.US Heating Up!

[Poker]

You will notice that the .COM cults are normally populated by people from the baby boomer generation, those born in the 60s and 70s. Who grew up with DOS in their hand, and a peace sign in the other...

The techno dinosaurs of the Internet age will eventually wander off into their .COM slumber, as a new generation replaces their foggie thoughts and beliefs.

1. Baby boomers were born (roughly) in the 1950s, not in the 70's.

2. Generation X'ers were born in the 60s and 70s and they are certainly not "techno dinosaurs"...

* Just wanted to "replace" your "foggie thoughts and beliefs" before you "wander off into a slumber" ...

 

[zouzas]

not mine ,,,but they'll be two .US sales in next weeks dnjournal xx,xxx.xx and xx,xxx.xx both domains are (Two word) domains not single word domains

 

[Rubber Duck]

not mine ,,,but they'll be two .US sales in next weeks dnjournal xx,xxx.xx and xx,xxx.xx both domains are (Two word) domains not single word domains

Will look forward with interest.

Best Regards
Dave Wrixon

 

[jelly]

not trying to pick a fight or anything but:

don't most people think that anything that isn't a .com is cheap, it's like "if this company is so good, how come they couldn't afford a .com?"

won't they always be traffic leaks to .com's, which means they'll never be worth as much? won't that also just increase the value of the .com's at the same time?

doesn't a .com look a lot cooler for branding purposes, like so-and-so site is the definitive source/resource for whatever, and that's why they have the .com?

if huge companies have .com's, won't growing companies wanting to make themselves appear larger/more successful invest in .com's for that very purpose?

people are always going to type stuff in, so i don't understand the argument about type-in traffic going away.

i think .eu and .co.uk are good though, i just don't think .us and all these .info/.biz/.whatever extensions are.

i honestly would like to believe there is a future for other extensions, but it doesn't seem that way to me. ok people didn't expect the internet to catch on and it did, that doesn't mean non-.com is still going to catch on, it's a totally separate issue.

 

[Rubber Duck]

not trying to pick a fight or anything but:

don't most people think that anything that isn't a .com is cheap, it's like "if this company is so good, how come they couldn't afford a .com?"

won't they always be traffic leaks to .com's, which means they'll never be worth as much? won't that also just increase the value of the .com's at the same time?

doesn't a .com look a lot cooler for branding purposes, like so-and-so site is the definitive source/resource for whatever, and that's why they have the .com?

if huge companies have .com's, won't growing companies wanting to make themselves appear larger/more successful invest in .com's for that very purpose?

people are always going to type stuff in, so i don't understand the argument about type-in traffic going away.

i think .eu and .co.uk are good though, i just don't think .us and all these .info/.biz/.whatever extensions are.

i honestly would like to believe there is a future for other extensions, but it doesn't seem that way to me. ok people didn't expect the internet to catch on and it did, that doesn't mean non-.com is still going to catch on, it's a totally separate issue.

Well there is some truth is what you say. Dot Com is a very powerful brand and will probably remain the dominant brand in the domain market, although history shows that not all dominant brands last forever.

The other thing is that it is just about impossible to new register anything other than gibberish in a dot com, at least in English.

Fundraiser spent a lot of money on his dot US, but it still probably less than 1% of what the dot com went for years ago. So in that sense there is no real challenge to the dot com, but think if dot US was actually worth in reality somewhere like 20% of the value of the dot com, he would be rolling in profit.

Best Regards
Dave Wrixon

 

[zouzas]

retailers have competed on the same street corner for hundreds of years is the net any different?

if anything .com used to enjoy about 95% of traffic and total regs worldwide ,,now for .com total regs worldwide is under 50% for All regs and traffic is anything but 95%.....

 

[jelly]

Well there is some truth is what you say. Dot Com is a very powerful brand and will probably remain the dominant brand in the domain market, although history shows that not all dominant brands last forever.

The other thing is that it is just about impossible to new register anything other than gibberish in a dot com, at least in English.

Fundraiser spent a lot of money on his dot US, but it still probably less than 1% of what the dot com went for years ago. So in that sense there is no real challenge to the dot com, but think if dot US was actually worth in reality somewhere like 20% of the value of the dot com, he would be rolling in profit.

Best Regards
Dave Wrixon

Well in the case of business.us, that has many uses and would be different than someone buying their company name in .us. So I think for very generic names like that, yeah it works in any extension.

But if we're talking about .us aside from those generic keywords, I just don't think it's really going to be a big deal.

 

[izopod]

One thing I'd like to see more of is posts about domainers building out these new extensions.

Sales of new domains are always good to see. However if you only see a few "$xx,xxx" posts <----Look Here, you begin to see the writing on the wall.

Honesty with what is "actually" happening in the marketplace is where we need to get. I'm not saying we aren't striving to get there, but quite frankly we all need to step back a bit. In reality most of these domains are sitting "idle", whether it be PPC, or the like. If we don't get movement in the other direction, the new TLD market will become stagnant. Trust me, if a domainer with little time on his hands thinks his .US domains are worth $250K we're in trouble....Gosh, I can't wait for the $250,000 dot US ebay thread after the next edition of DNJ is published.

Get the picture? (I've only been harping on this for weeks now).

p.s Locally where I am at most businesses without .com names are advertising with dot .biz. It's important to discuss competing ideas. Remember that. The conspiracy stuff has to end--!!!

One other note: I do think blogs could be a bright spot for Dot us. I own, www.polling.us and you can be sure I'll have that badboy up by 2008.. :wink:

 

[zouzas]

One thing I'd like to see more of is posts about domainers building out these new extensions.


not sure about domainers but
just the past month these major companies have set up .US sites its not the masses but its happening

Apple's www.Automator.us

Viacom's www.tvland.us

www.Meest.us

www.Roche.us

microsoft continues to blog at www.Raindrop.MsResearch.US

 

[StockDoctor]

One thing I'd like to see more of is posts about domainers building out these new extensions.

Sales of new domains are always good to see. However if you only see a few "$xx,xxx" posts <----Look Here, you begin to see the writing on the wall.

Honesty with what is "actually" happening in the marketplace is where we need to get. I'm not saying we aren't striving to get there, but quite frankly we all need to step back a bit. In reality most of these domains are sitting "idle", whether it be PPC, or the like. If we don't get movement in the other direction, the new TLD market will become stagnant. Trust me, if a domainer with little time on his hands thinks his .US domains are worth $250K we're in trouble....Gosh, I can't wait for the $250,000 dot US ebay thread after the next edition of DNJ is published.

Get the picture? (I've only been harping on this for weeks now).

p.s Locally where I am at most businesses without .com names are advertising with dot .biz. It's important to discuss competing ideas. Remember that. The conspiracy stuff has to end--!!!

One other note: I do think blogs could be a bright spot for Dot us. I own, www.polling.us and you can be sure I'll have that badboy up by 2008.. :wink:

Greg
You're a very smart guy and it's easy to see that in your posts over the years. Thing I see though is that you have somehow "lost the faith" in the .US extension and it's potential, and are now on a campaign to save the rest of us lost souls. Maybe it started after my purchase of some .US names from you early on and you knew enough to dump out of that useless stuff? But I see a glimmer of hope still in you when you see the possibilities of success in at least 1 .US name/website you hold (polling.us). If you can see that potential, maybe you can see some value in other .US domains that may just survive. Those are blogs as you say, political sites, patriotic groups or clubs such as Bikers, or maybe even geographical domains such as Boston.US? Then it's not such a stretch to see how Boston.US might be ok is it? That's a start, and then it might even expand to Dentists.Boston.US or Lawyers.Boston.US, etc. Then who knows what could happen? The 1/3rd of the US population and local businesses that do NOT use the Internet (to any significant degree yet) may just become comfortable with a .US because their Dentist or Lawyer uses it. Knowing that .com has priced itself out of the US small business marketplace, don't you think with these other "acceptable" uses of the extension such as "polling.us" starting the ball rolling, that it just could work?

 

[mole]

1. Baby boomers were born (roughly) in the 1950s, not in the 70's.

2. Generation X'ers were born in the 60s and 70s and they are certainly not "techno dinosaurs"...

* Just wanted to "replace" your "foggie thoughts and beliefs" before you "wander off into a slumber" ...

How old are you, promote? :cheeky:

Technically, you are correct to say that the baby boomers came right after post 2nd world war, but that's OLD man, I didn't want to knock you know who. :cheeky:

As for techno dinosaurs, admit it, how many old timer dinosaurs sms and download mobile data, email and 3G their mobile, let alone accept that domain value resides outside .COM.

Silo thinking is pervasive with techno dinosaurs, they live for purpose, not versatility.

 

[Poker]

I'm a Gen X'er

 

[mole]

Okay, one Gen Xér here. I guess most of old timers belong to Gen X.

By that definition, the case stands that .US will belong to Gen Y, those born in the 80s and 90s.

 

[izopod]

Greg
Thing I see though is that you have somehow "lost the faith" in the .US extension and it's potential, and are now on a campaign to save the rest of us lost souls.

I am not a fan of "any" domain anymore is what you are seeing Stoc. It's the idea or creativity behind the domain that excites me. Be on the look out for some .TV names I'm working on.

So my enthusiam for "new" domains hasn't gone away, just my approach to them. Hopefully I can get a few lightbulbs to turn on out there. If not, there is always a price to pay for not being at the right place, at the right time.

Again, it's the idea, or purpose behind the domain. Once you accept this philosophy "your" domains become infinitely more valuable.

The flipside to this thought process is to "flash" an empty site in your sig thinking what you have is worth something or will become very valuable because it's a "keyword" (non-com).

I do see the point being made about dot US... That somehow, someday everyone will "recognize" it's value. This is a possible outcome. The same could be said for dot .biz, or .info. The only real way to know your domains will hold value is if you do something to cause it to be worth infinitely more. I think it's not wise to assume. You might say, what's a couple of years to wait to see if what I have is worth something? Have you ever thought that it could be worth something now as opposed to four years from now?

If you do plan on making "domain reselling" more than a hobby, just remember knowing when to sell, is what will make or break you in this business. I'm sure the owner of Cool.com is wishing he took the 8 Mill (or whatever in cash) he was offered back in 1998.

To beat a dead horse: If you did nothing with a piece of land you own your investment would still hold it's value. If you do nothing with a domain that doesn't get "threshold" traffic, it is of no value even if it's a keyword.... unless of course a potential buyer "thinks" it's getting traffic and doesn't mind parting ways with their money. The secret to selling with these folks is to hit home the fact this is a "keyword" domain.

To make sure my intent is clear: I'm not beholden to any domain, rather I'm more interested in the idea or purpose of that particular domain.

 

[mole]

To make sure my intent is clear: I'm not beholden to any domain, rather I'm more interested in the idea or purpose of that particular domain.

By conjecture, you believe that the value of domain names lies behind the business model and ingenuity that drives it, and not in its inherent value.

Inherent domain value like pets.com, now an empty burnt out tank, slaved into redirecting to petsmart.com, sucked of traffic for every last bit left.

The domain industry is sick and wallowed like the living dead in vampire world, depending on the PPC seaweed life-support system for nutrient - self-deceiving in rationalizing inflated prices, inflated egos, and inflated hopes. Inflated spin, hype and hoopla.

You have a point pod, maybe a point too true to the truth that people want to hear, let alone digest.

 

[DryHeat]

We have already gone thru the serious limitations of this passionate advice for domainer's to develop their domains to realize the true potential and value of their holdings. A wise one once said that one soul's discovery of truth is far from being salvation for others....

The reality remains:

...... that most domainers have neither the time and resources nor the inclination for development,

......that genuine development cannot be had with anything less than one's full commitment and devotion,

......that one would be naive and foolish to contemplate developing more than a few domains and think that he could do justice to the task......and,

......that a domainer would be even more foolish and insane to just drop his worthwhile names simply because he himself does not have the time and resources to develop them.

I am not shouting empty philosophies here, I have undertaken development of over 3 dozen domains in earnest and I know by first hand experience now what it takes to develop....it takes money and resources, it takes time, it takes commitment and it takes lots of patience and sacrifice of other priorities....thats why we see plenty of plans/talk about developing but little practical follow-up on that....If you happen to have just a couple/few domains and you have the know-how, and the resources, and the time and motivation to develop then thats wonderful but for heaven's sake don't preach this to those who have 50, 100, 500 or even more domains...! Is it that hard to understand that from a practical standpoint its impossible for most domainers?

 

[Rubber Duck]

We have already gone thru the serious limitations of this passionate advice for domainer's to develop their domains to realize the true potential and value of their holdings. A wise one once said that one soul's discovery of truth is far from being salvation for others....

The reality remains:

...... that most domainers have neither the time and resources nor the inclination for development,

......that genuine development cannot be had with anything less than one's full commitment and devotion,

......that one would be naive and foolish to contemplate developing more than a few domains and think that he could do justice to the task......and,

......that a domainer would be even more foolish and insane to just drop his worthwhile names simply because he himself does not have the time and resources to develop them.

I am not shouting empty philosophies here, I have undertaken development of over 3 dozen domains in earnest and I know by first hand experience now what it takes to develop....it takes money and resources, it takes time, it takes commitment and it takes lots of patience and sacrifice of other priorities....thats why we see plenty of plans/talk about developing but little practical follow-up on that....If you happen to have just a couple/few domains and you have the know-how, and the resources, and the time and motivation to develop then thats wonderful but for heaven's sake don't preach this to those who have 50, 100, 500 or even more domains...! Is it that hard to understand that from a practical standpoint its impossible for most domainers?

Now that is a word from the wise.

In my view development is only valid if you can give the browser an memorable experience.

In the case of many domains, they can only be done justice if they are developed in tandem with the delivery of goods or services. You are not just talking about making a website, but starting an enterprise!

In my view the real value of a good domain is often to provide better branding to an existing enterprise.

I also believe that there is skewed emphasis on Overture results, because Search Keywords and suitable domain roots are not necessarily one and the same. The latter will generally be shorter. Effective searching often involves combinatios of 3 to 4 Keywords, wheras a good domain should be limited to 2 and ideally be only one!

The real value adders are those that can identify SEO requirements for a site and incorporate a domain name with good synergy. In my view the real developers are the SEO boys.

Best Regards
Dave Wrixon

 

[zouzas]

Once folks (the common non domain person)actually grasp the concept of country codes thats when the masses come in,,

Look at hotels.jp just sold on sedo 40k ,,what better way to target hotels in japan then hotels.jp through the use of country codes is the only way to locally target the market.

 

[Rubber Duck]

Once folks (the common non domain person)actually grasp the concept of country codes thats when the masses come in,,

Look at hotels.jp just sold on sedo 40k ,,what better way to target hotels in japan then hotels.jp through the use of country codes is the only way to locally target the market.

Agree that country codes have a role in marketing. They help with the Localisation of the content.

In non-English speaking areas and particularly the Far East though, language will come in. Do the Japanese actually use the word Hotel, well its probably one of the few words that does carry-over, but other concepts will need translation either in phonetics or more propably into local characters.

Best Regards
Dave Wrixon

 

[carlton]

... Look at hotels.jp just sold on sedo 40k ,,what better way to target hotels in japan then hotels.jp through the use of country codes is the only way to locally target the market.

Had not heard about this. Nice support for the country codes.