There are plenty of people on both sides of the fence regarding the proposal to add various TLD to the domain space. Companies, cities, and other individuals with enough financial backing may be able to apply for their own TLD. The impact on the domain industry, SEO, IP enforcement, TM protection…etc. constituencies will be enormous in some good and bad ways.
To form your own opinion, I invite you to read posts and blogs covering this topic from a few friends in the industry: Be sure to check out Kevin’s opinion, Mike’s opinion, and Anthony’s blog for more information about this.
I think that this is inevitable. Thousands of small businesses will continue to open each year, the majority of which will need a web presence. The supply of domain names is dwindling, and many of these start-ups can’t afford to pay a premium. If this passes, businesses and individuals now have more affordable options to establish a web presence. While dot-com may be the most recognized extension, the public will eventually get more used to using different extensions as well.
Does this spell doom and gloom for the domain industry? No. All industries face change, and ours is no exception. We just need to adapt to the changing environment and take advantage of the opportunities these changes present.
Here’s an interesting take on the subject:
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2165036/dotmobi-money-making-machine
There are many TLDs most people have never heard about like .md (for doctors),.jobs (for Human Resource needs) .pro (for professionals).travel (for the travel industry) . If TLDs like these can’t gain any momentum, how could more frivolous extensions be of any value. By the way, these domains are available lowell.md and lowell.pro. Nobody seems to be in a rush to grab new TLDs, .com will always rule. Elliot no offense meant with the reference to lowell, just thought it would be a good example on this blog.
Hi Elliot: I’d really like to read about your viewpoint!
In view of the fact there are still a lot of domains available to register in some extensions such as dot-biz for example, I really think all that is needed for now is just one good general tld.
That brings to mind my personal favorite of many years dot-web, which is a natural choice and could also compete nicely with com net and org and offer a great selection of good new domains to the public with the cool .web extension.