New gTLDs, Apps, and Mobile – What Do They Mean For Domainers?

As Domain Investors we live in a small ecosystem that most people have never heard of. While many new Domainers talk about coming late to the game, no matter how you slice it, we’re all still early, at least in my opinion. Still, that being said, some people are starting to wonder if the landscape is getting ready for a dramatic change that could send our world into chaos. Things like new gTLDs, Apps, and mobile are going to change the landscape for sure, but I think it’s for the better, and here’s why.

Let’s start with new gTLDs. First and foremost, if you haven’t read Frank’s post about new gTLDs, read it now. I personally think that most new gTLDs will fail, but some will be successful, very successful. This success will change the landscape and I think that the .NET’s and .INFO’s of the world will lose value. Now is not the time to stockpile a bunch of alternative TLDs. Now for .COM I can only see it getting stronger and like Franks says:

You can expect  .COM prices to continue to act as a value benchmark against other viable second level names in the new spaces. (Frank Schilling)

This is what I think .COM will become, the benchmark. New gTLDs that do well will be able to tout things like, “We are seeing sales at 75% of the price of a .COM” and that beats .NET, .INFO, .BIZ and many others right away, bam! Landscape changed, but lots of opportunity still for investors all over the world.

Let’s not forget ccTLDs, remember, .DE is the .COM of Germany and these dominant ccTLDs will continue to be dominant as well. In short, gTLDs will change the landscape and so investments strategies need to change. I made the change last year and it has changed my life. This year I have been a part of close to $800,000 in deals, some my own, some as a broker, all .COM.

Now for Apps. First let me reassure you, the sky is not falling, but yes, just like new gTLDs apps will change the landscape. Where I think Apps really hit domains is local. Here’s the example I find the most relevant. I’ve been traveling around the world for eight years now, before I had a smart phone I would go to Google to search for restaurants and bars in each city I visited. Now I honestly don’t think I’ve done a search for a restaurant or bar all year, I use AroundMe – it’s an awesome app that shows all the restaurants and bars around me. Of course I can also use Yelp or a whole host of other apps. I don’t have to type anything, it just reads in my locations, I click on “Restaurants” and there they are.

Add the fact that Google has really screwed up the local space with Google Places results and there isn’t much room for domains. Now I know that people are still doing well with geo-domains, and there’s still a place for them, but I think that apps do have an impact on local and it’s only getting stronger. That’s all I’ll say about local, agree or disagree I know over 100 people personally who now use Around Me or a similar app, and all of them used to do the same thing through a Google search.

Now for mobile. I’ll keep this short and sweet here because honestly, I don’t have a clue how this will impact the space. All I can tell you is that every year more and more people access the Internet through mobile phones. This is a space that is still evolving, both the phones themselves and the people who use them. What I do know is that mobile will change the domain space, but something tells me .COM will still be king.

Okay, now it’s your turn, I’ve said enough, what do you think? Comment and let your voice be heard?

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton