newgTLDs: A rising tide lifts all ships!

1. A registrant with a .com will not give up that .com and move to a new TLD
2. ccTLDs perform well in non-US locations inspite of .com mindshare
3. newgTLDs will expand the market
– Paul Stahura

I’m cautiously optimistic about newgTLDs, not surprisingly, since I’m also extremely positive about existing alternative TLDs and ccTLDs – both refashioned brands and those with a strong home base. In fact, I saw ccTLDs as a viable alternative back in 2007, when most people still scoffed at them.

As a developer I can tell you it’s a lot easier to get traction with a .com but I’d rather take a oneword.tld over a 4VerbAdjectiveWord.com simply because it makes a shorter & better brand.

Cautious about the usual ‘pump and dump’ scenarios that seems to originate from the top of the food chain (registry / registrars) for each new extension and the usual stories one hears of this, that or the other investor losing their shirts because they got caught up in the hype.

Optimistic that the newgTLDs will change the brand dynamic online, maybe not today, but certainly within five years and beyond. And what this change will do is make the average web user looking to setup a website / app / blog / whatever more aware of the value of a good online brand. And this growth of awareness will increase the value of relevant brands.

We talk about new gTLD’s like this is something new. It ain’t. Nobody is putting any fingers in a dyke. I love what is coming. I am looking forward to it. But one must know the difference between getting on a winning horse and getting run over by a stampede.
– Rick Schwartz

I haven’t made any ‘pre-registrations’ yet. Nor do I plan to. I do plan to pick through the lists of available ‘keyword.extension’ domains where the .extension interests me when it opens for general registration. And if I’m able to pick up a name that rocks my world for , I just might.

That said, it’s not a game for newcomers, you’re more likely to lose than win if you register domains ‘in an extension you think is going to beat .com’ without thinking of a deeper linguistic connect of each domain with the online audiences. And in the case of some of the newgTLDs, the registry itself is premium pricing the SLD, leaving nothing in it for investors.

If you are too unsure or too broke to take a registration price flyer on a dictionary word name in a new namespace in 2014 and you need an iron clad guarantee from frank schilling that these are investment grade assets, then maybe domaining isn’t for you. Nobody is going to hold your hand to prosperity. Do your research, use your head – and take your own risks.
– frank.schilling