advice What might be the future of domain names ?

[Pat8]

Hey NP,

Domain names have emerged as a great asset class since the dawn of the internet. But will this trend continue or will this industry get disrupted by decentralized technologies?

In this post, I have tried to answer it:

What might be the future of Domain Names?

Domain names have been in existence since the dawn of Internet (world wide web). In fact, domain names are the most crucial aspect of this internet revolution. They are the addresses of all the amazing applications that were built on it. Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, WeChat, PayPal and lot more are all basically websites/applications that can be accessed through Internet protocols. So the question is, will this industry keep growing or is it about to be disrupted? This is not about newGTLDS vs.COMs, this is about domains or NO domains!

 

[HotKey]

Interesting article. Basically it introduces the idea of using hashes for file-fetching verification, rather than domain names? Similar to the Bitcoin process. Where would all the content be fetched from, if it's not stored server using an IP address? Plus, how to transition the billions upon billions of webpages to this type system?

 

[Pat8]

Where would all the content be fetched from, if it's not stored server using an IP address?

Honestly speaking I do not know the exact details of how it might work but from what I have read I can infer that the files of a website would first be uploaded on the admin's own system and then from there, peers can fetch it. It's much like how the torrents work.

 

[Name Trader]

The future of domain names is they'll all be owned by Huge Domains and GoDaddy. And then they will be obsoleted. Ha ha You don't actually need domain names today. They're only used because it's easier to remember a domain name than than 4 strings of 4 numbers, Or however long the IP addresses eventually become, ie IP6, and beyond. But seriously. I don't think the domain name system is going away for a very long time. Grab yours while you can

 

[InfinityNet.com]

Domain name popularity is cyclical and a good portion of the market is determined by advertising trends.

Early on, the dot com extension was synonymous with online business and either enhanced your existing business or acted as competitive advantage against your brick and mortar competitors. The industry was on fire during this period and domain speculators stockpiled their portfolios and raked in profits.

Then, a majority of print and media ads moved away from the stodgy dot com and focused on social media outlets. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram carried the marketing torch for several years with the familiar: facebook.com/productname @BusinessName and #companyname syntax gimmicks.

This was never a sound strategy in my opinion since its intended goal was to ultimately drive traffic away from your own website!

While all of this was going on, the real marketing king had reached critical mass and would have the most tremendous impact upon domain name valuation: SEO. Organic and direct traffic would come to mean very little as opposed to reaching the holy grail...page one of Google. Successfully managing search engine optimization and web analytics are critical in success. Additionally, we have seen app usage stats ebb and flow over the past decade and the consensus is that an elegant website is required to conduct legitimate online commerce.

This is where we are today. Short and dictionary word .com domains and selective gTLD extensions will continue to be valuable, with sales prices trending up for the foreseeable future. We've seen print and media ads returning to the traditional .com extension - only adding more value to the reigning champ .com

We shall see what 2018 brings...

 

[likemike]

Interesting points, but they're going to be around a long while.....

 

[triplec0886]

With all the ways we can contact one another(video chat, chat apps, email, VOIP services that don't require a phone number, etc) nothing has replaced the telephone number......we are STILL having code overlays and splits and the like all over the country to accommodate more and more telephone numbers.....even though so many numbers are being freed up as landlines and NOT being returned to that pool. Now, one may wonder 'what does this have to do with domains?' Glad you asked! Domains, much like telephone numbers, are still very relevant........when we start to see renewal prices become very cheap across the industry for extended periods, maybe then we will know a change has come.

 

[Name Trader]

They are going to get a lot more expensive before they ever drop in value. Particularly for quality domains. But it's also true at the lower end, caused by the actions of companies like DropCatch and the Chinese Proxy Bidders. Both for domains bought on the drop as well as for sale in Pre-Release auctions, like GoDaddy and NameJet. But absolutely poor quality domains will not rise in price. They will always be poor quality domains whatever price might be asked for them, and unlikely to sell. Example: Brandbucket. BB sell quite a few domain names, but the bulk of their portfolio will never sell, because of their poor quality. There is only 1 in a Zillion chance that there will be a buyer for these poor quality domains. Those odds are not good. Of course there will always be a few exceptions for those who have the "knack" of registering brandable domains that sell.

 

[DN Universal]

Verisign released its latest report about the cryptocurrency domain.

www.domainnamewire.com

 

[killerwhale]

Man you don't know what's going to happen the very next day when you wake up. A lot of factors can change a lot of things we have no control over. Are you going to hold on to a thousand plus or so of domains and call it an asset? Can you even barter a domain for a service in the worst of scenarios? Domains are not an asset, they are just a speculative market. You win or you loose. But most importantly, you believe and you invest and you wait. That's where the money lies. Cheers!

 

[killerwhale]

The people with the numbers win this game

 

[OmarVG]

But will this trend continue or will this industry get disrupted by decentralized technologies?

The domain industry will continue just the same as long as the Internet exist, because you Cant replace the Web Address, simple as that.

 

[Name Trader]

The domain industry will continue just the same as long as the Internet exist, because you Cant replace the Web Address, simple as that.

Yet

 

[Daniel Owens]

With most domains doubling or even tripping (or even more times than that) in value since the beginning of 2018 domains will exist long-term and they will continue to rise in value. Simply, stated domains are more stable than bitcoin or other crypto's will ever be! Fact!

 

[Smiles76]

Most industries are disrupted by things they don't see coming. The same will hold true for the domaining industry. The greatest mistake that all industries make is believing that things will always remain the same because they want them to. One thing that seems clear to me is that generic keyword based domains are not the future of domaining. It's unnatural in everyday life and I can already see a time when people will look back and laugh that people used to name their site using generic names like "coolclothes.com"

 

[Name Trader]

Most industries are disrupted by things they don't see coming. The same will hold true for the domaining industry. The greatest mistake that all industries make is believing that things will always remain the same because they want them to. One thing that seems clear to me is that generic keyword based domains are not the future of domaining. It's unnatural in everyday life and I can already see a time when people will look back and laugh that people used to name their site using generic names like "coolclothes.com"

Could you please give a couple of examples of what they might use to sell cool clothes on the internet? My mind seems to be blocked as to what they might use instead of coolclothes.com? This is not an argument. I'd just don't understand what you are alluding to with your comment?

 

[alcy]

when in doubt about things yourself.. always look to what others with more knowledge and experience do.. it usually is a good strategy... so.. with many big players investing big money in either domain names.. or domain registration platforms.. auctions.. escrow services or what not... i think its safe to say nothing will be changing any time soon.

 

[Name Trader]

@alcy - I wasn't really concerned about myself or any timeframe which might be evident in my lifetime. @Smiles76 - I just wanted to get some idea what you are alluding as to what kind of seismic shift was going to take place. What is going to take place to the domain names system entirely, or was going to be a seismic shift that we would all be using brandable names, or that we would do all our purchases on amazon, apple, and facebook, or something else, entirely?

 

[brandboss]

The domain industry will continue just the same as long as the Internet exist, because you Cant replace the Web Address, simple as that.

Agreed

 

[Kate]

I firmly believe that domain names are going to continue to exist for a long time, longer than most people expect. Like the phone numbering system.
I think the article missed the point: domain names are not mere technical identifiers that are easily replaceable and disposable. They are branding tools and part of the corporate identity. There is also a national dimension (ccTLDs) and other factors that come into play.
The DNS can accommodate plenty of new services. For instance, the DNS was set up several years before the WWW was invented. To host websites, at the DNS level it takes nothing more than A (and AAAA) records.
We have a thirty-year old system that has scaled remarkably well. The biggest change: more extensions. Also: more RR (resource records).

 

[Smiles76]

@alcy - I wasn't really concerned about myself or any timeframe which might be evident in my lifetime. @Smiles76 - I just wanted to get some idea what you are alluding as to what kind of seismic shift was going to take place. What is going to take place to the domain names system entirely, or was going to be a seismic shift that we would all be using brandable names, or that we would do all our purchases on amazon, apple, and facebook, or something else, entirely?

I think the Internet will become far more centralized. Even now, the vast majority of people online spend their time on maybe 10 sites. Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Amazon and few others. I can make money on Youtube without a website, I can do the same on Amazon and Ebay. I can share blog post and set up a shop on Facebook and sell products without a website. Major brands will still need a website but the average Internet user or small/medium sized businesses will be able to do quite well without a domain name in the future.

 

[Mopho]

Hi All,

I'm new here, please excuse my IT centric views, but its what I know. I spent 10 years in the Fortune 50 IT world: Microsoft, Boeing and Sprint. I know next to nothing about how to make money with domains, it's why I am here.

Domains are Universal Resource Locaters. It's not about websites in the long run. Look at IPv6 and how everything will have an IP address. If you want to have an idea where URL's are going to be used and how, it might make sense to read RFC's. The first thing to become "decentralized" will be search. What you search for will be stored peer to peer and disiminated by repositories such as Google. Imagine going into a library and doing a search for a book. How would you feel if that search returned "paid" ads? Right now we have a "Yellow Pages" without a "White Pages" private search world. It's for a reason, and that reason is acceptance and expansion. The same holds true for mobile communications. Right now we have "walled gardens", but as connectivity becomes ubiquitous, the Sprints and Verizons will be defined by content and usaged more than connectivity. How will we find all that content? URL's. Will URL's be domains in the future? Likely it will be a mixture of AI and search. How will humans interface with AI? Not an IPv6 address but by URL's that are categorized, and likely that will be the domain name system for some time to come. If you understand Ray Kuzweil's predictions; once "singularity" happens, domains will be less and less important. I have an Apple TV device, the remote does not have numbers, it has a microphone. You don't tell it to go to channel 10030405, you tell it what you want and it returns results based on AI and search. Until singularity happens URL's will be how will find everything.

Thx! Mopho

 

[brandboss]

Hi All,

I'm new here, please excuse my IT centric views, but its what I know. I spent 10 years in the Fortune 50 IT world: Microsoft, Boeing and Sprint. I know next to nothing about how to make money with domains, it's why I am here.

Domains are Universal Resource Locaters. It's not about websites in the long run. Look at IPv6 and how everything will have an IP address. If you want to have an idea where URL's are going to be used and how, it might make sense to read RFC's. The first thing to become "decentralized" will be search. What you search for will be stored peer to peer and disiminated by repositories such as Google. Imagine going into a library and doing a search for a book. How would you feel if that search returned "paid" ads? Right now we have a "Yellow Pages" without a "White Pages" private search world. It's for a reason, and that reason is acceptance and expansion. The same holds true for mobile communications. Right now we have "walled gardens", but as connectivity becomes ubiquitous, the Sprints and Verizons will be defined by content and usaged more than connectivity. How will we find all that content? URL's. Will URL's be domains in the future? Likely it will be a mixture of AI and search. How will humans interface with AI? Not an IPv6 address but by URL's that are categorized, and likely that will be the domain name system for some time to come. If you understand Ray Kuzweil's predictions; once "singularity" happens, domains will be less and less important. I have an Apple TV device, the remote does not have numbers, it has a microphone. You don't tell it to go to channel 10030405, you tell it what you want and it returns results based on AI and search. Until singularity happens URL's will be how will find everything.

Thx! Mopho

Haha
You mean in future, competition of page ranking will dead and can anyone page rank easily. Simple is that without Seo you cannot rank your site. If google change their page ranking system than everyone can their site and than Cpc will be very low at the end google lost their huge revenue. In my point view, its very difficult to change the searching system, its can negative effect on google revenue.

 

[Mopho]

Haha
You mean in future, competition of page ranking will dead and can anyone page rank easily. Simple is that without Seo you cannot rank your site. If google change their page ranking system than everyone can their site and than Cpc will be very low at the end google lost their huge revenue. In my point view, its very difficult to change the searching system, its can negative effect on google revenue.

Thanks for the reality check, but I feel Google will eventually hit an antitrust roadblock. Page rankings might come from many sources and be defined by personal usage. What one person sees when they search for "home loans" might be different for someone else.

This.

Most industries are disrupted by things they don't see coming. The same will hold true for the domaining industry. The greatest mistake that all industries make is believing that things will always remain the same because they want them to.

 

[Kuffy]

I think domain names are under attack by vested interests. The Google omnibox is one example of this. Rather than allowing surfers the ability to use direct navigation, Google wants them to enter the website address into its search box so that they can fly some advertising, or even redirect the surfer. I'm starting to detect some resitance to this, and if we can ride through this problem, then good domain names should become even more important.

I read the techie comment above as well, and I took in the message. I think that it shows that good "radio" names will increase in importance, and it has motivated me to do a bit of spring cleaning in my portfolio. If we do move to voice input, then maybe 3 and 4 word keyphrase names will start to increase in value. On the strength of this I registered ForexMarketTrade.com which was sitting on the drop lists.