DomainNames
Top Contributor
Some good basic industry info here:
http://www.oversee.net/
http://www.domainfest.com/domain-basics
What is the “domain industry”? In a nutshell, it is a small but growing industry that revolves around domain investors; individuals who understand that domain names are the “real estate” of the internet. In other words, to do business online, every business must first have an internet location, a piece of “internet real estate” in the form of a domain name. And the best internet real estate locations, represented by short, descriptive domain names, have always enjoyed clear advantages in terms of branding potential and ability to draw traffic.
Astute individuals and corporations have been investing in domain name real estate since domain registrations were first offered to the public. Early investors were the internet’s version of traditional real estate investors who were taking risks by buying empty corner lots along Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles 50 or 60 years ago. And just as many of those traditional real estate investments along Wilshire Blvd have since paid off nicely, many internet real estate domain name investments have also paid off nicely.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, as more and more individuals and corporations began seeing the ROI potential of domain name investments, the “domain industry” was born. Since then, a variety of specialized service providers have entered the scene to meet the unique needs of domain investors. From domain monetization PPC “parking” companies to domain aftermarket brokers and technology platforms, these specialized service providers have helped the industry grow and prosper.
Domain investment opportunities still exist. As internet usage and the number of TLD’s continue to expand globally, and as businesses worldwide see the value in investing in internet real estate that offers the best online location-location-location, the demand for internet real estate will continue to grow. And by default, the opportunities for domain investors will continue to grow.
DOMAINfest encourages anyone interested in investing in domain names to attend its conference to get an inside look into the investment strategies, monetization technologies, and growth opportunities.
Here are some resources to help you prepare for getting the most out of a DOMAINfest event.
What's in a domain name?
Domain names are fundamental to navigating and using the Internet, serving as easily recognizable identifiers for one or more IP addresses.
There are over 180 million domain names currently registered.
There are more than 270 top-level domains (TLDs) available. These are the suffixes attached to domain names. In www.domainfest.com, the TLD is ".com".
TLDs fall into the following categories:
Country-code TLD (ccTLD) is a TLD that corresponds to official 2-letter country and territory abbreviations. Examples: .de (Germany), .us (United States), .ch (China)
Sponsored Generic TLD (gTLD) are specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing the community served by the TLD. Examples: .gov (Government), .mil (Military), .asia (Asia), .mobi (Mobile)
Unsponsored Generic TLD (gTLD) is a TLD that operates without a sponsoring organization or community, and has fewer registration restrictions than sponsored TLDs. Examples: .com, .net, .org
Internationalized domain names (IDNs) refer to domains that are represented in local language characters, using non-ASCII characters
Domain Industry Resources
DN Forum, DomainState, NamePros, AcornDomains
Meet and learn from domainers all around the world in one of these domain industry forums.
DN Journal, DomainNameWire, DomainNameNews
Just a few domain industry news sites covering all facets of the domain industry. You can do a little digging and find lots of blogs, too.
DomainSponsor
A pioneer in domain name monetization, and the founding sponsor of DOMAINfest.
ICANN
The world governing body for domain names.
ICANN Wiki
A grassroots industry resource fostering global collaboration and transparency with the ICANN community.
Moniker
A top registrar whose services include bulk registrations, brand protection, escrow, domain appraisals, auctions and more.
SnapNames
A leader in the domain aftermarket offering domain drop-catching services, and private seller auctions.
Verisign Domain Industry Brief
Provides meaningful, fact-based analyses on topics of interest to the Internet community.
http://www.oversee.net/
http://www.domainfest.com/domain-basics
What is the “domain industry”? In a nutshell, it is a small but growing industry that revolves around domain investors; individuals who understand that domain names are the “real estate” of the internet. In other words, to do business online, every business must first have an internet location, a piece of “internet real estate” in the form of a domain name. And the best internet real estate locations, represented by short, descriptive domain names, have always enjoyed clear advantages in terms of branding potential and ability to draw traffic.
Astute individuals and corporations have been investing in domain name real estate since domain registrations were first offered to the public. Early investors were the internet’s version of traditional real estate investors who were taking risks by buying empty corner lots along Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles 50 or 60 years ago. And just as many of those traditional real estate investments along Wilshire Blvd have since paid off nicely, many internet real estate domain name investments have also paid off nicely.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, as more and more individuals and corporations began seeing the ROI potential of domain name investments, the “domain industry” was born. Since then, a variety of specialized service providers have entered the scene to meet the unique needs of domain investors. From domain monetization PPC “parking” companies to domain aftermarket brokers and technology platforms, these specialized service providers have helped the industry grow and prosper.
Domain investment opportunities still exist. As internet usage and the number of TLD’s continue to expand globally, and as businesses worldwide see the value in investing in internet real estate that offers the best online location-location-location, the demand for internet real estate will continue to grow. And by default, the opportunities for domain investors will continue to grow.
DOMAINfest encourages anyone interested in investing in domain names to attend its conference to get an inside look into the investment strategies, monetization technologies, and growth opportunities.
Here are some resources to help you prepare for getting the most out of a DOMAINfest event.
What's in a domain name?
Domain names are fundamental to navigating and using the Internet, serving as easily recognizable identifiers for one or more IP addresses.
There are over 180 million domain names currently registered.
There are more than 270 top-level domains (TLDs) available. These are the suffixes attached to domain names. In www.domainfest.com, the TLD is ".com".
TLDs fall into the following categories:
Country-code TLD (ccTLD) is a TLD that corresponds to official 2-letter country and territory abbreviations. Examples: .de (Germany), .us (United States), .ch (China)
Sponsored Generic TLD (gTLD) are specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing the community served by the TLD. Examples: .gov (Government), .mil (Military), .asia (Asia), .mobi (Mobile)
Unsponsored Generic TLD (gTLD) is a TLD that operates without a sponsoring organization or community, and has fewer registration restrictions than sponsored TLDs. Examples: .com, .net, .org
Internationalized domain names (IDNs) refer to domains that are represented in local language characters, using non-ASCII characters
Domain Industry Resources
DN Forum, DomainState, NamePros, AcornDomains
Meet and learn from domainers all around the world in one of these domain industry forums.
DN Journal, DomainNameWire, DomainNameNews
Just a few domain industry news sites covering all facets of the domain industry. You can do a little digging and find lots of blogs, too.
DomainSponsor
A pioneer in domain name monetization, and the founding sponsor of DOMAINfest.
ICANN
The world governing body for domain names.
ICANN Wiki
A grassroots industry resource fostering global collaboration and transparency with the ICANN community.
Moniker
A top registrar whose services include bulk registrations, brand protection, escrow, domain appraisals, auctions and more.
SnapNames
A leader in the domain aftermarket offering domain drop-catching services, and private seller auctions.
Verisign Domain Industry Brief
Provides meaningful, fact-based analyses on topics of interest to the Internet community.
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