsement by Ashton (aplusk.tel) vs. cnnbrk.tel
but.. that could just be his minion
ashton is in the ATL for a while, so who knows..
i have contacted Ed Begley Jr. about doing the green thing with .tel
my cousin is contacting some rock star types.. maybe!

 

[saucey]

i emailed katalyst and was turned down for a benefit type endorsement by Ashton (aplusk.tel) vs. cnnbrk.tel
but.. that could just be his minion
ashton is in the ATL for a while, so who knows..
i have contacted Ed Begley Jr. about doing the green thing with .tel
my cousin is contacting some rock star types.. maybe!

Say what? Are you pulling our leg here?

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

Thanks, Henri!

You have explained the potential diversity of .tel so well. I do suspect that Mis_chiff understands as well; if I'm not mistaken (and correct me if I am), she owns some .tels.

I'm all for giving her a chance to speak with the higher ups about recreating the showcase thread.



As a confirmed claustophobic, I know how scary that Eurostar ride under the channel can be. I always try not to think about being whisked through a tube beneath a body of water.

Perhaps I'm making progress; last week, my better half convinced me to go down in a mine shaft. I was okay until the guide turned off the lights and we were all in complete darkness.

Yikes!

You did very well in explaining things despite your underground trauma.

I choose not to worry about the so-called restrictions; when I want text- and image-rich content, I'll simply link to it from a premium .tel.

So far, Google is being very kind to my personal bookmarking site, even though it really doesn't matter to me how it ranks, given its customization to my own needs. In fact, my gut tells me that, overall, Google and other search engines will be very generous toward .tel.

I'm seeing over 200,000 indexed .tels and growing each day!

*

mis_chiff, I am somewhat disappointed (but was expecting it nonetheless) at your analysis of .tel domains, especially in regards to the perceived negative aspect of development restrictions on the .tel.

You are looking at .tel from the viewpoint of someone building a website where form and function are driven by the restrictions of http+html. You've been operating within them for so long that you've learned not to get close to the boundaries. Hence, you don't see them. Nevertheless, they exist.

Requesting a web page is costly in time and resources. So you work on mobile-optimised versions as well as regular "heavy" versions. Similarly, because creating a single page is hard work, you try to make as few pages as possible. For both reasons, you rely on search rather than navigation.
Making any kind of data-driven site means "dynamic" website, which entails scripting and database backend, and therefore expertise in both (or passing knowledge, which results in a very average user experience).
And let's not discuss multi-dimensional visualization, which automatically means Flash, Java or some kind of 3D language.
and you can only convey text, not language inflexions. Well you can add an audio file, but that's pretty horrible. Then again you can switch to a podcast which is nothing like a web page. You can't even write the text you want, you're stuck with standard fonts. Which is partly why comic book artists scan their strips.

Now let's get to the subject at hand, .tel. With .tel, the form is set. You have two choices: fight it or be happy that you don't have to worry about it. If you're in the first camp, no problem, get any other TLD. If you're in the second camp, then we can start talking about the benefits of the form being set, and ultimately about the nature of .tel.

Which brings me to the real question that's at the root of the discussion: what are .tel domain builders?

The answer is really simple : Data architects. Librarians. Navigation interface designers. In more mathematical terms, graph creators.

And that is why banning showcasing .tels has hit such a raw nerve. Telsters aren't showcasing their HTML-fu, they're showcasing their graph building knowledge.
Yes, the current overwhelming majority of .tel domains contains very simple graphs, but that is why showcasing .tels is so important: learn from your peers. I don't think anyone on this forum is a librarian by training (please do correct me if I'm wrong!), but they're clearly eager to learn.

Beyond small business owners quickly understanding the value of owning a .tel filled with their contact info, a domainer who wants to build value in a .tel will view it as an incredibly easy-to-use, fast and efficient data source for contact and short textual info.

Think about building mobile apps where the only necessary data source is the DNS. That is of course what the iPhone app Superbook is about, or the TelProxy web application. But you could as well have a navigable compendium of all plant species in the Amazonian Forest, with web link cross references, image links to flickr photo albums, or IRC pointers to live discussions on how to best extract sap from a rubber tree. Without ever writing a single line of code.

Thanks for reading,
Henri

PS: apologies for the long-winded post, I was filling the 30 minutes to cross under the Channel in the Eurostar.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

With all due respect, the fact that it's a .tel domain makes it nothing like user names for other social sites.

The only difference is username.tel vs socialsite.com/username. As I have said before, this isn't enough to make the masses fork over money. There has to be something great about the .tel service itslef, but as of right now it's lackluster.

That's not even considering the .tel VOIP/Mobile capability nor .tel's potential for future portability.

We've gone over this too. In 2003 the issue of mobile compatibility was problematic and nobody knew how to handle it aside from creating an entirely separate site that worked on PDA's (that is how .mobi was born in fact). Nowadays mobile compatibility is a non-issue using alternative style sheets.

In time, I suspect you'll be able to register and log-in to thousands of different websites using a single .tel domain name as a user name/personal identifier.

Never happen. Anyone looking at this from a developer's perspective can list many reasons why. The primary one being that the webmaster doesn't even have control over their own user's ability to login.

That being said, how many name.tel owners reading this thread would be willing to sell a premium first name .tel (i.e, Mike, Jim, Dave, Laurie, Carol, Jenny, etc.) for less than $1,000? Less than $2,500? Less than $5,000?

matt.net $2,400 2008-12-06
john.com $21,500 2007-02-23
andrew.de $415 2009-01-01
pete.com $18,000 2008-12-24
peter.cz $395 2008-03-18

There is no way .tel is going into .com or .net territory.

Not too many, I'd guess. Names like these have exceptional development and marketing potential.

No comment.

 

[mis_chiff]

Who sent this to me? And why?

The Official .TEL... 05-29-2009 12:59 AM
Don't mess with the rep system.

Wendy...was this you??

Saucey :td:

You're kidding me right?? You are making a funny perhaps??

I would never give negative rep, I'd send a PM
if I had something to say!

Why in the world would you think it's me??

 

[DubDubDubDot]

geo.tel's are fueled entirely by plans to use the pre-fab directory feature to sell listings. No legitamate developer is going to even consider doing this, so I am extremely skeptical that otherwise non-developers can come in and make this work with .tel's crippled revenue stream options compared to a real TLD.

It is absolutely 100% impossible for a .tel directory to match the revenues as the same system on a .com with added banner spots and development options.

For that reason, I'm giving most geo.tel's a thumbs down.

Honestly, you haven't got a clue. You're like a guy looking at boats on the water then running around telling everyone who is parked in a car and yelling, while pointing at the cars; "It won't float, it won't float." Better to just keep quiet, I think for you, because you are just making yourself look silly.

I'm going to have to call you out on this one. Come on man, you've got to back that up with something.

.tel directory
VS
.com directory
+ banner placements
+ expanded development

What exactly makes you think .tel can match the .com in revenue?

If you can sell .tel placements, then you can sell .com placements equally as well. But how are you going to make up the other areas of lost income on the .tel?

 

[Ader]

Google is page ranking TELs , promoting dot tel =2, kprobe dot tel =3, henri dot tel =5 justin dot tel =5 tans dot tel =2

Thanks for pointing this out. I have checked Google Rank for my sites. Most have no rank, which is hardly surprising at this early stage. However a couple have rankings of 1 and 2, although I don't know how, with so little development (if I'm allowed use that word)
Best result is a ranking of 4 for a phone numbers related site. This is not a boast, but hopefully encouragement for supporters of dot tel.

 

[gkjunior]

The only difference is username.tel vs socialsite.com/username. As I have said before, this isn't enough to make the masses fork over money. There has to be something great about the .tel service itslef, but as of right now it's lackluster.


We've gone over this too. In 2003 the issue of mobile compatibility was problematic and nobody knew how to handle it aside from creating an entirely separate site that worked on PDA's (that is how .mobi was born in fact). Nowadays mobile compatibility is a non-issue using alternative style sheets.


Never happen. Anyone looking at this from a developer's perspective can list many reasons why. The primary one being that the webmaster doesn't even have control over their own user's ability to login.


matt.net $2,400 2008-12-06
john.com $21,500 2007-02-23
andrew.de $415 2009-01-01
pete.com $18,000 2008-12-24
peter.cz $395 2008-03-18

There is no way .tel is going into .com or .net territory.

I think making statements like "never happen" or " no way " could appear to be short sighted or coming from someone who is either relatively young or inexperienced and has very little respect for what histories lessons have been so far.

In the future it’s quite possible you will have to register at name pros under another alias. But.... maybe not.

 

[plaggypig]

The only difference is username.tel vs socialsite.com/username.

.tel isn't competing with social networking sites.

We've gone over this too. In 2003 the issue of mobile compatibility was problematic and nobody knew how to handle it aside from creating an entirely separate site that worked on PDA's (that is how .mobi was born in fact). Nowadays mobile compatibility is a non-issue using alternative style sheets.

Haven't followed the thread close enough to understand why you would mention this, but user-agent sniffing was possible at least a decade prior to 2003, since some early implementations of http 0.9 I believe. But in the case of .tel you should really try and avoid the web completely (from mobile devices especially) and use applications that fetch data directly from DNS.

Never happen. Anyone looking at this from a developer's perspective can list many reasons why. The primary one being that the webmaster doesn't even have control over their own user's ability to login.

Such conviction! I am a developer, and it is possible to add OpenID delegation to the .tel web proxy. This has been suggested by myself and others, and Telnic are keeping it under consideration.

What exactly makes you think .tel can match the .com in revenue?

If it achieves its stated ambition of becoming widely accepted then why shouldn't commercial directory models be viable? And in that case, what magical law of the universe would prevent foo.tel from being as competitive or profitable as foo.com?

 

[dottelads.com]

believe .tel will come into its own when we start seeing phones ship with the apps preinstalled and when features like dialing or sms'ing a .tel go live (yes they are apparently coming soon!)

 

[RicoShay]

Strange... but true, out of all the domains/extensions I hold, I've sold more .tel's than anything else (in the last month). Ok, not a big deal, but sold an LLL for $450 (after fees) a few days ago (awaiting payment to clear), got a bid on another LLL for $100 and just got one more into auction at sedo for about $490 after some negotiating.

Doesn't prove or disprove anyones theories, but it sure makes me happy. If all these sales go through then that's 30% of my .tel portfolio sold (3 out of 10 lol)... and not a bad ROI either.

 

[rupert]

Very good!

How are your buyers contacting you?
Are they just making offers through Sedo?

 

[steveteva]

Strange... but true, out of all the domains/extensions I hold, I've sold more .tel's than anything else (in the last month). Ok, not a big deal, but sold an LLL for $450 (after fees) a few days ago (awaiting payment to clear), got a bid on another LLL for $100 and just got one more into auction at sedo for about $490 after some negotiating.

Doesn't prove or disprove anyones theories, but it sure makes me happy. If all these sales go through then that's 30% of my .tel portfolio sold (3 out of 10 lol)... and not a bad ROI either.

Did you featured on Sedo? because you're a lucky guy, many here have LLL.tel but didn't sell yet.

 

[RicoShay]

Strange... but true, out of all the domains/extensions I hold, I've sold more .tel's than anything else (in the last month). Ok, not a big deal, but sold an LLL for $450 (after fees) a few days ago (awaiting payment to clear), got a bid on another LLL for $100 and just got one more into auction at sedo for about $490 after some negotiating.

Doesn't prove or disprove anyones theories, but it sure makes me happy. If all these sales go through then that's 30% of my .tel portfolio sold (3 out of 10 lol)... and not a bad ROI either.

Did you featured on Sedo? because you're a lucky guy, many here have LLL.tel but didn't sell yet.

No I didn't feature anything, just got really lucky I suppose.

I was thinking about featuring the actual auction for the one in my sig - but I can't even figure out how to do that (any pointers would be much appreciated). I'm not too fussed though, I'll be happy with whatever the outcome - I took the negotiations up to more than what I wanted anyway.

 

[steveteva]

No I didn't feature anything, just got really lucky I suppose.

I was thinking about featuring the actual auction for the one in my sig - but I can't even figure out how to do that (any pointers would be much appreciated). I'm not too fussed though, I'll be happy with whatever the outcome - I took the negotiations up to more than what I wanted anyway.

I can understand why you've got a bid as B F C is famous too :

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/BFC

 

[kprobe]

Bulk Import Tool

A beta version of the TEL Bulk Import tool is now available at www. populate.tel for anyone to use while it is free! There is also a quick TEL update application there as well.

Hope to get some feedback from you.

Mark