By: Wayne Ford
Look out! The new domains are coming! "Dot-biz is going to be the next
coming of dot-com," I recently read in an article in the Denver Post. The
buzz has begun. Seven new top-level domains have been approved by ICANN, the
organization that governs domains, and could be available as early as spring
of this year. The new domains approved are .biz, .info, .aero, .coop,
.musuem, .pro, and .name. Pre-registration sites like,
PreRegisterYourDomains.com, already have begun taking applications claiming
"3 million domain names will be registered in the first five minutes." That
same Denver Post article later says 'If predictions from analysts hold true
- that dot-biz will rival the popularity of dot-com - startups will no
longer have to settle for second-tier domain names.' Hogwash! - To put it
gently. Dot-com will always be the supreme ruler of all domain names. Here's
why:
Word Association. Ask anyone the first three words that come to mind when
you say 'Internet' and one will almost always be 'dot-com' along with 'web'
or 'surfing.' Dot-com is forever chiseled into our brain directly associated
with the Internet.
'Old habits die hard.' The new domains will confuse the average everyday web
surfer. With so many suffixes it will be harder to find the information they
are looking for. Out of frustration they will, most likely, resort to the
old standby, dot-com.
Marketing. Big businesses like IBM and Microsoft have already spent billions
promoting their dot-coms' in print, and media advertising. Is Microsoft
going to switch to promoting Microsoft.biz instead of Microsoft.com? This is
highly unlikely.
Brand Protection. The same people who own the corresponding dot-com will
most likely buy up most of the dot-biz (said to be restricted to business
only) and dot-info (open to anyone) to protect their valuable brand. Someone
with fishland.com is not going to want someone else to own fishland.biz and
fishland.info. The real winners here are the lawyers, who should be kept
busy for years with trademark infringement suits.
Meaning. None of the new top level domains meanings are as elegant or as
classy as the dot-com, which can mean 'communication' or 'commercial'.
Dot-biz obviously stands for 'business,' but it sounds slangy and it also
happens to mean sh** in the United Kingdom. 'Information', the meaning of
dot-info, would be perfect if it was restricted to sites with a high
concentration of information about a certain topic, but it's not. This
domain is unrestricted, and can be registered by anyone. Surfers will
quickly lose trust that all dot-info sites actually contain quality
information. Dot-pro and Dot-name will be effective but on a limited level.
To register a dot-pro you must 'prove' you are a professional on the topic
in the domain name. Dot-name will be for individuals name only (good luck to
all the John Smiths out there.)
Appeal. Sure the new TLD's, especially dot-biz, will make it easier for
smaller companies to get a web address that fits their business. But will it
be as appealing as a dot-com? Those businesses that have a dot-biz domain
may seem to be in a different class than the dot-com and it may be harder
for them to compete. It may be worth it for them to invest more money in a
dot-com domain that be 'stuck' with a dot-biz. Even with the recent doom of
a few dot-com companies, there are many that are still going strong and they
continue to breathe life into the dot-com world. The only new TLD applicant
that might have been able to rival the dot-com for appeal was dot-web.
Unfortunately the application for dot-web was not approved by ICANN.
Bottom Line- Dot-com is established and respected. It has the distinction
of being one of the first domain names of the new Internet frontier and the
most sought after. The new domains will make it easier to get a home on the
web and will have their place in the city of Internet. But Dot-com will
always be the beautiful white mansion up on the hill with the brand new
Ferrari out front.
About the Author
Wayne Ford [ info@domainsweekly.com ] is the founder and president of
DomainsWeekly.com the leading supplier of daily expired and soon-to-expire
domain lists. He also publishes a free weekly newsletter packed full of
domain-related information and a list of quality available domains. You may
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