Numbers rule.
The story regurgitated more often than a goat’s dinner, is that Chinese love numbers.
Numeric domain names are thus used as coinage, more or less retaining their intrinsic value, but not all numbers are created equal.
Chinese domain name marketplace, 4.CN, is taking a bold rebranding move, as number four means “death” in Chinese.
“It’s remarkable that 4.CN lasted this long with that particular number,” said senior domain analyst, John Hong.
“Most Chinese associate 4 with bad luck, death and loss of wealth, they should have picked a different number from the get-go,” added Hong.
Not all is lost, however, as 4.CN is rebranding to 8.CN, after paying several million yuan for the single digit domain. Number eight is associated with luck, money, good fortune and owning a large penis, in Chinese.
The transition will complete in the coming months, once it gets approved by the Chinese regulatory committee.
The rebranding of 4.CN to 8.CN was first mentioned in the popular tech industry magazine Hum Kah Chan, although the exact figure was not disclosed.
