Not so fast. The groundwork in theory is there for .tel to be better than the traditional phone book. But as of right now, .tel is the equivalent of a phone book with a thousand blank pages.
1) Can the general public figure out how to buy domain names? Think of everyone in your family across all age levels. How would each react if you told them to go buy a domain name? In my family almost nobody would know what the heck I'm even talking about.
2) Another problem is that registrar's sites are set up as B2B sites for online industry people. .tel is for a much broader user base, so it's going to take standalone .tel sales sites to cater to the general public. Simply put, things need to be dumbed down. Will the registrars do this?
3) Of those that know .tel exists and can buy one (cost & feature arguments aside), how many will keep their info updated and not let their .tel expire because of non use?
1) Yes. Anyone that can read a Phonebook can "get what this is".
(If Telpages.com would just Launch everyone could see and do;
This is exactly how the Internet Search Engines Started and Domain purchases skyrocketed,
Search engine first. I remember getting 3 results for a search, didn't kill anything.)
2) Much Simpler, "Tel For Dummies" Interface is Needed, Agreed. My Mom would Laugh
at the "Rocket Science" needed just to interface. A simpler "Account Info" style form
that "Auto Populates" is what is needed here.
3) Still MUCH More likely than updating Yellow/White Pages, (with Twitter-Like Features).
Bottom line you conceded right off the bat:
"The groundwork in theory is there for .tel to be better than the traditional phone book."
... And it will be sooner or later; It is simply too much better to ignore ... just like the Internet as a whole ... and email ... and ...
.tel has it's place just like .com .... and I heard ALL the same negative arguments then ...
