Morning Folks!!
A Renaissance in the generic sense is simply a re-birth a renewal, a new age of something that has been around but has been rediscovered in a new or possibly much more valuable light. At least that is the specific definition I will use for this post. Domain names are on the eve of such a Renaissance. I started seeing this phenomenon early in 2018 but clearly late last year and have posted about it in the past several months. But now it is vivid like a rainbow!
Maybe you have not paid attention or maybe you just have not realized it but there was a huge difference between Christmas Season 2018 and the start of 2019 that is completely opposite of just 1 year ago. I focus on things that change or evolve so I can recalibrate my opinion or approach if need be.
One year ago nearly all commercials on TV were trying to drive traffic to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. It was plain stupid! But they did it anyways. Sending their OWN customers to a 3rd party! DUMB!
Fast forward to now and you will see virtually NO commercials on TV promoting their social media site. I watch interviews on TV now, no more social media, they have a website.
This is 3rd post I have made about the rise and fall of social media and the dangers as well as the opportunity. Some may have laughed at me a year ago when I left Twitter. But I was just way ahead of the masses. Folks are leaving in droves and Facebook is in even worse shape!
Social media is dangerous! Not the first time I am saying this. I came one click away last night from even deleting my Linkedin page. I have even thought about removing this blog. These things may become liabilities. Opinions are looked at as facts and then something for you to be held accountable for. That's total nonsense! But it's still effective!
http://www.ricksblog.com/2018/11/social-media-is-no-longer-social-its-dangerous/#.XEw-ri2ZNp8
What you say on Social Media can and WILL be used against you! That is the big lesson among so many others and we never even mentioned privacy! It does not matter how old. It does not matter how small. It can and WILL be used against you.
The ONLY autonomy we have on the Internet is your own domain name and now the masses are realizing that and that is a huge deal for truly great domain names.
Going forward many domains I have don't have the value they once had. Things change. It's a Renaissance. Many domains are perishable. They missed the big window of opportunity. Domains on the market right now that had great value and now, sorry, they don't. Examples would be Smartphones.com or CellPhones.com. They both missed the window of great opportunity. What is the attraction today? What is the interest today? There are many domains that I see that at one time I would have died for and now does not even move the needle for me.
Domains and domaining evolve. But the evolution of domaining just got the biggest kickstart I have ever seen. Akin to a blood transfusion or a couple of heart paddles. It's a REALLY big deal!
I can still find a quality .com domain for any end user for $10 in 10 minutes. So what that does is, it marginalizes the prices of marginal domain names that were low to begin with. But at the same time it raises the prices of truly great domain names. We could see a frenzy. Imagine domain names as hot as bitcoins were in 2017. I see companies upgrading their domains now as a common occurrence that will become more and more common. Location, Location, Location.
You will see personal domains and you will see Brandable and one word meaningful domains rule the day. Slogans will do well. Even if several words. But the big bucks are in short and Brandable .com domains and exact match 1 and 2 word domains. A Brandable to me has to be pronounceable. Basically inventing a new word that you can say and is easy to spell.
And there are "Franchise Domains". These domains have common prefixes and suffixes. Makes you part of something larger even if not related. You can come into domaining TODAY and focus on these and make money! But PATIENCE PLEASE!!! Play the game the right way! And of course a "Franchise Domain" can only be .com. The next best extension, whatever it is, can only garner 1%-2% of the .com value. So why are so many wasting time on third rate domains to begin with? Stop playing in the sandbox and step on up your game to the major leagues. I think this is the only business I have ever seen where folks CHOOSE to play in the minors.
And of course GTLD's will continue to die on the vine. It seems like this is becoming a common occurrence. Something I have predicted for YEARS! How many will die THIS YEAR???
If you took out all the GTLD domains that sold for a penny or were free or were stuffed into accounts, you would have many many millions less registrations and they will eventually drop anyways. Worthless is worthless. The numbers, which suck anyways, are PHONY!! Drill down and you will see what GTLD guys are feeding you is a BAG OF SH*T! They are fighting for their very survival. That means they will say and do anything. They will cut deals that paint a phony picture of success. Don't fall for it! Desperation is something nobody should fall for. Not your problem DUDE, unless you make it one.
Some Registries (not many) make money, domainers don't. Almost every sale I see is a direct registry sale or an authorized reseller like Sedo selling the registries premium names. Where are the domainers in that equation??????
I won't tell you the extension, you can do your own homework and figure it out yourself. But the fastest growing GTLD in the past few weeks/months has one issue for ME that makes it a PHONY! What is it? Not a single registration from Godaddy.!!! Not a ONE!! I Pay particular attention to which registrars have the most domains registered by certain extensions. I BELIEVE they are HOLLOW and PHONY! I am a numbers guy. I can see what's natural and what is artificial. I don't know the exact promotion nor do I have to. I just know it is artificial and unsustainable. Domainers are being played like FOOLS!
I own the .com version of many GTLD combos. I hope many startups start their new business on those GTLD's. Does not make them smart, they are not, but if they wise-up they will eventually LEARN about all the pitfalls and leaks. They will eventually learn how much that costs them in loss of sales that they will have to deal with. Smart guys will be FORCED to abandon. The dumb will just go out of business if they ignore and don't address. NO COMPANY can afford to lose sales. But there are some geniuses out there that don't think sales are important. :-)
GTLD Registries and registrars don't care about the success or lack of it with those that buy domains. They don't care about the pitfalls the end user will eventually face nor do they alert them. There is no disclaimer or warning label. They just want to sell domains. And that's ok. That's their job. My job is to expose the weaknesses that they won't.
I just have to laugh. Usually a product or service has a couple or three points of concern or weakness. Usually ones that are identified and can be controlled. They don't usually go out of their way to remain blind to them. On the other hand, it has taken me 6 YEARS and I still have yet to uncover all the points of concern and weaknesses of GTLD's. I just have to LAUGH!
Think of 2019 and 2020 as 2 years that .com domains will become inflated as prices rise. They may even skyrocket. What is happening to Social Media, Google and Free Speech will do 10x more for domains and domainers than anything domainers can do or have done for themselves. Your only job is to buy GREAT domains and match them up with the proper entity.
I blew a great one the other day. ImpeachTrump.com sold for about $3500 on Flippa. All I know is I see domains every week that sell cheap that have great value plus a DEMAND, but folks keep buying total crap looking for the second coming. Need, Want, Desire, Value.
A domain can be a soapbox or it can be the biggest company on earth. It can be invented. It can be re-invented. It can be anything you want it to be. Domains with power have value far beyond what folks understand today as we enter this Renaissance. But WE understand.
WE understand that a Sear's store has one value but Sears.com has more value with less overhead and wider audience when utilized correctly. A Sear's store may be a liability. A Sear's store costs TENS of millions to build and even more to furnish and staff.
I REFUSE to let go of my comparisons and comps. That means I REFUSE to see value the way the masses do. I see value the way the FUTURE will see value! We are so far away from peak value. But it ONLY applies to great domain names. It does not apply to marginable domains. Step up your game folks!! The canyon is going to widen and widen pretty quickly. Don't be on the wrong side.
And as someone posted right here just a few weeks ago, "A good domain is easy to remember. A GREAT domain name is hard to forget."
Rick Schwartz
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