opinion What Does The Domain World Need? (That we don't have now)

[Bob Hawkes]

Looking for creative ideas. What service, product, etc. would you like to see that does not currently exist in the domain world?

I am thinking of doing an article that would be a compilation of several ideas. If I mention your idea, I would, of course, credit you for proposing it.

Looking forward to your ideas!

Thanks,
Bob

 

[enterscope]

It would be nice if you could set a BIN price at the registrar level (like nameservers) and it would propagate all marketplaces and registrars. That way you didn't have to update prices on all networks.

 

[NameJi]

1. No renewals, only one time ownership fee and ownership transfer fee can be charged.
2. facility to negotiate the equity + cash terms + legal contract.
3. facility to detect fake users or BIDs or enquires.
4. facility to detect and indicate TM/risk of a domain.
5. Better way of monetizing domains, MVP as a service.
6. Facility to pitch high net worth domains to Investor or VC circle.
7. Facility to reach startup circle.

 

[TheBaldOne]

Personally I think the one aspect we need is something we as domainers cannot directly achieve by ourselves - getting advertising and marketing firms to actually look at domains as part of the cornerstone of the campaigns for their clients.

Now if we could get those advertising and marketing agencies onboard with the use of domain names I think it would revolutionise the business and indeed see business sky rocket.

 

[pinkdragon]

A tool where I can paste a list of, let's say, 150 .com domains, and see what other extensions are developed, for each name.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

One idea I had was a marketplace specifically tailored to .org domain names. Yes you can list them on the big general purpose marketplaces, and a few get selected on SH, but say a foundation, distributed organization, nonprofit, institute, research group, etc. specifically looking for an .org might like idea of a site that catered just in .org, probably a curated site like the brandable marketplaces. Or does this already exist for .org? Yes, I do know you could select .org as TLD on the big marketplaces like Dan and Sedo but still think might be a place for a curated .org marketplace.
Bob

 

[karmaco]

I don’t think we need any more paid services. Too many of those allready. The only thing any of us is need is good names and more end users.

 

[DomainConcepts]

What CS85 already said. I would call it a "domain search engine".

At the moment, potential domain buyers have two main approaches to finding a suitable domain name. Either think up a name themselves, then look around to see whether it's available for sale; or wade through vast lists of available domain names in the hope that one will spring out at them through all the dross. (And there's brokering, but that's human-in-the-loop, and too expensive below the top end of the market.)

There is very little between these two extremes. Some platforms enable sellers to add descriptions of their domains, but to my knowledge not with any serious way of searching the descriptions. Others allow searches to be narrowed by category (e.g. sport, medicine), but that's still only very general.

What would really shake up domain trading would be to link the descriptions that sellers can already add themselves on some platforms to a powerful search engine employing AI. Possibly even interactive: the potential buyer would enter keywords describing the business (nail studio chicago) or intended use of the domain, but could also add other characteristics (e.g. "trendy", "highbrow", "radical", "high recognition", "risqué", etc.). The search engine could spit out possible additions to the list of keywords that the searcher could either accept or reject, thereby iteratively refining the search. When the searcher got the feeling that the list was heading in the right direction, he could then prompt for a list of domain name suggestions. He could trawl through those, or if he felt they were on the wrong track, he could go back and refine the search further. Just like people do with Google. And just as Google does, the search engine would rank domains based on searchers' behaviour.

Why am I writing this? If it's such a good idea, why don't I do it myself? (That's my own usual reaction to other people's "great ideas".)

1. Because I'm too old.
2. Because life experience has taught me that if I think something's a great idea, the rest of the world won't, or if they do, not until long after I'm dead. If everyone thought the way I do, most of the world would now be using Linux, Ulster would be an independent state, we would excavate great pits and irrigation channels in the Sahara and fill them with all the melting ice that is threatening to raise sea levels, and Germans would be using the generic neuter (don't ask). Ain't gonna happen. (Swetha, prove me wrong and buy ex-why-zee.com. Then the next generation of domainers will mention my name in hushed tones: the guy who sold Swetha a .com.)
3. Because I think it will happen, but differently: the pace at which AI and SEO are developing will encourage domainers to develop their domains so that potential users will find them – through Google. And I'm already doing that (or trying).
4. CS85 already said it, just in fewer words.

 

[bmugford]

What Does The Domain World Need? (that we don't have now)

More people with realistic expectations.

Brad

 

[CS85]

I know Squadhelp are rolling out some similar features, but what we (sellers) need is a marketplace that gives us lots of lovely data.

Who has viewed our names?
Where are they from?
What did they search for in the marketplace (keyword, category)?
Why didn’t they buy the name after clicking on the listing (maybe via feedback form)?

There’s still too much guesswork, in my opinion, when it comes to judging the quality of our names, aside from phoney visit/traffic stats and lowball offers.

So….a marketplace that values the seller’s experience as much as the buyer’s would be welcome!

 

[lovely4ever]

The two below are required :

1 - international professional outbound service company that contact (call/email ) as much possible targeted endusers around the world and offer them domains with prices and can negotiate.

2 - international marketplace for wanted domains by serious endusers around the world . endusers can submit their requirement and domainers can submit the matching domains . AGAIN i mean marketplace for endusers only with endusers prices , NOT for domainers blood suckers .

NOTE : squadhelp contest is not upto the standard and many of contest holders are cheap and small startups companies .


.

 

[biggie]

Hi

I'd say, the domain world needs a "School of Common Sense"

it would be a place to learn some basic logic, reading and comprehension abilities.
ie:
how to find fallacies in arguments, statements, etc.
using "if and then" as process of elimination, in search of truths
learning how to read "in-between the lines"
"doing the due"
etc.

i wouldn't be the one to teach it, but from observation, i think some could use it before becoming an "end-user" of some of the existing or new products and services in the domain world.

imo...

 

[poweredbyme]

Decentralized domain marketplaces

Existing domain marketplaces are the biggest problem for sellers and buyers.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

You and I may have mutual feelings about this one @Bob Hawkes (Crispr). Then again, not exactly a domain product / service

Although, the idea of narrowly specialized marketplaces might be the idea, in this case a marketplace around CRISPR and related biotech ideas.

Clearly not feasible as a one-of, but if a marketplace made it self really an umbrella of marketplaces, using the same technology across many narrow marketplaces, might well work. I think it should be curated by someone with expertise in each narrow field as well as someone else with brand/naming expertise, or a small group. Go to one place to find the best names in that narrow niche.

Bob

 

[VadimK]

I would love to see a CMS system that acts like a Channel Manager - like in Hospitality, where hotels change the rate on their backend and Channel Manager change the prices on all marketplaces they are selling at). That CMS can be linked to registrars as well to change settings in one place (and also because some registrars are marketplaces as well). And third - better analytic tools - relatively accurate visits info (time on site, origin on the visit, marketplaces clicks ).

Quite unrealistic, I know.

 

[biggie]

This doesn't seem particularly related to the domain world.

Hi

stick around for 20 years....
reading and observing some of the posts, replies and other crazy stuff that goes on and you see the need.

imo...

 

[NicTraders]

A tool where I can paste a list of, let's say, 150 .com domains, and see what other extensions are developed, for each name.

FYI, I have been communicating with @twiki , and I believe this is something that will be implemented at https://dotible.com/ sometime in the future.

 

[bhartzer]

More secure registrars. There are simply too many stolen domain names.

 

[comRaid]

1. A common Metadata standard for recording domain name info : It would be great if all major registrars and marketplaces adopted and adhered to a common Metadata standard for recording domain name related information. With such a standard in place, price changes made in a software installed on your computer can be easily propagated to all other marketplaces in real-time. (eg: Digital Libraries worldwide have adopted such standard Metadata formats to facilitate the automated exchange of catalogue records).
Some domainers are probably already doing this, but a standard format will make it easier for everyone.

2. "Inform me if... " option at market places: I would like to have an "Inform me if...." option in our marketplaces where the potential buyers visiting the sales pages could leave their contact information (with "zero commitment"). It would be advantageous when a visitor is interested in the name but not desperate enough to proceed with the current BIN or Min Make offer price.
I imagine something along the line of ....
"Inform me at "buyer@gmail.com " if the price of this domain is reduced below 300 USD."
Whenever the seller wants to liquidate his assets, based on this data, he can reduce the price, and the marketplace can automatically inform all interested parties.

 

[henry93]

Domain Exchange - just like Nasdaq or any other crypto exchange. I would rather say regulated domain exchange where we could bid and sell in real-time. Liquidity makes any asset better.

Common domains API (or maybe a domain blockchain) where we can update the BIN, Parking, Owner, Advertising, Ownership, and Signature with domain (just like TXT record) and it gets propagated everywhere. This should be open source api and anyone can use it. No monopoly and fair competition among registrars.

Funny but another feature where AI should Nudge you - hey this domain looks ugly. are you sure you wanna buy it? It has no resell value. And you might lose money. Tick the box if you are buying it for personal use.

Domain portability - with soo many extensions - I want that pro.pics should allow me to move to pics.pro without much effort and both of them facilitate this just like telecom companies. As syntax/tld might be different but semantics is identical.

And yes I can bring more ideas to the table - if any organization sponsors that.

What do you think @Bob Hawkes

 

[DomainsGENERAL.com]

"School of Common Sense"

This doesn't seem particularly related to the domain world. It would be far more general and broad, IMO.
It would probably be good if more "critical thinking" was taught in schools. But is that the goal? Maybe it is seen as preferable to have people who just listen to what they're told and don't question things too much. Which indeed causes some problems afterwards.

 

[Name Trader]

The two below are required :

1 - international professional outbound service company that contact (call/email ) as much possible targeted endusers around the world and offer them domains with prices and can negotiate.

2 - international marketplace for wanted domains by serious endusers around the world . endusers can submit their requirement and domainers can submit the matching domains . AGAIN i mean marketplace for endusers only with endusers prices , NOT for domainers blood suckers .

NOTE : squadhelp contest is not upto the standard and many of contest holders are cheap and small startups companies .


.

I like the idea of 2. But I fear it would be swamped by spammers swamping endusers with irrelevant domains.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

how to find fallacies in arguments, statements, etc.
using "if and then" as process of elimination, in search of truths
learning how to read "in-between the lines"

I realize not exactly what you are proposing, but there are some online resources that try to help people with things like this and promote evidence-based understanding and critical thinking. For example, I have heard good things about a free Canadian MOOC from U Alberta. This is from description:

“It may expose some of your biases and it may also help you recognize the value of challenging your biases by being skeptical, asking questions, and evaluating evidence. It will change the way you interact with and absorb content on social media. It will make you realize that these skills can—and should—be used every day.”

Since not a domain-specific resource, and free from a nonprofit, I hope I am allowed to provide link: https://www.ualberta.ca/science/news/2020/october/science-literacy-online.html
I have not yet personally taken the course, but as said, have heard positive things from people who have completed it, and am familiar with work of one of the award-winning experts who deliver the course. The course is free and complete online at your own pace, requiring about 35 hr in total.

I tend to agree with others that while the idea of something to help people apply common sense, and to think critically, is definitely important in domaining, it is perhaps not specific enough to domaining to fit. I'm still thinking about the suggestion, though, and looking at what is already available along the lines.

Bob

 

[JohnAmibo]

I can tell you what we certainly don't need, a community forum that's welcoming, extremely well-managed, and an unrivaled repository of knowledge and experience to help out noobs like myself. So glad I stumbled across this place. Membership is essential for all serious domainers

 

[eyedomainous]

Personally I think the one aspect we need is something we as domainers cannot directly achieve by ourselves - getting advertising and marketing firms to actually look at domains as part of the cornerstone of the campaigns for their clients.

Now if we could get those advertising and marketing agencies onboard with the use of domain names I think it would revolutionise the business and indeed see business sky rocket.

Agree, that would be great for domainers.

But, to 'get advertising and marketing firms to look at domains as part of the cornerstone of the campaigns', domainers would need to provide access to the domain namespace of their ad campaigns.
Making it great for them too.

So if they're selling jeans, their ads would run on all 'available' jeans domains in the namespace network, around the world, or select countries, regions, cities, ...

'Your' domain could still be for sale, complete with its marketplace link, it would just have a screen embed on it that pays you when someone wants to use it for messaging.

This is Namespace Networking / NameFencing.