Another domainer year is about to end; the Holiday Season is upon all domainers and their valuable domain assets.
The first ten years of the 21st century will be replaced by the “teens” – finally we can call the new decade collectively by its name.
The domain market is expanding and while a lot of people take the advice of domain pillars such as Rick Schwartz to avoid pigeonsh*t domains, others are simply forging new ground with the adoption of new TLDs and the expected onslaught of gTLDs.
PPC has been falling steadily for the better part of this decade, with the introduction of numerous alternatives to full fledged development and parking. Some controversy is to be expected, as promises like Epik’s to deliver presents under the tree should be taken with a shot or two of eggnog.
So where are Madison Avenue and Wall Street standing right now, with regards to domaining and domains?
The expectations ran high for several years but the financial giant hasn’t awaken yet. Corporations are driven by specific budgets that don’t allow their CEOs, some of which are paid 1/10th of the wages of the late 90’s to risk investing in expensive brands.
That leaves medium size companies with picking the bulk investments in the domain space, at prices much lower than the multi-million expectations of a few years ago.
This is not necessarily the end of high-priced domaining, it’s definitely the beginning of strategic alliances that are forged based on true revenue or activity; a domain name on its own will rarely sell in the millions without a business to complement it.
Small-fry investors should be at home with development of their assets, that exceeds push-button publishing and mediocre standards. Web and content development have been abused in the not so distant past and those that rode the speculative bandwagons of templated design, sub-par minisites and other such slap-up job solutions have paid the price by being penalized by giant Google.
Lastly, as long as no major wars break out worldwide, the economy should continue to improve, with the US and Asia rising above Europe and the other continents. Oceania is also an investment magnet and new technologies emerge from this remote but very talent-laden area. Domainers from each continent should work together to overcome the particular obstacles present at each larger area and to form alliances that provide cultural, technological and humanist support.
There is no perfect place on earth, no perfect solution for domaining. We need to work together to achieve the creation and success of both.
Happy Holidays and a prosperous 2011 to all.
