Morning Folks!!
Let me start with my "Update" in yesterday's post.
UPDATE!: In the past 24 hours I have seen 2 high profile incidents where on TV they did not send their viewers to Twitter or Facebook but instead are promoting their own WEBSITE! We may be at a watershed moment. People got the message about controlling their own destiny!
I continue to see commercials and I am seeing social media links that are GONE and replaced with their domain name! This is a BIG deal! It is widespread and spreading very fast.
As many of you know I closed my Twitter Account last December and soon after I did the same thing with Facebook. Why? One word. TRUST! TRUST! TRUST! I no longer trust these platforms in any way, shape or form. These platforms can ruin your life as fast as you can post something that offends somebody.
I experienced it first hand. Threats of violence and worse. If you hit a nerve, watch out! But the way that society is now designed your social media is part of your credit. Part of your job application. Part of everything you might ever do!
But now back to business. They relied on these platforms to open shops and do business and customer service. That was plain IDIOTIC! It's one thing to make a contact on social media but the first thing folks should be doing is directing them right back to their website to help them with whatever they need.
Businesses work so hard to be cool so they bought in to the Social Media nonsense. Then they watched as many got bitten and others were put out of business overnight on the whim of some MORON working at one of these companies. Their stocks are down for a reason. What's coming is going to be ugly for them.
Please pay attention to TV commercials and magazine advertising. The shift and the speed of that shift is stunning. They seem to finally get it! Putting a businesses destiny in the hands of third parties like Twitter, Facebook, and Google is simply insane. Especially NOW with what we have all learned this year.
Whether that helps to ignite domains again is unclear. Why? Well, they already own their domain, they just did not promote it or use it in the correct way. Then biggest opportunity in domaining is with companies upgrading their domains to something more prime. Big sector and big money!
This is a perfect example of why you need to pay attention on a daily basis. When things change, it may take a long time, but when that change actually happens, it happens very fast!
So look at the TV commercials and you will see social media links are GONE and replaced with their domain name. THAT'S a GIANT LEAP towards the right direction!
Rick Schwartz
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I agree with ditching social media and rather promoting a company site instead, but I do wonder whether a factor like this, on its own, would be sufficient to revive things. I say this because social media was merely a factor and not the factor that has resulted in the lower demand we see now. Change in spending habits, registrars promoting new extensions on the home page, new companies choosing “cheap” ($1.99) extensions over a .com registration ($7.99)…
The type of companies that would have upgraded their domains in the past would still be likely to upgrade their domains today and in the future because they have a budget for this. But for the rest of the “domainers” out there, it’s not going mean anything. Demand for the vast amount of domains held by domainers will continue to decline.
Scott Alliy
My view on this is that you may be correct in discussing the current businesses strategy but lets not overlook that the worker generation is changing and the old guard technophobes will be replaced by younger more tech savvy leaders that may be more willing to embrace domains as marketing and protection tools. But here is the bonus. The other thing that has hurt domainers (and we are far from alone) is the economy of the last 8 years. I personally am seeing signs of entrepreneurial revival and this bodes well for domainers that hold assets that may be of interest to startups who unlike the current businesses don’t have a domain name at all. I would suggest that sectors like delivery for example will be prime for startups to enter that hot and growing space and that domain names like our recently sold ShipGEt and other related domains we own will be the answer to those startups brand needs. As Rick points out stay tuned (daily) and stay vigilant “opportunity is never behind us Always ahead of us”
RR
There are many companies out there that do not have their complete and proper business name as a dot com and instead have some other cute form that they only know what it means but most outside of the company do not and would have to guess at it. There are times when shortening a domain name may be ok but other times it is not especially for a description.
Ibrahim Khan
This is good sign for domains and domainers especially after the last post.
Scott Alliy
I agree Rick, Seeing more and more web urls and surprise surprise most (if not all) are .com
BTW lives being ruined each day by ill placed and ill advised emotion driven posts like this CBS newsman that was forced to retire after posting his views on the Kavanaugh nomination https://fxn.ws/2NvRqWq and another popular social media debacle just two days ago by a high level legal exec who also posted an ill advised emotionally driven anti police rant. The first incident on Facebook and I believe the second on Twitter so yes those that have tow things in their favor 1) Quality domain assets and 2) Ability and patience to wait for the right buyer should be well positioned as businesses return to their roots and regain their senses of proven success marketing tactics.
Jon
I lost money when someone at google adwords made changes that instead of being helpful resulted in costs going up and sales going down for some time.
rathead
it always boggled my mind how companies would buy major Tv time to advertise Facebook.
RR
Also cheap companies that have millions and billions taking crappy shortcuts with ridiculous domain names because they act like they cannot afford something better.
Andrew Rosener
I talked about this trend in DNJournal’s annual roundup at year end last year. See it here: http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2018/january-page2.htm
We are seeing it happen from the top down. The fact that Amazon finally felt the need to acquire Prime.com is a perfect example. This was not essential previously, just a nice to have. Now it is mission critical!
There is a global “arms race” for the top 2% of domains. Because when it all shakes out there can only be ONE Snap.com or Prime.com or Tube.com or Buffer.com or Amazon.com or Apple.com, etc…
As Google’s Eric Schmidt said, within 10 years there will likely be TWO internets, one lead by China and one lead by the USA. If anyone has been paying attention China has been buying up as much IMPORTANT assets as it can get its arms around. Not just speculation, OFFENSE.
There is a perfect storm brewing that unless disrupted by another 2009 style economic crash, could and in my opinion will exponentially increase domain values. BUT ONLY THE TOP 2%. There might be some trickle down, but anything outside of the best version .com domain for any given brand or product or service is going to have thousands of competitive options available…making yours virtually worthless or at least a commodity.
Ben Deschenes
I guess we could resume this to : “don’t let others decide for you, as they are mostly idiots”. Everyone should have his owns identity and shouldn’t be sharing with those social media network who are basically ; “data collectors” for corporation. But, it can be good for publicity, marketing and/or having fun. Everyone should have at least one domain name as for their identity and for having control on his/her world. Don’t let those social media network manipulate you. I got a good site about internet http://www.z.quebec
Nick
One day last year I was having supper with my youngest son (22) and his girlfriend (20) and we were talking about social media when all of a sudden my son asks, “I don’t see why you need a domain name when you have Facebook.” So I replied, “What happens if tomorrow some idiot at Facebook decides to shut down your account?” They both gave me this look as if they had just witnessed the 2nd coming of Christ.
Companies are starting to wake up, as The King and others have said, and once this new generation of kids get on the bandwagon as well, there won’t be enough domain names to go around for everyone. Cheers!
Jay
Facebook .com/RicksBlog means nothing.
RicksBlog .com means everything.
Jose
These two social networks for me at this time and from the country that I live
Spain with the conflict of the Regional Autonomous Community Catalonia, Barcelona as capital etc. and that I live in a citizenship that is divided by an Independence and Republic outside of Spain. since four years ago. The policy of friends in favor do not stop sharing a thousand days of false news for one or two truths on Facebook and I enter this morning to see if a friend from the city of Liège (Belgium) has responded, since she only uses bad the facebook to communicate and not the email.
Twitter has become like Facebook before podias to share business, domains for sale, etc and I find myself receiving more political issues from friends in favor of the independence of Catalonia from Spain that makes you feel bad reading news that interests me and every four twits, six are Catalan politics.
I enter facebook every 3 months because instead of a social network in Spain has become only for politics between Madrid and Barcelona, and the worst friendships of more than 30 years for issues that you write you block, I think goodbye, What a washing of the head, since not all of them are maybe more Catalans than others have the power to scare or threaten you, it is best to leave Facebook close account.
Twitter can still be endured and it is necessary for me to give brief news and share them until the blog is finished, then follow the same steps as with Facebook.
Happy Day.
Jose.
David J Castello
It’s always been a red flag, but more than ever my ears perk up when someone or some company predicts the demise of domain names. Their ulterior motive is always just beneath the surface. Domain names are the last bastion of true independence on the internet.
Paul K
“Domain names are the last bastion of true independence on the internet.”
Well said!
Jeff Schneider
Hello David,
Your statement or truer words are hard to come by. You nailed it. JAS
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger) Former ( Rockefeller I.B.E.C. Marketing Intelligence Analyst/Strategist) (Licensed C.B.O.E. Commodity Hedge Strategist) ( Domain Master)https://www.UseBiz.com
BullS
Facebook, Twitter and Google –are time waster.
Nobody really cares about your stinkin vacation pictures or your “cute” family photos.
These social media craps bring your more troubles-lawsuits, termination, crimes …
Useless.
steve epstein
50 % and growing of searches are on mobile devices.
Increasingly, they are local searches for stores or cafes or maps etc..
New companies that are app first / web first at the same time makes sense increasingly.
In the local language also.
Using FB and twitter for customer service won’t go away any time soon.
Mark Thorpe
Like I have said for years, Apps, Social Media and search engines will come and go, but there will always be domains.
Apps are fading in popularity. People use the same apps over and over. Most apps are not fully functional either like a website is.
Social Media and search engines built their businesses on domains, then they try to downplay their use, really?
Big mistake!
Domains will continue to be winners in the long-term and not just the top 2% of domains either.
John
Look how hard the great “establishment” tried to prevent a famous man from winning the presidency. They pulled out all the stops. They even rigged and stole a primary and did more besides. And yet, they still failed in a shocking spectacle of failure.
(Don’t infer anything political one way or the other about me from that – this comment is about our industry. For the record I’m completely independent in every sense, however.)
The years and years of attempting to obliterate the value, importance and even the very awareness of domain names is about much more than merely money and profit. It is about power and control over society – over people. It goes beyond corporations. And make no mistake – it has been and still is by design.
There can be a few rare exceptions to the general rule that .com rules. Mainly only rare whole domains, not whole TLDs.
Great post and some great thoughts shared in the comments here. The big picture beyond domains is certainly the most important place for this very industry to be. There is far more at stake than just the domains and any fortunes to be made.
Sandra
Facebook Purges Over 800 Accounts With Millions Of Followers; Prominent Conservatives Vanish
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-11/facebook-purges-over-800-accounts-millions-followers-including-conservative-meme