Personal domains are yielding the quickest development. Over 90% of those will full names have been populated very quickly by their owners, while the vast majority of first-name-only domains are unfortunately still being held (for ransom) by domainers.
The development necessary to make a new extension popular and therefore profitable to domainers is hindered precisely because most of the best names are snapped up by large numbers of domainers with little-to-no intent of developing and who are usually unwilling to let their domains go for anything less than the high prices they expect to get once the extension becomes profitable. But when the potential end users who can't afford those high prices feel thwarted and don't bother developing in the new extension, that makes that extension less likely to be successful.
Sucks, doesn't it?
There are investors, like me, that have no intention of flipping or parking domain names. My objective, over time, is to develop domain names from my company portfolio that offer the best potential for success while weeding out the rest along the way. Even though my company owns several thousand domain names, not a single one is parked nor being offered for sale. I want to make sure that what my company publishes to the Internet has the primary objective of enhancing the end user experience. If I can make that happen, I believe the monetary rewards will follow.
But what I am
not doing is holding these domains hostage anymore than a land developer holds hostage the acreage purchased for future development. In the case of real property, so long as land it is not being "monetized" by putting it to use in a manner inconsistent with current zoning regulations, there is no problem. Why should it be different for the domain industry so long as the rules and regulations are being followed?
The names my company owns consist mostly of hand reg'd generic, descriptive domains which are the product of thousands and thousands of hours of research. Because I do not flip or park these domains, they are much like vacant land, and there is a cost associated with carrying them. I have no doubt that this economic downturn has created massive losses for many domain owners who purchased aftermarket domains when prices were near their peak and even for those domainers that hand reg'd hundreds or thousands of names that may currently not even be worth the initial registration fee. There was never a guarantee of success. That is the risk associated with an investment of this kind.
As for issues of exploitive behavior, sometimes the brush paints with too broad a stroke. My rule of thumb is not to piggyback on the success of others to turn a profit when the result would be to usurp or siphon business that is a legally protected right and/or clearly trying to go somewhere else.
When I heard an author speaking to an audience of several million listeners to announce a new book, I checked to see if the the book's title, “The Soul Genome” was registered as a domain name. When I saw that it was not, I registered it and immediately sent this email to the author:
“…… knowing the size of the Coast to Coast AM audience, it’s possible another person could register the domain names “TheSoulGenome.com” & “SoulGenome.com”, so I registered the domains – but only to hold them until I can transfer them over to you. I’m not looking to add these domains to my company’s portfolio or to be compensated for these registrations. It was just an opportunity for me to ensure that the names would go to you….”
I sent a similar email when I picked up GarryTrudeau.com (creator of Doonesbury) from a dropped list. After making initial contact with Mr. Trudeau's representatives, who expressed appreciation for my catch, I am continuing to redirect GarryTrudeau.com traffic to the Doonesbury official website until such time as I receive instructions for making a tranfer of the name to Mr. Trudeau's company. When I saw LorettaSwit.com appear on a dropped list, I immediately picked up the name. Despite my attempts to contact Ms. Swit or her representatives, I have not received a reply. Nonetheless, LorettaSwit.com traffic continues to flow to her personal website. Over the years, there have been several other defensive registrations like these.
I am not looking to be reimbursed for these few purchases. I believe if more people took similar actions, it would transform the way the domain industry is perceived. I raise these examples to balance the opinion of those who would claim that the business of buying, selling and developing domain names is inherently flawed. It is not.
When the day comes that I begin to see a significant return from my investment, it will
not be the result of unethical business practices or having held intellectual property for ransom. It will have been brought about the old fashioned way - by having earned it.
