Morning folks!!
In September
2006 .mobi was released. I did not think much of the extension. Just another
dotcom wannabe. I laughed as most are still doing and moved
on. Then about 3 weeks later another thought occurred to me and I made a quick
about face. What did I see? If I tell ya, I’d have to kill ya. But at that
moment I saw something that would allow only a very NARROW but hugely
successful amount of .mobi’s that could change the world. Besides the obvious
company names and trademarks that would be snapped up by their respective companies, I identified less than
10 generic domains that could have great value in the future. The one that led
my list was Tickets.mobi. It joined flowers.mobi which was also in the list.
Why? Well, let’s look at how these two industries were transformed by the
internet, perhaps more than most or even all others. 20 years ago when I would
call 1-800-FLOWERS, I bought stuff but would never see it. The Internet changed
that. I finally had a visual to go with the dollar amount. That transformed the
buying experience for millions. Same with tickets. Before, you would call an
800# and got what you got after cross examining the operator on the other end
of the phone line. The Internet gave me the visual and now we can all see the
exact seat we get.
So as I sat
and identified the industries that could once again be transformed by .mobi,
the list was short and narrow. But like other things, IDEAS come about and that
short and narrow list is likely to fatten up.
For example, last Tuesday night, Jim McCann said they were working on a system that you will
be able to send a “Virtual Bouquet” to someone sitting in a nightclub you might
be at. So never discount how things can be transformed by a new idea. Will that
happen at flowers.com? No.They have a separate site for that. Today a dotcom.
Tomorrow……who knows. Especially when matched up with GPS or as a default
extension. Do any of us know how this will unfold? No. But it does not stop
folks from putting blinders on and actively rooting against something. Step
back folks. Don’t be guilty of the same things others have done to you. Open minds
seize opportunities that closed minds will never see.
Now that I got the #1 .mobi I have aimed for since
day one, (Tickets.mobi) it will be interesting to see how the old guard
domainers learn I am a big .mobi fan. (No surprise for some) I see it as the
next best extension to dot com and really nobody needs to agree with me. The
more folks disagree, the more I know I am on the right track. So save the
naysaying for 5 years not 5 minutes. Then we can discuss why so many of my good
friends missed such a winner. They will just say…..”Damn, Rick was right again.”
Here is the
reality. In 5 years the domain may be worth between $0 and $60,000. It may also
be worth between $60,000 and $60 million. I decided to place my bet on the
latter. Place your bets where you may. At the end of the day, I will trust my
gut more than any other set of factors. My gut says this will be a $60,000 loss
or the single biggest payday of my life. Only had that feeling a few times before.
Porno.com, Men.com, Candy.com, Property.com, Tickets.mobi. So then the question
becomes: “Why did I buy flowers.mobi for more than tickets.mobi? The answer is
pretty simple. Flowers.mobi was the only other .mobi released that was in my
top 10 list and since tickets.mobi was not yet out there, I wanted a foot in
this door. Porn.mobi was also on the short list as is sex.mobi and some other obvious
ones. Domainers will not decide if .mobi hits or not. Businesses across the
world will decide. They may see it as a way to capture another market. Another generation. They may see things we don't see. The thing that will decide the future of .mobi is not domainers. It is businesses across the world and advertising dollars spent.
btw, the FIRST question that Jim McCann asked me was 'What did I think
about .mobi?' I told him it is too early to tell. The answer won't reveal
itself for 3-5 years. What folks did not know when he was there is that Jim
McCann was the LONGEST domainer in the room. He started in 1992!! While others are still struggling with their initial sites and online presence, here we have Mr. Cutting Edge himself and his focus comes down to one word, 'Mobile'! Their focus for the future is the mobile, on the go, younger audience. Will that help .mobi? Stay tuned!
Have a GREAT Day
Rick Schwartz
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