** .mobi Investors and Haters **

[MobileDesigner]

I need to point something out to everyone that either likes or hates dotmobi...

I have been developing mobile websites in Japan for almost 5 years. I have worked and communicated to a lot of businesses, small and large. I have seen and met companies whose businesses have boomed greatly. I have also seen very few small companies go bust (not enough content or other reasons).

.mobi is a booming business and I have proof.

Evidence #1:
Japan, Korea, and China are far more advanced in mobile business than any other country in the world.

Evidence #2:
Japan, Korea, and China have more mobile phones being used than any other country in the world.

Evidence #3:
google.mobi (in japan) have a lot of search results that show a lot of mobile websites already in effect. Unfortunately, these mobile website URLs are like:
www.Venus-344i.jp
www.08943.jp
etc...
Very hard to remember... But they do exist and conduct great profits.
There are 6 publishers that publish over 50 Mobile Website magazines supplying every information available about mobile websites and mobile phones and mobile businesses.

Evidence #4
There are tens of thousands of mobile affiliate programs which supply links to other mobile websites. Some are described below:
KEITAI (mobile phone) AFFILIATES:

http://www.keitaiaf.jp/
https://affil.jp/
https://smaf.jp/
http://teraaffiliate.net/
http://www.LinkShare.com (Japanese version - NOT USA, UK, etc.)
http://www.affpartner.com/
http://srmafi.jp/index.html
http://www.dig-affiliate.net/
more... Google link for 携帯Affiliates in Japan

These "mobile affiliate" sites include large companies such as:

- NTT DoCoMo
- Sony
- Citibank
- Play Station
- Nikkei
- QVC
- more!

Evidence #5
My full-time job (for 5 years) is to develop mobile websites and meet with other companies to help them get their mobile websites listed on the "Official Menus" with:
- Softbank (previously Vodafone)
- NTT DoCoMo
- AU KDDI

Evidence #6
In Japan, Korea, and China use their mobile phone and access the mobile phone websites than they do with PC! One of the reasons is because they work long hours, usually take the train (got nothing to do but search the mobile websites), spend time with the family and not with the home pc, Not everyone uses the PC at home, and people are usually outside than they are inside.

This is what pays my expensive rent, takes care of my family, and provides me with extra cash to live a nice life in Tokyo, Japan. I LIVE in this business.
When I see people say ".mobi is just a hype", or "stupid extension", I really dont look up to you. I know that "you dont know". Yea, .com can make money and most of you got the biggest names. I am not saying that .com will go away, but I am saying that you will have to share some of the attention with .mobi owners. When you put some of the other users saying that they are wasting their money, not only is it rude, but it is NOT TRUE. I dont know what your job is where you are, but you dont live and work in a mobile-world where I live and work. If you work full-time, working with Adobe, Vodafone, DoCoMo, Cingular, Three, AU KDDI in the mobile industry, then you can prove me wrong. But you dont. So please stop the unintelligible replies. You are wrong.

You are more than welcomed to speak your mind about .mobi, but when I see that you are wrong, I will reply on the thread with the appropriate information that will prove you wrong. I have all of it.

As for the values of .mobis, no one knows. If we were to be in 1981 and we heard about .com, maybe people would call us stupid or buying .coms was a waste of money or "$regfee". But look at the .com business now.

If you think that I am stupid and dont know about the mobile website business industry, You will be seen as stupid. And you know what!? Please come to Japan, we will drink a beer, walk around, and I will show you the business. Until then, please be careful what you say about .mobi. It WILL be big. It WILL boom.

TO BUYERS OF .MOBI:
Please do be careful what you register. Try to think of these things before you register a .mobi:

1. WHEN would a user access .mobi?
2. WHY would a user access .mobi?
3. WHERE would a user be when they access .mobi?
4. WHAT are they thinking when a user accesses .mobi?
5. HOW would a user access a .mobi website?
6. WHOSE .mobi would they access the most?

Keypresses are important, but also, if you have a long name, It is ok if it makes sense. I have seen EiffelTower.mobi registered and it may seem stupid, but the owner has a VERY, VERY good point. Its educational and it is instant information at their fingertips. Could be a travel site or informational site. He got a very good name. Someone had noted on that post that it was stupid or worth nothing....Um, no. He was thinking of the 6 things I listed above. Its worth more. And it also hurts buyers feelings. This is immoral and not good etiquette. We are here for support and not criticism.
I am 100% for .mobi. I will defend anyone's .mobi. but i will also be realistic business-minded.
Keep registering .mobi. Actually, no. Mobi-haters, dont register .mobi cause I am going to get it. Now lets act professional like ladies and gentlemen. Lets not waste time complaining or writing non evidential opinions. If you have a thought, lets talk. Cool?
Until then, lets have a good time and do our best investment!
Jonathan
Mobile Designer
Tokyo, Japan

[Acro]

.mobi is just another TLD. There should be no need for anything except for what's already there, COM/NET/ORG/BIZ/INFO etc.

A developer can detect the device accessing the domain and redirect or present content specific to the device. Hence, a cellphone need not access domain.mobi when there is domain.com

Sorry folks, you've been duped into yet another keyword pool, nothing else.

[whitebark]

You failed to point out the most obvious piece of evidence (in the news biz you call that selective reasoning - others call it blatant omission) and that is that 99.9% of all mobile content being served on the web right now is coming from existing tlds.

[MobileDesigner]

.mobi is just another TLD. There should be no need for anything except for what's already there, COM/NET/ORG/BIZ/INFO etc.

A developer can detect the device accessing the domain and redirect or present content specific to the device. Hence, a cellphone need not access domain.mobi when there is domain.com

Sorry folks, you've been duped into yet another keyword pool, nothing else.

mmm. That is true and I agree with you on that.
http://www.mobile.com would be worth thousands more than
http://www.mobile.mobi. Current mobile companies in Japan use the same system:
http://mobile.mobile.com or http://www.mobile.com/m
What would you recommend for new mobile website businesses to if all of the .coms are taken? Keep in mind that they already have a .com, .net, or .jp and users usually dont access the pc while reading ads on the subway or train.
Any information would help me (us) greatly!

[nrmillions]

You failed to point out the most obvious piece of evidence (in the news biz you call that selective reasoning - others call it blatant omission) and that is that 99.9% of all mobile content being served on the web right now is coming from existing tlds.

obviously 99% of it RIGHT NOW is only coming from existing tlds. Mobi just came out a couple months ago, it will take time. .info has been out for several years now and noone still knows what it is.

[whitebark]

obviously 99% of it RIGHT NOW is only coming from existing tlds. Mobi just came out a couple months ago, it will take time. .info has been out for several years now and noone still knows what it is.

But the problem lies in that some mobi pushers imply that it is .mobi that will bring the continued use of the web forward in regards to mobile content. There is zero evidence of that. What we are seeing though clearly is new mobile devices that are much better at reading normal websites as they are now - they don't even have to be set up to be mobile accessible. Other mobi pushers also seem to be insisting that mobile devices are going to be set to default to .mobi domains. That is not going to happen. Not when the mass of existing content is on non-mobi domains.

And when it comes to making a website mobile ready, there is already existing methods of doing this without having to go out into the market and buy another domain to make it happen. And if someone wants to start a new mobile content business via the web they don't need an inflated .mobi domain to do it. They can buy any old tld, or cctld and make it do the same thing.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very good .mobi domains floating around, but the mass of them have no hope without massive investment.

IF search engines start giving .mobi domains higher SERPs to those using mobile devices then a .mobi would make sense. But... once again there is no evidence of that happening.

But what really ruffles my feathers and i am sure some others is those buying .mobi domains that have ZERO to do with mobile content. It makes no sense. They have succeeded in creating their own market though selling these to one another - and the little capitalist in me smiles at them for it.

[Acro]

What would you recommend for new mobile website businesses to if all of the .coms are taken? Keep in mind that they already have a .com, .net, or .jp and users usually dont access the pc while reading ads on the subway or train.
Any information would help me (us) greatly!

Who says all the .com's are taken? What does this have to do with the pompous introduction of .mobi as the apparent Savior of all things mobile?

Even a .jp is more appealing than a .mobi

Again: the .mobi simply reintroduced the full pool of keywords; it would have been the same if .crap was introduced. It does not enhance the way cellphones access the Internet.

And to those that argue "but in 2 years you will see!" I will say again: "In two years the cellphones will have full-fledged browsers and bandwidth charges will be 1/10th of today's".

[nrmillions]

if i wanted to start an onlinecasino for cellphones then buying onlinecasino.com would cost a fortune to buy it off of someone but buying the same name in mobi would only cost a fraction. in 2 years cellphones will be more powerful but the one thing that will never change is that cellphone SCREENS will always be much much smaller than computer screens so they will never be able to display things the same no matter how powerful.

[Acro]

The keywords that were sold high in the .mobi namespace filled exactly that gap. This leads a lot of people to believe that ANY keyword in .mobi has the same potential and that's a huge fallacy. I was reading how some people invested $10k - $20k in .mobi names, then put those names here for appraisal expecting to see figures of that much PER domain! Insanity or stupidity? I call it, riding the surf with a board that's not waxed.

[MobileDesigner]

Other mobi pushers also seem to be insisting that mobile devices are going to be set to default to .mobi domains. That is not going to happen. Not when the mass of existing content is on non-mobi domains.

Actually, someone from Vodafone Japan had told me that it would happen, but it could have been a rumor. But to make those devices set to default to .mobi would take 3-4 years or more to make that happen. Vodafone Japan (nokias) have programmed their phones much differently than elsewhere (only allowing nokia-made applications to be downloaded, etc.) so there is no way to tell if it will happen or not. I dont think that it would be set to default for DoCoMo or AU phones.
Thank you much for your input!

Even a .jp is more appealing than a .mobi

mmm. That is true and easier to press in the keypad too! But some of those .jp have retarded names that are hard to remember. They do have the QRcode functions, though.
Perhaps .mobi would be more successful in Japan than elsewhere.

And to those that argue "but in 2 years you will see!" I will say again: "In two years the cellphones will have full-fledged browsers and bandwidth charges will be 1/10th of today's".

Shhh! C'mon, man, Im trying to sell my names! hahaha!
That is also very possible here, too. Maybe sooner, real soon. But the monopoly of the phone carriers seem to prevent that from happening. Maybe something could be worked out later to reduce those fees.
BTW, I like that .crap better than .EU

[nrmillions]

The keywords that were sold high in the .mobi namespace filled exactly that gap. This leads a lot of people to believe that ANY keyword in .mobi has the same potential and that's a huge fallacy. I was reading how some people invested $10k - $20k in .mobi names, then put those names here for appraisal expecting to see figures of that much PER domain! Insanity or stupidity? I call it, riding the surf with a board that's not waxed.

i agree with you that tons of people bought mobi names and now think that ANY mobi name they have is worth 5 to 6 figures because that is what flowers.mobi sold for. it has been tough to buy mobi names off of people for low prices ever since that auction.

[Acro]

I did go very headstrong against .mobi domains a few weeks back and I came to realize that no sanity-inducing argument would cause someone with a fixed perspective change their vision. So there are pros and cons in each business move.

[hugegrowth]

I think everyone agrees that mobile use is going to be huge and keep growing.

My personal opinion is that .mobi will come to INSTANTLY tell someone that the website is mobile-compatible, and that's where the value is. .mobi won't replace .com but if you are going mobile, you will probably pick .mobi over every other extension. .info has a degree of popularity because it tells people they will find information at that website. .biz, .ws, .cc, just haven't caught on at all, or at a low level. .mobi can still be a success as a secondary to .com . The crucial thing for .mobi success is to start seeing .mobi websites active and advertised in the mainstream media, in newspapers, magazines, online ads, etc. When you start seeing that you will know .mobi has made it.

[mjnels]

The keywords that were sold high in the .mobi namespace filled exactly that gap. This leads a lot of people to believe that ANY keyword in .mobi has the same potential and that's a huge fallacy. I was reading how some people invested $10k - $20k in .mobi names, then put those names here for appraisal expecting to see figures of that much PER domain! Insanity or stupidity? I call it, riding the surf with a board that's not waxed.

Nah, there is enough clout/hype to make waves right now..you should know that.. and for some reason i can see this hype stage carry on for longer than most tlds... not because it will definitely be a success but because there is a stong belief (or almost blind faith for some) amongst most of its followers that it will be a success... whether this is some dream or not it seems like it would continue to generate sales in the meantime.. you dont have to be on one side of the fence to be successful at something.. seems like the common view is either MOBI WILL RULE THE WORLD or IT WILL FAIL MISERABLY.. not too many people that own a big number of .mobi's just sitting and watching what is happening and evaluating the situation everyday.. there are many people around the world that make money on a "get in, get out" approach... we all know this, whos to say the guys selling their .mobis for a medicro-great amount are not doing this..

[biggedon]

I need to point something out to everyone that either likes or hates dotmobi...

I have been developing mobile websites in Japan for almost 5 years. I have worked and communicated to a lot of businesses, small and large. I have seen and met companies whose businesses have boomed greatly. I have also seen very few small companies go bust (not enough content or other reasons).

.mobi is a booming business and I have proof.

Evidence #1:
Japan, Korea, and China are far more advanced in mobile business than any other country in the world.

Evidence #2:
Japan, Korea, and China have more mobile phones being used than any other country in the world.

Evidence #3:
google.mobi (in japan) have a lot of search results that show a lot of mobile websites already in effect. Unfortunately, these mobile website URLs are like:
www.Venus-344i.jp
www.08943.jp
etc...
Very hard to remember... But they do exist and conduct great profits.
There are 6 publishers that publish over 50 Mobile Website magazines supplying every information available about mobile websites and mobile phones and mobile businesses.

Evidence #4
There are tens of thousands of mobile affiliate programs which supply links to other mobile websites. Some are described below:
KEITAI (mobile phone) AFFILIATES:

http://www.keitaiaf.jp/
https://affil.jp/
https://smaf.jp/
http://teraaffiliate.net/
http://www.LinkShare.com (Japanese version - NOT USA, UK, etc.)
http://www.affpartner.com/
http://srmafi.jp/index.html
http://www.dig-affiliate.net/
more... Google link for 携帯Affiliates in Japan

These "mobile affiliate" sites include large companies such as:

- NTT DoCoMo
- Sony
- Citibank
- Play Station
- Nikkei
- QVC
- more!

Evidence #5
My full-time job (for 5 years) is to develop mobile websites and meet with other companies to help them get their mobile websites listed on the "Official Menus" with:
- Softbank (previously Vodafone)
- NTT DoCoMo
- AU KDDI

Evidence #6
In Japan, Korea, and China use their mobile phone and access the mobile phone websites than they do with PC! One of the reasons is because they work long hours, usually take the train (got nothing to do but search the mobile websites), spend time with the family and not with the home pc, Not everyone uses the PC at home, and people are usually outside than they are inside.

This is what pays my expensive rent, takes care of my family, and provides me with extra cash to live a nice life in Tokyo, Japan. I LIVE in this business.
When I see people say ".mobi is just a hype", or "stupid extension", I really dont look up to you. I know that "you dont know". Yea, .com can make money and most of you got the biggest names. I am not saying that .com will go away, but I am saying that you will have to share some of the attention with .mobi owners. When you put some of the other users saying that they are wasting their money, not only is it rude, but it is NOT TRUE. I dont know what your job is where you are, but you dont live and work in a mobile-world where I live and work. If you work full-time, working with Adobe, Vodafone, DoCoMo, Cingular, Three, AU KDDI in the mobile industry, then you can prove me wrong. But you dont. So please stop the unintelligible replies. You are wrong.

You are more than welcomed to speak your mind about .mobi, but when I see that you are wrong, I will reply on the thread with the appropriate information that will prove you wrong. I have all of it.

As for the values of .mobis, no one knows. If we were to be in 1981 and we heard about .com, maybe people would call us stupid or buying .coms was a waste of money or "$regfee". But look at the .com business now.

If you think that I am stupid and dont know about the mobile website business industry, You will be seen as stupid. And you know what!? Please come to Japan, we will drink a beer, walk around, and I will show you the business. Until then, please be careful what you say about .mobi. It WILL be big. It WILL boom.

TO BUYERS OF .MOBI:
Please do be careful what you register. Try to think of these things before you register a .mobi:

1. WHEN would a user access .mobi?
2. WHY would a user access .mobi?
3. WHERE would a user be when they access .mobi?
4. WHAT are they thinking when a user accesses .mobi?
5. HOW would a user access a .mobi website?
6. WHOSE .mobi would they access the most?

Keypresses are important, but also, if you have a long name, It is ok if it makes sense. I have seen EiffelTower.mobi registered and it may seem stupid, but the owner has a VERY, VERY good point. Its educational and it is instant information at their fingertips. Could be a travel site or informational site. He got a very good name. Someone had noted on that post that it was stupid or worth nothing....Um, no. He was thinking of the 6 things I listed above. Its worth more. And it also hurts buyers feelings. This is immoral and not good etiquette. We are here for support and not criticism.
I am 100% for .mobi. I will defend anyone's .mobi. but i will also be realistic business-minded.
Keep registering .mobi. Actually, no. Mobi-haters, dont register .mobi cause I am going to get it. Now lets act professional like ladies and gentlemen. Lets not waste time complaining or writing non evidential opinions. If you have a thought, lets talk. Cool?
Until then, lets have a good time and do our best investment!
Jonathan
Mobile Designer
Tokyo, Japan

Hi

I hope none of the links above are your sites or have your affiliate codes in them.

If so, please remove them

Thanks

[catchse]

I think everyone agrees that mobile use is going to be huge and keep growing.

My personal opinion is that .mobi will come to INSTANTLY tell someone that the website is mobile-compatible, and that's where the value is. .mobi won't replace .com but if you are going mobile, you will probably pick .mobi over every other extension. .info has a degree of popularity because it tells people they will find information at that website. .biz, .ws, .cc, just haven't caught on at all, or at a low level. .mobi can still be a success as a secondary to .com . The crucial thing for .mobi success is to start seeing .mobi websites active and advertised in the mainstream media, in newspapers, magazines, online ads, etc. When you start seeing that you will know .mobi has made it.

I agree. .mobi is no fad .

[PRED]

Exactly, & when you are on your pc & visit the official site for .mobi..........
mtld.mobi is all you type in & it intantly recognises you are on a pc & enters pc.mtld.mobi for you.
Of course this can work on mobile phones against .mobi
I just hope the backers start brainwashing the public, bring it on!
Pred

[duceman]

The only way to have fixed value in a .mobi is...... Cmon class we all know this.......Anyone....Anyone....That's right
Development

[david4]

beautiful post! cheer up first. I m reading it intensively.

[9888]

Hi Jonathan great post.

"There are 6 publishers that publish over 50 Mobile Website magazines supplying every information available about mobile websites and mobile phones and mobile businesses."

Can you provide details on the best magazines, if possible website addresses?

Cheers.