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- Mar 26, 2008
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It's funny how in a lot of cases, a thread which seems to have potential goes down the drain due to mindless cheerleading. What's even funnier is that I've started to identify several "warning signs". In other words, expressions which trigger the "cheerleader reaction". Come on, I'm sure you're familiar with most of 'em as well, here's just one example: dot com is king! :lala:
Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing awful about the expression itself. It may or may not be true, depending on the situation we're dealing with (more on that a bit later). But it's just one of those expressions which has been used so often and by so many people who don't have a clue that it loses every bit of substance it might have had.
Even though the thread is entitled "Dot Com Cheerleaders vs. ccTLD Cheerleaders", let's try to start the year without acting like little girls. Dot com, dot net, dot org vs. ccTLDs: that's an extremely important topic, I don't care who you are. Let's try to have a rational debate and turn this into a thread which actually provides value.
I'll go even further, here's a challenge. Let's turn this thread into a rational debate and analyze the one question which always ends up causing the most problems:
Dot Com Is King - Yes or No? (yeah baby, THAT question
)
My answer: yes AND no. It all depends on the perspective we're seeing things from.
The most registered domains? Dot com obviously so from that perspective yes, dot com is king (yep, I've used the expression again).
The most "financed" TLD? Dot com again and that will never change, stop living in denial. Stop for a second and think about how much money is being invested in developing dot com properties, everything else will quickly seem a drop of rain in the ocean.
Money Talks
Dot com is not as popular as it is today because it sounds nice, because it starts with the letter "c" or whatever. It's popular because so much money is being invested in dot com properties on an international level that everything else seems like little league material.
If 99% of the world's companies would start investing exclusively in developing .abc domains for 15-20 years as of tomorrow, it's only a matter of time until dot xyz would "be king" (marketing 101). If you'll see .abc domains on tv, billboards and so on day in and day out over a period of let's say 10-15 years, what would you associate the Internet with? Exactly: dot abc domains. But that will never happen!
Why would it? Because you'd like to?
The Web might still be in its infancy but that doesn't change the fact that there's so much money involved that changing things at this point is next to impossible. When it comes to the WorldWideWeb (keep this expression in mind please, WorldWideWeb), dot com will always be king.
But (and here's when dot com cheerleaders will start sharpening their pitchforks) what about LOCAL MARKETS? Is dot com king? In most cases no and guess why: for the same reasons why dot com is as successful as it is on an international level!
If you're from Germany and watch CNN, read international publications or surf the Internet in general (youtube, social media sites, you name it), most of the domains you'll come across will be dot coms. So as someone who lives in Germany, you can't help but notice that dot com domains are unbeatable when it comes to the international market as a whole.
But on the other hand, if you're walking down the street and staring at billboards, what do you see? Yep, dot de domains. If you watch local television stations, which extension will you come across? Dot de! If you read the local paper or local magazines, which extension will dominate? The list could go on and on. When it comes to local markets, is dot com still king? Nope.
As far as I'm concerned, I can only answer the "Dot com is king - yes or no?" question with another one: "King of what?"
What about you (put the pitchforks down sloooooowly... breathe in... breathe out)?
Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing awful about the expression itself. It may or may not be true, depending on the situation we're dealing with (more on that a bit later). But it's just one of those expressions which has been used so often and by so many people who don't have a clue that it loses every bit of substance it might have had.
Even though the thread is entitled "Dot Com Cheerleaders vs. ccTLD Cheerleaders", let's try to start the year without acting like little girls. Dot com, dot net, dot org vs. ccTLDs: that's an extremely important topic, I don't care who you are. Let's try to have a rational debate and turn this into a thread which actually provides value.
I'll go even further, here's a challenge. Let's turn this thread into a rational debate and analyze the one question which always ends up causing the most problems:
Dot Com Is King - Yes or No? (yeah baby, THAT question
)My answer: yes AND no. It all depends on the perspective we're seeing things from.
The most registered domains? Dot com obviously so from that perspective yes, dot com is king (yep, I've used the expression again).
The most "financed" TLD? Dot com again and that will never change, stop living in denial. Stop for a second and think about how much money is being invested in developing dot com properties, everything else will quickly seem a drop of rain in the ocean.
Money Talks
Dot com is not as popular as it is today because it sounds nice, because it starts with the letter "c" or whatever. It's popular because so much money is being invested in dot com properties on an international level that everything else seems like little league material.
If 99% of the world's companies would start investing exclusively in developing .abc domains for 15-20 years as of tomorrow, it's only a matter of time until dot xyz would "be king" (marketing 101). If you'll see .abc domains on tv, billboards and so on day in and day out over a period of let's say 10-15 years, what would you associate the Internet with? Exactly: dot abc domains. But that will never happen!
Why would it? Because you'd like to?
The Web might still be in its infancy but that doesn't change the fact that there's so much money involved that changing things at this point is next to impossible. When it comes to the WorldWideWeb (keep this expression in mind please, WorldWideWeb), dot com will always be king.
But (and here's when dot com cheerleaders will start sharpening their pitchforks) what about LOCAL MARKETS? Is dot com king? In most cases no and guess why: for the same reasons why dot com is as successful as it is on an international level!
If you're from Germany and watch CNN, read international publications or surf the Internet in general (youtube, social media sites, you name it), most of the domains you'll come across will be dot coms. So as someone who lives in Germany, you can't help but notice that dot com domains are unbeatable when it comes to the international market as a whole.
But on the other hand, if you're walking down the street and staring at billboards, what do you see? Yep, dot de domains. If you watch local television stations, which extension will you come across? Dot de! If you read the local paper or local magazines, which extension will dominate? The list could go on and on. When it comes to local markets, is dot com still king? Nope.
As far as I'm concerned, I can only answer the "Dot com is king - yes or no?" question with another one: "King of what?"
What about you (put the pitchforks down sloooooowly... breathe in... breathe out)?
