Well over a month into the delay on the new gTLD’s due to issues with the TAS system, ICANN offered a 100% refund for any applicant who pulled or withdrew their application before ICANN publicly revealed all applications and applicants, otherwise known as the “Big Reveal”
ICANN said June 13th will be the day of the Big Reveal but as we know last week several applicants came forward on their own account and released the new gTLD’s they had applied for and none got more news than Google’s bid for several extension including .LOL.
So the question becomes if you had made application for .LOL and now due to the technical glitch of the TAS, have the unique and unexpected opportunity to received 100% refund of all your application fees, would you take it, knowing that Google Applied for the new gTLD .LOL?
Remember that if there are two or more application for the same Extension the winner unless a deal is struck by the parties is decided by auction.
So would you risk going to an auction against Google or would you take your chance either trying to work something out with Google the extension?
On the other hand just because your in an auction with Google doesn’t mean Google will win?
Why?
Corporations notoriously have budgets for everything and they no doubt have a budget for how much to spend on the new gTLD program and for each of the generic TLD they applied for including .LOL.
Google also said they were going for 50 new gTLD’s and that .LOL is only one, any many of the other new gTLD’s Google applied for might be applied for by other parties.
So what would you do?
You can answer on our poll on the right and comment below.
Regardless, Google will most probably bid higher.
no 🙂
Read “The Art of War”
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
I would rather just be productive and buy a .com – seriously – how much commercial value is in .LOL ? about the same as facebook – none.
What are the REFUND Terms and Conditions ?
What does ICANN demand ? to give YOU back YOUR money ?
Do you think the ICANN end game will be as described by the FAG ? [It has already been changed – after excluding Applicants]
Have you considered the IANA Contract re-bid with the U.S. Government ?
Have you considered the possibility that Multiple Applications will be “spun” to be a Good Thing ? and THREE companies will be selected as the .LOL Registry using the old NSF model ? (IS, RS, DS)
Giving one company exclusive rights to a gTLD is not going to fly – The (IS, RS, DS) model is still in play for .COM with UncleSam-ICANN-Verisign
Will Google partner with TWO other .LOL Applicants ?
Has ICANN already orchestrated that ? [see recent Blog by ICANN Founder + Chairman of the Board from Google]
{ For people not aware of what is coming – a 100% Refund is recommended – even for Google – but they have money to toss into the ICANN process/drain }
I think the better question: if you applied for .lol, what the heck were you thinking in the first place?
🙂
@Andrew
If Henry Ford asked his customers what they wanted they would have said a better horse and buggy.
Four other things to consider:
1. The New ICANN CEO could be a game-changer – there is something clearly wrong – [[[They]]] may be having trouble secretly vetting candidates in their process – [[[They]]] also may decide to retain the current CEO until the IANA contract is finished and other loose ends are cleaned up.
2. You could end up as a partner with Google in a FREE (zero revenue) gTLD like dotTK. Google gives many services away for FREE like 8.8.8.8 and their DNS hosting.
3. There is also a chance Google will be driven away by an Applicant.From.Hell. You could end up being forced to “partner” with **that Applicant** or loose it all.
4. There may be strategic advantage to staying in the game – assuming the U.S. Government will be stepping in soon – as well as the class action lawsuit crowd.
That could take years to resolve and it seems unlikely one would do much better than a 100% Refund. Others may clam everyone will get a huge settlement from the $350,000,000 pot.
All monies should be held as deposits to buy/bid and returned if not won. The process is designed to be a good ol’big boy game and not a fair/open marketplace.
@Refund
I think you are right that Google will end up offering these for free as long as they are tied to a Google property like youtube or some other service like analytics. If they wanted to make money as a registrar they would have already pursued that.
One million dollars is .0000053 of Google’s market cap. If they want this they will not be outbid and they would not have wasted time applying if they did not want it.
Once the world is use to right of the dot, which appears to be very soon, LOL makes as much sense for something funny online as anything.
“…if you applied for .lol, what the heck were you thinking in the first place?”
One clear “trend” from the disclosures to date is that Applicants seem to want to choose gTLDs that others select. Maybe people want to be “Just like Google ?”
Some Applicants seem to want to have showdowns or auctions.
On the other hand, Google has not announced ALL of their selections. Many other big players have also not announced much, if anything.
Asking for a Refund will likely label an Applicant (Not a Serious Player) which could be a problem as more of the future is disclosed.
The game is similar to Subscription Agreements for Silicon Valley Start-Ups – Lawyers hold money to launch companies only if enough investors sign up – if not – the money is returned. The U.S. SEC and FTC are of close all over the ICANN process, because of the similarities to other processes. ICANN likes to claim they are different and international. ICANN is a private California company, that benefits a few Internet insiders. [[[They]]] will never let people in their club for $185,000.
@Refund
It costs more than $185,000 to open a Subway sandwich shop. Making sure people are serious is a good thing.
from http: //LOL com/
Two guys were out fishing on the lake when a hearse and funeral procession passed the boat on a nearby road. One of them stood up and held his fishing hat over his heart as the hearse passed. His buddy commented, “Gee, Harry, that was really nice and respectful!”
To which Harry replied, “Well, after all we were married 40 years.”
The one that might have applied to .ROFL is laughing very loud at this point…
“the unique and unexpected opportunity to received 100% refund”
#
When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, it took the astronauts to a Navajo reservation in Arizona for training. One day, a Navajo elder and his son came across the space crew walking among the rocks.
The elder, who spoke only Navajo, asked a question. His son translated for the NASA people, “What are these guys in the big suits doing?”
One of the astronauts said that they were practicing for a trip to the moon.
When his son relayed this comment the Navajo elder, the elder got all excited and asked if it would be possible to give to the astronauts a message to deliver to the moon.
Recognizing a promotional opportunity when he saw one, a NASA official accompanying the astronauts said, “Why certainly!” and told an underling to get a tape recorder.
The Navajo elder”s comments into the microphone were brief. The NASA official asked the son if he would translate what his father had said.
The son listened to the recording and laughed uproariously, but he refused to translate.
So the NASA people took the tape to a nearby Navajo village and played it for other members of the tribe. They too laughed long and loudly but also refused to translate the elder’s message to the moon.
An official government translator was summoned. After he finally stopped laughing the translator relayed the message, “Watch out for these jerks. They have come to steal your land.”
Are we SURE that we know what these letters will stand for?
We could be looking at a new suite of service from Google here.
Here are some possibilities
– Learn On-Line
– Live On-Line
some others…
Last or Least – the lowest ranked hits for a search
Little old Lady – tribute to grandmothers
Labor of Love – home projects
Lots of Luck – lottery service
Loss of Life – insurance policies
Lists of List – Yahoo clone
Leg of Lamb – social network for gluttons
Lots of Losers – see list of new gtlds
i also suspect google also have applied .blog and .web, it’s not about .lol it’s also about other new tlds. if big companies are allowed to do so there will be no fair competition
Andrew
Really the story applied to any string Google is the most interesting one of course but say its a string that both M+M applied for an Directi applied for,. knowing you have those 2 against you would someone be inclined to ask for there money back while they can
In the recent landrush auction for 1 and 2 letter co.uk. we outbid facebook on the f.co.uk and someone else outbid Google on g.co.uk, and yes definitely large corporations always have a strict budget for everything.
You’re not going to outbid G if they want it, but having bought a seat at the auction where you know you’re one of a few bidding against them (if not the only one), you can for damn sure cost them more than $185K via the natural bid process, which means buying your paddle may be worth more to Google than a refund from ICANN.
I’d be on the horn with Google, RFN, letting them know that I’m an auction counterparty for one of their TLD applications and feeling out my options.
@ Michael – I see what you’re saying.
I’m just still scratching my head over this whole .lol thing. I’m curious what they’ll do with it.
One BATCH :: No Auctions
You may want to set your strategy assuming there will be One Batch of 100 and No Auctions
Will .LOL be in the Fortune 100 ? (excluding BRAND TLDs)
Does your hypothetical .LOL Applicant bring anything to the table (of insiders) ?
.WEB is once again shaping up to be “The Poster Child of the ICANN Process”
.INC will no doubt be settled behind closed doors (Let’s be Adult about this)
Then there are the Single Symbol TLDs 🙂
[[[An official government translator was summoned. After he finally stopped laughing the translator relayed the message, “Watch out for these jerks. They have come to steal your land.”]]]
Translation: Sell all your .COM domains, retire and .LOL all the way to the .BANCO
Just because Google applied for .LOL doesn’t mean that they have set their heart on this particular domain. When people apply for 50 or 70 gTLDs they themselves know that only a small number from their list might get approved and even a smaller number would actually become operational as new gTLDs.
There is nothing special about .LOL as far as keywords go, but if google has some plans around using this string then they would probably try to buy out the other applicants for some big money as I don’t think that google would like to have any partners forced on them through the new gTLD approval process. On the other hand if google doesn’t have any specific plans for this string then they might just let it go to someone else because this string by itself is not really that big of a deal, as the mater of fact it has some bad association as far as laughing at others in a negative way.
When it comes to the new gTLDs we can all only guess as to how things might unfold in the future. There really are no experts at this point who can tell you for sure what the best strategy is for coming ahead in this game. Some of the strings that look like sure bids might actually fail and others that no one is taking seriously might take off and become very popular. We have entered a new uncharted territory that will only become clearer after we have gone half way through it.
At this point success has to do more with trial and error and having some good luck rather then depending on anyone’s word as a sure thing, even the experts of the .com era don’t know exactly what is going to happen with all these new gTLDs. (just my opinion)
Did someone really mention Henry Ford and the automobile as a good correlation to .lol ? Where is .WTF ?
Brad –
ojohn’s “pimp domains for sale.”
It is about as effective as all these new gTLDs
@ Brad
Brad at least it shows that I still believe in .com
By the way it’s up to MHB to delete the post if he’s not happy with me mentioning my domains. You best mind your own business.
–
@Deano
Before the Model T the average consumer had no idea of what transportation of the future would be like yet spent plenty of time and energy getting from point a to point b. My point is the modern consumer has no idea what the internet of the future will look like but spends plenty of time and energy online. It is aimed at those who have no idea what the use would be.
I can see it’s use and think it would be better than .funny or .comedy as a new extension. But I know just as little as the horse and buggy riders of yester-year and other readers of this blog.
Brad doesn’t have to mind his own business, he can call you out for spamming the comment section.
Bfitz not a bad point but is LOL universal ? Seems to be a North American centric extension.
O John
You know you can’t post domains for sale on this blog, yes I can take it down but I’m not on this thing 24/7
Just don’t post it in the 1st place
Appreciate the cooperation
@Deano
North America: 300 million strong and growing faster than the rest of the english speaking world.
Without overwhelming data supporting me I wouldnt risk any ALT TLDs, particularly given there’s an unlimited number of premium .Coms for sale for less then they should be worth in commercial value and resale value. Fly to quality, why risk less.
Yo, My buddy is The.Rich.Jerk check out his .JERK Top Level Domain
Mike.THE.MAN
Exclusive Owner of the dotMAN Top Level Domain
@Tom Barrett –
Maybe Losers On Line
” Just don’t post it in the 1st place ”
@ MHB
No problem.
——–
@ Mike Mann
The floodgates have already been opened, there is no going back at this point. It’s way past the point of debating whether the new gTLDs are good or bad, the fact is that they are going to be here soon and no matter how much we like and depend on .com we need to accept the fact that there are going to be some major changes coming in the near future.
What do you think will happen if some of the big brand gTLDs (like .google) start giving people free registrations for second level domains. I hate to say this, but there might come a time that no one will ever pay for a domain again.
–
“What do you think will happen if some of the big brand gTLDs (like .google) start giving people free registrations for second level domains. I hate to say this, but there might come a time that no one will ever pay for a domain again. ”
People who will accept low quality free domains were not domain buyers to start with.
Anyone who understands the value of branding understands the value of quality domains.
For the average buyer, a quality domain is a very small part of the cost of launching a project. Launching a business on a garbage domain just makes it harder to be successful and be taken seriously.
Brad
@ Brad
Let me rephrase that:
There might come a time that no one will ever pay “big money” for a domain again.
Sure domains will continue to change hands for three or four figures, but people will only pay big money if the domain has already been developed in to a successful business, so it’s going to be a flight to money making websites which do not necessarily require the best domains. (just my opinion)
–
The value and beauty of .COM is in its “neutral” nature- it implies nothing. It is not limited to one country. Contrary to what non-US folks claim and cry about in the comment section of these articles, .COM is NOT American and is used all around the world. Just because people support .COM has nothing to do with being in the US. Although it technically means commerce/commercial, it has evolved to be the go-to for everything. Music, business, promotions, blogs, games, anything.
See, if you own john.blog, you are also indirectly connected to mike.blog, jim.blog, and the other millions of “.blog”‘s out there. But if you are JohnBlog.com, MikeBlog.com, JimBlog.com, you are independent.
I think it’s inevitable that a lot of these .gTLD’s take off and do well in their niche, but it’s impossible for .COM to be dethroned. What the gTLD promoters claim to be .COM’s weakness- that it doesn’t “explain” what is to the left of the dot in this new “right of the dot” age- is actually its biggest advantage. It’s completely neutral and independent- you make your own brand. And you aren’t limited to what is “right of the dot”, nor associated with everyone else that shares your “right of the dot” (which may be good or bad).
Personally, I think .gTLD’s (other than brands gTLDs) will be best as “search shortcuts” that lead directly to search result pages. So just typing “mexico.hotels” will take you to a Google or Bing search results page. That would be smart for the search engines … bring people back to their main product.
But I guess we won’t know the true outcome for years.
@ M “But I guess we won’t know the true outcome for years.”
And by then, Apps will have killed the Internet, just like video killed the radio star. 😉
And by then, Apps will have killed the Internet, just like video killed the radio star. 😉
Keep dreaming
Deano, not a dream. You’ll see.
Keep telling yourself that.
@MHB
I think when all the applications are public, it’s going to be Directi and TLDH who are wanting their money back from their .app bids – and maybe some others.
You think Google applied for .lol and NOT .app? You think Apple wants Google to have .app?
46 more tlds that Google has yet to announce. Both Apple and Demand Media are mum.
I think some of the other ‘big portfolio investors’ are sweating this out a little.
btw – I think .lol can work
In my research I came across numerous mentions of .comedy, .laugh, .joke, .humor
There’s a lot of search for laughs online. .lol encompasses this in a short, hip, modern style.
May the best generic web/app domain network win!
“.lol encompasses this in a short, hip, modern style.”
You’ve got to be kidding, right?
Somewhere around the year 2000, the term “lol” in online conversation instantly branded the user as either a dork or a 7th grader, or both.
Tom
For the record I reached out to Demand to see if they wasn’t to release the new gTLD’s they applied for, they polity declined
Deano, what do you think Facebook’s biggest worry is? Losing advertising revenue because people are using an App to access Facebook instead of using the Internet on their computer. As the years go by, tablets and smartphones will be outselling PCs. When that happens, Internet browsing as we now know it will be history.
Apps will not only be for entertainment or education, but they’ll also be the new ‘websites.’ People will access information in a very different way. Instead of going to a website, they’ll open an App. All the big news stations already have Apps… even my local news stations here in Silicon Valley have their own Apps. They all know that people will move away from visiting websites to get their news, to tapping on an App to get it.
Social networks, dating ‘sites,’ and whatever else you can imagine… will all be Apps. They already are.
Remember dialing in to individual Bulletin Board Systems in the ’80s with a 300 baud modem? (If you’re old enough…) Notice how they aren’t around anymore? I’ve been a computer programmer here in Silicon Valley since 1977. And if it’s one thing you can count on, it’s change. Bulletin Boards were killed by the Internet. Apps are already becoming the next step.
I have no doubts about apps continuing, but there will still be a need for websites and domain extensions for many, many years. There are just some things that an app is not the best thing for.
@innocuous
how does one acquire the app? does it come pre-installed?
Tom, I think it might be time to upgrade from your Motorola StarTAC phone.
Deano, yes websites will still be around for years, and people like me will still be buying PCs and Macs as well. After all, you need a PC or a Mac to create Apps. But there definitely is going to be a shift away from typical websites for the vast majority of people out there. If companies didn’t think this was the case, Facebook, CNN, Zillow, Bank of America, NetFlix and countless others wouldn’t be creating Apps to take the place of their websites.
Tom G is correct. The readership here skews older…bordering on senility on this issue.
Teens tweens will relate to .lol.
.com = old clunky web 1.0 dinosaur domain
Archiba, Steve Jobs was born 5 years before me, and he certainly wasn’t senile. His work and that of other tablet and phone makers continues to take the world in a whole new direction. Register all the gTLDs you want though, and concentrate on making websites, because there are already more than enough people looking to the future and making Apps.
@Innocuous
What about search, real search as in my 7 year old needs golf clubs, how do I size them. My other kid needs better skate board wheels. HTF do I know which are good and bad. I want to rent a boat in San Diego next month, or an RV in AZ this month? Life is life and the 25 year olds of today are the 35 year old Dad’s of tomorrow-trying to figure it out. What app tells my 17 year old nephew about the area around Pepperdine where he starts in August. Which app tells a19 year old first time motorcycle owner which helmets are better than others? Or a 24 year old first time Jeep owner where to find accessories?
Apps are great when you are half way there in your head already. Search will always be needed as long as people are growing and going.
Our latest location had 2700 yelp views last month with 76 click-thrus. It also had 100,000 google views with 3,000 click-thrus. The king of restaurant apps today is delivering 2% the results of search for 50% of the cost. Less if I looked at Bing results. Apps have a long way to go to catch search. How many apps of tomorrow will be more successful than Yelp?
Innocuous, why did Google make this move if domains are being made obsolete by apps?
It has already been discussed many times: the phone system still requires the numeric addresses all of these decades later. I’ve never heard a good argument for the end of domain addresses. Apps will never replace the web unless an authoritarian gov decrees it and that’s a different issue.
Archiba, because Google is full of hipsters like you! Seriously though, the Internet will still be around for some time. Apps use the Internet to access data, after all. But all these gTLDs? Why?
The same frenzy was happening when Facebook announced its IPO. There were people saying it was going to go up and up and there would be big profits to be made, but I made it clear in a post here, that I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t buy into the hype of Facebook, and I’m not buying into the hype of gTLDs. Someone will make money… (Google?) … but not you.
BFitz, as you probably know, you can still access the Internet on a tablet. And the Google Maps App can show you whats around Pepperdine.
I’m sure you can figure out stuff like how to size golf clubs on your own. When I started golfing at 9 years old, there was no Internet or personal computers, and somehow, amazingly, I figured it out. (The ‘real world’ still works.)
The iPad is only 2 years old. But already there are specialized Apps like iRentaBoat and PepperdineU Map, among the over half billion apps out there, so the ability to find an App on just about anything will certainly improve as the years go by.
“I’m sure you can figure out stuff like how to size golf clubs on your own. When I started golfing at 9 years old, there was no Internet or personal computers, and somehow, amazingly, I figured it out. (The ‘real world’ still works.)”
This is the guy telling us the future of the internet
Tom, I’m so hurt. Seriously though, would you really size golf clubs online? Wouldn’t it be better to go to a Pro Shop and do it in person? I don’t buy running shoes online, no matter what the reviews say about them. I want to see how they feel for myself.
But, whatever. Maybe you’re agoraphobic, or something, and don’t like to go out. If so, you have my condolences.
“I think our kids will laugh at the term ‘dotcom’ as something antiquated.” — Kurt Pritz, Senior VP, ICANN
I think our kids will laugh at the term ‘ICANN’ as something that had once actually existed.
Fools! You’re all too old 🙂 just go to http://www.9gag.com to see what and how .lol might be used. Millions of kids in the 13-25 demographic create and consume, post and repost memes through platforms such as 9gag (of which there are many, many more!). Google has its own meme generator last I checked. Huge growth and big potential in this space. Smart move.
@Innocous
You’re right, you will be able to “find” an app for anything, once you start searching. At 9pm when the stores are closed and you want to learn about something you do not currently have much knowledge of, you will turn to search. So as long as you know everything, apps will be fine.
The thread is about .LOL I would not battle Google and see much use for the extension. Assuming Google won’t bid up for the extension is like going to war with China and assuming they won’t use their whole army. Google would be saying,”Who are we bidding against and what are their resources?” Again, $1MM is nothing to them so as long as it is nothing to the other bidder, no biggie. But if it is a company with less than $10MM cash on hand, is it worth it?
I would take my $185K and walk away.
This debate sure is very silly.lol!
GTLDs will fail.lol!
How stupid.lol!