It's a shame we are we still having this debate...
Rick S, Rick Latona, Frank, etc... all specialize in what they specialize in. Some domainers have publicly ventured into other territories to diversify, others have done so privately. Some have chosen not to leave their comfort zone because they have found what has proven to work for them and choose not to diversify. But much of what you've read about the early days of domaining can not be duplicated in today's marketplace unless you've got deep pockets or serious investors, so you have to weigh your options and explore other opportunities (explore other extensions, development, etc).
But you have to ask yourself... do you really care what other domainers think about You or Your chosen investments/business models? If so, why?
Over the years, I had plenty of people tell me to get a "real job", even when the first internet bubble burst, they all told me, "I told you so...", but I survived the bubble, and was very happy with my chosen field. While they spend 2-3 hours a day stuck in their cars in traffic, going back and forth to their "real job", I'm analyzing traffic to my websites and launching/tweaking more. Over the years, plenty of domainers have told me to stick with only .com, or only generics, or only traffic domains, etc... but I was happy with the type of domains I was registering/acquiring and the end result has been plenty of cash deals, equity stakes in startups, stock deals in public companies, and some very lucrative flips.
I chose not to listen to anyone else but my gut... if I made any mistakes, it's my own fault, no one else to blame but me... if I tasted success, it wasn't because someone held my hand and led me there... no one is going to draw you a map to where the gold is... no one. Don't hope for it, don't expect it, and don't wait around for it. Do your own research, explore for yourself and keep trying until you've found a little bit of gold. Whatever worked for you, keep trying the same thing and don't give up... and most importantly don't give in to the naysayers, detractors, the trolls, etc.
There are many people that will help you, give you advice, etc... but no one is going to hand you success on a silver platter so don't sit around waiting for that 7-figure payday to materialize out of thin air. I spend everyday on the phone making cold calls, working leads, etc... looking for suitors, partners... networking with people from different levels within the same organization just to get that one golden nugget that leads to a deal. it's hard work but there's no excuse not to work hard if you haven't reached your goals... and I'm nowhere near where I want to be by the time I'm 40. So I work 20 hours a day and ignore the trolls, ignore the negativity, I don't focus on what other domainers think about my investment choices, I don't wait for other domainers to decide that an extension is "worthy" before I stake my claim.
This is a great forum for those who wish to communicate, share and network... the .TV section has its trolls and I simply have them on ignore (even though they choose to reply to me knowing full well I can't read their replies, LOL) and it makes this whole community flow much better. But if this forum is going to be the best resource for .TV, the best community for .TV, the best group of domainers, then we need to stop questioning the validity of the extension, stop complaining about premium renewals (knowing full well we can not change anything and that without premium fees in place, many great domains would not be available for development), we need to derail the derailers, we need to stop feeding the trolls, etc and do something creative to bring up the morale of the domainers in this section before there's a major exodus like what happened in the .mobi section when the trolls/naysayers drove most of the domainers somewhere else and fragmented what was once a vibrant, exciting, informative .mobi community here at namepros.
I truly like coming here everyday, several times a day, but I notice that the .TV section is slowing down... I also notice many lurkers, non-members, etc, checking this section of the forum out, and what is their first impression or lasting impression going to be about .TV? Think about it for a second... I had an associate who is not a domainer come into this section and all he remembered seeing was people complaining about premiums, people trashing the extension and lots of talk about TV.com vs .TV - LOL... it's not that he didn't see all the useful info, he did, it's that he came away with the impression that .TV domainers weren't united, lots of infighting, doubt about the extension, and that the overall mood wasn't "cohesive". This is not an insult directed at NamePros, the .TV section or the mods here... it's a reflection of what some of the users of this section are doing to what is supposed to be the .TV section of namepros. According to the rules of this section: this is a subforum for people who like the .TV extension... so why are we wasting time debating the merits of .TV, letting trolls hang out, and I know this part will piss off many members here... why are we dedicating so many threads and discussions to .TV versus TV.com and highlighting important sales/news for TV.com, etc... when all you are doing is turning away potential investors, future believers, and adopters who might have embraced .TV but were pointed in the direction of TV.com instead? I know plenty of you are heavily invested in TV.com, and I can understand the connection, but this is the .TV forum, correct?
Bottom line: I truly enjoy the networking here, but the energy is fading and it would be great if we could make this a forum to share relevant info, give a morale boost to other likeminded domainers, generate opportunities to collaborate to bring more awareness and adoption to the .TV extension, etc... not to use this forum to troll, complain, doubt, detour, etc...
.TV is an extension that many of us hope will be embraced by the mass market. Ask yourself: what are you doing each day to get more people to be aware that the extension exists? If you're doing nothing and .TV fails for you, you have no one to blame but yourself.
/rant
(did it again... posted more than I wanted to.)
