**Rick Schwartz shares his opine about dotMobi extension**

[Vision]

Rick Schwartz is often prescient.

Here is Rick's recent blog post with respect to .mobi

http://www.ricksblog.com/my_weblog/2...-mobi-fan.html

Secret .mobi fan spotted and revealed!!

Morning folks!!

In September 2006 .mobi was released. I did not think much of the extension. Just another dotcom wannabe. I laughed as most are still doing and moved on. Then about 3 weeks later another thought occurred to me and I made a quick about face. What did I see? If I tell ya, I’d have to kill ya. But at that moment I saw something that would allow only a very NARROW but hugely successful amount of .mobi’s that could change the world. Besides the obvious company names and trademarks that would be snapped up by their respective companies, I identified less than 10 generic domains that could have great value in the future. The one that led my list was Tickets.mobi. It joined flowers.mobi which was also in the list. Why? Well, let’s look at how these two industries were transformed by the internet, perhaps more than most or even all others. 20 years ago when I would call 1-800-FLOWERS, I bought stuff but would never see it. The Internet changed that. I finally had a visual to go with the dollar amount. That transformed the buying experience for millions. Same with tickets. Before, you would call an 800# and got what you got after cross examining the operator on the other end of the phone line. The Internet gave me the visual and now we can all see the exact seat we get.

So as I sat and identified the industries that could once again be transformed by .mobi, the list was short and narrow. But like other things, IDEAS come about and that short and narrow list is likely to fatten up.

For example, last Tuesday night, Jim McCann said they were working on a system that you will be able to send a “Virtual Bouquet” to someone sitting in a nightclub you might be at. So never discount how things can be transformed by a new idea. Will that happen at flowers.com? No.They have a separate site for that. Today a dotcom. Tomorrow……who knows. Especially when matched up with GPS or as a default extension. Do any of us know how this will unfold? No. But it does not stop folks from putting blinders on and actively rooting against something. Step back folks. Don’t be guilty of the same things others have done to you. Open minds seize opportunities that closed minds will never see.

Now that I got the #1 .mobi I have aimed for since day one, (Tickets.mobi) it will be interesting to see how the old guard domainers learn I am a big .mobi fan. (No surprise for some) I see it as the next best extension to dot com and really nobody needs to agree with me. The more folks disagree, the more I know I am on the right track. So save the naysaying for 5 years not 5 minutes. Then we can discuss why so many of my good friends missed such a winner. They will just say…..”Damn, Rick was right again.”

Here is the reality. In 5 years the domain may be worth between $0 and $60,000. It may also be worth between $60,000 and $60 million. I decided to place my bet on the latter. Place your bets where you may. At the end of the day, I will trust my gut more than any other set of factors. My gut says this will be a $60,000 loss or the single biggest payday of my life. Only had that feeling a few times before. Porno.com, Men.com, Candy.com, Property.com, Tickets.mobi. So then the question becomes: “Why did I buy flowers.mobi for more than tickets.mobi? The answer is pretty simple. Flowers.mobi was the only other .mobi released that was in my top 10 list and since tickets.mobi was not yet out there, I wanted a foot in this door. Porn.mobi was also on the short list as is sex.mobi and some other obvious ones. Domainers will not decide if .mobi hits or not. Businesses across the world will decide. They may see it as a way to capture another market. Another generation. They may see things we don't see. The thing that will decide the future of .mobi is not domainers. It is businesses across the world and advertising dollars spent.

btw, the FIRST question that Jim McCann asked me was "What did I think about .mobi?" I told him it is too early to tell. The answer won't reveal itself for 3-5 years. What folks did not know when he was there is that Jim McCann was the LONGEST domainer in the room. He started in 1992!! While others are still struggling with their initial sites and online presence, here we have Mr. Cutting Edge himself and his focus comes down to one word, "Mobile"! Their focus for the future is the mobile, on the go, younger audience. Will that help .mobi? Stay tuned!


Have a GREAT Day
Rick Schwartz

[Seraphim]

Oh man, I thought it was from Bigfoot's blog.

[Acro]

To sum it up, it's a PR post about flowers.mobi

Man, it's a boring Friday.

[mjnels]

To sum it up, it's a PR post about flowers.mobi

Man, it's a boring Friday.

or maybe the guy actually likes the moebee TLD.

[Fearless]

A bonehead that pays $200K for flowers.mobi is the last person I want to get my mobey advice from.

[Acro]

Rick Schwartz likes flowers.mobi
He would have liked sex.mobi and porn.mobi

He's using a very nice, top notch keyword, in an obscure and unnecessary TLD.

Do you read posts or simply the headlines Vision makes up? Rick Schwartz passes the ball onto the domainers to "decide" about .mobi.

Yup, nice PR about flowers.mobi. Good morning folks.

[mjnels]

A bonehead that pays $200K for flowers.mobi is the last person I want to get my mobey advice from.

who would you take mobE advice from?

Rick Schwartz likes flowers.mobi
He would have liked sex.mobi and porn.mobi

He's using a very nice, top notch keyword, in an obscure and unnecessary TLD.

Do you read posts or simply the headlines Vision makes up? Rick Schwartz passes the ball onto the domainers to "decide" about .mobi.

Yup, nice PR about flowers.mobi. Good morning folks.

i read the post.

not a PR piece about flowers.mobi.... wake up, too early for hateraide.

[Fearless]

who would you take mobE advice from?

You

[Acro]

i read the post.

not a PR piece about flowers.mobi....

You must fall for 419 scam emails too.

[Seraphim]

Best to take one's own advice in domaining, who cares about Rick's opinion. Buy a .mobi, develop it, then try and figure out how to drive traffic to the damn thing.

[jasdon11]

who would you take mobE advice from?

The guy that sold him iphones.mobi.

[Devil Dog]

Definately a 4+ pager on this one.

so in...

[Seraphim]

QUESTION: Does anyone here own a developed high traffic money making .mobi? I'm not talking about ESPN, or CNN, I mean "normal Joe .mobi owner".

[mjnels]

QUESTION: Does anyone here own a developed high traffic money making .mobi? I'm not talking about ESPN, or CNN, I mean "normal Joe .mobi owner".

hi

if the answer to your question is "no" can you tell me what this means for the future of .mobi and proper mobile web monetization as a whole?

[seanboy]

Definately a 4+ pager on this one.

so in...

I say 10+

Wanna bet some dnf bucks on it?

[maroulis]

hi

if the answer to your question is "no" can you tell me what this means for the future of .mobi and proper mobile web monetization as a whole?

any reason why we keep mixing the two? I thought my now it was agree that .mobi is not needed for MOBILE WEB monetization no?

[mjnels]

any reason why we keep mixing the two? I thought my now it was agree that .mobi is not needed for MOBILE WEB monetization no?

its not.

but his question involves making money on mobile formatted websites which is still just beginning.

there is some wonderful overlap.

[maroulis]

its not.

but his question involves making money on mobile formatted websites which is still just begining.

there is some wonderful overlap.

and given the overlap as you claim and the actual adoption rate of .mobi what makes you think that .com/.net/.org wouldn't prevail? In other words why existing TLDs wouldn't fit the bill?

[mjnels]

and given the overlap as you claim and the actual adoption rate of .mobi what makes you think that .com/.net/.org wouldn't prevail? In other words why existing TLDs wouldn't fit the bill?

they can and probably will.. and so will these .mobi's i grabbed for $60 in landrush.

[jasdon11]

Damn! Where'd the tags go...?