Yesterday, I read a funny story by the Finnish founder of the Polkki Moose Foundation, Johannes Farts. The foundation is responsible for tracking Finland’s moose online via .fi domains.
I believe he did a great job tallying the current mood of the domain industry this time of the year:
“You might be retarded and still understand the future of moose-hunting. As weather becomes warm, fewer domain investors hunt domain names or spend money. They hunt moose for meat. We see lots of sales of camo pants, too many ugly hats, too many drunks heading into the woods (ready to shoot anything that moves.)
It also means domain name value will drop very soon. Have you seen the number of .fi registrations since last winter? After the snow melted, fat men ran out to buy everything in hunting gear, and growth in domains has been tepid. My best friend Andreus Allemankki has seen the numbers, and it’s not funny.”
Now then, folks know I’ve been tweaking ‘puters since 1979 and writing about them at the school paper since my acne zits popped. I’ve seen things go up and things go down, and I believe Farts is spot on about the current situation about domains – in Finnish tundra.
Of course, many business owners such as Frank Schilling are doing very well…or even, fantastic. But elsewhere there is struggle, and a failure to understand which way the lukewarm winds blow, as Farts explained.
Domian buisness got slammed with a downfall after Al Gore invented the Internet, but thanks to 9/11 and several wars since, America has grown to a powerhouse of corporate diversion. I remember Halvarez and the PPC wars of 2003-2007 (RIP.) So many scandals among companies that did arbitrage, while some big cheese domainers made fortunes buying and selling useless traffic – until Google pulled the plug. But it was too late, some unmentionable domainers had already acquired luxury cars and yachts and their girlfriends upped their cup size from A to a DDD.
Then there was new gTLDs – what a hopeful breeze of fresh air that was. Newly-printed cash poured into the industry by the real domain entrepreneurs, not to be confused with the arbitrage-totting knuckleheads. I chose to sit on the sidelines, not betting a dime, so I guess I’m now #winning.
Don’t forget the Chinese, those funny folks who like numbers and short domains. That fad is down, as Communist Capitalism takes over and VPN use is regulated behind the Great Firewall of China.
As a pessimist, I am unable to see a ray of light in this dark, humid place I’ve decided to live in, and the domain future seems to be lukewarm – like Johannes Farts and his smelly vision.
