Hmmm.... it's Saturday and I think my day just got messed up!
;( But, hopefully I can cheer up some of the other .mobi domainers and investors.
.Mobi is still less than a year old so I think I'm going to hold out until we see more proof of which direction it's going to go... I have spent a lot of time in Europe and Asia and I see the use of mobile phones in advertising and shopping purposes a lot. It's everywhere.
The sentiment overseas on .mobi is a lot different than it is in the US. The US is typically over-conservative and the last to adopt new, emerging technologies. Actually, if you go to Japan, you see that people only really use their mobiles or handhelds.
I missed the dot-com boom of the 90's because I was too young and too broke!
But, this time I saw an opportunity to get in early and perhaps if this extension performs as planned... there will be a lot of happy people in the world (of domainers).
I'm only 35 years old, so I grew up when there was no copy machine, no computers, etc. I learned how to type on an old typewriter and watched my teachers make carbon copies. I saw the birth of the computer, internet, VCR, etc. I also remember when a cell phone was the size of a big-ole' Army walkie-talkie and you needed a car battery to power it!
It's just a simple fact of human nature, they we are prone to resist change, think negatively upon it and assume the worse. (not everyone BTW)
Today, technology is rapidly advancing... but most important we are forgetting the younger generation... kids and teenagers! Surveys reveal that most kids and teens prefer to be on their computer or mobile phone... doing what we call Social Networking. Teens, the group with some disposable income to spend, really don't watch that much TV. In response, the guys on Madison Ave. cutting their TV Ad budgets and planning to spend billions more on Internet and Mobile Advertising.
It seems to me that most of the 'negative' or 'I don't think .mobi is going to work"... sentiment is coming people in an older demographic. I understand and respect you guys because of your experience and overall wisdom, but please keep in mind... things change!
To me, there's no way the Internet and Mobile Internet have reached their peak and there's no room left for growth. Technology is just now allowing us to use the mobile web at 'enjoyable' speeds and now the push is obviously into developing all aspects of the mobile web.
I believe in .mobi, especially from a Marketing and Advertising point of view.
I see Google and Yahoo leading the way and rolling out their mobile advertising platforms. Even
Seth Godin is writing about mobile advertising/pay per call on his blog... and BTW... if Seth is on it... it's probably worth noting!
Here's the thing... it all comes down to branding and results. Sure companies can use an address like:
www.mobile.nike.com But, I see the flip side and lot of marketing executives are saying they would prefer to run TV commercials and other advertising with a universal mobile address like: Nike.mobi
We all know you can get to Nike.com, but certainly, if I'm riding a train in Spain, or stuck in the airport in Japan, I know I can go to Nike.mobi and order some shoes, or go to Orbitz.mobi and book a trip! I don't have to guess what their company's mobile address is... and I don't have to worry about the website not being formatted for my phone.
I wonder why most people prefer a .com over a .US or .TV It's all because of widespread branding, feeling of security and knowing that .com is really the place to be. I believe people will grow to see .Mobi in the same way. We can't ignore the staggering numbers on how many people have an use cell phones around the world. Even in a country like China, and I've been there, most people don't have computers... they simply cost too much. However, I did see a great percentage of people with cell phones and you can believe the Chinese are working it out and will reach all their active mobile users.
Anyhoo... that's my 2 cents or well..... 10 cents... I'm pushing ahead with my site Mobi Marketplace, and even if I spend 80% of my time promoting the site in overseas... I believe there's enough people in the world to support .Mobi in a way that eventually it will become as common as going to Nike.com
I wish everyone here good business success, a little luck and most importantly good health and true prosperty!
PS... I had to add this: Early in 2007, I went to GoDaddy.mobi and bought a few domains... .Com, .Net, .Mobi, etc. I was at the car wash and thought, I've got nothing else better to do, so let me try it out! I went to their site from my phone and let me tell you guys... it was a really nice experience. Besides that, I ended up selling two of the .Mobi domains for over $5K Not a bad 2 minutes of work on a .mobi website for me!
It's now become a ritual of mine, to go to GoDaddy.mobi and buy a few domains. Hopefully, my luck will continue! Just wanted to share that example, I see everyone in this forum is getting a little worked up over it... Let's all meet up and have a beer over it. Either we'll walk out of the pub as friends or a major bar fight will begin! (just kidding!)
