SkyDomains

In my blog post yesterday, I narrated my opinions about the .CO extension as pertaining to beginners. For the most part, I was misunderstood. Most of the enthusiasts were blinded by passion and sometimes argued against me even when we were saying the same thing. For example I had people making examples with .CO.UK while the article specifically excluded .DE and .CO.UK . Most of the comments claimed I was a “.COM Protectionist”, to which I say “really?” I wish that was the case. The last time I checked, I still do not own any domain registrar. I have also trimmed my domain holding to less than 250 names. If you factor in the fact that some of the registrations are to reinforce a particualr brand, then this actually brings my unique domain holding  to less than 100. There are two ways I know to protect a domain (usually a domain backed with an idea or website) is to trademark the name and or register the .net and sometimes .org plus common .COM typos of the name. As I learn more about domaining and my focus sharpens, I have gradually rebuilt my portfolio to mirror where I see myself in five years.

I arrived at the .COM rush after the fact, yet even then, if I had been more knowledgeable, I might have hand regged one or two winners. However those days, there was no Domaining.com, there were no domain blogs or I did not know where or if they existed, information was lacking seriously. One of my best domain names was purchased in the secondary market and I did not have a lot of money then. I was an Airman in the Air force and I clearly remember almost starving for two weeks because I had just purchased PetMemorial(dot)com from somebody else. Even SkyDomains.com was purchased at Afternic. It was originally purchased as a domain to sell my other domains. Those days it was real difficult to get any domain name with the word domain in it. Everyone wanted to be a domainer so all domain related names were already registered. So I did the smart thing, I purchased the one I could afford from the secondary market. I am writing all this simply to debunk the claim that I am somehow one of the lucky and smart .COMers of old. Like most of you, I was very late to the party, Some of us are 2 years late while some are 10 years late; however late is late.

One of the mistakes common amongst  the early late comers was to search for instant gratification instead of trying to research and figure out where technology might be going and what names might be useful in the future. Loan.com was taken but some domainers with better foresight registered loan related names that ended up paying handsomely some five years down the road.

As regards the main purpose of this post, here some of the points I agree with:

• .CO does not have to knock off .COM to be successful
• .CO is acronym for Company universally (Will Google or the search engines thinks so as well?, …. Time will tell)
• if .CO enjoys any modicum of success, the newbie will become a hero if his domain  picks are part of the success stories
• Fortune favors the bold

Sadly though most of the .CO enthusiasts are going to register the names they will most likely get stuck with. I followed one or two links from the comments of yesterday and some of the .CO registrations I discovered brought tears to my eyes.  Most of these names will have a difficult time even if they were .COMs. Sadly most of the charts topping .CO were purchased at the land rush by deeper pockets, those with limited resources are now going to rush in after the land rush and mostly end up with worthless domains.

I own Frankie.Biz. During the .BIZ craze, this domain was registered by somebody else who probably hopped to make a killing off the name and I could care less. However just a couple of months ago, I was able to pick it up for reg fee via the recommendation of another domainer. I use it for personal email sometimes. Sadly most of the anthems being sang for .CO sounds familiar from the .BIZ land rush. Difference being, .BIZ is not a cctld.

My personal opinion about investing in .CO has not changed. I am still not in favor but who knows what tomorrow will bring? What is life without adventure and risks? It is said that “Fortune favors the Bold” but what if you are boldly mistaken?  Should one stop dreaming big dreams because of the fear of failure? I think not. I wish everyone success and hope all of us prosper. Though I do not own even a single .CO as of today, I still wish those of you that have already invested success and those yet to, I pray you make wise acquisitions.