discuss Where do you see domaining in 5 years?

[dave321]

Just interested in people's perspective on this. I realize it's a broad question.

 

[poweredbyme]

Without domain names the Internet would be the realm only for techies. Personally I find it a lot easier to ftp.domain.com or ssh [email protected] or email [email protected]

non-techies don't really use domain names to browse websites, except the domain names of top 500-1,000 most traffic websites. People use search engines for a long time and in the past there were also directories like dmoz.

Websites without domain names can be built in a way that they can be found on search engines. DNS could be unnecessary.

Then who really need domains? Anyone who wants to build and protect brand. But usually people are brand-indifferent in their online and offline lives. For instance how many restaurant brand can you memorize out of the total number of restaurant brands? I bet less than 0.000001% Because there are hundreds of thousands restaurants. Branding + Exact Match Domains were two top reasons. EMD's are dead. Only one meaningful reason left: branding and it's almost dead.

 

[TCK]

non-techies don't really use domain names to browse websites, except the domain names of top 500-1,000 most traffic websites. People use search engines for a long time and in the past there were also directories like dmoz.

Websites without domain names can be built in a way that they can be found on search engines. DNS could be unnecessary.

Then who really need domains? Anyone who wants to build and protect brand. But usually people are brand-indifferent in their online and offline lives. For instance how many restaurant brand can you memorize out of the total number of restaurant brands? I bet less than 0.000001% Because there are hundreds of thousands restaurants. Branding + Exact Match Domains were two top reasons. EMD's are dead. Only one meaningful reason left: branding and it's almost dead.

This is an argument you should have with a branding expert. All I can say is when I want to go to Amazon to order something or to eBay, Uber, Walmart, etc., I don't use Google. But that is just me.

 

[poweredbyme]

This is an argument you should have with a branding expert. All I can say is when I want to go Amazon to order something or to eBay, Uber, Walmart, etc., I don't use Google. But that is just me.

People sort products based on price, specs and #of comments on online shopping websites. Only brand-loyal buyers search based on a particular brand. But most of those people don't make a decision on merely brand.

Amazon, uber, ebay, walmart, etc are functioning like search engines. When you don't use google, you use just another search engine in a way without domain names and websites of the sellers. In fact each product page on those online shopping websites as well as personal pages on social media websites, even our profile pages and posts on forum websites like here at NP forums are functioning like individual websites without domain names of the owner.

 

[TCK]

People sort products based on price, specs and #of comments on online shopping websites. Only brand-loyal buyers search based on a particular brand. But most of those people don't make a decision on merely brand.

Amazon, uber, ebay, walmart, etc are functioning like search engines. When you don't use google, you use just another search engine in a way without domain names and websites of the sellers. In fact each product page on those online shopping websites as well as personal pages on social media websites, even our profile pages and posts on forum websites like here at NP forums are functioning like individual websites without domain names of the owner.

I see where you are going with this. What you are describing are ecosystems. But they still are based on a domain name. If I have a business card to share with you I would rather have mybrandeddomain.com rather than somesocialsite/mybrand on it. Even if the domain is not immediately recognized, if it is an exact match of my brand then it promotes that brand. Not all businesses are good at promoting their brands or even coming up with a good brand.

 

[poweredbyme]

I see where you are going with this. What you are describing are ecosystems. But they still are based on a domain name. If I have a business card to share with you I would rather have mybrandeddomain.com rather than somesocialsite/mybrand on it. Even if the domain is not immediately recognized, if it is an exact match of my brand then it promotes that brand. Not all businesses are good at promoting their brands or even coming up with a good brand.

All we prefer mybrandeddomain dot com instead of something that we don't own. The question is how much we want this, how much we are willing to pay for this. You will determine price of your brand based on the extra profit generated purely by your brand. I say, brand is not a great profit generator. This also explains the reason of why most domains are sold for less than $1k and most of them are dropped. You can build a powerful new brand on anybrandeddomain dot com. So, the domain or brand which will be choosen is not really important. As you say, only promotion efforts or promotion budget matters. But even if you build a powerful brand it may not repay your investment. In the end, buyers pay for products. Powerful brand can't help a poor quality product. Brand is overvalued, especially in domainers World.

 

[TCK]

All we prefer mybrandeddomain dot com instead of something that we don't own. The question is how much we want this, how much we are willing to pay for this. You will determine price of your brand based on the extra profit generated purely by your brand. I say, brand is not a great profit generator. This also explains the reason of why most domains are sold for less than $1k and most of them are dropped. You can build a powerful new brand on anybrandeddomain dot com. So, the domain or brand which will be choosen is not really important. As you say, only promotion efforts or promotion budget matters. But even if you build a powerful brand it may not repay your investment. In the end, buyers pay for products. Powerful brand can't help a poor quality product. Brand is overvalued, especially in domainers World.

Interesting point of view. I would counter with this. What are your goals? If they are short-term then you have a solid point. If your goals are long-term then your brand will overshadow the products or services you sell. Because people will identify your brand with the products and services. So they automatically associate quality and high standards with your brand. Building a strong brand behind quality products and services is priceless.

And yes, most domains are sold for xxx-x,xxx. And many are dropped. There are many reasons for that. Domains are also sold for 5 to 6 figures. So quality in domains is a factor. Also your vision is even a bigger factor. There are many moving parts in building a strong brand.

 

[poweredbyme]

Interesting point of view. I would counter with this. What are your goals? If they are short-term then you have a solid point. If your goals are long-term then your brand will overshadow the products or services you sell. Because people will identify your brand with the products and services. So they automatically associate quality and high standards with your brand. Building a strong brand behind quality products and services is priceless.

And yes, most domains are sold for xxx-x,xxx. And many are dropped. There are many reasons for that. Domains are also sold for 5 to 6 figures. So quality in domains is a factor. Also your vision is even a bigger factor. There are many moving parts in building a strong brand.

China is becoming the most powerful country in the long term. Because people buy Chinese products. Success of Chinese products with weak or no branding, even without websites and domains names is a good proof how my points are valid in the real life.

Once China becomes most powerful country, they can potentially change many things on the internet, including domain names, ICAAN, domain names, trade marks, etc. So after 5 years domain names will likely less valuable IMO. Also new developments can potentially remove the technical need for domain names. Websites could be browsed without domain names by non-technical people with search engines or compatible browsers/devices. In short, I am pessimist for the future of domain names.

 

[tomcarl]

Future is bright for lower-tier domains. A lot more entrepreneurs and ebay/amazon/etsy based sellers, the successful ones, are all going to begin migrating to their own domain in the years to come and there will be a greater demand for domains in the $1-5K range that just wasn't there before. Thanks to shopify and turnkey web builders now being able to compete with the pros.

 

[TCK]

China is becoming the most powerful country in the long term. Because people buy Chinese products. Success of Chinese products with weak or no branding, even without websites and domains names is a good proof how my points are valid in the real life.

Once China becomes most powerful country, they can potentially change many things on the internet, including domain names, ICAAN, domain names, trade marks, etc. So after 5 years domain names will likely less valuable IMO. Also new developments can potentially remove the technical need for domain names. Websites could be browsed without domain names by non-technical people with search engines or compatible browsers/devices. In short, I am pessimist for the future of domain names.

Gotcha. So this may not be the most ideal forum for you. LOL. But you have to keep in mind that China makes products and components for some of the biggest brands in the world. They also make alternative versions which are sold under lesser-known brand names with their own domains and websites. Just because people use Amazon, eBay and Etsy to sell their products, does not change the fact that they also have branded domains and websites where they promote and sell their products.

BTW, I used to feel the same way about the Internet in general many years ago. But everything is going in the opposite direction. So I hope you will become optimistic about domains.

 

[King]

My 5 predictions for the next 5 years are:

1. As small businesses realize the importance of an online presence, sales of domains will continue to rise.
2. With the ever-increasing renewal prices of nTLDs, fewer domainers will invest in them, there are already a lot of nice nTLDs investors owned dropping every day.
3. .com demand will grow as those businesses that had nTLDs will want to upgrade to the better known and respected .com Thus further pushing the value of aftermarket .com domains (STOP UNDER SELLING)
4. Blockchain-based domains will gain more traction.
5. Paying with cryptocurrency for domains will become a popular option.

 

[Right Domains]

My point of view:

- Value of .com will grow and .com will be more prestigious than now,
- Good combinations of gTLDs will be desired alternatives for buyers with limited budget,
- Lockdowns shows that if you have a business you must be visible online. More operating locally companies will invest in their online brand,
- Startups with limited budget will mostly choose other tlds. When they grow up some of them will try to get .com versions for mark their postion in brand,
- There will be more players in industry so start in domaining will be harder than now. More serious investors will believe in this industry. On other way many amateurs with dream about golden eggs for registry fee will come too. Here winners will be registrars, because more newbies = more worthless registrations than now,
- With more number of newbies there will be more people who will try to sell their knowledge about domaining in courses etc,
- Cryptocurrency will be more popular in domain transactions,
- Renting of good names will be more popular because of growing prices,
- Maybe some of middle level players will join powers for grab more quality names.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I think apps will take over and domains will be redundant.

Only joking, these platforms have shown themselves that they can't be trusted now as well as all of the platforms that decide whether you can or cannot reach the followers that have decided to connect with you.

I really do think that domains will be more important than ever and domain registrars that respect the opinions of their customers instead of "the mob" will be more important than ever. I think that you won't be able to run a successful domain name registrar if you're going to start imposing your ideology on your customers - the internet is a place for all people and a variety of opinions within the laws and customs of each country respectively. Guess what - not everyone has the same opinion as you and that's OK.

Nobody will trust domain name registrars if they continue to edge closer towards the behaviour of social networks and "app stores" because you can't hinge your entire business on the whims and ever changing ideology of your domain name registrar and expect to sustain it.

 

[garptrader]

The vast majority of end users opt for reg fee domains, social media platforms and traditional advertising methods rather than acquiring an aftermarket domain to promote their business. Social media platforms seem to be creating content restrictions which may create some backlash and migration back toward domain names. What is disappointing is that even in the domain community many investors seem to view the importance of a short, memorable, brandable domain as irrelevant. So if personal trainers don't see any reason to work out and eat a balanced diet, then why should I?

How was this for a branding move - Elrond owns the .COM for their brand and rebranded the symbol for their coin from ERD to EGLD. Take a look at the price action the last several months.

 

[VaibhavA]

Hope old domainers remember what happened in 2015? Well it started happening 2 years before 2015.

Hope everyone remembers what happened by the time 2017-18 came. Money was taken out from domaining. Where did the money go?

Since little over an year, domain's started to see price rise. Well, I think, its only the beginning of bull run.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Tewksbury]

... EMD's are dead.

EMDs are not dead as you suggest.

 

[poweredbyme]

EMDs are not dead as you suggest.

I mean mostly dead, similar to parking. Some smaller search engines still rank based on EMDs. Some people still buy EMDs probably for sales optimization if they don't buy for search engine optimization.

 

[Super-Annuation]

Their will be a transition from IPV4 to IPV6, meaning VPN by default, which is necessary for IOT infrastructure to strive.

Unfortunately, IOT will bring greater cyber security risks, leaving dependencies on infrastructure to be founded upon DLT/Blockchain.

And so on-chain and off-chain domains will begin a transitional phase.

At some point, IPV4 infrastructure will not be able to communicate with IPV6/On-Chain. Thus contingency plans are currently being developed by global bodies.

IOT-IPV6-On-Chain/VPNDefault infrastructure will be the future, and a transitional phase will cause distribution.

An analogy, we'll all operating systems are generally Monolithic Kernels. Suppose the distributed Mach Micro Kernel operating system, which is easier to expand, but more 'expensive' in use, were to become the necessity given the new business comparative advantages suited for Mach Micro Kernels. Well this would mean the more efficient operating systems would need replace existing infrastructure in order to maintain aggregate efficiency.

Technology is leading business necessity, meaning business A must adjust if business B already has and realises an advantage.

Decentralization
Dissolved information asymmetry
Disintermediation
Increase in aggregate efficiency
Micro services
Peer to peer infrastructure
Interconnectedness
Interdependence
Evolving governing consensus
Improved social welfare and nature
Carbon efficiency

 

[Future Sensors]

Their will be a transition from IPV4 to IPV6, meaning VPN by default, which is necessary for IOT infrastructure to strive.

Nice words, but please read https://blog.apnic.net/2019/03/18/common-misconceptions-about-ipv6-security/

 

[Super-Annuation]

Nice words, but please read

https://blog.apnic.net/2019/03/18/common-misconceptions-about-ipv6-security/

Thanks good read. I really appreciate you sharing this writing. It brought some current issues to my mind that will need to be addressed as we transcend into... We'll uncharted cybersecurity concerns.

What are your thoughts on your (pronoun) networks still having the combined vulnerability surface of IPv4 and IPv6 over the next 5 years?

The writer sees this as an immediate issue, (which has all the merits and some,) but if IPsec is used with IPv6 to address tracking concerns through IPv4 tunnels, what happens when we move pass the IPv4 protocol? Possible? (I just want to say I think sure, but if you think differently I really want to know why.)

I know this is difficult to vision, and it would be like (http) protocol existing without the recent (http)(s) security layer, if I'm to draw an analogy... (Adding the (s) and changing the (http)

However, I can't see an IPv4 tunnel being an overlooked security gateway to an IOT smart city. Hyperledger and EVM and even Intel, IANA, IBM and Microsoft are reshaping all relevant security protocol layers.

I don't know, what do you think? Will IPsec truly be necessary On-Chain, with IPv6 default VPN's, which will by then be truly more advanced?

I'm not trying to be tribalistic, because I adore what I can see coming this decade, and frankly, I work in Finance, so if I'm appearing ignorant, then I definitely am, but unintentionally, and it's fair game to chuck a label on me.

 

[Future Sensors]

https://blog.apnic.net/2019/03/18/common-misconceptions-about-ipv6-security/

Thanks good read. I really appreciate you sharing this writing. It brought some current issues to my mind that will need to be addressed as we transcend into... We'll uncharted cybersecurity concerns.

What are your thoughts on your (pronoun) networks still having the combined vulnerability surface of IPv4 and IPv6 over the next 5 years?

The writer sees this as an immediate issue, (which has all the merits and some,) but if IPsec is used with IPv6 to address tracking concerns through IPv4 tunnels, what happens when we move pass the IPv4 protocol? Possible? (I just want to say I think sure, but if you think differently I really want to know why.)

I know this is difficult to vision, and it would be like (http) protocol existing without the recent (http)(s) security layer, if I'm to draw an analogy... (Adding the (s) and changing the (http)

However, I can't see an IPv4 tunnel being an overlooked security gateway to an IOT smart city. Hyperledger and EVM and even Intel, IANA, IBM and Microsoft are reshaping all relevant security protocol layers.

I don't know, what do you think? Will IPsec truly be necessary On-Chain, with IPv6 default VPN's, which will by then be truly more advanced?

I'm not trying to be tribalistic, because I adore what I can see coming this decade, and frankly, I work in Finance, so if I'm appearing ignorant, then I definitely am, but unintentionally, and it's fair game to chuck a label on me.

Hi @Super-Annuation

Let me focus on the use of IPv6 in sensor networks a little bit more.

TCP/IP was designed long ago to operate in unreliable and slow, high latency environments. Sensor networks are often unreliable and slow, so this would not be a problem. However, sensor nodes have limited processors, limited memory, limited radio capacity and are low cost. It's all about energy saving. Security mechanisms are needed for communication between nodes (i.e. in a mesh) in unsafe sensor environments, but new security mechanisms have been developed instead of using IPSEC in these networks.

You may have a look at the Thread initiative, which uses 6LoWPAN (a stripped-for-efficiency-version of IPv6). There's also an open source version OpenThread, released by Google.

Below are some good pointers. It's too much to elaborate further in this thread about Domaining (unless you see some nice terms in these papers that are not TM, and register some domains in this interesting field). I'm sure you'll find lots of useful information -- enjoy

The 6LoWPAN Architecture
https://www.researchgate.net/profil...e2c6df8/Making-sensor-networks-IPv6-ready.pdf

Comparison of Encryption Algorithms in Wireless Sensor Networks
https://www.researchgate.net/public...on-Algorithms-in-Wireless-Sensor-Networks.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(network_protocol)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6LoWPAN

https://www.threadgroup.org/
https://openthread.io/