New gTLD

Based on reports I am seeing from companies like 1 & 1 and eNom, it seems like there are millions of new gTLD domain names that have been pre-registered or pre-reserved. Many domain registrars are allowing clients to pre-order, pre-register, or purchase options to buy new domain names when they are available.

With that being said, I thought I would share the list of the new gTLD domain names that I pre-registered / pre-ordered:

If I could poll every domain investor right now asking them to predict the outcome of the new gTLD extensions, I think the majority would say that a majority of new TLDs will fail. This is my unsubstantiated opinion based on what I’ve read on a number of websites and forums, including this one.  I can’t speak on behalf of all domain investors, but it seems that the majority of people think .com domain names will always be the extension of choice for people who buy domain names.

What if this isn’t true? What happens in ten or twenty years if businesses  decide that they don’t need to spend 4, 5, 6, or 7 figures on a .com domain name when they can hand register something else for less than $100? Perhaps Google will treat .shop or .coupons the same as it would treat a similar website on .com. Perhaps there will be another search engine or type of search tool besides Google that will impact the relevance of .com.