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?

 

[DubDubDubDot]

1. In your opinion what year will this be possible for most people? NOW!
2. In what year do you think it will be put into practice by large advertisers? 2 or 3 years

Interesting.

Can you name a phone I can dial a .tel on? Your response was that it was available for most people "NOW!", so you should be able to name one of these phones.

 

[ecigs.net]

Since this thread was started with the words: Assume that TEL is not going to flop. Which will be the best TEL domain names?

My vote is for GEOs, Premium LLL and dictionary words like lawyer, realestate, sports, taxi, mobile, etc...

MicroGuy & DubDubDubDot, do you feel like jumping in and telling me why these domains are worth less than REG FEE?

We have all heard that TEL is not COM, TEL is new and TEL can't be used for a website. Do you have any other reasons to support your belief that TEL can't be a useful TLD?

 

[plaggypig]

This might be the part that you were requesting I repost? IMO.

Jiminy cricket! You were willing to call me a liar over that? I should stress that the ratio of inquiries : offers is pretty high as I'm sure you can imagine, but it is nevertheless true. You should probably have asked me what the names were first

Can you name a phone I can dial a .tel on?

There are apps available for the iPhone and Blackberry that create dynamic address books, but perhaps what you really want is just a dialer for one-time calls?

The Kiax and VOIPGate softphones support dialing .tel names

 

[DubDubDubDot]

Do you have any other reasons to support your belief that TEL can't be a useful TLD?

Please quote me where I made such a statement.

Is .tel useful as a simple contact page? Yes.

The problem is the questions stop there for the pumpers. That is all they need.

When more questions are brought up, 100% of the pumper answers revolve around the first question of .tel being useful or not. If something is useful, then none of the other questions matter to this thread.

---------- Post added at 11:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 PM ----------

There are apps available for the iPhone and Blackberry that create dynamic address books, but perhaps what you really want is just a dialer for one-time calls?

The Kiax and VOIPGate softphones support dialing .tel names

I don't want to hear about software that the general public knows nothing about.

I want to know when I can buy a new cellphone and dial a .tel out of the box. Advertisers can't tell you to call a .tel if the technology isn't even in the hands of consumers yet. And if .tel isn't being used in advertising, then domainers are no better off than owning other lacking extensions.

And you KNOW this is the TRUTH.

 

[spline]

I populated one of my .tels "a shopping district name" with contact info, to try it out.
I checked some stats now and it gets 15-45 hits per day, not that much but for no ads I think its ok.

Why does it get around 30 hits per day? Because when people search for one of the stores, for example
Levis + "shopping district name" they get up one of the .tel pages.

I have the swedish word for "hostel". I cold called a big hostel and they were willing to buy it for atleast $400.

But now I think I should populate it instead and monetize it when the ads get available.
-

As for dubdub...

I can call any .tel from my LG viewty phone when I add it to my phonebook. But it does launch my webbrowser when I click on it, which takes some time.

 

[mjbenterprises]

Thanks to the poster that posted the LLL list..... I regged Hbg.tel..... That's the abbreviation for Harrisburg, the capital city of Pennsylvania, my home state...

 

[morganga]

You talked about dialing a .tel instead of a phone number...

1. In your opinion what year will this be possible for most people?

Optimistic: What is the lifespan of a mobile phone, 1-2 years?
Pessimistic: Does anyone you know still use their favourite Nokia 3210 from 1999? I've seen a couple!

Anyone on a mobile contract is given an incentive to renew their contract for another year or eighteen months by having a free mobile phone upgrade. So once manufacturers decide to build in .tel support, the mobile heavy users will have that technology and roughly every 1-2 years .tel capability will gradually filter down to the rest of the market, via the 2nd hand market and when more of the less premium phone models build in .tel support.

There are many obstacles to overcome at different stages in the technology adoption:
Take a look at this diagram from this great book, which I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with: Crossing the Chasm

...five main segments are recognized; innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. According to Moore, the marketer should focus on one group of customers at a time, using each group as a base for marketing to the next group. The most difficult step is making the transition between visionaries (early adopters) and pragmatists (early majority). This is the chasm that he refers to. If a successful firm can create a bandwagon effect in which the momentum builds and the product becomes a de facto standard.

In my opinion I think we're still in the Innovation phase of the Technology Adoption lifecycle. I think we will have crossed into the early adopter phase if/when the first model of phone decides to build in native support for .tel. And I think we'll have crossed the chasm if/when the first Mobile carrier decides to supply their users with .tel accounts. Then we're talking no more than 1 or 2 mobile phone generations for widespread adoption. How long each of these phases will take is up to a successful firm to create a bandwaggon effect, GO Telnic!

 

[DubDubDubDot]

Optimistic: What is the lifespan of a mobile phone, 1-2 years?

...

In my opinion I think we're still in the Innovation phase of the Technology Adoption lifecycle. I think we will have crossed into the early adopter phase if/when the first model of phone decides to build in native support for .tel. And I think we'll have crossed the chasm if/when the first Mobile carrier decides to supply their users with .tel accounts. Then we're talking no more than 1 or 2 mobile phone generations for widespread adoption. How long each of these phases will take is up to a successful firm to create a bandwaggon effect, GO Telnic!

First of all, it's nice to see a .tel supporter in here who can actually post an argument of value. Those of you who don't know how to respond to posts, so you instead call for bannings need to take a lesson.


.tel is too new to warrant .tel dialing out of the box for the phones coming down the pipeline next. The feature at this stage wouldn't mean anything to the general public, who don't even know what .tel is. So I think 1-2 years for new phone support is overly optimistic.

Awhile back in this thread I talked about how .tel is sold only on registrar sites that are geared towards B2B. That is a real big problem for this service. I don't see registrars setting up special dumbed down .tel sales & admin sites either. IMO the only solution is for the phone companies to offer them seamlessly within cell packages.

Which brings us to the tech media. Where is the coverage of .tel? If the wheels were in motion for big things, why aren't we reading about it? We are going to go from no coverage of .tel at all to dialing .tel's in just two years? That is highly unlikely.

 

[Kate]

...five main segments are recognized; innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. According to Moore, the marketer should focus on one group of customers at a time, using each group as a base for marketing to the next group.

Your list is incomplete without the 'early losers' :gl:

I think we will have crossed into the early adopter phase if/when the first model of phone decides to build in native support for .tel. And I think we'll have crossed the chasm if/when the first Mobile carrier decides to supply their users with .tel accounts. Then we're talking no more than 1 or 2 mobile phone generations for widespread adoption. How long each of these phases will take is up to a successful firm to create a bandwaggon effect, GO Telnic!

Dream on, the mobile industry has done nothing for .mobi, the TLD that is tailored to their industry. Now they are going to support .tel ???

I am surprised at the current emphasis on .tel & mobile, looks like the telsters are constantly moving the goalposts. We have heard about polls, directories, click to call etc then all of a sudden .tel is the perfect extension for mobiles :tri:

 

[mwzd]

Dream on, the mobile industry has done nothing for .mobi, the TLD that is tailored to their industry. Now they are going to support .tel ???

I'm going to agree here. Anything that needs validation by an industry fraught with competition and non-compliance to common standards is not something you can count on.

I don't see how the 'mobile' internet has anything to do with .tel, just like it has nothing to do with .mobi - any suggestion otherwise is pure speculation, nothing else.

That said, here's a new reg - FHo.tel - F Hotel?

 

[mactel]

About .tel coverage from the media and the mobile phone industry

I can see the problem with .tel lacking of support / coverage from the media, and from the mobile phone manufacturers, as well.

I often compare the situation of .tel with the situation of Linux:
.tel has many developers, creating useful tools, search engines, directories, and promotion help, etc.

It is a open source movement, same as Linux too, if you will.

And it is lacking of support and coverage, same as Linux, too, if you will.

However, with Linux, you can see, that it was able to get used and appreciate by mainstream users: Example: „Ubuntu“. And then again, many flavors of Ubuntu and Debian-based Linux distributions.

How came it, that Linux/Ubuntu got so popular within the mainstream users?: Only by big promotion, with a budget of over one million Dollars.

So, what is the message, here:
.tel needs smart promoting, and a big promotion budget: That would help it to get mainstream within reasonable time.

Furtermore, it should get promoted at T.R.A.F.F.I.C, DOMAINfest, and other Expos and Moniker and Rick Latona auctions.

These are only my two cents.

Thank you, for your attention.


See my .tel blog(s) @ Where business with your.tel begins

 

[Kate]

Furtermore, it should get promoted at T.R.A.F.F.I.C, DOMAINfest, and other Expos and Moniker and Rick Latona auctions.

Well, these are the wrong places IMHO, these venues are domainer to domainer events.
Extensions thrive when they are adopted by mainstream end users on a mass scale, they never thrive just because of domainers.

Welcome to NP :gl:

 

[mactel]

"domainer to domainer events": .tel is a domain.

It is the domainers, undertaking the biggest efforts to promote .tel.

So, what is wrong about joining the events, as a .tel domainer, and promoting .tel, as a domainer?

It is not enough, from Telnic/webnames.ca, to put a good video in the world wide web ("Love Train Video"), and whait, for what maybe might happen. And it is already a while ago, since.

Owners of big .tel domain name portfolios, have reason, to worrie, and get more active: So we are looking for new opportunities to promote .tel.

And those expos and conferences, look just right: "Hello, today, we are going to tel you about .tel."
Just like "Digitrad" will do at the "TelCamp" in Prag (Digitrad with Telnic).

Thank you.

 

[plaggypig]

I don't want to hear about software that the general public knows nothing about.

I want to know when I can buy a new cellphone and dial a .tel out of the box. Advertisers can't tell you to call a .tel if the technology isn't even in the hands of consumers yet. And if .tel isn't being used in advertising, then domainers are no better off than owning other lacking extensions.

And you KNOW this is the TRUTH.

Don't put the cart before the horse. The apps I mentioned are freely available and easily discoverable. It's more important to reach as many people as possible by covering as many of the devices that are already out there. This is how you create the conditions for acceptance that advertisers will eventually enjoy.

Some SME's are already comfortable using .tel, but at what point major league brands will join in I cannot predict. My gut says <10 years, probably closer to 5, but the speed of technology adoption is always a lot faster than our lagging appreciation.

The thing you need to understand is that .tel is a platform, and there are all sorts of paths to adoption ahead of us, some of which we can't even conceive of yet. As recently as 10 years ago nobody could have predicted some of the popular applications we have for the web today.

Just recently an interesting new application for .tel was raised; the resolution of microblog feeds from names. One of the prototype aggregators has already rolled it in.

When JFK gave his famous moonshot speech at Rice Stadium, he noted that the technical challenge was much broader than just an engineering one. The stresses on materials from a trip to the moon would be several times greater than anything previously experienced, and the alloys required to survive them hadn't even been invented yet. But that was no reason to stop, and the goal was accomplished just 8 years later!

Likewise .tel needs things that haven't been invented yet - more apps for more devices, tools for managing large directories, search, and more. Other things need to be refined; registrars need simpler sales processes for .tel domains, I'd like to see a tighter integration between TelHosting/TelFriends/TelProxy, etc.

We're making progress, inch by inch.

Which brings us to the tech media. Where is the coverage of .tel? If the wheels were in motion for big things, why aren't we reading about it? We are going to go from no coverage of .tel at all to dialing .tel's in just two years? That is highly unlikely.

Because tech journalists are about as useful as economists in a financial crisis? They'll be the first to tell you all about it once it's happened

 

[mactel]

To be able to follow and understand, what .tel is all about, one has to be able to think out of the box.

The mainstream user, can't do that.

And if tech journalists don't write for the mainstream user, but only write so, that techies and developers can more or less grasp, what .tel is about, and what its future potential might be, then the mainstream users and iPhone owners will never understand, for what a .tel domain is good for.

Serve the information about .tel in small portions, so that even "tech dummies" can understand, than people will understand, and add bits and pieces of information about .tel to a whole, and get a wholistic understanding.

Simplify it for the mainstream, and it will be a success.

Show the "Love Train" video in the cinemas...

So many mobile phone owners have never heard about .tel. Or if so, they maybe think, it is only about a business card.

To make users follow with out of the box thinking, requires small and simple portions of information. For example:
".tel domains are designed to compliment your existing website. By linking the two, you can improve your position on search engines like Google, and you will be "found". "

This is what tech journalists will have to learn.
Then more people will respond to their articles, and the word about .tel will spread.

 

[stefanb]

I agree that it is time for a new video and more efforts to spread the word about .tels. The "Love Train Video" was good and it reflected reality well- .tel is useful to provide contact info, and even some of the naysayers admited to that in this thread. It is a straightforward use of .tel and whenever somebody becomes aware of .tel, many people do get that use for .tel, sometimes even without seeing the video, including my 65 yo uncle, who was initially skeptic about the idea and then asked for a .tel particularly for that purpose- individual contact.

Now let me come up with another simple, straighforward real-life scenario that maybe should be depicted in one of the next Telnic video commercials: practical use for businesses to save resources (time and money) for both customers and companies when one gives directions over the phone. I tried this a few times and this is how it went most of the times in real life:

"Can you give me directions to your office"
"Sure, if you want I will read to you the address or we can make it easier to you if you have access to Internet"
"Yes, do you have a website with the contact information?"
"I think the quickest way would be for you to go to our site.tel and you can easily see there displayed our contact information including a map and easy access to directions"
"Did you say site.com ?"
"No, I said site.tel. We also have a .com site, but our .tel is easier to remember and works faster on both computers and mobile devices"
"That's interesting" (which in real life I usually took to mean that "I have never heard about .tel.... let me see if this is bs or real....") and a few nanoseconds later:
"Wow, here it is.... I can't believe how fast that was. That's so easy! I have to find out more about this .tel. It would be so much better if everybody used it in their businesses. It was so convenient and easy to use!"
"Indeed it has worked great for us too. Thank you and I am looking forward to see you here!"
"NOO, THANK YOU!"
"NOO, NOO, NOO, THANK YOU!

Would the commercial be a little corny? Maybe, but not if it accurately reflects reality and it benefits everybody. It can be shortened a little but I would keep the basics....

In my experience, the bad thing about .tel is that not enough people know about it. The good thing is that most people who hear about it love it, even if sometimes it takes them a few months to get the point....

Furthermore, I played enough with my .tel to realize that Google seems to treat them not better or worse than any other extension, including .com (in the past I was complaining on this forum about Google's treatment of .tels a few months ago). Now the problem is with Bing- I have yet to see one of my .tels on Bing.....

"domainer to domainer events": .tel is a domain.

It is the domainers, undertaking the biggest efforts to promote .tel.

So, what is wrong about joining the events, as a .tel domainer, and promoting .tel, as a domainer?

It is not enough, from Telnic/webnames.ca, to put a good video in the world wide web ("Love Train Video"), and whait, for what maybe might happen. And it is already a while ago, since.

Owners of big .tel domain name portfolios, have reason, to worrie, and get more active: So we are looking for new opportunities to promote .tel.

And those expos and conferences, look just right: "Hello, today, we are going to tel you about .tel."
Just like "Digitrad" will do at the "TelCamp" in Prag (Digitrad with Telnic).

Thank you.

 

[plaggypig]

I wonder what Justin was hinting at on Twitter?

 

[mactel]

Thank you so much stefanb, for your well written and highly interesting post.

Your comments give me a lot of hope and confidence about the future of .tel.

Here would be a example for a "tel.ourcompany.com" (.tel "Contact Us" page, integrated in a .com website, or a co.uk website):

Cakeinabox - Wedding Cakes Birthday Cakes Celebration Cakes Glasgow Cake Makers

The scenario, would be, in this case: "Go to our website, and click top right "Contact Us" (which will bring up the .tel "Contact Us" page)."

And further:
"By the way: If your are on a mobile, just go to ourcompany.tel, where you will find the same contact information, as well."

(Which is easyer to navigate, than going to ourcompany.mobi, and looking for the "Contact Us" .tel page.)

To integrate yourname.tel, or yourcompany.tel into your existing website, as shown in above example, simply implement this code into your website, and replace "jepaa.tel", through "your.tel":

<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://www.jepaa.com/contact.php?domain=jepaa.tel&docWrite=1"></script>

P.S.: This is the version without a Google map.
For a version with Google map, you need to do the PHP version @
http://telcontact.blogspot.com/
and scrawl a bit down the page, till you reach the PHP version.

And here comes the clue:

You can update your .tel contact information from any mobile device, and your .tel contact information on your website will update automatically in real time.

By the way:

If you had to buy flowers right now, what would you do?

* A) Open the Yellow Pages and look up Flowers.
* B) Go to Google and type in “Flowers MyCity“.
* C) Call 1-800-Flowers.
* D) Type in Flowers.mobi.
* E) Type in Flowers.Tel.

Well, I must admit: flowers.tel, was no big deal: only one telephone number. But why not?
But actually, I would expect a directory with states, towns, companies and their contact informaton, as well as maps. But maybe flowers.tel is a delivery service: Press "1", for whatever, press "2" for whatever, press "3" for... , and again: press "1" for whatever, etc.
After five minutes: Press "x" to order now: give in your name and address.
No: only kidding. That is exactly, what we want to prevent, with .tel phone numbers...
But maybe flowers.tel does not understand the idea of .tel?

Hi flowers.tel: If you are reading this: please populate your .tel, and fill it with content.
You might get a listing in ".tel of the week" at the Telnic website..., if you have done your homework well.

Ah, well, then I will have google "flowers my town" ...

I'm only kidding, Mr. Flower Man.

.

 

[MicroGuy]

To be able to follow and understand, what .tel is all about, one has to be able to think out of the box.

The mainstream user, can't do that.

Exactly. (:talk Mainstream users can't do that and certainly won't do that when the site graphics are so late 80's early 90's. If .TEL had been released back in the BBS / AOL Online Days maybe things could have worked out. IMO.

 

[plaggypig]

Exactly. (:talk Mainstream users can't do that and certainly won't do that when the site graphics are so late 80's early 90's. If .TEL had been released back in the BBS / AOL Online Days maybe things could have worked out. IMO.

Who knows, but in those days we had comparatively few communication endpoints. GPRS handsets didn't come along until around 2000/2001 (how many people even used GPRS?), and it's only really been possible in recent years to distribute apps for mobile devices. The .tel is much more necessary and useful in today's environment.

If it's just the TelProxy design that you're hung up on; it can be refined and improved. Lots of people have made suggestions.. where are yours?