Slam Strategy is an Internet strategy firm out of Australia that works with businesses and helping them with their online presence. They are out with an article today on the new gtlds and the top 5 reasons why domainers resist new gtlds.
In the opening paragraph the author did note he is an avid reader of the domains, he was inspired to write the current article based on comments from right here on thedomains.com.
From the article:
Top 5 reasons domainers don’t want new Gtlds
- Invested interest in .com
- Resistance to change
- Lack of understanding of new industry
- Short term objectives
- Old thinking
Invested Interest in .com – Holding on to what we’ve got
Domainers have worked out and well formulated, tried and true strategies, invested money, done the research and built business models around the existing dotcom world. Any alternative to this is a direct attack on their revenue streams and considered a threat to their profits.
You can read the other four reasons on Slam Strategy
Top 5 reasons domainers don’t want new Gtlds.
1. They are long
2. Every new gtlds here failed
3. They are hard to remember
4. They don’t look like extensions (.cooking .global .clothing .. seriously WTF?)!
5. They are trying to robe TM companies with enormous reg fees!
So if I have little or no interest in something I am resisting it?
I certainly would say that number 3 is a stretch, older domain investors certainly understand the new industry, they just don’t agree with the model.
Xavier Lemay-Castonguay’s list is a lot more accurate than Slam Strategy.
I will add some more reasons –
– There is limited demand.
– There is limited or no natural traffic.
– The vast majority of extensions have very few keywords that make sense.
– There is nothing for domainers to invest in. Registries will be maximizing their top terms via auctions, direct sales, and variable pricing models.
– Domainers have learned their lesson from past new extension launches.
– Domainers are getting sick of the hype, misleading, sensationalist, and shady marketing tactics.
Brad
Simply Hog Wash !
Seymorur –
in the end – ii is all about selling stuff – not using it – because the buyers and sellers do not care.
having been in the domain investing business for only 16 calendar years you are throwing names around who are my teachers friend.
best,
Here are the 5 reasons domineers are resisting the new gtlds…
1.) They have been burned by other “new extensions” in the past.
2.) Supply = Demand. And when Supply is going to become a percentage of infinite, it makes demand that much harder.
3.) Confusion of TLDs and similar TLDs will eventually lead people back to the most common known TLD that runs (my guess) 90% of online business in the United States. That TLD is .com
4.) Domainers don’t want to be the fools who are being sold fools gold from the registries
5.) The confusion. Oh the confusion. Different landrush phases. Different ways of auctioning domains off. Through different registrars. Even for dedicated domainers, this is too much information to process all at one time.
6.) Domainers have staken their claim. In .com. .net. .co.uk. And they ware waiting patiently to see what type of fools rush happens in these new extensions.
This is an attempt at disinformation in order to get domainers to jump on the band wagon to avoid missing out from eachother. Its so transparent its pitiful !!!
Domainers resist because they know they and all their domainer friends will have nothing to do with the new tlds which means they will fail. The only domainers I know of that are excited about the new tlds are domainers that have sunk a lot of money into them.
A cheap domainer trade show showcasing domainers that made poor investment decisions won’t change the ultimate failure outcome.
Zero for 5 in my book .In case you want to know what desperate looks like, we are starting to get glimpses.
As long as they keep demeaning and insulting professional domain investors it demonstrates that it is OUR FAULT that few want their .Crap. Unreal!
You can start with Need, Want and Desire of which there is NONE and not a single one has come to challenge that premise for a very good reason.
Then you can jump to the end user who has no interest whatsoever as they never asked any of them. Howard and I DID!
Most gTLDs are so limited that after a 100 strings, they all become meaningless.
Why bother? One entire year of posts and I still did not touch on all the reasons failure looms. Hiw many point that I have made were directly answered?? NOT MANY!!
But folks like this help me illustrate my points. They can’t overcome the objections so they have to resort to attacks and tearing down other things. THAT IS WEAK, WEAK, WEAK!
The biggest reason for their ultimate demise is the idiotic and stupid things these folks are spewing could not be farther from reality. And it is the reality that they are missing that will sink almost each one. Less than 10 gTLD’s will survive the test of time. The others will never have the success that .Aero enjoys.
And if you want to even have the smallest chance at success, save your dollars for .web. That is the ONLY gTLD with a shot in hell to make a dent in any of this and be an investment.
Buy my #1 suggestion, shut-up! You guys own each other and I have been saying that for a while now. You own each other. These stupid statements are making your efforts so much more difficult if not impossible.
Invested interest in .com (yes and many other bona-fide gTLD’s and ccTLD’s that will go up in value)
Resistance to change (wrong audience dude! (Some of the most open minded people to the point of being gullible!)
Lack of understanding of new industry (I think the lack of understanding comes from your side. None of you ever did any real market research)
Short term objectives (DUH!! 20 year plans, lifetime plans, is .mobi a short term objective?)
Old thinking (vs dumb thinking)
Name me one gTLD that asked and answered the hard questions I have?? Not a one and everyone knows it. If they can’t sell the most receptive audience on this planet, GAME OVER!! Reality is gonna be a bitch!!
btw, picked up gtldwhores.com
“The only domainers I know of that are excited about the new tlds are domainers that have sunk a lot of money into them.”
That and those that missed the first boat and bought loads of Pigeon Shit now wait for the Titanic to save them and make them “Players”.
Seymour,
If my bona fide points are enough to bring down their ship, maybe they should have studied and answered what I was pointing out.
So now it is my fault! lol
This is insane!
Maybe I am just one of the few that don’t let friends influence business decisions?
Just remember one thing, nothing I have printed or published is not something I have said to Frank and others directly.
Nobody has demonstrated the SALES SKILLS let alone the substance to make this a success. Wishing won’t help.
So now it will be my fault that those chasing the second coming will find reality closer to what I have described than the blue skies being pained by those that NEED a success to survive?
My posts should have made them stronger. Instead they spew STUPID CRAP like this and expect people to jump on board so they can lose money??
Another glass of Kool-Aid for ya??
“Its so transparent its pitiful !!!”
“Domainers are getting sick of the hype, misleading, sensationalist, and shady marketing tactics.”
These are the things that are making them lose all credibility before they even open their doors.
The comment section here will be on fire today. I suggest gTLD guys read them and answer them and understand the peril they themselves are putting themselves in by ignoring all this and the dumb things they are saying.
As I have described, the only need, want and desire comes from them. And when the majority of professional domain investors reject what they are doing and list all the reasons, we get attacked. Good luck selling when you have to attack your customer.
The ONLY question for me is how many will DIE ON THE VINE?
The Top 3 Reasons Domainers are resisting the new gtlds:
1.) .XXX
2.) .CO
3.) .MOBI
Or this top 5:
1. .COM
2. .COM
3. .COM
4. .COM
5. .COM
As Frank says, history might not repeat but it rhymes, ie, see the graveyard of past extraneous extensions.
its irrelevant that some gTLD may “die on the vine”…. so what?
how is this strategy any different than domainers that hold thousands of domains and end up completely dropping a bunch after re-evaluating things with a fresh mind…
some ideas work out, some dont.
what is “die on the vine” anyway? removed from the ROOT completely? or just stagnant?
anyone know what “die on the vine” actually is? what procedures does ICANN have in place for a TLD nobody wants?
and what happens when registries that already manage mass quantities of gTLD’s can take a “dead” TLD at almost no extra operating cost? hrmmmmmm
so far a TLD hasnt actually “died” and .aero is still living….
Integrating gTLDs with .com URLs could make a lot of sense. For example, TravelTheBest.com can register TravelTheBest.Vegas for targeted advertising promotions, TravelTheBest.Club for its VIP members, and if he has a massive ego, TravelTheBest.CEO for the president’s profile page. When dot-com branding anchors gTLD messaging, both may benefit.
Maybe We Have Too Many Choices:
I saw an interesting experiment on TV recently, they set up a table at a supermarket with 24 different jams offering free samples and hoping to make some sales. 60% of people stopped and tried a sample when they were offered a choice of 24 jams, but only 3% of these folks actually bought some jam.
They then set up the same table with only 6 jam samples instead of 24, only 40% of people stopped and tried a sample, but 30% of these folks actually bought some jam, a significant difference, especially when the goal was actually selling jam not just giving out free samples.
So more choices got more people to try the product for free but with very few sales. Less choices didn’t get as many people to try the samples but of the people that did 30% actually made a decision to buy something.
What does this have to do with new domains? I have no idea, but it made me think of how many new gTLD’s will be on the table soon and what impact having so many choices might have on actual purchasing decisions?
Here are my top five reasons:
1) .Mobi
2) .Asia
3) .Tel
4) .Cm
5) .Name
…do you all remember these?
Pump…Pump…Pump…
Get ready for your local registrar to give you a call shortly so they can try to pump you up, just like they did for all the other extensions!
I did not know that the New gTLD registries are relying on domainers for its success. The same domainers that the registries care a shit about.
One thing to consider: domainers are not all against new extensions. The proof is that domainers are always the first, along with TM holders, to take part in landrushes for new or semi-new extensions. Even if those extensions are turds that are bound to fail and that the end users shun.
.pro, .xxx, .tel or .mobi would be good examples.
Seriously, some TLDs would be in worse shape without domainers
Also the registries happen to be domainers too, but their thinking is different because they are in a different position: they are on top of the food chain.
The bottom line is that domainers are more experienced than the average people in this regard, and they are more critical too, because they know see through the hype and the smoke screens.
I agree with the initial instincts in the comments here (kd, Brad Mugford, Rick and Xavier).. But the pendulum always swings both ways and Rick will attest from my earliest posts on his private board that I’m a contrarian so here are the top 5 reasons domainers are resisting TLDs and the counterpoints they should be considering:
1) They are invested in .com. Millions invested, far better to talk this new stuff down and make their .com’s stronger.
Counterpoint: It just doesn’t matter. You can’t put your fingers in the dyke to stop the unstoppable. It’s a big World out there and people will take these names. Your blog posts will not stop it. With so many good extensions coming, there will be many great names and they will shape the future of the Web. You should get some of those if the price is right. If the 10 biggest domain bloggers wrote a post every day about how terrible these new names are it would not stop what is about to happen. When I was in high school there was the beautiful girl who was unpopular. The other girls hated her (cuz she was gorgeous) and the cool guys followed the herd who said she was ugly .. When her few geeky friends convinced her she was hot, she started to dress better, got some confidence and became a model. There is no talking down what is good. The cream rises.
2) Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. We’ve seen this before with .mobi .co etc They didn’t change .com and neither will this.
Counterpoint: This time is different because there is not 1 extension coming by itself, thousands are coming. Even more will follow in round 2. A lot of people did well getting in on .co early. They made money. They are quietly watching this process and will participate here. .Co and others are still growing. They have low prices and renewals and they have done well. None of these new spaces (alone) will displace .com and that’s ok. They don’t have to. Just get the good ones. .Mobi is not a strong extension. There are new extensions that are also not strong. Buy the good ones with low prices as you would buy the “good” .coms. In the final analysis this isn’t about fooling you into taking these. What some of us write off as un-viable, future generations embrace as fresh and unique and better. The number one characteristic of being a strong domainer is to keep an open-mind. If I wasn’t open minded to change I would have died on the vine in 2002 with my “Wap” domains when the word retired into mobile communication history and obscurity. You need to evolve. If you are not growing my friends, you are dying. Change is inevitable, and it’s unfortunate that you don’t always get to pick when change will happen.
3) None of these names will have any traffic to monetize. .Com names have traffic.
Counterpoint: Not so.. .XXX names have traffic. other names will have traffic too. I run a BIG parking platform. The average traffic to the average .com is less than 3 unique visitors per day. If you get good names in new extensions they will have more organic type-in (user experimentation traffic) than the average .com name. My premium .XXX names purchased in that founders program consistently get thousands of daily uniques from type-in. Some names get over 1000 uniques a day each. Even average to good names in new extensions will get some traffic. Consider that even great names in established extensions like my mortgages.org only get 1-2 uniques a day. Traffic is all over the map and .com is not a guarantee of traffic any more than .link is guaranteed of none. Get the good ones and you WILL get “some” traffic.
4) They are long, hard to remember, don’t look like domains.
Counterpoint: They only look that way now. .BRANDS will make these mainstream. The success of URL hacks in CCtlds show that people will use them. I have freepsychicreadings.com (it gets traffic and is valuable although it’s long) .. free.psychic is shorter so is psychic.readings .. Don’t let habit or the comfort of the past talk you out of an opportunity. People wrote me off in 2001 when I took .com’s, now everybody accepts that move as brilliant. This is not different.
5) Resistance to change.
Counterpoint: The only thing to fear, is fear itself. When you go out today and buy a .com to speculate for a profit, you do so because others did so before you, but you are still taking a risk. Somebody went first and they often wind up a bigger winner. By far the bigger risk in New G’s was taken by those who brought these registries to market. Taking names at registration price is such a no brainer. It is infinitely harder to go out today and register a com at reg-price and make money than it is to get .SOMETHINGNEW at reg price and flip it for profit. There will be more good ones in the new G’s
Avoid the registries with variable pricing, avoid paying huge premiums and shake off the malaise of doubt. There is lots of room to profit between the raindrops. By far the biggest risk this year is sitting on your hands and doing sweet nothing, only to watch others scoop, profit and then follow them taking the scraps that are remaining.
This is why strategy companies can often go very wrong. I’m with Xavier on this one, as his comment – it is the very first one – details everything you need to know about the nature of the resistance. Then, the longer explanations offered by Rick Schwartz provide more insight. Seriously, there’s no reason the registries should fail, but the gTLD, itself, for domain investors and domain developers, is going to be an oversaturated field of dreams with little likelihood any of those new extensions will be a homerun.
I think @Brad Mugford is correct and that is highlighted by @frank.schilling item #4. There is nothing to invest in. If the new ending do not take off you should not invest in them. If they do take off there are too many to make the domains valuable w/o a web site behind it. There will some investment and some interest but not to the level of .com. My impression is that young people will accept the cc 2-letter ending before the .brand because of mobile devices. The shorter the better.
Now back to my Bitcoins. @frank.schilling thanks for CoinNews.com!
“If the 10 biggest domain bloggers wrote a post every day about how terrible these new names are it would not stop what is about to happen.”
And by the same token if you have the same thing and see it in reverse, you would see this…..and we have seen this:
The 10 biggest domain bloggers writing a post every about how WONDERFUL these new names are it would not stop what is about to happen.”
Touche!
I agree Frank that no domainer is going to decide this.
The consumer, the end user and human nature will.
“free.psychic is shorter so is psychic.readings”
FreePsychic.com is shorter so is PsychicReadings.com
Frank, They don’t read the same. One directs you to somewhere specific with 2 destinations and is very obvious and makes a point. The other is a sentence. I see a big difference.
i wonder where would domain name registration numbers be without domainers.
the domain name reality is that some people (domainers) believe that they foresee an everyday need for domains by the vast majority of the population down the road, and in this an investment opportunity for themselves.
So they went out and registered millions of domain names that there is no present need for other than the possibility of a future sale for a profit.
The same may happen with the new tld’s, in reality who will register the vast majority of them but domainers hoping for a future sale and future profit.
“The consumer, the end user and human nature will.””
you got that right!!!
Lastly, there is so much BS on the internet that we don’t need anymore of the BS
It is all talk talk talk more BS talk, show me the gtld money!!
Thanx for sharing!
Although I’m not saying new GTLD’s won’t be successful as an industry move, I think I’m in the wait and see camp when it comes to investment potential. I do a bit of brokering so I may appear biased, but whether it’s .COM or a .WHATEVER I’m happy to investment my time if there’s potential for return. When it comes to new GTLDs though, my hesitation comes down to what Brad, kd, and others have brought up about supply / demand.
Chris Dixon of Andressen Horowitz recently compared current Bitcoin pricing to Domain Name prices in the 90’s. He stated “It would have been absurd to say in 1993 that domain names were worth $10 million each.” and then cited the limited supply and tremendous demand to explain that growth. The limitless supply coupled to limited demand of new GTLDs doesn’t scream investment potential to me… not today anyways.
I give you 500 plus ‘fortunate’ reasons (in small dosis) ALL using DOT COM as their default (USA) keep in mind that some of these companies’ valuations are now higher than the gross domestic product of several countries (eg: Apple “dot com it is” ).
Part A)
Abbott Laboratories
Archer Daniels Midland Company
Advance Auto Parts, Inc.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Aetna Inc.
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.
Aflac Incorporated
AGCO Corporation
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
AK Steel Holding Corporation
Albertson’s, Inc.
Alcoa Inc.
Allied Waste Industries,Inc.
ALLTEL Corporation
Altria Group, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Ameren Corporation
American Electric Power Company, Inc.
American Express Company
American Family Insurance Group
American Financial Group, Inc.
American International Group, Inc.
American Standard Companies Inc.
AmerisourceBergen Corporation
Amgen Inc.
AMR Corporation
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Aon Corporation
Apache Corporation
Apple Computer, Inc.
Applied Materials, Inc.
ARAMARK Corporation
Arrow Electronics, Inc.
ArvinMeritor, Inc.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.
Ashland Inc.
Assurant, Inc.
AT&T Inc.
Atmos Energy Corporation
Autoliv, Inc.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
AutoNation, Inc.
Auto-Owners Insurance Group
AutoZone, Inc.
Avaya Inc.
Avery Dennison Corporation
Avnet, Inc.
Avon Products, Inc.
Baker Hughes Incorporated
Ball Corporation
Bank of America Corporation
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Baxter International Inc.
BB&T Corporation
Beazer Homes USA, Inc.
Becton, Dickinson and Company
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
BellSouth Corporation
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Best Buy Co., Inc.
Big Lots, Inc.
BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc.
Blockbuster Inc.
BlueLinx Holdings Inc.
Borders Group, Inc.
BorgWarner Inc.
Boston Scientific Corporation
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Brunswick Corporation
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.
Cablevision Systems Corporation
Calpine Corporation
Campbell Soup Company
Capital One Financial Corporation
Cardinal Health, Inc.
Caremark Rx, Inc.
CarMax, Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
CBS Corporation
CDW Corporation
Celanese Corporation
Cendant Corporation
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
Centex Corporation
Charter Communications, Inc.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Chevron Corporation
CHS Inc.
CIGNA Corporation
Circuit City Stores, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc.
CIT Group Inc.
Citigroup Inc.
Clear Channel Communications, Inc.
CMS Energy Corporation
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Comcast Corporation
Commercial Metals Company
Computer Sciences Corporation
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
ConocoPhillips
Conseco, Inc.
Consolidated Edison, Inc.
Constellation Brands, Inc.
Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
Continental Airlines, Inc.
Con-way Inc.
Corning Incorporated
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Countrywide Financial Corporation
Coventry Health Care, Inc.
Cox Communications, Inc.
Crown Holdings, Inc.
CSX Corporation
Cummins, Inc.
CVS Corporation
Top 5 reasons SNAKE OIL SALESMAN want new Gtlds to suceed:
1) They have invested millions into a hoop dream, and have no other outs
2) If they cannot maintain their lavish lifestyle, their trophy wives will leave them
3) They are holding back the most generic terms to auction off the the biggest suckers, unlike .com who had a first come first serve policy
4) .COM is the goliath they cannot overtake a real extension with an honest conversation, so only fancy one liners, and misleading ads can suffice.
5.) Last, but not least, they are afraid of making David Letterman’s list of Top Ten Failures of 2014
Oh and wait there is more, they have hired all their fancy pant friends as CONSULTANTS of BS, to grow the cheer leading squad… huuurrr ahhh for new GTLD’s!
The thing about the gTLDs is that they go against the patterns followed in every new industry. As in the auto and banking industries, over time there become fewer players of importance, not more. The same is true of the Internet. Many people spend much of their time on Facebook alone, for example.
The Internet is old enough that adding hundreds of new gTLDs and the potential millions of more sites to go along with them is just too much. Mature sites, which of course consist mainly of .COMs that have been around for years, will continue to get visitors and attention while new sites will get little if any attention, and simply become lost in the mix as a result.
Only so many sites can be on Google’s first search page. The gTLDs are simply a last hope for investors in them to make some money. A small number of very well-funded sites using gTLDs will likely find some success, but for the vast majority, they might as well register a .INFO or similar extension. Their results may even be better when using something a bit more recognizable to the average web surfer… the vast majority of whom have absolutely no awareness or interest in following the latest news of the upcoming gTLDs.
continue…
500 plus ‘fortunate’ reasons….
Part B)
D.R. Horton, Inc.
Dana Corporation
Danaher Corporation
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Dean Foods Company
Deere & Company
Dell Inc.
Delphi Corporation
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Devon Energy Corporation
Dillard’s, Inc.
Dole Food Company, Inc.
Dollar General Corporation
Dominion Resources, Inc.
Dover Corporation
DTE Energy Company
Duke Energy Corporation
Dynegy Inc.
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman Kodak Company
Eaton Corporation
eBay Inc.
EchoStar Communications Corporation
Ecolab Inc.
Edison International
El Paso Corporation
Electronic Data Systems Corporation
Eli Lilly and Company
EMC Corporation EMCOR Group, Inc.
Emerson Electric Co.
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P.
Energy East Corporation
Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.
Engelhard Corporation
Entergy Corporation
Enterprise Products Partners L.P.
Erie Insurance Group
Exelon Corporation
Express Scripts, Inc.
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Family Dollar Stores, Inc.
Federal-Mogul Corporation
Federated Department Stores, Inc.
FedEx Corporation
Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
Fifth Third Bancorp
First Data Corporation
FirstEnergy Corp.
Fiserv, Inc.
Fisher Scientific International Inc.
Fluor Corporation
Foot Locker, Inc.
Ford Motor Company
Fortune Brands, Inc.
FPL Group, Inc.
Franklin Resources, Inc.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
Frontier Oil Corporation
Gannett Co., Inc.
Gap Inc.
General Dynamics Corporation
General Electric Company
General Mills, Inc.
General Motors Corporation
Genuine Parts Company
Genworth Financial, Inc.
Golden West Financial Corporation
Goodrich Corporation
Google Inc.
Graybar Electric Company, Inc.
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
i have a lot of respect for frank but think his new business has clouded his judgement a bit. will new gtld’s be worth something? lets just assume they will but if he thinks people will be able to flip these for good profit instantly or even a year or two down the road i think he better take a look at how long it has taken to sell some of the domains he’s held since 2002.
That’s a good point cmac, it can take awhile just to make a .com sale, and of course some of the strings can make money without ever having any great resale value for domain investors.
The novelty extensions for the most part will make their money appealing to a certain demographic. If Frank can get enough younger people, the tumblr crowd, to reg their first name, first last name .sexy. Those names will probably not have any resale value but exist more for the novelty of owning Charlie.sexy or Susan.sexy.
The key is can there be enough of those registrations to sustain the string where its profitable year in and year out.
‘… .mobi, .etc, .etc, etc didn’t work out because they cane out alone…with the gtlds there will be thousands of new extensions coming out, therefore they will be more successful’ (not quoting, just paraphrasing what I hear all of the time).
That is some if the most twisted and backwards logic I’ve heard and it seems like every person invested in the gtlds uses that as a defense. I agree that the end user/consumer will decide all of this. We’ll see.
Domo is using the 500 as example. I’ve also been using the 500 companies to illustrate my point(s) for a long time. Its was either 2011 or ’12 when I looked at the list and only 3 of the 500 used a non .com as their main site. Every company can’t have their own .brand even if they wanted to. And the ones that do get their .brand will still use .com as their main page. Now, If Google stops using. Google.com and makes you use search.Google that’s great for the .brands!……NOT for the .generics. There’s a difference. If I’m one of the 500 and can’t get my .brand, ill still with .com. Same goes for.the small business guys….you know, the “little guys” that keep getting brought up.
i also find it troubling that so many comparisons are made between new gtlds and .co. after all isn’t .co’s appeal based on being so similar to .com?
Raymond, it will be cute the first year or two for Susan. Then when she has to renew each year, shell either forget, not care anymore (the novelty wore off), or she’ll get tired of paying $$ a year for something that’s not very important. Look on Facebook…every other girls name is ‘Kristina oh so sexy Adams’ or something silly like that because you can already have any name you want on FB, Twitter, etc.
There is one good reason for domainers staying away of new gTLDs that holds up: most registries, whether with premium names reserved lists, auctions or variable pricing, or all of the above, are taking for them what would be a domainer gain.
No gain, no reason to buy them. Simple.
@Ramahn I agree that is the concern does the novelty wear off or do they become like Fashion Trends ? With new extensions coming out down the road that they like better than the one they have now.
I speak to plenty of younger people who absolutely don’t think they need a domain name, the most common answer is “I got my Tumblr address”
I do think Frank is aware of the fickleness and is going to keep renewals really cheap on those novelty extensions.
“I agree that is the concern does the novelty wear off or do they become like Fashion Trends ? With new extensions coming out down the road that they like better than the one they have now.”
There are so many extensions coming out and limited shelf space. Many of these extensions could end up having a shelf life of a couple weeks before they become irrelevant.
Brad
About limited shelf space, it’s good to remember that new gTLDs allow Vertical Integration. Both Frank’s Uniregistrar and TLDH’s Mind+Machines Registrar are examples that registries can create shelf space instead of depending on other registrars.
continue…
500 plus ‘fortunate’ reasons (proven facts)….
some of these companies that have chosen DOT COM have valuations in the Trillions of dollars (each)
Part C:
H&R Block, Inc.
H. J. Heinz Company
Halliburton Company
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
HCA Inc.
Health Net, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc.
Hess Corporation
Hewlett-Packard Company
Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
Hilton Hotels Corporation
Honeywell International Inc.
Hormel Foods Corporation
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.
Hughes Supply, Inc.
Humana Inc.
Huntsman Corporation
IAC/InterActiveCorp
IKON Office Solutions, Inc.
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Ingram Micro Inc.
Intel Corporation
International Business Machines Corporation
International Paper Company
ITT Industries, Inc.
J. C. Penney Company, Inc.
Jabil Circuit, Inc.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Jones Apparel Group, Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
KB Home
Kellogg Company
Kelly Services, Inc.
Kerr-McGee Corporation
KeyCorp
KeySpan Corporation
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.
Kindred Healthcare, Inc.
Kohl’s Corporation
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc.
Lear Corporation
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Lennar Corporation
Levi Strauss & Co.
Lexmark International, Inc.
Liberty Global, Inc.
Liberty Media Holding Corporation Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc.
Limited Brands, Inc.
Lincoln National Corporation
Liz Claiborne, Inc.
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Loews Corporation
Longs Drug Stores Corporation
Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Lucent Technologies Inc.
Lyondell Chemical Company
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
Manpower Inc.
Marathon Oil Corporation
Marriott International, Inc.
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
Marshall & Ilsley Corporation
Masco Corporation
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Mattel, Inc.
McDonald’s Corporation
McKesson Corporation
MeadWestvaco Corporation
Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
Medtronic, Inc.
Mellon Financial Corporation
Merck & Co., Inc.
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
MetLife, Inc.
MGM MIRAGE
Micron Technology, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
Mirant Corporation
Mohawk Industries, Inc.
Molson Coors Brewing Company
Monsanto Company
Morgan Stanley
Motorola, Inc.
Murphy Oil Corporation
Nash-Finch Company
National City Corporation
National Oilwell Varco, Inc.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Navistar International Corporation
NCR Corporation
New York Life Insurance Company
Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
Newmont Mining Corporation
News Corporation NIKE, Inc.
NiSource Inc.
Nordstrom, Inc.
Norfolk Southern Corporation
Northeast Utilities
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Northwest Airlines Corporation
Nucor Corporation
NVR, Inc.
* Additionally very very few companies applied for their dot brand and for what I understand even fewer are planning to use it in a COM-mercial public way, some will be closed or used internally as private networks.
As a self-claimed naming expert, I will introduce the concept of ‘MyaKu (脈)’. It is a kind of a stream of (spiritual) energy that may not be so familiar in the ‘Western’ world. Psychic.readings is not good because MyaKu is cut off. psychicreadings. (com or whatever) is far better. That’s why dashed word.com is not considered desirable.
I just got home from Vegas and thought I would jump in before passing out
@Frank
While you are planning on charging a reasonably low price for your domain registrations at Uniregistry and as I understand not reserve a lot of domains for premium pricing, many other new G registries as you know are planning on charging as high as four figures even five figures for a domain name registration, and many are going with the old .TV model for premium domains, planning on charging hundreds or thousands of dollars per year for premium domain registration and renewal fees
Some are even talking about five and six figures per year
Most of the better strings are still in contention.
We have no idea of who will own them, what there business model will be, what they are planning to charge.
Google and Amazon are huge wild cards
They may give away free domains.
Free .web addresses anyone?
That would not only be a challenge for existing domain owners who are looking to sell their inventory, but also for new G’s competing for market share in domain registrations.
Thanks Mike.. Welcome home. If they are free I’ll back up the truck ; ) They’ll only be free once and I have my doubts they’ll be free at all. I also expect some hanky rules to discourage speculation and less than crystal ownership structure. Great night to you and Judy.
I think you are right Frank, that Google will structure some type of package deal where a domain is included, and probably put in the TOS if you no longer want the domain its returned to Google and they will make it available for free again, that’s not 100 % but I could see them doing that, I can’t believe they would be dumb enough to spend the money to win .WEB, then let domainers who they have never really cared for in the first place, sell them for profit.
Frank it’s time for you to cut your losses and go back to just parking.
As the author of the article and the owner of a strategy company I often have to remind people to look outside of the world you live in to find opportunity. I’m not a domainer but I am an innovating businessman that always tries to embrace change and to help steer it in the direction that I want it to head in (one person can make a difference). History is full of examples of people who were ridiculed for change, slandered for thinking that things could be different and this is another example of it.
Sometimes it is hard to see the trees through the forest, sometimes its easier to focus on the negatives than innovating positive possibilities, sometimes fear of ridicule makes you shy away of thinking radically. Domainers are speculating to make profits no different to those looking to operate new gTLDs, so drawing on financial gains and propaganda is hypocritical.
The point to the article really is to highlight human nature. Maybe the new gTLDs won’t be successful but the point is about not being resistant to thinking that just maybe there is an opportunity and to look for it. Again don’t look to the past for the answers because you will only draw negative conclusions. You can not conceive what has not yet happened but only speculate on its possibilities. Remember that its very often not what you see that kills you but what you don’t see that does.
Personally I believe that the entire domain industry is going to look nothing like it does now and its not going to be driven by generics. The one thing that most domainers seem to be forgetting here is that there are 500+ trademark brands who are at this very moment changing the constitution of what a top level domain actually is to allow for brands to exist at the top level. SLAM Strategy has done extensive research into this space and believe that the next big thing will come from brands and not generics. This will however have a huge impact on driving success for generics through making the domain industry more mainstream.
Look at it this way, if the new gTLDs fail then where you are now is where you will likely remain in this industry. If for some reason they succeed through ideas that no one ever thought about before (because the landscpae changed) then it will be their gain and your loss. So rather than thinking about a thousand reason why these new gTLDs will fail, if you want to be the next Frank Shilling or the like, it will come to those that can find a way to make it a success for them. The stage is set but sitting back and pointing to a bad paint job isn’t going to improve your performance on the night.
If the new gTLD are a success you will all be there trying to take your cut and then this conversation will have been another example of resistance to change. The new gTLD are here to stay in some form or another, how they evolve and what the future of the domain industry looks like will largely depend on what innovation evolves from their introduction. This is where domainers should be focusing their energy.
Good luck to you all.
Thanks for posting Shaun and explaining your take on the new gtlds.
continue…
Part D:
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Office Depot, Inc.
OfficeMax Incorporated
OGE Energy Corp.
Omnicare, Inc.
Omnicom Group Inc.
ONEOK, Inc.
Oracle Corporation
Owens & Minor, Inc.
Owens Corning
Owens-Illinois, Inc.
PACCAR Inc
Pacific Mutual Holding Company
Parker Hannifin Corporation
Pathmark Stores, Inc.
Peabody Energy Corporation
Pepco Holdings, Inc.
PepsiCo, Inc.
Performance Food Group Company
Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc.
Pfizer Inc
PG&E Corporation
Phelps Dodge Corporation
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation
Pitney Bowes Inc.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.
PPG Industries, Inc.
PPL Corporation
Praxair, Inc.
Principal Financial Group, Inc.
Progress Energy, Inc.
Prudential Financial, Inc.
Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated
Publix Super Markets, Inc.
Pulte Homes, Inc.
QUALCOMM Incorporated
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
Qwest Communications International Inc.
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company
RadioShack Corporation
Raytheon Company
Regions Financial Corporation
Reliant Energy, Inc.
Reynolds American Inc.
Rite Aid Corporation
Rockwell Automation, Inc.
Rohm and Haas Company
Ross Stores, Inc.
Ryder System, Inc.
Ryerson, Inc.
Ryland Group Ltd.
Safeco Corporation
Safeway Inc.
Saks Incorporated
Sanmina-SCI Corporation
Sara Lee Corporation
SCANA Corporation
Schering-Plough Corporation
Science Applications International Corporation
Sealed Air Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sempra Energy
SLM Corporation
Smith International, Inc.
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
Solectron Corporation
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Southern Company
Southwest Airlines Co.
Sprint Nextel Corporation
SPX Corporation
Standard Pacific Corp.
Staples, Inc.
Starbucks Corporation
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
State Street Corporation
Stryker Corporation
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
SunGard Data Systems Inc.
Sunoco, Inc.
SunTrust Banks, Inc.
SUPERVALU INC.
SYSCO Corporation
Target Corporation
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund
Tech Data Corporation
Temple-Inland Inc.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation
Tenneco Inc.
TEPPCO Partners, L.P.
Terex Corporation
Tesoro Corporation
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Textron Inc.
The AES Corporation
The Allstate Corporation
The Bank of New York Company, Inc.
The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.
The Black & Decker Corporation
The Boeing Company
The Brink’s Company
The Charles Schwab Corporation
The Chubb Corporation
The Clorox Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The DIRECTV Group, Inc.
The Dow Chemical Company
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
The First American Corporation
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
The Hershey Company
The Home Depot, Inc.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.
The Kroger Co.
The Lubrizol Corporation
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The Mosaic Company
The Mutual of Omaha Companies
The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
The Procter & Gamble Company
The Progressive Corporation
The ServiceMaster Company
The Sherwin-Williams Company
The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc.
The Timken Company
The TJX Companies, Inc.
The Walt Disney Company
The Williams Companies, Inc.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Time Warner Inc.
Toll Brothers, Inc.
Toys ”R” Us, Inc.
TransMontaigne Inc.
Triad Hospitals, Inc.
Tribune Company
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.
TXU Corp.
Tyson Foods, Inc.
U.S. Bancorp
UAL Corporation
UGI Corporation
Union Pacific Corporation
Unisys Corporation
United Auto Group, Inc.
United Parcel Service, Inc.
United States Steel Corporation
United Stationers Inc.
United Technologies Corporation
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
Universal Health Services, Inc.
UnumProvident Corporation
US Airways Group, Inc.
USAA
USG Corporation
Valero Energy Corporation
Verizon Communications Inc.
VF Corporation
W. R. Berkley Corporation
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Wachovia Corporation
Walgreen Co.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Washington Mutual, Inc.
Waste Management, Inc.
WellPoint, Inc.
Wells Fargo & Company
WESCO International, Inc.
Western & Southern Financial Group
Weyerhaeuser Company
Whirlpool Corporation
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
World Fuel Services Corporation
WPS Resources Corporation
Wyeth
Xcel Energy Inc.
Xerox Corporation
Yahoo! Inc.
YRC Worldwide Inc.
YUM! Brands, Inc.
100’s and 100’s of Multinational companies advised by the best advertising companies in the world and the best Madison avenue mind to stick with the Gold Standard of domains : DOT COM.
In the meantime the verbal diarrh** continues…
“Dot Com Will Be Dead in 10 Years”
Fred Krueger from Minds and machines, at NamesCon
(as reported by Shane Cultra from DomainShane DOT COM it is)
can you smell the desperation?
yeah, you’re right….
1,000some TLD will come out and nobody will ever use them. with infinite choices…
thats desperate thinking.
Shaun,
You are clueless when it comes to the subject of Human Nature and your words and thoughts show you are a VICTIM of Human Nature not a MASTER of Human Nature.
You talk to an audience of pioneers and professionals like they are scared, ignorant and are losers.
An audience of some of the most open minded and often gullible people in any business I have seen because we are open to follow the path to the future. The question is are gtld’s on the path to the future and with guys like you leading the parade, all I see is elephant dung we are all focusing on so we don’t step in it?
Has nothing to do with the success or failure. Has to do with your lack of respect, insulting, condescending and arrogant attitude. I don’t even know what gTLD you represent. I don’t even care. The focus is of your words not your product. So you failed. Join the other two.
The end user has you all by the balls and I have yet to find many end users that have heard of the new extensions and when they do, they have as much interest as going to the dentist. NONE! Know why I know that? I ask!
I don’t wish you ill. I wish you all success. I just want ALL of you guys to stop saying stupid things. Stupid things that you all own and I swear to you are lowering your chances of success not increasing them.
You will soon turn professional domainers off so much, we will tune you out. THAT sir is Human Nature. The discussion will be over and even the cheerleaders will feel a little uneasy.
Believe me, many of the gTLD operators want me to shut up and go with the program. But they know the damage is coming from within. So when you can’t go toe to toe or use facts or are forced to IGNORE HISTORY and even look down at those that utilize history, then you got nothing to demonstrate that a single prediction of your will come to be.
But keep spewing the bullshit and mark my words, you guys have a gun and a foot and you just keep shooting. It’s almost a spectacle. Your success is no threat to any domainer in the world. NOT a one!! But reality is a huge threat to you guys. .com is not a threat to you, YOUR WORDS are your single biggest threat because anyone that does not buy in to you is a person “resistance to change”. Maybe just they reject bullshit and then why would you have any credibility left to hear any other nosie? If a car salesman gives folks a load of crap, you know what human nature does when it kicks in?? THEY LEAVE!
Maybe they are just allergic to bullshit. So when somebody comes with ANOTHER donkey full of bullshit, you want to be taken seriously and welcomed with open arms?? Do I have that right my Human Nature Victim?
Look, I don’t want to make ennmy’s with any of you guys. But I will be damned if I will sit by and listen to this crap.
So far your entire sales pitch and all the others is “Your stupid if you don’t buy and swallow our bullshit in which we have nothing at all to back it up and how dare you bring up all those past failures and lost money.” That’s just plain stupid I am trying to enlighten you folks before huamn nature really kicksin.
We are receptive to what you see as your benefits, but the rest of this crap we can do wthout. It’s beyond noise.
Reason 501:
China.com sold for $11.7 million
just reported;
scmp DOT COM /news/china-insider/article/1409641/chinacom-among-worlds-most-costly-domain-names-relaunched-boost
Thanks to Constantino Zournas for reporting it.
Shaun, I must agree with Rick. Your article, which reads like a direct attack on domainers, is glaringly biased and shows a lack of understanding of the existing market.
As a domainer my biggest fear is that the gTLDs will totally ruin the domain industry.
I make websites for people/consumers/businesses and the first step is always finding a domain. Almost without exception they want a dotcom even though they are aware of and are shown alternatives.
They will be happy with something vague before the dot rather than after the dot!
The market is only so big and gTLDs are going to drive consumers away from it big time. It will completely fragment and will further Google’s total dominance of the online space. (A battle domainers lost a decade ago!)
I see federal and corporate sanctions in Googles future…
Lastly, I would like to post a few more reasons as it seems to be a Lack of congruence on behalf of some of the new gTLD players as they spread their ‘propaganda’ in what is becoming a “hard sell”* approach…
Uniregistry DOT COM
DomainNameSales DOT COM
TheDomains DOT COM
NamesCON DOT COM (how appropriate is that?)
HybridDomainer DOT COM (isn’t that you Raymond? the creator of this guest post? apologies if not.)
Domaining DOT COM
DotWhatever DOT COM
RightOfTheDot DOT COM
GoDaddy DOT COM
Google DOT COM
1and1 DOT COM
finally, Shaun the writer of the article :
SlamStrategy DOT COM & DOT COM DOT AU
I rest my case.
* Hard Sell: : an aggressive way of selling something
: something that is difficult to sell : something that others are not willing or likely to accept
P.S: at the ‘Dot com is a Wasteland’ thread… ‘The silence is deafening’
To all you buggy operators buying your new multicolored buggy whips, .fax domains, and other obsolete items I can give you a free seminar in Bitcoin if you come to Atlantic City … so you are not left behind as new technologies emerge.
The Internet is about change so building up an infrastructure surrounding and old technology is not the way to go. Companies like Uniregistry, Donuts, etc. all think that the domaining industry is going to be big forever. In a sense it will, but not at the levels that many people are planning. ICANN saw that happening and they suckered you guys in and took you for a ride. Now you are so entrenched with investments and investors that you can’t get out. It is like people who bought a stock on the way down and they don’t want to sell it because they believe someday it will come back and they don’t want to admit they made a mistake.
Shaun, the death toll for generics has been rung over and over again by people like yourself but over a decade later, they are still selling for record amounts.
a for resisting change, any time someone has invested a lot of time and money into a certain way of doing things, its human nature to resist that change. and it will be human nature for consumers to resist change to how they navigate the web too.
there is nothing new innovative about domain hacks, which is what these new gtlds amount to. it is definitely an opportunity for the registrars but not much of one for anyone else who invests in the domain space. its a huge gamble for domain investors and end users who think they can get the dream domain for next to nothing will be sorely disappointed as well.
i’d really like to know what you think is innovative about these domains?
@ Shaun La Corny
You Stated:
”if you want to be the next Frank Shilling or the like, it will come to those that can find a way to make it a success for them”
– From what I remember about Mr. Schilling he wasn’t there in 1996, he got his names on the drops back in 2001 on… after that early tech crash… So even .com had their hiccups.
As well there is nothing wrong with liking change, but there is something wrong with trying to force change for your own financial benefit.
We are all to small of fish to influence anything, the big marketers, and the companies will attempt to market GTLD’s, and it all depends on how their consumers react as to how they will be implemented. The O.co from overstock is my example in this situation, and it failed miserably.
My Top 5 reasons against new GTLDs:
1). .COM is not going anywhere. Period. All established online businesses today are on .COM and ccTLDs – not one will rebrand and move. People “might” eventually “use” the new GTLDs but they will all “want” a .COM when it comes down to business or to look professional and “need” a great .COM when they want to compete with the best locally or globally.
2). Unavailability of good, viable and factual answers / reasons to invest in new GTLDs. The only standout practical usage of the new GTLDs seem to lie with marketing and personalization and not as the main business domain name.
3). Don’t want to wait a dozen years to see if there is value or not. The domain should have intrinsic value today. History of all non .COM GTLDs weighs heavily on the new ones.
4). New GTLDs are ripe for trademark wars. Why enter the murk?
5). Last but not the least. Practically can’t put them in a digital sentence without a http:// or www in front coz they will not look like URLs and will read wrong.
@ shaun le cornu
says he, “You can not conceive what has not yet happened but only speculate on its possibilities.”
Speak for yourself, there are many with this talent, society calls them “Visionaries”
s. mugavero
lol @ Rick Schwartz this dude always makes me laugh when I read his .com butt kissing comments. If .com was a real person he’d be giving it a blowjob. And Ricky talks about respect and being condescending? lol. I once emailed lil Ricky and asked for his opinion on a few new gTLD domains I registered just for my amusement because I already knew about his hatred for the new extensions. And all I got from him was a “no” lol that was the entire reply. It’s clear he afraid of change. And what can you expect from a guy that calls himself the “domain king”