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Numeric domains coming out from under the radar

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OnSpec

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To begin, thanks to Adam and the Mods for affording numeric domains their rightful place on a very comprehensive and busy "board". For my money, this is the runaway leading domain site in the world. Bar none.

There are a handful of domainers who have invested some fairly tidy sums in numeric domains over the years and a lot of us who have dabbled on the edges hoping to find a gem or two in the lot. One of the most notable transactions was the Marchex deal. Thousands of the numeric domains in that package are now part of a business model that uses 5-digit numeric domains representing a large number of US zip codes for "local" search. Try typing in any zip code and you'll may find sites similar to this one www.90806.com. Marchex didn't get all of the zip code domains so if you have any pure 5-digit .com numerics, they may want to chat with you.

I'm not totally convinced that they have the model down just right, but any promotion of numeric domains can only benefit all of us that are in the space.

At the time of this post, pure numeric domain websites occupied some of the top Alexa global rankings. www.163.com at #13 (ahead of Microsoft and AOL), www.3721.com at #44, www.126.com at #61 and www.265.com at #122 to name a few. There are others that use just the IP address or an alpha-numeric combnination that are also very highly ranked.

When you look at what's happening around the world in respect of numeric domains and the proliferation of cell phones, perhaps you will start to see what is emerging. People are increasingly moving away from, depending on how far away your couch is, the 10-foot screen (the TV), and more towards the 2-foot screen (the computer monitor screen) and even more so to the ubiquitious 1-foot screen (the cell phone or other PDA).

There are opportunities in this mix if you know what to look for. I've invested in this space for the long haul and have seen some dramatic shifts. I look forward to sharing some exciting news regarding a blockbuster numeric domain sale and the roll-out of an exciting new project, hopefully within the next 2 months.

243377!
 
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jandy519

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163.com/126.com are used for free mail
3721.com...not a good website....
 

HumanIngenuity

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The numeric domains market will explode as more and more users in China gets online. Just look at what is going on with oil prices now that more and more people drive there, and comparing the ratio of citizens to cars in the usa, china still has a lot to catchup.
When you have more and more people in China being able to afford computers and internet access, these numeric domains especially NNNs will appreciate much faster than LLLs. I am grabbing all the NNNs I can and so are several people I know. The amount of NNNs offered is also seldom because of only 1000 possible combinations.
 

Rubber Duck

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OnSpec said:
At the time of this post, pure numeric domain websites occupied some of the top Alexa global rankings. www.163.com at #13 (ahead of Microsoft and AOL), www.3721.com at #44, www.126.com at #61 and www.265.com at #122 to name a few. There are others that use just the IP address or an alpha-numeric combnination that are also very highly ranked.

Yes these are all Chinese. These have been adopted as English domains in Latin Script were not very comprehensible or even brandable in China.

HumanIngenuity said:
The numeric domains market will explode as more and more users in China gets online. Just look at what is going on with oil prices now that more and more people drive there, and comparing the ratio of citizens to cars in the usa, china still has a lot to catchup.
When you have more and more people in China being able to afford computers and internet access, these numeric domains especially NNNs will appreciate much faster than LLLs. I am grabbing all the NNNs I can and so are several people I know. The amount of NNNs offered is also seldom because of only 1000 possible combinations.

Yes, China is the biggest card game in town at the moment, but if you think you are going to succeed by frying their heads with even more numberical domains than they are already coping with, then you have totally missed the plot. China is abuzz with IDN, IE 7.0 and the massive new possiblities that this will bring. Nobody in China is getting excited about Numerical Domains. These have been around and in use for years and were just a temporary measure to make the most of a bad job. Obviously some of the successful existing brands will endure, but if you are counting on some massive new expansion you are going to be sorely disappointed.

Just try to remember that Domain Name were invented to replace numberical addresses. If we are going to rely on raw numbers, then we might as well all revert to using IP addresses.

Rubber Duck.
 

HumanIngenuity

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Hmm... some good points even though I disagree. Anyways time will tell on who is right. The fact is acronyms and numbers are increasing in value every month with nnns out pricing the llls. Most of the NNNs are owned by major market players who are not even selling, so unless there is something we know that they don't which I doubt, then it is still a safe bet for an investment.
 

Rubber Duck

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HumanIngenuity said:
Hmm... some good points even though I disagree. Anyways time will tell on who is right. The fact is acronyms and numbers are increasing in value every month with nnns out pricing the llls. Most of the NNNs are owned by major market players who are not even selling, so unless there is something we know that they don't which I doubt, then it is still a safe bet for an investment.

The truth of it is that there is by and large something that IDNers know that ASCII players don't and that is that ASCII is going to be limited to that part of the World where it is relevant.

There are very few serious ASCII players that moved over to IDN, although DCG is one of them and momentum is beginning to build.

It may well be there is some marketing value in numerical acroyms in the West, but to blindly point to there historical usage in China is to completely miss the point.

The bottom line is that IDN will permit a massive increase in the potential name space for Asia and there will be little or no requirement for this kind of name. In the other half of the world where the number of characters available to create most name is going to be limited to the original ASCII set, domain space is going to remain comparatively tight.

It is nevertheless going to be true that some ASCII names are going to be serious undermined by the advent of IDN. It is not going to be Generic dot coms that are primarily targeted on the US market that are going to be affected. Pinyin and Romanji dot coms, however, will take a dive, as will transliteration of Cyrillic terms and English dot IN.

Rubber Duck.
 

OnSpec

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It's interesting to see how numeric domains incite discussion from several different prospectives that cross language, cultural, historical, geographical and socio-economic points of view.

The internet, following the 10 foot screen (TV) and the 2 foot screen (computer monitor), is being viewed more and more via the 1 foot screen (mobile phones). The ubiquitous cell phone is increasingly being used to access the Internet and some pundits predict that nearly 60% of the worlds population will only ever see the Internet by cell phone. With over 2 billion cell phones in circulation, it makes business sense to look at ways to exploit this market.

As more people access the web on cell phones, marketers and advertisers will seek ways to legitimately access this market. Obviously this has to be handled with a certain degree of caution and finesse as the user experience on the 1 foot screen is very different that that of the 2 foot screen. Technically, marketers and advertisers need to be cognizant of the fact that if they deliver a poor user experience, users may decide not to re-visit their sites. The technologies available to deliver content appropriately is available and at reasonable costs.

Our plan is to develop Internet websites and portals specifically designed for the mobile market. Using numeric domains as an easy, intuitive way to access the Internet, our first project will launch in late May or early June (assuming the tech gods cooperate). It's quite a simple strategy whereby we take alpha based domains, convert them to numeric equivalents on cell phone dial pads. For example 739 on the cell dial pad can represent dozens of alpha equivalents including rex, rey, pet, pew, sew and even sex. Until the numeric domain is developed as one of the options, it's simply a combination of numbers. However, once it is developed into one of the potential sites, all other alpha options for that numeric stream are eliminated. Past threads show further detail. If you want more info on developing your numeric domains, feel free to drop me PM.

There are many other threads on this forum on numeric domains. One is located at: http://www.dnforum.com/f77/numeric-domains-domains-numbers-thread-111361.html#post654792
 

Rubber Duck

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Yes, you make it all sound very innovative, but the truth is you are miles behind both the Japanese and Chinese. The Japanese already watch HD TV on their phones and the Chinese already access the internet more through their phones than they do with their PCs. Over 300 Million in total.

The Chinese Language is ideal for this purpose as it has the highest information density of any language on earth. They simply have no requirement for you numerical domains. As I said before, there may be scope to develop their usage in the US market, but if you are counting on the Chinese Market then you strategy is doomed.
 

OnSpec

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Thanks for your observations RD. You may be quite right on all points. However, I'm more that willing to let all international markets dictate my level of success. The scope of our projects, even if they are used by a fraction of the world's population, have the potential for substantial profits. It would seem foolish to depend on any one segment of the mobile Internet for commercial success.

Our first project is purely numbers based, with Asian roots and enjoyed every day by millions of people around the world --- 783658.

Doom and gloom theories are typically associated with Chicken Little and perhaps best left to his/her ilk.

Cheers,
 

Rubber Duck

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OnSpec said:
Thanks for your observations RD. You may be quite right on all points. However, I'm more that willing to let all international markets dictate my level of success. The scope of our projects, even if they are used by a fraction of the world's population, have the potential for substantial profits. It would seem foolish to depend on any one segment of the mobile Internet for commercial success.

Our first project is purely numbers based, with Asian roots and enjoyed every day by millions of people around the world --- 783658.

Doom and gloom theories are typically associated with Chicken Little and perhaps best left to his/her ilk.

Cheers,

Good Luck!

Another major challenge they you are going to need to consider seriously, if you are targeting a global market is how you are going to present linguistically relevant content, when you URL is purely numerical. The Chinese need to be directed to Chinese content just as most English Speakers will only related to English content. The problem with a numerical domain is it gives no clues on this.
 

OnSpec

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Project number 1: Sudoku

783658 = Sudoku, one of the most popular and fastest growing puzzles in the world today.

783658 is the same on on all cell phone dial pads (Smart phones, Blackberry's, PDA's excluded, but represent a minute portion of global cellular handheld devices).

Cellular technology and/or GPS systems identify the incoming call and serve up the relevant content so that, in time, Brazilians get Portuguese, French get French, Americans get English etc. It's not that difficult.

Once our print publishing partners are revealed, you will see how the numeric domains will be marketed.

Cheers,
 

Rubber Duck

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OnSpec said:
Project number 1: Sudoku

783658 = Sudoku, one of the most popular and fastest growing puzzles in the world today.

783658 is the same on on all cell phone dial pads (Smart phones, Blackberry's, PDA's excluded, but represent a minute portion of global cellular handheld devices).

Cellular technology and/or GPS systems identify the incoming call and serve up the relevant content so that, in time, Brazilians get Portuguese, French get French, Americans get English etc. It's not that difficult.

Once our print publishing partners are revealed, you will see how the numeric domains will be marketed.

Cheers,

Ah, that old chestnut! Somehow I think you will need to do better than that.

I am a keen Sudoku player, but I cannot even imagine trying to do it on a cellular device and certainly wouldn't pay the call charges for the priveledge.
 

Malaysia

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well hope a good number domain sale will top the charts in dnjournal.. if 888.com were to sell i am sure it top the charts..hehehe
numbers are good to invest also ive got one very long one 12345678910.net
butsurprisingly ive got few offers..
 

HumanIngenuity

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FYI 888.cn is asking for $800,000. 888.com would probably go for 7 figures.
 

Rubber Duck

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HumanIngenuity said:
FYI 888.cn is asking for $800,000. 888.com would probably go for 7 figures.

Yes, because it is not only very rare, but has already been heavily branded and is deeply ingrained in Asian culture. I would not argue in the slightest with the valuations, indeed they may be conservative. However, that does not immediately extrapolate to the whole telephone directory being a source of valuable domains.

The other thing you should bear in mind is that there is a Chinese number system that his widely, as there is with Davengari. I believe the Arabs actually use their own numbers much more than ours. My experience in Arabic countries is that even the Speed Limits are in the Arabic system. Terminology gets confusing here as we refer to our numbers as Arabic and they refer to their own as Indian.
 

OnSpec

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Rubber Duck said:
Ah, that old chestnut! Somehow I think you will need to do better than that.

I am a keen Sudoku player, but I cannot even imagine trying to do it on a cellular device and certainly wouldn't pay the call charges for the priveledge.

Fortunately, I am not looking at you as my entire market.

Cheers,

Rubber Duck said:
Yes, because it is not only very rare, but has already been heavily branded and is deeply ingrained in Asian culture. I would not argue in the slightest with the valuations, indeed they may be conservative.

No question it takes time, money and effort to brand these domains and to make them "ingrained" into any population.
 

Rubber Duck

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OnSpec said:
No question it takes time, money and effort to brand these domains and to make them "ingrained" into any population.

By contrast the Chinese are already typing into to IDN Domains very naturally in large numbers, without any web content, marketing or investment. The same is also true of the Arabic market. Give them browser support as well and just watch this baby fly!
 
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