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Live Chat with Pinky Brand

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WEBecri

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Hi Everyone,

Pinky Brand is the director of new market development for dotMobi.
I found this Live Chat on another forum. Very interestic answers about dotmobi questions:

- default extension on mobile phones
- mobi marketing campaign
- Premium allocation
- Parked pages

___________________

-RJ-: Welcome to chat, Pinky!

Pinky-Brand: Hello everyone.


-RJ-: Can you tell us about your current role with dotMobi?

Pinky-Brand: Certainly.
Pinky-Brand: I'm responsible for new market development here at dotMobi.
Pinky-Brand: I'm based in the DC area.
Pinky-Brand: Our headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland
Pinky-Brand: I spent the early months educating the trademark folks on dotMobi during the Sunrise Period. Now I'm focused on educating content owners, brand owners, domainers ,etc. on doMobi and getting content up and running.


-RJ-: Let's start with talk about promotion of the dotMobi TLD. This has been a big topic of discussion around the NamePros forums.

Pinky-Brand: Sure. Fire away.


-RJ-: What do you feel will be the most important factors in creating public awareness of .MOBI?

Pinky-Brand: Yes awareness is a crucial issue.

Pinky-Brand: OF course I will elaborate but it will take a minute to type this all out so please bear with me.
Pinky-Brand: We are planning on some rather significant consumer awareness intiatives beginning in 2007 that go way beyond what we've done in the early stages to create awareness about pure registration opportunities.
Pinky-Brand: First off, building content is important, because it creates awareness.
Pinky-Brand: We want to do whatever we can to encourage and help current registrants to build content.
Pinky-Brand: We want to educate the public on how they can access new kinds of content on their mobile devices.
Pinky-Brand: We want to educate developers on how they can utilize best practices to develop compelling content that users will want to see over and over again.


Joseph: can you elaborate on the consumer awareness campaign?

Pinky-Brand: I can't go into specifics, but I can say awareness can be built via a variety of methods.
Pinky-Brand: One is via search so that when users search for a particular term they will know the site is enable for dotMobi and will be able to access such content on their device.
Pinky-Brand: Another is by building functionality into devices so that consumers are dotMobi enabled when they buy a phone.


mattonline: How are you going to get consumers to access .mobi websites, will they just type 'shopping' into there web browser or will they have to type 'shopping.mobi' ?

-RJ-: The in-device functionality seems to be of high interest to .MOBI registrants. This was the most submitted question on our forum. Can we expect to see .MOBI as a default extension on mobile phones, or a .MOBI button? If so, in what kind of timeframe?

Pinky-Brand: Another is utilizing the resources and reach of our investors who are the big guns in search, device manufacturing, carriers, etc.
Pinky-Brand: Yes one of the most common questions that I get is about defaulting to .MOBI so you don't have to type .MOBI on the phone.
Pinky-Brand: The answer is we are working with our investors, the browser folks and the operating system folks towards that goal.
Pinky-Brand: We are actively doing this.
Pinky-Brand: Keep in mind that there are 7+ mobile browsers and 7+ mobile operating systems out there...it is not quite as easy as in the PC world.


-RJ-: Are these developments we may see in the short term (less than a year?), or should we be looking further out?

Pinky-Brand: I can't commit to any timeline at this time, but I think a critical mass of dotMobi names registered and in use will be a compelling case to accelerate such a development.
Pinky-Brand: We are nearing 300,000 names registered and more and more sites are going up every day---so are well down that road.

-RJ-: BTW Pinky, so I don't interupt you while you're answering, just give me three dots when you're done answering. ...

Pinky-Brand: got it. Thanks...//0 ...


-RJ-: dotMobi's investors include Ericsson, Google, GSM Association, Hutchison, Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Telefónica Móviles, TIM & Vodafone.
-RJ-: Are these companies committed to long term support of the TLD?

Pinky-Brand: Of course.
Pinky-Brand: These companies are not in it for the registration biz...they could do that in a variety of other ways.
Pinky-Brand: They are in it because they know there needs to a standard for navigation and content.
Pinky-Brand: So that the consumer will have a good experience and continue to come back.
Pinky-Brand: Ultimately this means more data traffic, more content, more search, more ad revenue, etc.
Pinky-Brand: ...

colombani: what do you think of the actually ".Mobi speculation"
colombani: Is it good for or is it bad for customers awareness ?

Pinky-Brand: Speculation is going to happen in any TLD. That is a fact of the domain name registration business.
Pinky-Brand: What we are trying to do that is different from other registries is reach out to the speculators and try to convert to content.
Pinky-Brand: Of course there are those that see the value of .mobi and they are smart to get in the game early in my opinion.
Pinky-Brand: But ultlimately they will reap bigger rewards by developing content and joining the mobile ecosystem.
Pinky-Brand: I think domainers have been given a bad name by a few rotten apples. But for the most part I believe domainers are a valuable part of the ecosystem as long as the behaviours are economically efficient and ultimately benefit the end consumer.
Pinky-Brand: ...


-RJ-: Thank you. We've got a few development related questions.

Pinky-Brand: OK


PeterBrown: The most important factor to me is that the site must be viewable on a mobile phone. As that is what the extension is for.
Saint-Nick: Are there any plans of opening a .MOBI resources site that will help developers develop what they have? //1
mjnels: How do you plan on making sure that each site follows the dot-mobi guidelines?

-RJ-: .MOBI is also unique from other TLDs in that there are specific rules and standards for development of a .MOBI domain. This is to ensure that .MOBI domains are accessible to all mobile devices. mTLD has provided a site for developers at http://pc.dev.mobi/
-RJ-: What does mTLD have planned for the future of their development website?

Pinky-Brand: Yes our new developer site is cool.
Pinky-Brand: You can go there for a lot of resources and training. There is a live training module and we have a new Mobi Ready tool that tells you instantly how well your site is prepared for mobile.
Pinky-Brand: On future plans:
Pinky-Brand: We will offer a new developers guide, about 70 pages...something like mobile web for dummies---it is not .mobi specific.
Pinky-Brand: Also updates will be to http://mr.dev.mobi. Lots of new cool features coming there.
Pinky-Brand: Plus techie articles, howtos and blog posts.
Pinky-Brand: ...


-RJ-: When does mTLD intend to enforce useage of the correct Mobile MP Doctypes AND snytax for developers developing for .mobi, and how will this be enforced?
-RJ-: And a related question,
-db-: For those of who are speculators, and have our .Mobi domains parked at places like SEDO, should we expect our names to be safe from cancellation or confiscation, even though the parking provider's web pages are not fully .Mobi compliant yet?

Pinky-Brand: Enforcment began with Land Rush. Any name registered is subject to enforcment action.
Pinky-Brand: Of course our aim early on is to encourage developement and testing. Not everyone is will be perfect right out of the gate. This is new territory for a lot of people.
Pinky-Brand: Please note that dotMobi will NOT cancell or confiscate a domain name registration for non-compliance. We will give you at least 3 warnings with opportunities to comply before we would render the domain inactive---not resolving.
Pinky-Brand: Also, registered names are NOT required to be active. In theory you could keep the name inactive forever and not face any action.

-RJ-: That's good to know.
-RJ-: Is a parked page considered 'inactive'?

Pinky-Brand: A parked page is considered active. Parked pages must comply. We are working the folks who are putting up the parking sites to be compliant. It's not really that difficult. Our rules are really simple...the rest are just best practice suggestions.


rsequin: So it's either in full compliance or the site is off?

Pinky-Brand: However the pages that the parked page links to (i.e. link to a .com site) do NOT have to comply. But you'd be crazy not to---otherwise the consumer has a bad experience.

Pinky-Brand: Suggestion if you are running a parking page. Get the top links to convert their page to .mobi compliant page. Everyone will benefit eventually. Keep in mind you can't just jam a page designed for a 17" PC screen onto a 2 or 3" mobile phone screen.
Pinky-Brand: The kind of content you want to display on a mobile page is going to be different because what the user is doing while looking at that content, and their toleration for a bad experience is going to be lower than on a PC page.
Pinky-Brand: To reiterate, we want to be flexible early on as people experiment with their mobile pages, but we must ensure that the general public who visit the sites get a consistent and reliable experience...otherwise everyone will lose in the long run.
Pinky-Brand: ...


-RJ-: For those of you just joining us, we're talking to Pinkard "Pinky" Brand, the director of new market development for dotMobi, the ICANN-appointed global registry for the .mobi domain.
-RJ-: Pinky, I've got a number of questions about the premium domains.

Pinky-Brand: Please go ahead.


-RJ-: dotMobi has taken a unique approach in the roll-out of its namespace by reserving thousands of premium generic names.
-RJ-: The first of these domains were auctioned off in October at the TRAFFIC domain conference. Sales included flowers.mobi for $200,000 and fun.mobi $100,000.
-RJ-: And currently, four of the top names (news, sports, weather, ringtones) are being offered in a RFP process where potential developers can submit business proposals to mTLD. The winning proposals will be selected in January.
-RJ-: As domainers, many of us have interest in premium generic names. What are the plans for releasing the remainder of the premium domains?

Pinky-Brand: I'll be happy to address that.
Pinky-Brand: We have about 5,700 premium names in total.
Pinky-Brand: Beginning in 2007and through 2008, we will release names in batches.
Pinky-Brand: Some small, some large---maybe some bundled name offerings.
Pinky-Brand: We will test various allocation methods. Live auction, silent auction, web auctions.
Pinky-Brand: As far as timing goes...
Pinky-Brand: I think you will see some action beginning in January...then we will probably do this on a periodic basis while addressing some vertical market opportunities.


rsequin: can you talk about the difference between reserved and premium names?

Pinky-Brand: Good question on the difference between reserved and premium names that I will address.
Pinky-Brand: Reserved names are names that we cannot allocate without permission from ICANN as they were held back as part of our original agreement with them.


-RJ-: I believe space101 had the same question.
space101: What abour Registry Reserved Names?

Pinky-Brand: These are geographic names, other registry names like travel and name, emergency shortcodes for various parts of the world, etc.
Pinky-Brand: Some are 3 character numeric names that are emergency numbers so we cannot allocate.


-RJ-: I assume one and two character domains also fall in the same reserved category.

space101: Will they ever see the general public or will they face some other form of being allocated?

Pinky-Brand: One and two character names are not to be allocated.
Pinky-Brand: Darn...as it would be to own U2 or something like that. //0
Pinky-Brand: It is possible that the reserved names could be allocated in the future as per our agreement with ICANN, but again I don't see any significant change on that front on the horizon.
Pinky-Brand: ...


-RJ-: Dentalpro and Nick both had similar followup questions about the premium domain releases.
Saint-Nick: Will there be any announcments of the releases?
dentalpro: how will they notify domainers of these?

Pinky-Brand: Yes, we will make announcements of the releases.
Pinky-Brand: Through the press, our contacts, blogs, etc.
Pinky-Brand: Also in the not too distant future you will be able to sign up on our site to receive info on specific names that you may be interested in---so that you will know if we plan to release such name for auction or RFP.
Pinky-Brand: In the meantime you can send me an email at [email protected] if you want to get on my personal list and I'll be sure to let you know what's up.


-RJ-: We'll do our best to republish these announcements here on NamePros as well.

Pinky-Brand: We certainly appreciate NamePros assistance with that! //0
Pinky-Brand: ...


-RJ-: Here's a question from accentnepal that I'm also interested in,

accentnepal: What kinds of content that are not yet being developed do you feel would do well on .mobi?

-RJ-: In your opinion, are there certain categories that are better choices for development?

Pinky-Brand: Great questions again. I definitely have some opinions on that.
Pinky-Brand: Early on I'd say that you should target information services that consumers say they are most likely to want to access in the next 12 months.
Pinky-Brand: Such categories are:
Pinky-Brand: Traffic information, news, public transport timetables, info on public services, film listings, job hunting
Pinky-Brand: also, any name that might lend itself to location based services would be really hot in my book
Pinky-Brand: For example, in 1999 only 1% of all phones had GPS...now that is up to over 10% and will climb rapidly.
Pinky-Brand: The implications for couponing, social networking are tremendous.


-RJ-: Ah, I'd love to be able to get coupons on my cell phone. I can't ever seem to remember to bring the paper ones with me.

Pinky-Brand: Once mobile payment systems come online in a big way for off-deck content (off-deck meaning non-carrier traffic) then I think the possibilities for making money with gaming, ring tones, music, news, sports clips, imaging and others will be thrown open to the small and medium sized guys---not just the big guys who can afford to do huge on-deck content deals.
Pinky-Brand: In Korea, USER generated mobile content is VERY successful.
Pinky-Brand: I can see consumers going for free minutes or even accepting advertising coupons on their phone.
Pinky-Brand: I also think Pay per CALL could be big.
Pinky-Brand: Example:
Pinky-Brand: User searches on their device for refinance or taxi.
Pinky-Brand: They are taken to a page with a list of possible providers in their area via GPS.
Pinky-Brand: User enters their phone number directly on the results screen.
Pinky-Brand: Vendor calls them directly. Everyone gets paid.
Pinky-Brand: I think it lends itself well to the fact that the user has a voice enabled device and is immediately interested in obtaining service. Think about that when you are in a unfamiliar area and want a table for 4 at an Italian place.
Pinky-Brand: Just thinking out loud here but I think you get my drift.
Pinky-Brand: ...

-RJ-: Pinky, I know your time today is limited so I'll wrap this up so you can get to your next meeting. Thank you again for joining us today to talk .MOBI.
-RJ-: In closing, do you have any tips or advice you could share with owners of .MOBI domains?

Pinky-Brand: Yes thanks much. This has been fun.
Pinky-Brand: My advice is too think creatively, get good research data, invest in good names and develop content. The mobile Internet needs it.
Pinky-Brand: We are eager to work with folks who want assistance in dev content and we will do our best to promote the early adopters.
Pinky-Brand: Domainers who are first on the block to dev content have a much better chance at success.
Pinky-Brand: Think where dot com was 10 years ago. I believe it won't take nearly as long for dotMobi to have an impact.
Pinky-Brand: Thanks again and best wishes for everyone's success with domain names!
Pinky-Brand: ...


-RJ-: On behalf of everyone at NamePros.com, we appreciate the visit.
-RJ-: Judging by the questions still in the queue, I'm sure there's a lot we can talk about. We've love to have you back again sometime.

Pinky-Brand: I'd be happy to return or answer the questions so you can post on your site. Just let me know.


END
__________________


When will Pinky be in the DNF chat?
 
Dynadot - Expired Domain Auctions

3dGEEK

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Great find !!!! :shy:

Super News :smilewinkgrin:

"Of course there are those that see the value of .mobi and they are smart to get in the game early in my opinion." :smilewinkgrin:
 

hugegrowth

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this was a very interesting read - there are less and less arguments now for how this extension can fail. the success of .mobi almost seems a slam dunk with all this effort going behind it. more marketing and awareness for .mobi in 2007, along with more auctions of premium names, will keep this extension in the spotlight and create more demand.

I have to admit when I bought my first mobi's it was partly a gamble, but I'm thinking more and more they will be a good investment. Just have to find some time to develop some mini-sites and content pages...
 

Vision

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Thanks WEBecri.
 

Vision

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Good Question.

There is a vocal anti-.mobi contingent that will likely shout down & demean Pinky.

Good luck with the invite, though

You may want to let the mods or Adam Dicker be aware of your invite to Pinky Brand.

Michael

Shows.mobi
CameraPhones.mobi
FlashGames.mobi
 

namewaiter

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The question is:

When will this take place on DNF?

I will send Pinky Brand an e-mail with an invitation...


it probably won't ever take place here at DNF ... 'the management that be' has made it well known they don't like the .mobi extension, so although we could invite them to a general chat in the lounge, it would never be a moderated chat
 

Laird Mobi

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Nice post! And there i was starting to think that .mobi really could be a failure! But i am now alot happier with my $5000 investment. And the defaulting to .mobi is just the icing on the cake! Bloody good news!
 

simon

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Go Pinky !! Go
 

Rico

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its time to take over the world, Pinky.
 
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