.INFO . . . the next big thing?

[JumpingJack]

Anyone noticed the latest web stats for active registered names?

32,462,923 .COM (+7978)
5,202,036 .NET (+51)
3,234,697 .ORG (+350)
2,854,909 .INFO (+3409)
1,063,575 .BIZ (+6)
893,867 .US (+152)

The numbers in brackets are the domain name gain for each TLD for today (registed domains - deleted domains = number). If these numbers keep up, .INFO will past the .ORG extension in April, 2005, and would pass the .NET extension in a couple of years. That is IF the .INFO numbers stay the way they are, but many are predicting they will continue to grow.

Opinions? What does this mean for the .INFO TLD?

BTW my opinion on this is clear - it's been only a matter of time before another major TLD came along.

The .NET and .ORG are both speciality names not intended for personal use and I think people are realizing this. I doubt we will ever see the .COM uncrowned though, because there is no reason for it to be uncrowned, but the .NET and .ORG are reverting back to "ISP Networks" and "Non-Profit" type domain names, where as the .INFO name is universal. So there is really no other option, it seems like the door is wide open for the .INFO and I think it's exciting that we will see it pass the .ORG soon.

 

[Togoodhlth]

Dude they're giving the .ino domains away at no charge LOL!
They are going to stop giving them away or they jsut di stop however IMO this has deluted the value of other .infos as the market has been absolutely flooded with them. In fact I wont even look at a .info name.

 

[JumpingJack]

Dude they're giving the .ino domains away at no charge LOL!
They are going to stop giving them away or they jsut di stop however IMO this has deluted the value of other .infos as the market has been absolutely flooded with them. In fact I wont even look at a .info name.

Even so, the free give-away is brilliant. Giving something away free doesn't neccisarily equal success. Look at the .tk thing or whatever. But the fact that there are almost 3 million names registered means something/ People register a nice name, then a year later when renewal comes around, everyone sees that .INFO's has surpassed .ORG's, and they take a look and see that top .INFO domains are selling for $10,000 to $20,000. Brilliant I tell you! But seriously, they are giving away domains free again? I was under the impression that expired on the 1st of December, and these statistics are from yesterday (the 5th).

 

[mark]

Interesting stats. What I have noticed recently is that my spanish domains with the .info extension are doing better on click thru income from parking pages than most of my dot coms although still not anything major dollar wise; getting better each month since registering them about 90 days ago during the .info promos.

 

[skylight]

when the renewal comes, probably the .info stats will drop tremendously.

 

[Mr Webname]

when the renewal comes, probably the .info stats will drop tremendously.

I suspect this will be true - .info has its place and can be really good but I agree that the increase is probably a temporary "blip" caused by the freebie deals.

 

[namewaiter]

I suspect this will be true - .info has its place and can be really good but I agree that the increase is probably a temporary "blip" caused by the freebie deals.

totally agree, but the thing that sticks out to me is the rate that .com continues to grow. there were twice as many new .com registrations than all the other tlds combined - and that includes the giveaway of .infos

 

[ExpireGuy]

.info has its place and can be really good.

Agree with you %100.
It's the .info blip that's troubling.

Domain name statistics show that eNom registered 950,000 domain names between Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.

The domains were registered through Sipence, which has the same address as eNom in an office suite in Bellevue, Wash. The domains were reportedly registered with the name and contact details of the owner of the .com domain. Inquirers to Sipence and eNom say they are being told that the .info domains were registered "on their behalf"

source: Netcraft

 

[seeker]

dont buy .info

its not worth it. waste of your time, just skip it.

 

[actnow]

dont buy .info

its not worth it. waste of your time, just skip it.

Seeker, you are a very wise man.

I totally agree with you.




(Maybe, I will start buying some .info's since I am a contrarian.)

 

[seeker]

(Maybe, I will start buying some .info's since I am a contrarian.)[/I]

don't waste your time and money.

.com and .net rule.

 

[Relationships]

I agree with seeker!
Don't even spend a penny for useless .infos!

 

[seeker]

sub, your sig kind of defeats the purpose here...

lol

asta na pane.

 

[JMJ]

I believe the .info giveaway is more of a statement than an act of desperation. With them giving away income states that it doesn't take as much to run a registry as those at Verisign would like us to think. Sure the higher number of registrations will improve the demand in the long run. Giving away services shows their appreciation. Imposing "services" shows lack of care for anything but the bottom line.

 

[Luc]

i always though the reason they gave them away for free was to get people
on a hook and renew them next year.

you can't renew something you don't own, or don't even know exists. they
created a huge buzz, when renewals come around they'll bank on that.

 

[JumpingJack]

Some interesting opinions here, some of which I'm surprised at. Good none the less

I notice a lot of people attacking the "free" part, but I agree with Luc, I too think it is an ingenius plan for them.

It gets people using them. And how can something people use be devalued? Look at the .CC, .WS and .TV extensions. They have been around for years now, but no one is using them, so the value drops. Check this out:



(3,040,000 Results for .CC domains) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=site:.cc
(2,720,000 Results for .TV domains) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=site:.tv
(2,320,000 Results for .WS domains) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=site:.ws

Now take a look at .INFO

(12,500,000 Results for .INFO domains) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=site:.info



You can make what you want of that, but the bottom line is, people are using the .INFO's. And you can perhaps say that when renewal comes around, people won't renew and sites will die, but if these people can all get web hosting for their domain names, you'd think they can afford the $7 yearly fee for a .INFO. I suppose time will tell.

Note: I would have included .US figures, but they are inaccurate, due to them having been around for several years now for individual states (eg. state, k12, lib, ect.). So the actual .US domain names registered for personal use cannot be seen. But the figures are much lower than .INFO domains overall.

 

[pleasedelete]

i always though the reason they gave them away for free was to get people
on a hook and renew them next year.

you can't renew something you don't own, or don't even know exists. they
created a huge buzz, when renewals come around they'll bank on that.

Exactly! It was sheer genius! People like me have picked up a boatload of free domains and I intend to renew almost all of them at the end of the year. During the free trial period, I have made enough on them to cover their registration fees.

 

[mole]

There is only one extension on the Internet, .COM. Everything else is inconsequential and meaningless.

 

[Mr Webname]

There is only one extension on the Internet, .COM. Everything else is inconsequential and meaningless.

Bah humbug.

 

[ExpireGuy]

There is only one extension on the Internet, .COM. Everything else is inconsequential and meaningless.

It's official.......hell has frozen over..