.us biggest problem

[mole]

It's not like your individual .biz name or a .us name can't have "type-in" value, or never will have, it's just the likelyhood of this happening goes down with each passing day.

Ah, the faith leaks. So sad.

 

[sasquatch]

Dot us is definitely the limpiest "major" extension in existence at this time.

Take a look at Duke's graphical ("wishful") classifications at http://www.newnames.info and then go exactly opposite of that. :-D

...The ones that will command a premium (always) will be generic dot US names. That means if you are holding two-word dot US names...your time to sell would be now....

Are you implying that two-word names cannot be generic?

In other words, BigAss.us shall command less then Reprimanding.us??

 

[izopod]

Ah, the faith leaks. So sad.

Well, I could b.s you by disregarding what we've all "come" to learn about new domain names in the last three years. Sometimes it's good to get off the "island" to see what's happening. I not only follow what's happening on DNF, but I visit at least 5 other forums, as well as a few tech blogs. I also read several tech magazines. When I'm tapped out with that I read tech marketing books.

One I am reading now has to do with "product lifecycles" on the internet. Interesting read... There are some parallels in the book that is quite relevant to the "domain world". IN short, you'll always have a hardened group of people that will buy any new domain that comes out, and then there are those who wait to see how those people fair with their new domains. After that you pretty much have the "middle of the bunch"...the largest group of the buying public who will wait till they have a "pretty good" idea that these domains will "work"--afterall, mom and pop aren't going to know about "key word" buying on adsense . Then there is the last group. This group... they are the "cynics". They will only buy if the new domains "guaranteed" traffic.

Guess which group of people you have to win over before your product begins to gain acceptance from the general public. Yup, that middle bunch. Mom and pop. You have to convince them the product will satisfy their needs. This is no easy task as they will want to see results before they buy. Guess who get's to do the "convincing".... Yup, the ones who are between "hardened domainers" and mom and pop. These are the domainers "waiting" on the sideline to see how all this turns out. These are the people to watch. If you see Safesys begin to evangalise about dot US names, I would say it would just be just a matter of time....

btw: The purpose of my post was to answer the question: When will the dot US names gain a foothold? I hope that I have given you more than my "gut feel". There is actually a process how these things will pan out. I personally own a few Dot US names which I plan on using. I also have a .pro I'm working on that I can't wait to unleash. Yup, these are non-com's, but for the price I paid for them, I will certainly get my money back and then some....without PPC income!!! and SE's... Or Wiki's... It's possible if you have the "right domain"...iregardless of whether it's a .com, .biz or .us.

 

[mole]

Perhaps its just a question of thinking out of the domain box, pod?

Many people fail to see, or remember, that domain extensions were original designed to co-exist which each other based on specific roles. A tag team, if you will.

It is apparent that .US pegs in to local gravitas, local culture, local language, local innuendos.

Today's marketing world is no more about one size fits all. It is way too complex for that. Where many marketers fail, is the inability to acknowledge that fact. It is comforting to believe that there must be some, simple magic panacea to all this. .COM seems to be this comfort gravitas especially for the bold who have gone out to explore then come back broken.

It's only when you accept .US for what it was meant to be, a perfectly unique national identity, nothing more, nothing less - can you see - where the big group hug is.

 

[izopod]

It is apparent that .US pegs in to local gravitas, local culture, local language, local innuendos.

.US isn't "graviting" to anything local persay. We don't think in terms of culture, or language in the US when it comes to domain names. To prove my point just look at .TV. We actually have most Americans convinced that dot TV means dot "Television". It's been a very successful marketing campaign by the Dot TV corp.

btw... Quick mind numbing question for you: What is the one thing a domain name will do almost every time it's typed in a browser? [?]

That is the only thing a domain is good for when you get down to the brass taxes...Getting to a specific location, irregardless of what the "ending" means. Ultimately people tend to forget about the ending anyways IF and that's a big IF the domain becomes accepted by the general population. In the end, all you can do is to try to "convince" as many people as possible that your domain is worth $xx,xxx undeveloped or is a valuable site if developed. Waiting for things to happen is never a recommended strategy when it comes to anything tech. Create, test, Change, test, Change Again, test...

...as opposed to wait...wait...don't change...wait...

"To wait is to let someone else convince the general public their domain is better than yours." ----With all the new domains expected to hit the streets this year never before has this quote been so true.

 

[darrenl]

I think the problem with .US will be if the government tries to regulate the extension themselves.

 

[DryHeat]

Oh boy, going thru some posts of this thread makes one feel like reading a technical report....but for simple-minded folks like myself one can cut thru the chase and get down to some basics:

1. No one with any shred of reason will equate identical name(s) in .com and newer tlds on any of the generally accepted measures of valuation.

2. Vast majority of .com names don't get any significant natural type-in traffic either.

3. So, its foolish to compare cars.com with cars.us, however, it might be quite reasonable to compare (if one has to) cars.us with, lets say, AmericanCars.com or CarsUSA.com.

Now, given this premise, one can debate whether Cars.us is worth more, less or equal to AmericanCars.com/CarsUSA.com....What do you think?

 

[mole]

.US isn't "graviting" to anything local persay. We don't think in terms of culture, or language in the US when it comes to domain names. To prove my point just look at .TV. We actually have most Americans convinced that dot TV means dot "Television". It's been a very successful marketing campaign by the Dot TV corp.

Let me remind that the .US extension was marketed by Neustar based on the American apple pie ideal when it launched.

So, it follows that if you actually bought the story that .TV means "Television", then in soft branding terms, it should be easy for you to buy that .US represents all that is US.

Why knock a kid (.US) off his bicycle just because he is taking up a small space on the side roads? The ten-tonner .COM can screw the Internet highway all it wants, but one day that kid will become a man.

Then you will again sulk because you didn't have the vision to get .COM domains back in 1986. History has a very funny way. Of repeating itself.

 

[DryHeat]

Waiting for things to happen is never a recommended strategy when it comes to anything tech. Create, test, Change, test, Change Again, test...

So how does this apply to domains....try new tlds>>>>test>>>>no type-ins>>>>go back to the old .com?

----With all the new domains expected to hit the streets this year never before has this quote been so true.

First of all, no new gTLDs are on the horizon...all what is coming out is sTLDs and .eu, and it can reasonably be argued that they would help further the notion that there's life beyond .com.... and hence strengthen TLDs like .US.

 

[mole]

all what is coming out is sTLDs and .eu, and it can reasonably be argued that they would help further the notion that there's life beyond .com.... and hence strengthen TLDs like .US.

hear! hear!

 

[zouzas]

Although America is a little different then the rest of the world,,The entire world uses their country code over .com,,,,foreign companies will continue to chose .US over .com to target the US market America is slowly learning this and American companies are slowly getting the .US name live even if its just a pointing to their existing site for the Traffic,,,,,latest sale this weekened on sedo Piercing.us for 3,700.. bought by a german company and points ,,,,,,,,,piercing-outlet.com

looks like they bought the US to drive traffic to their existing site :cheeky:

 

[StockDoctor]

I blame the registry for their lack of action and dropping the ball. Just like the kids.us was abandoned. Frustrating watching a company with such a fantastic product ***.US *** sit there and do NOTHING to promote it as promised. Incredible. It's not too late though if they just happen to wake up some day and do something.

 

[izopod]

So how does this apply to domains....try new tlds>>>>test>>>>no type-ins>>>>go back to the old .com?.

No...test new TLDs via known marketing methods...measure...recaliberate....test again...then if that doesn't work then you will at least know the domain you are holding isn't worth your time. I would sell this one. Again, you must take a proactive stance...WITH ALL YOUR DOMAINS!!! That is in essence the crux of my argument here... One last thing...PPC pages are not a very good "testing" tool.

First of all, no new gTLDs are on the horizon...all what is coming out is sTLDs and .eu, and it can reasonably be argued that they would help further the notion that there's life beyond .com.... and hence strengthen TLDs like .US.

The word "strengthen" is so vague as used here, but I think I get your point. I would argue however that the more gTLDs or sTLDs that are released to the more it strengthens dot .com's position. The only thing that could weaken dot com as I see it today would be dot XXX. Afterall most of the money made on the internet VIA .com right now is pornography. Dot XXX is an "equalizer" domain as I call them. My prediction is that if .xxx is approved, you will see .com level prices for premium .xxx names not reserved by the registar.

Other "individual" names can be "equalizers". Frankly I think I have a few .pro names that are good enough to go toe to toe with most decent dot com names. I'm sure Mole has a few .biz names. Zouzas definitely has a few dot .US names that could level the playing field. And you Dryheat have quite a few names in various extensions that are definitely equalizers. The big thing is what are you doing with all that property? I personally can say I have done nothing. Nothing at all. My mindset was if they don't come, don't build. In truth, I should have not been waiting for the masses to .come. They never will. The sooner everyone realizes that the quicker everyone will become more proactive. It's kind of like waiting for the government to come rescue you. Take matter in your own hands I say. Don't worry about the next guy, just get goin'!

 

[Jernet]

dotcom will always be king. period.

my grandparents are so old fashioned.

they live in the boonies.
have an old rotary phone.
still use an outhouse.
don't have a computer,

but, they still know what a dotcom is.

they never even knew any other extensions existed.

 

[DryHeat]

dotcom will always be king. period.

my grandparents are so old fashioned.

they live in the boonies.
have an old rotary phone.
still use an outhouse.
don't have a computer,

but, they still know what a dotcom is.

they never even knew any other extensions existed.

Exactly! And, in fairness one should not expect grandparents to know any better and keep up with all the new happenings. The hope for change, like always, is from today's youth....kids who are playing with computers while still in diapers. Would they keep up with old traditions...whether it be clothes, music, surfing habits, or choice of tlds...or like young blood always is, opt for something unique, new, exciting, off the beaten path.

 

[mole]

And, in fairness one should not expect grandparents to know any better and keep up with all the new happenings.

hear! hear!

 

[izopod]

The hope for change, like always, is from today's youth....kids who are playing with computers while still in diapers.

My hope for the kids of today is that they get the chance to know what it's like to sit outside, look up at the sky and day dream. The future lies in those dreams...

 

[zouzas]

it does come down to development take a look at www.imageshack.us unbelievable traffic ,,with extension in overture over 14 thousand that's huge for the short time the site been up so typeinns will happen if visitors like what they find. where imageshack.com with extension only gets 4k for the month of july

 

[DryHeat]

My hope for the kids of today is that they get the chance to know what it's like to sit outside, look up at the sky and day dream. The future lies in those dreams...

Well, I think kids of today do day dream like we did, the difference probably is they do so while not sitting outside and looking at the sky but rather with their ipod stuck in their ears and eyes fixed on some type of screen.....as for me I don't like it but then my father did not like what I did for pastime as a teenager....and so it goes!

 

[gogeorge]

I read the verisign domain name report. Looks like the number of .com are declining for 46% to 45% of all domains registered. The CC TLDs are moving up to 35% of all domain names registered.

With that being said I would still rather own .com if I could, but I will certainly take .us at the right price.