“.Moe” Could Potentially Hit over 200 Million Registrations! ”
Is the first line of a press release out this morning by Interlink Co., Ltd., a new Domain Registry Operator, announcing that the new gTLD .Moe is in general availability meaning it is open for live domain name registrations on a first-come, first-served basis.
Interlink calls .Moe the “Internet’s most unique Top Level Domain (TLD)”
Of course there are over 113 Million .com registrations so if the registry hit there predicted 200 million registrations it would make the world no longer a .Com world but a .Moe world.
Its one of the boldest predictions I have ever read which the registry seems to have based on the results off a poll it took of a whopping 100 people, 70 of which preferred .Moe to .Com.
“The word “moe” (pronounced as “moh-ay”) comes from the Japanese Otaku (geek) culture and is used to deeply express “kawaii” (cute things) or things you “love” where words just won’t do. The “moe” subculture is globally recognized for anime, manga, comics, visual novels, gamers, cosplayers, and hobbyists.”
The PR goes on to say that “Interlink conducted a survey to identify which new gTLDs users have the most interest in while participating as a sponsor at the Japan Expo event held in Paris, France (2-6 July 2014). Participants were asked to select their preferences for various domains (ex. “.moe” vs. “.com”; “.moe” vs. “paris”). The results showed that “.moe” was more popular amongst this audience by a large margin over other popular new gTLDs (see below for more details of survey).”
“Calculating the results for “.moe” vs. “.com” (“.moe” won by a vote of 70 to 30) the number of “.moe” registrations could potentially double “.com” (113,401,886 as of January 2014!). ”
“If the entire world population were Otaku (geeks) “.moe” could hit 264,604,400 registrations!”
*Interlink surveyed participants of all ages at the Japan Expo exhibition booth. Each person was allowed to answer only one questionnaire, and each survey closed once it reached 100 votes. The results below show the number of votes for each set of TLDs.
Which domain do you prefer: .moe or .com?
Result:”.moe” (70) vs. “.com” (30)
Which domain do you prefer: “.moe” or “.paris”
Result:”.moe” (82) vs. “.paris” (18)
Which new gTLD do you prefer?
Result:”.moe” (61), “.club” (17), “.xyz” (10), “.dance” (6), “.vegas” (4), .shabaka” (2)
To find out where you can register your .Moe domain name you can click here Hint Not at Godaddy.
.Moe domain registrations are around $17 at Hexonet.
I guess the poll was answered exclusively by Japanese people? I don’t see how anyone who’s not Japanese would prefer .moe over .com.
.moe makes me think of the Simpsons… I never heard of the Japanese meaning of the word .moe until today.
“moe” actually means “tired” in dutch.
A lot of domainers have been taking a bath with the new gTLDs. Are we ever gonna cover that angle? It’s almost 7 months into launch… which means 3 or 4 months to renewal.
When are we going to reflect? Or is it pump pump pump?
BTW I checked or Sch.Moe and it’s not available. Now that’s a name for the grand kids, ain’t it?
“.moe”?
I am well versed with the American and European culture and NEVER have heard that word.
200 Million registrations?
But they did take a poll of 100 People
)):
The original meaning of moe is (1) budding (2) burning. It is also used as a slang as described in the article.
Ridiculous registry. It’s really a shame when a stupid TLD like .moe, .wtf or .guru give the whole system a bad name. Michael, you should have spent that hour writing about .tokyo instead, which also goes live today
This is one of my favorite registries, having read that. I love their sarcasm.
OK, now I have a dilemma. Uncle Moe’s birthday is coming up. I had planned to get him tickets to the game. Should I scrap that and I get him “Uncle.Moe”? Or MyUncle.Moe? MyFavoriteUncle.Moe. Or just go to the ball game with Uncle Moe?
Here’s a sample of the leading Fortune 500 Companies and their websites; 2014
1. Wal-Mart Stores corporate.walmart.com
2. Exxon Mobil exxonmobil.com
3. Chevron chevron.com
4. Berkshire Hathaway berkshirehathaway.com
5. Apple apple.com
6. Phillips 66 phillips66.com
7. General Motors gm.com
8. Ford Motor ford.com
9. General Electric ge.com
10. Valero Energy valero.com
.
.
500. United Rentals, Inc. ur.com
For space sake, let me tell you that all of them are dot COM. ALL!
In order to take the expansion of the name space seriously, you’d have to imagine these conservative
companies entrusting the security of their firms in the new Registries, and their names. Which means,
the Registries would have to act right.
In my opinion, it is not likely that these companies will ever switch to anything but dot com. Simply because of the
safety, and security of that extension.
And as far as these companies don’t switch, no other extension will get adopted. These are the trend setters here in the US. Every other extension is a fad.
Boy are you dumb. Yes those companies websites all have dot com domains. Why would they switch? They began with dot com. No reason to switch. They’re established already. These new gTLDs are really meant for startups and companies that want to rebrand. These new extensions are for the new generation and our children. Get used to the fact that this is the future of the internet.
“Why would they switch? They began with dot com. No reason to switch. They’re established already”.
@Edward,
Two things: the future starts now; most of those companies were here before your grandfather was born.
“Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance
They can add .Larry and .Curly to it and not come close to .that number……….
Don’t forget .Shemp. That would surely put them over their very conservative prediction.
That is what I was thinking are all the Stooges getting their own extension ?
startups? whaaaaaaa
new people are getting on the internet? people are still birthing children?
but but but everythings already established i thought…..
I still don’t understand that argument. If new Start-ups buy dot com names, or register one, and they DO, doesn’t it make it a little silly to proclaim new gTLDs as the extension of Start-ups?
I can demonstrate to you right now that the overwhelming number of Start-ups use dot com as their extension of choice, and that in fact those that don’t use dot com do so grudgingly, either because they plan to in the future, or simply don’t have a clue.
So, it’s amusing to see folks clawing this point.
in your mind, when these ton of gTLD just came out there must have been a guy at the starting line that fired a gunshot into the air saying READY SET GO !!!!!!!!!!
its not like that. this is a geeky thing.
not everyone has such an interest in it they’re following it every step of the way. they’re domain names dude… not everyone follows a blog about them.
electric cars have been out for a while.. why are the majority still using gasoline? lots of reasons. you really cant see why some people dont even have an interest in knowing or caring that 100’s of new gTLD are out?
pretending new gTLD’s are harmful like some (wannabe) “domainers” are doing is plain silly. its like saying i invented something that barely anyone is using is “harmful.” you’re overthinking it. if its a bad idea then dont run a registry yourself.
@ontheinterweb,
Cum Romanum venio, ieiuno Sabbato; cum hic sum, non ieiuno: sic etiam tu, ad quam forte ecclesiam veneris, eius morem serva, si cuiquam non vis esse scandalum nec quemquam tibi.
It’s crucial to understand where we are, and what we’re doing here. We’re on a “domain” blog discussing investment opportunities in domains; of course our discussion will sound monotonic. We are examining new gTLDs, gathering facts, trying to arrive at the truth. Why does that surprise you that a bulk of the discussion will center on this subject?
It is polite, and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the blog’s terms and conditions ― and one of those is to stay on topic. That’s what I’m trying to do. You don’t expect me to comment about the Kardashiams when Berkens blogs about an extension, do you? Get real!
Now, do you and I disagree on everything? No.
Some of the points you manage to make, for example, that change is constant, of course it is. Or that the overwhelming magnitude of the new gTLDs is bound to have an impact, yes. However, that is not really what a domain investor is concerned with. A domainer wants to know a whole lot more than that. The domainer wants all the facts. ALL! Then, armed with that information, the investor can go about his business. So, be patient as we hash out the facts. Be prepared to read about domain extensions when you visit this blog. A lot of it will be redundant, and monotonic. It’s just the nature of the beast.
Quote “electric cars have been out for a while.. why are the majority still using gasoline?”
The majority of people will continue to use gasoline until the day that all gasoline resources have been depleted (simply because gasoline is the established choice for car fuel).
.COM is the established choice for everyone who wants to have a presence online. The difference is, unlike gasoline, .COM will never be depleted. There’s no limit to how many times a .com can change hands. So there never was a real reason for any of the new gTLDs (other than to put money in the bank for ICANN). This is also the reason why I believe that only a handful of new gTLD’s will ever become established.
Just think, the gTld’s have been out for like half a year now and the registration numbers are already stagnating. Some domain investors are already dropping their expectations and calling new gTLDs successful when they reach a mere 10,000 registrations. 10,000 registrations is a real joke considering there’s 2.5 billion internet users in the world.
Also, talking about the “next generation”: I don’t see that in 10 years from now suddenly there will be an explosion of interest in the new gTLDs. Kids usually learn from their parents and elders. What do their parents have? Most likely a .COM.
.COM wont be depleted completely but ThisIsAlongAssDomainWithTooManyWords.COM will fall out of favor eventually.
people arnt going to continue to register WayTooLongOfaDomainToActuallyRememberJustBecauseItHasDotComAtTheEnd.COM when “Shorter.domain” is available. admit it, it looks slicker and is very “Internet 2.0” or 3.0 or internet 15.6 beta, whatever decimal place we’re in now..
at this point nobody can prove anyone wrong but one sides argument seems to be “this is the way it always was therefore there is no reason to change.”
here is one reason for change: the length and memorability of the domain name. will it really happen? who knows. less words are easier to remember though. period. the end.
also will eventually bring .COM’s aftermarket prices down for mediocre names that would have fetched $x,xxx to $xx,xxx in the past, for example.
top tier names? the value of those could go up or stay the same… who knows.. but pretending this grand shift isnt going to bring down the value of many longtail/mediocre names is going against the grain.
you laugh at 10,000 registrations per gTLD but with SOOOOOO (whoops i capitalized a word, sorry Grim) many choices there doesnt need to be registries with 1 million+ registrations. thats the whole point. 1,000+ limited niches essentially becomes “unlimited.”
a lot of people here are noting numbers like “only” 10,000 registrations as if they’re stockholders in that particular registry. let them figure out the magic number and dollar amount to charge to stay afloat. thats a completely separate conversation really.
kids learn from their parents eh? then how did racism eventually die which was a pretty ingrained idea. we’re just talking domain names here. words with a dot in the middle. things larger than this have progressed… there is no reason to take it so seriously and think kids wont go off the beaten path a little bit with something as trivial as domain names and so many choices.
well ok, racism is certainly not dead but its not as normal as it used to be. thats something far more important and if the point is people “learned from their parents” with zero progress we’d still be purchasing black to pick our cotton.
these are just domain names. not near as important issue. the concrete walls arent as solid is the point.
I wasn’t talking about longtail domain names. Longtail domain names never fetch much money to start with.
When I said ‘There’s no limit to how many times a .com can change hands” I meant that there’s no limit on how many good .com will remain circulating in the aftermarket for domain investors / end users to buy. Yes, those .coms will be more expensive than a handreg but frankly “premium” gTLDs currently are more expensive than a .com handreg as well (either “premium” gTLDs are expensive priced by the registry or they are unavailable/reserved). On top of that even if you get one of those “premium” gTLDs they also have premium renewals unlike .com which always has a relatively cheap renewal fee.
About your “people arnt going to continue to register WayTooLongOfaDomainToActuallyRememberJustBecauseItHasDotComAtTheEnd.COM when “Shorter.domain” is available” arguement:
First of all, many of the new gTLDs have a much longer extension compared to.COM.
COM is 3 letters, some of the new gTLDs are long (think about .photography, .technology, .international,…). I find nothing appealing about a long domain extension. But that’s just me.
Second of all, yes you can get probably find a shorter .whatever but most people will continue to register (or buy on the aftermarket) a (tad longer) .com for many many years to come because .com is established and let’s face it, none of the new gTLDs are (and no guarantee they ever will be).
Your quote “you laugh at 10,000 registrations per gTLD but with SOOOOOO (whoops i capitalized a word, sorry Grim) many choices there doesnt need to be registries with 1 million+ registrations. thats the whole point. 1,000+ limited niches essentially becomes “unlimited.”
The point is, registrars and registries need to make a profit. With 10,000 or less registrations per new gTLD (the average registrations per new gTLD is in fact much lower currently) they won’t make a profit. And what happens then?
what will happen when some registries dont make a profit?
they will get swallowed up and consolidated by other registries already in operation. in the future other registries applying for .whatever will probably fine tune all their costs better.
the 185k application fee is a sunk cost. but, it isnt going to cost much for another registry to add it to its backend operation. so you might see registries get liquidated for $1,000 or 1 penny. it doesnt matter. this is the beginning and consolidation will likely happen rather than registries completely disappearing like many domainers think is going to happen. when a registry gets liquidated for next to nothing, prices can be fine tuned and adjusted. you may see some get sold for very near “cost” just so these mega-registries that exist can claim to have “over 500 .whatevers”
meant to say *registries need to make a profit.
The registrars will make a profit no matter how good or bad the new gTLDs do.
“.Moe” Could Potentially Hit over 200 Million Registrations! ”
yes … in 2514 … including Klingon registrations … 🙂
On the Web
Sorry didn’t see your actual question lost in the noise.
Anyway they had to put up 3 years of operating funds into an account or get a bond as part of the app process.
There are people around waiting to buy up registries so as a practical matter I don’t think you are going to see any just fold up and go away
nah i realize that about the 3 year thing.. i was just answering the dude above me. i just think its funny many people think the registries are going to go broke and then completely disappear because of the 185k application fee + whatever their operating costs were and go “oh, well we cant get our 185k back so this registry will disappear”
things get liquidated all the time for potentially less than it cost then to open the doors.
To operate a registry it costs a lot more than the 185K application fee. I assume $500K /year is a more realistic number.
Regardless, I never said they would all fold up and go away but if most of the registries are at a loss (which is undoubtedly going to happen if you look at the stagnation in registration numbers which is already occurring) I think it’s safe to assume that less and less companies in the near future will apply for a new gTLD (due to a too low chance of succeeding). So your future of unlimited gTLDs and unlimited “possibilities” looks quite limited to me.
Time will tell I guess.
its likely not going to cost registries already operating 100+ TLD’s a half million dollars a year in “operating costs” for one more TLD. unless that $500,000 is the selling price i sort of doubt tacking on 1 more TLD to their backend operations would cost a whole lot extra.
on top of that, im pretty sure the application fee is going to get cheaper when most of the “top tier” have already been applied for there is apparently no timeline set for ICANN to open up another set of applications.
who knows, you may be able to own .Chauvin someday for a flat rate of $750 a year or something..
Hi Michael, just for the record “could potentially” and “predict” are completely different : ).
We may get there (in 2514, including Klingon registrations…) as one poster pointed out and “If the entire world population were Otaku (geeks)” as qualified in our release.
The outrageous number in the press release reflects Interlink’s quirky company culture and obviously wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. I knew you’d pick it up and your readers would have a great time poking fun of it — we don’t mind.
.moe is a fun extension meant for fun people who identify with Japan, Japanese culture, “Otaku” & “Moe” culture, anime, manga etc. It’s for users who are looking for a unique, cute, or geeky way to identify themselves or their interests on the web.
Thanks for picking it up.
Cheers!