As you know by now, ICANN voted to approve the new gTLD program in Singapore, and this will allow for the creation of new domain extensions like .nyc, .eco, .law, and likely hundreds of others. I received a few emails asking me for my opinion on the gTLD impact on the domain investment space, and I am sure I will write a post about it at some point soon.
It seems that some people may be using the new gTLD approval as an excuse to send lowball offers on .com domain names. Cataclysmic emails talking about the demise of .com domain domination and valuation, which include lowball offers to take them off the hands of the owners are amusing to me. Thank you, but I will take my chances with my .com domain names!
The short of it is that I do think consumers will adopt the usage of gTLD domain names in time, but over the next few years, I believe .com domain names will continue to be the “go to” domain extension of big and small business alike. While companies like Canon appear to be interested in applying for branded gTLD extensions, I can’t imagine that will be the case for the vast majority of companies.
Similarly, I can’t foresee a company that doesn’t apply for and get a gTLD moving to a different gTLD. For instance, I can’t imagine a company like Staples using something like Staples.shop or Honda moving to Honda.cars. I do believe some companies will opt for gTLD usage, but I still see it as a limited opportunity for established brands.
I will flesh out my thoughts later, but for now, the “sky is falling” emails complete with lowball offers are amusing.