The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Morning Folks!!

A fool and his money are soon and easily parted. I should know. I have been broke in my life.  Made money and pissed it away. I did not know the difference between an investment and a gamble.

Maybe I can share this lesson with my readers and how you can avoid this pitfall.

The .Kiwi folks are nice. So is the casino pitboss.

So today we all have the golden opportunity to buy hotels.kiwi for $125,000.

Ok, so let's agree that is one of the very best .kiwi domains. For an end user in New Zealand, it might be a good gamble. It may even be a good investment.

Let's say Hotels.com would be their best prospect.

Oh snap! They use the sub-domain to achieve their goal with a cost of? ZERO!

http://nz.hotels.com

Like I have said, if these companies want to look smart and have a real debate, talk about the FACTS. The facts are that these large companies have decided to build VERTICALLY not HORIZONTALLY! They are not wide, they are tall.

So if you want to see the future, look at dot-coms that can have sub domains. Problem with MANY gTLD's is they are not subdomainable from the get go and these extensions are 100% sub domaining without the .com. But when you can only use a handful of adjectives, nouns and verbs to describe your gTLD, you die on the vine. No question about it. Unless pigeon shit farmers come to your resuce.

Now the point of the post is if you have $125,000 you can buy this domain Hotels.kiwi. Is it a safe bet?

Let's see.....

Hotels.nz goes nowhere.

Hotels.mobi goes nowhere. How much is that bitch worth?

Hotels.biz goes nowhere. How much is that bitch worth?

Hotels.info goes nowhere. How much is that bitch worth?

You see where this is heading.

So will Hotels.com buy hotels.whatever x 1000? Probably not. But even if they did, the chances are they would just redirect to the dot-com. So how commercially meaningful is that??

So as a domain investor......that is an insane risk. For Hotels.com it may be the cost of doing business. Maybe not. Maybe they wait for some schmuck to buy it and WIPO them. A couple of those and this thing would deflate faster than the worst souffle!

It's a GAMBLE!

Now compare that with buying a $125,000 keyword.com. Even if you goof, even if it is not as good as you thought, don't you think the value is still probably 6 figures? So go look at dot-com domains asking about $200k and you will have your choice. Which is a safer investment?

The .Kiwi folks and the .Club folks are very legit. I never heard them say ridiculous things. Their credibility is intact. We can have a debate and a discussion. I don't see everything. I see what I see. They may add something of value.

So while those that don't care about their credibility and really don't give a rat's ass if you succeed or not as long as they succeed, will always run around and say silly things. But silly hurts them all. They come to market as one, times 1000, and they will leave the market one at a time x 990. Really sucky odds even for the biggest gamblers.

If you have millions, you can afford to gamble. If you don't can you afford a total loss? That is the ONLY question you need to ask.

I sold Casinos.mobi, Tickets.mobi, Escort.mobi for chump change. $122,000 loss.

Crusies.kiwi $83,000? I hope they find an end-user to buy it. But a domainer?? Really? I just see it as a gamble. I went to cruises.nz. It goes nowhere.

I own Cruises.mobi, want to buy it?? $83K? Do I hear $10,000? Do I hear $5000? What is the value today? This is real vs the bullshit. And .mobi registrations are rising. well over a million of them. I want $83k because why?? Based on what?

Look as .mobi is growing faster than most others. Explain that?

http://www.zfbot.com/zfbot_stats.png

And I don't mean to pick on .kiwi. But those are the numbers I have so far and when others release theirs, I will comment as well. Plus I happen to have a UNIQUE outlook by already owning my .whatever counterpart so I think I have great evidence that can hardly be just swept away and ignored.

My readers have lost millions. Let's face it. We made some, but when it came to anything other than dot-com, the majority of folks found very limited success.

And I bought into many .whatevers. Only the .me's have more value than what I paid. Every other extension and I have yet to see the dividends I once thought possible.

Who will beat .tel other than the top 5-10?

I always exempt ccTLD's because we know there is a place in the eco-system for them. I have never focused on them because I don't focus on local markets.

So I just can point to REAL examples nobody else really can or have not as yet vs the BS being spewed by the likes of some and reinforced by others with a monetary stake in things. NOISE! So be careful what you read these days. The lure of $$$ will have them sell their souls. Greed is a huge catalyst that was the foundation of all of this as I recall history and unless you are prepared to absorb a 100% loss, these are some of the poorest casinos.mobi I have seen. Most so far are incapable of having more than a few meaningful combinations. How does that translate to success?

At least with .kiwi it is much less restricted than some of the truly worthless extensions you will see. .

Kiwi has many or possibly unlimited left of the dot variables. .xyz does as well but I have yet to see the vision and then it still has to be sold and it still has to be adopted. Many others, MOST others, almost ALL others, have a handful of left of the dot variables and think they can become meaningful. They need to understand what a sub-domain is first and then become a registry. They are about to find out the hard way.

I would think the first rule may be only have 3 to 4 characters right of the dot. I think I would disqualify anything with more right from the get go at this point in time. That may be why .Web, .App, .Blog, .Shop has led the pack in pre-registrations.

Investment or Gamble? You decide. Not me. I can only decide for me and share with you. LIke I said, I have no issue with .Kiwi. They were/are a sponsor of TRAFFIC. I want them all there. All there to make their best case among a tough audience looking for real answers before they invest what could be large money. But that does not mean I can't comment and do it honestly. And I would never say anything I would not say directly to them and I am sure most folks know that by now.

I hope they all hit pay dirt. Their success is our success regardless of the stupid things some are saying and doing. But they need to get a grip and understand the real damage they are doing to themselves. Self inflicted. You can't even begin to wrap your heads around the private conversations. They are beginning to just dismiss one and all when it comes to gTLDS.

Given the choice, I would invest in IDN's first. They have gone through the years of pain that these others are ony just going to start. Most folks I know need to eat today. Pay bills and the mortgage today. They don't have unlimited funds. These extension ARE illiquid as Forbes stated. But not the dot-coms. The.mobi's maybe. The .whatevers almost certainly. Once the dust settles, you will see that weak extensions like .tel will survive and get stronger while all these other guys do their work.

The conversation in the boardroom will likely include all the other non dot-com extensions and of course the dot-com. But the chances of them choosing .whatever over the extensions already available is not a given. So .Net, .Org, .US, .INFO, .Me, .Co, .TV, .Biz will also be on the table and those are MUCH bigger and stronger horses even tho so many are laughing at them. So .whatever guys, don't laugh until you pass the worst dead nag in the race.

I am on record saying I am an opportunist. I make a living searching for opportunity. Many of you do that as well. I am not scared to jump on opportunity and when I see it I will jump.

.Com happened for a reason and this entire charade is to try to copy that. Dot-com and the Internet in general was a once in a hundred year phenomenon that the entire world shared in. And it had NOTHING TO DO WITH .COM. It had to do with who built on .com and what they built. The question is can they  attract meaningful businesses to give  them legitimacy? Not one or two but hundreds of thousands and millions? Can those companies endure with them?  Somebody willing to abandon their dot-com because they truly believe what they say?

Or is it merely another door that may or may be LOCKED as I illustrated above.

The horse shit I have been hearing is alienating the single biggest pool of buyers they have. Insulting knowledgeable and professional domainers is lunacy. And you guys all own it. You rise together, it would not surprise me that you fall together. With the exception of those that could have a fit in the Internet eco-system.

It will be many years before we know. We may be all talking about it now but when was the last time you talked about .mobi? .Tel? .Aero? .Biz? How important are any of them to your daily or investment lives? I have no evidence whatsoever of a success. I will search high and low for that success. I do think that some may be surprised by what breaks out and what does not breakout.

Yes, you can run to the window and buy your Kentucky Derby Tickets right now and figure out which of the 1000 will come in. Or , unlike GAMBLING and more like INVESTING, you can wait until they take the first turn. You can wait until the mid-point. You can wait until the stretch. 990 of them won't make it to the finish line. If you want to gamble, you do it now. If you want to invest, you wait until the race is 3/4 over and make your move. I would rather invest $5000 then gamble $500. I would rather pay more for what is proven than risk what I have no idea about.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

When you have to resort to obvious bullshit, you know these guys are in DEEP trouble. See their expenses are on going for a year now and they are taking in no money other than restless investors. And what is worse, when they open for business, many will still not take in any money. Then the investors will go ape shit.

They could have read my blog and your comments first to save them their dollars, but since they didn't......

Now it is really starting to look silly when these guys have to resort to "Dot com is Dead" and "Dot com is your Father's Extension" and even "We are running out of dot-com". This is such CRAP that nobody reading this should allow them to get away with it. PERIOD! Friend or Foe. Facts are facts and they have no connections with personality. This is a business discussion among serious domain investors looking for REAL answers.

It does not help them, it does not help us. And it sure is pissing a lot of folks I know off. Folks that were going to buy into gTLD's and now are thinking twice because they see the bullshit and the weakness of their false arguments. They see they have little else. They see my points can not be just overlooked and ignored, swept under the rug and there are so many of them and 99% are unanswered because they can't be answered. So what else can they really do?

Look, I am happy to have all the dollars and attention coming to domaining and have said it for a very long time. But if you want to resort to this BULLSHIT, I too can MAKE SHIT UP. And my shit is much better than your shit. Just give me a few days and I will give you an example that you might not like. But since we are going down this road, ALL IS FAIR. RIGHT??

And like I have said before, you all own each other. The missteps will cost all of you not just one of you. Why? Because you have positioned yourselves that way. That is what bad marketing can do. Short term gain traded for long-term loss.

I don't have to go down there because I have facts and history and empirical evidence on my side and the best you guys got is "Dot com is dead" as you try to run your empire on .com ? And then you don't think you look silly? Weak? Ridiculous? Desperate?

Well you do! And while you may all be singing the same tune now, that tune has the power and ability to sink all of you including the top 10. One TITANIC of a mess.

Let me show you how.

I think you should ALL AT VERY LEAST announce the date you plan to ABANDON your DOT COM FRANCHISE and HEADQUARTERS and move them to your own new gTLD. Tell us when in 2014 you will be doing that.

When will that be happening? See I can make you all look like FOOLS when you go down this road. So when will you be doing that? Please announce the date this week. I am sure readers and investors want to know that answer. We all do. When??  I will ask that EACH and EVERY time I EVER hear that bullshit. And each time you will either have to make up more bullshit or risk looking foolish. Again and again and again.

See, you are all full of shit. Sorry. You set your own trap and I just replaced your bait with mine so PLEASE don't be angry with me.

.Horse is dead. .Ceo is dead. .Camera is dead. I may not be able to pick the top 10 yet, but there is no missing a DEAD HORSE in the middle of the industry stinking things up.

I will focus on the DEAD gTLD's from now on. Each time I will pull another extension that is DOA baby! I have enough material for years!!

And when they die on the vine, When they ROT right in front of us, When they get aborted, I will show you just how dead dot-com really is. So maybe try to raise your game guys. I keep telling you this dog won't hunt. You can try to fool the end-user, fool the investor but to try to fool this industry of investors? Each group will figure it out in pretty short order. Selling is about your benefits. When you have to resort to nonsense, that VOIDS your benefits. Drowns it right out. Especially when those benefits are hard to find to begin with.

So now you have a poll. My poll. A poll of one.

Want to be "Polled"?

The comment box is the way we poll this!

And for the gTLD guys, again, don't forget to announce the date you will be moving off your dot-com. Many folks will be asking that until you actually make the move. Probably at every opportunity they get. I am sure you can't wait for the day so we hope to make it sooner! :-) See what it tastes like to swallow your own BS?

WARNING: CLUSTERF*CK IN PROGRESS!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

My defining last ever post on gTLD's.

I love how people trying to sell something try to speak for everyone. I am told people will adapt to the new gTLD's. Now I agree that society is very adaptable. The keyword there is adaptable. They can learn anything. Even flying jets. So without doubt that power is there.

Here is the side of the equation that they may have a very hard time with. ADOPTION. Before you adapt, you have to adopt. If there is no reason to adopt, there is no reason to adapt. Got that??

Adapt : to change your behavior so that it is easier to live in a particular place or situation

: to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose

So you might ask the question "Is confusion something I want to adapt to and adopt as a new way to navigate the net?"

That might be the question.

See, if it were done methodically and logically to INDEX the Internet to find what you want quicker, you might adopt and adapt. When you find out it may be the opposite, do you still get the same result? Come on!

That directly connects to need, want and desire. That chain breaks every time.

Everyone raise your hands that want to be confused? What is the need, want and desire level on confusion?

Some do make a living out of confusion.

I talk to as many people about this as possible. Smart people. People seeing both sides. But I swear there is the disconnect and I think it gets to the entire motive of all this.

I am sure you are all bored and would be happy for me never to mention those 3 words. Need, want desire. But whenever I ask that question and fill in the buckets, the end-user ain't in the equation. They get run over by those 3 words.

1. ICANN. Yes, they DO have need, want, desire because they are making money! Loads of money. They also keep themselves relevant by their control. So when it comes to ICANN, they CLEARLY make the bar of all 3. NEED, WANT, DESIRE and that is what those three little words mean when attached to REALITY! So let's never lose track of the REAL reason this is happening. End users? They could give a rats ass. The more confusion there is the more important ICANN is. So I hope you see the picture. CONTROL and MONEY. They need it, they want it, they desire it. They pass the test.

2. Lawyers. Yes, they have a need a want and a desire because they can make money. The crossfire is going to be off the charts. They pass the test.

3. The Registry. Yes, they have a need a want and a desire because they can make money. They pass the test.

4. Registrars. Yes, they have a need a want and a desire because they can make money. They pass the test.

5. End users. Can you really answer the same way? We agree they need to make money. That's why they are in business. But the need, want and desire can be met in different ways and their way may not work the way some have painted the future. I just don't see that vision. I am really struggling to see it or I would not put my thoughts out like this. They DO NOT pass the test. But they sure are being spoken for.

What I have been doing is sharing my thought process as I come to conclusions and decisions. I think that most would have to agree that if there are a 1000 of any new item coming to market you might want to focus on the winners. The top 3. The top 10. Wouldn't it be logical to eliminate the ones you think have little merit?

I am sure there will be a success or two or 10.  Maybe.

But I am also sure of another thing.

If this is the Kentucky Derby and they squished 1000 horses in a starting gate meant for 18, then chances are many get trampled right out of the gate.

When an application is withdrawn and nobody picks up that gTLD, we can't even say died on the vine. It was aborted. How many have been aborted so far? Why?

As I stated in an earlier post, all we need to do is figure out the top 3. The top 10. The top whatever you deem you need. But do they really all matter?? I don't think so.

There is no question you can create need, want and desire. That's a very tall order in an arena where there will be NO ORDER. Lots of intersections. Lots of crashes. Lots of confusion. Lots of overlapping. Lots of underlapping. Lots of crossfire.

I have never been afraid to be on record. And as I mull this over, I see dead ends for end users. Ya know, the end-user that everyone cares so much about.

$100k for a .whatever. Really? $250k? Really? What will be the premium on auto.parts?

And you mean to tell me for $100k a company can not find a .com to fill their need and do it safer with less risk? Really?

I keep looking for this dog to hunt and I keep coming up with a skinny and hungry dog. But I will keep looking. My ONLY objective is to find answers. But I will say one thing, I do feel like I have been wasting valuable time talking about this when I could be hunting around for those $100k .coms that the .whatever guy is gonna need, want and desire with any degree of success or even lack of it.

I think it a much safer $100k to invest. Maybe I will overpay for that .com. It may only be worth $75k. The other might be worth $75. My stomach can't handle gambles like that.

Rick Schwartz

PS: And on the title of the post about "Last Ever",  Just Kidding. :-)

Here is tomorrow's post.

Afternoon Folks!!

So according to DomainIncite, Donuts signed contracts on the following gTLD's.

"Donuts signed contracts for: .haus, .properties, .maison, .productions, .parts, .cruises, .foundation, .industries, .vacations, .consulting, .report, .villas, .condos, .cards, .vision, .dating, .catering, .cleaning, .community, .rentals, .partners, .events, .flights and .exposed."

The good news is there is one I actually like. The others, not so much. But I have to digest a bit first. So give me a few days. Depends on viable strings. Nothing more, nothing less and that is before the game starts. That is why I keep saying many will "Die on the vine" as you will see illustrated below.

This is all before we even get to Public Acceptance. So that is another conversation for another day. It is a very big conversation because the public holds most of the cards. Not to get off the track here but the public spoke this week in New Jersey. 50,000 sign up for online gaming and a 740 for Obama care.

But I think .Parts actually makes sense. I can see a wide variety of meaningful strings.

To me, these things POP OUT when they work.

.Build came out or was announced the other day and I got 3 strings.

I.build

we.build

they.build

On the other hand I can think of dozens and dozens and dozens of strings that start with build.whatever. You can think of many. The other way around. Good luck! My mind hurts from STRAINING to think of some.

And PLEASE remember, this is only the first obstacle of many. But it is also the one obstacle that has the power to marginalize most from day #1. And will die on the vine. Strings are like roots of a tree. No roots, no tree.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

In the month since my mom passed I have been keenly aware of things. I believe the spirit is very stong for a certain period after one's death. So without going into it I follow certain paths to their ends. I am guided to these paths by pure accident. Or so it would seem.

One such path led me to an interesting blog post and I am going to paste it below. Great words of wisdom.

If you truly want to change your life, you must first change your mind.  You must free it from the restrictive thinking that holds you back.

Here are 50 thought-provoking quotes gathered from our sister site, Everyday Life Lessons, and from our blog archive that will help tweak your thinking and set your mind free.

1. You are only destined to become one person – the person you decide to be.


2. Do good and feel good.  Do bad and feel bad.  It’s that simple.


3. You are what you do today, not what you say you’ll do tomorrow.


4. We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us.


5. Ultimately, it’s not what you do every once in a while; it’s what you dedicate yourself to on a regular basis that makes the difference.


6. Stay true to yourself.  Never be ashamed of doing what feels right.  Decide what you think is right and stick to it.


7. If you don’t stand for anything, you will remain forever on your knees.


8. No amount of money will make you happy if you aren’t happy with yourself.


9. You know you’ve made the right decision when there is peace in your heart.


10. Don’t worry if your goals seem crazy to other people; oftentimes the crazy ideas are the ones that have the greatest impact.


11. If you’re thinking like everyone else, then you aren’t thinking.  (ReadThinking, Fast and Slow.)


12. Control your own destiny or someone else will try for you.


13. Sometimes standing up to your friends can be just as difficult as standing up to your enemies.


14. The unhappiest people in this world are the people who care the most about what everyone else thinks.


15. When people undermine your dreams, predict your doom, or criticize you, remember, they’re telling you their story, not yours.


16. There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.


17. No one in the world was ever you before, with your particular gifts and abilities and possibilities.


18. Your greatest task isn’t to find love, but to discover and destroy all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.


19. A loving, happy person lives in a loving, happy world.  A hateful, miserable person lives in a hateful, miserable world.  The world around you reflects YOU.


20. Worry gives small things a big shadow.


21. Focus your conscious mind on things you desire not things you fear.  Doing so brings dreams to life.


22. It’s not the mistakes and failures you have to worry about, it’s the opportunities you miss when you don’t even try that hurt the most.


23. It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one over and over again.


24. To get something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.


25. The harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing.


26. Our problems are really our blessings if we use them to grow stronger. (Read 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)


27. Anyone can run away; it’s super easy.  Facing problems and working through them, that’s what makes you strong.


28. When you have two good options, always go with the one that scares you the most, because that’s the one that’s going to help you grow.


29. Courage is being scared to death, and then taking the next step anyway.


30. Sometimes our greatest insight comes from our failure, not from our accomplishments.


31. You need to screw up to learn.  You need to experience it all to create greatness.


32. Just because you don’t understand something now doesn’t mean the explanation doesn’t exist.


33. Not knowing everything about your future is a good thing.


34. Don’t worry about what you can’t control and you may liberate yourself.


35. People of average ability often achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit.  Most people succeed simply because they are determined to.


36. Temporary happiness isn’t worth long-term pain.


37. Patience can be bitter, but the seeds you plant now will bear sweet fruit.


38. The less you expect, the more pleasant life gets.


39. The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for.


40. The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for.


41. It usually isn’t what you have or where you are or what you’re doing that makes you happy.  It’s how you think about it all.


42. Do not dwell so much on creating your perfect life that you forget to live.


43. You are not in competition with anybody except yourself; plan to outdo your past not other people.


44. To admit that you were wrong is to declare that you are wiser now than you were before.


45. Humans see what they want to see.


46. If you spend too much time judging yourself, you won’t have any time to love yourself or anyone else.  (Read The Mastery of Love.)


47. At the end of the day, you can either focus on what’s tearing you apart or what’s holding you together.


48. Look through the front windshield and not the rearview mirror.


49. You don’t get to choose how you are going to die, or when.  But you canchoose how you are going to live, right now.


50. Be done with regrets; they are an excuse for people who have failed.  You still have a chance

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

So I really enjoy doing the DomainSherpa.com shows that comes out on Thursday mornings. It is one thing to sit behind a keyboard and punch out words and thoughts but it adds a dimension when you can see who we are and how we approach things.  Not everything translates well in words. Powerful as they are.

If you have watched any of the episodes, you will see while we agree a lot, we often times disagree. I like disagreement because I usually learn something I did not think about. Or sometimes I have thought a great deal about something that others have not.

I hope folks are getting something out of what we are doing and hope it helps them to focus on acquiring better domain names. The entire panel is qualified and they are smart businessman besides.  They are all friends and good guys and as you see we have a good time too. Plus, we are brutally honest and opinionated.

Anyway's, I had never written about the show and decided just to start a little conversation and hope you have seen some and hope you like what we are doing.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

There are a lot of very good blogs out there. But the one that never wastes my time, always has something important to offer, is an education in and of itself is Seth Godin's Blog. He's been around for years and most folks reading this know of his blog. For those that don't, he should be on your reading list.

Seth always gets right to the point and the point is almost always immediately useful. It's PURE GOLD!! And it is EVERY single day!

I wrote a post that I did not post yet. I think the main point of it and life is that if you approach things from the wrong way, the wrong attitude, the wrong side, then your chance of success is very low. Approach with a good attitude and a strong desire and your chance of success is great.

A recent post he made is about trust and word of mouth. Something many need to pay great attention to. He explains each and every point below. All valid. All proven. All inclusive.

"How is it that someone sees your website or your social media presence or your email and decides to interact? The decision to interact happens before someone actually listens to what you have to say. Here’s a way to think about the factors that kick in before the browser even hears what you have to offer them today:"

• Word of mouth


• Direct interaction


• Graphics


• Tone of voice


• Offer


• Size of leap


• Fear


• Social ranking/metric


• Tribal affiliation


• Perception of transparency


• Longevity


• Mass acceptance

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I am going to take a moment to completely show that the Forbes.com article was FALSE! Not only is it false as I started to write about here, unless it is corrected, we know they could care less about FACTS! And today we have facts. I think Berkens may have covered it here on his take about this misleading and FALSE article when he took the author to the woodshed.

So, the FACT of the matter is the article revolves around this table below to show how domain values are going down. Well this table is FALSE! It is a lie. It is not factual. Let's start with the #1 VacationRentals.com for $35 Million. They bought a BUSINESS for $35 million. They did not buy a DOMAIN for $35 Million. Now it would be good for us if in fact it was a $35 million domain sale. But it was not. It is FALSE. I have PROOF. So I EXPECT Forbes.com and Ms. Jacobs to set the reord straight. Unless PROPAGANDA is their new way of reporting.

Here is the QUOTE from the seller of the BUSINESS:

Morning Folks!!

With hundreds of new extensions coming out the noise will be very loud. Too loud for me to even respond as we soon will be overwhelmed with hype, ads, press releases and a host of things that will make your head spin. Some will be very good and creative, many will be pretty lame as evidenced HERE!

And this is the stuff I am talking about as one gTLD stumble can hurt more than just that particular extension. This video is so lame it has the POWER to hurt more than just them. The message I got, if you want to be a faker or a wannabee then .CEO will make you a make-believe big shot. Sorry, that hurt the extension. It marginalized the seriousness and effectiveness. It was a disaster. But I am sure they are all high-fiving each other over there while the rest of us shake our heads.

So I guess I just inadvertently reviewed .CEO. Won't make friends there. But I am never going to sellout what I believe from what folks want to hear. They all get to prove me wrong. That is what selling is about. 100 people come into a room and think just like me. THEIR JOB IS To PERSUADE! The problem is many will get angry instead of using the art of persuasion and they automatically LOSE!

The 100 are not their enemy. They need to be convinced. But you must convince with FACT. The minute you use BULLSHIT or make things up to convince, game over. Better load another 100 in the room and try again because that room has been tainted. So if you do the same thing, you get the same result. Do you think that makes it harder or easier for the next guy? Want to be the last guy to pitch the audience? They may have your head on a stake by then.

This illustrates how each new extension OWNS the bullshit and the lies of the others gtld folks. Sorry, may not be fair, but it is what it is. If you have not factored that into your equation. OH WELL!!

700-1000 extensions each must sell. But it is not our job to buy what each sells. Even if they are our friends. This is not Girl Scout Cookie buying. This is deciding where to put our investment dollars to be safe and to grow. My job is to focus on the winners. But even winners are runner-ups. Not to .com but to a category called "Other". They will ALL reside in "Other" and will share it with HUNDREDS of "Others" for what could be decades before the FIRST one breaks out other than .web which will probably be the FIRST to break out and our job s to pick winners.

I don't have any .web interest. I have no reservations on .web domains. I have never spoken to anyone at .web. I have no plans to register any .web domains. I am simply handicapping the race. And if folks get pissed at my handicapping, so be it. I only want to focus on the winners. The top 3. The top 10. The top DOG!

Of course I could become a 6 or 7 figure whore for one of them. lol. But at least I would come here and say so. I would not hide it.

My job/your job as an investor is to figure out the 1, 2 or 3 that MIGHT break through and break out of "Other".

It IS about picking the winners. The THREE extensions out of 1000 that will lead the pack. Why would anyone GAMBLE with the other 997? The return keeps getting exponentially SMALLER, not larger. The top 3 might already be gambles. Why would anyone want to make the odds of success smaller and smaller and smaller? Value is proportionate to size of audience among several other factors. No audience, no value, no nothing.

I look at the price disparity between a .com domain and .whatever domain as it is today and with the exact same keyword. It's a 100-1 ratio in case after case. Same work. Sometimes the same level of investment when you learn to focus on FIRST.

Sometimes I really don't think folks understand numbers because they have to lie about them so often. They have to inflate them to have credibility. Make them up as they go along. That's blowing smoke up people's ass. Everyone reading this should get their bullshit meter inspected before the noise makes it impossible to calibrate.

So hundreds hawking these extensions will be of no interest. They can hawk. Some will buy. All will learn.

I ONLY want to focus on the top 3. Then we can debate if they will ever be meaningful. But the 997 that don't finish, first, second or third, may or may not have registry level success and that does not translate to investor success. Far from it.

It translates into great risk. Who wants to buy my .xxx today at 50% of what I paid? I already dropped most of them. Each year I have more information and I drop more. That is on EVERY extension.

So, clearly as a domain handicapper at this point .web has the best chance to win the race. There is not even a close second. I see this as the ONLY viable extension that MAY breakout of "Other".

There may be room for a .club in the eco-system. But that may not qualify it for investment level. So .club may enjoy a "Registry success" but that does not automatically translate to an investor success. There will be some. But limited. VERY limited.

.App has a place and since .App is commercial and social I see that as possibly a better investment than .web. But it is still early in the race. And the chance of it getting out of "other" is remote.

.Blog again may have a place in the eco-system. Investment wise, not as good as .App the way I see the world. But of wider interest than .app.

If I see another extension come out of the gates I will come and state it. But as they are each announced, I don't have the time to focus on anything else other than perhaps the top 3 or the top 10. So far, I am just at 3.

First they all need to catch up to .mobi.

Second, I think they have some obstacles in the form of .Me, .Co, .TV, .Info and even .US because each will get a second look. I see these competing for those top 10 slots besides the other top 7 new gTLD's.

Rick Schwartz