Josh Bourne ⬥ 24 October
It has been quite a week – I arrived in Geneva on Monday and have made my way across Switzerland visiting with old friends in 5 cities. Everywhere I have been, the mood around domains is the same. People seem to be tired of hearing about new TLDs, but I have also noted some denial or disbelief over the eventuality of the new TLDs. Whether they’re dot-BRANDs or dot-GENERICs, the volume, costs and timing seem to be making isolationism a popular option among some brand owners.
While I wish more brand owners would get more involved in industry groups that say “no” to the domain name industry’s latest power play, I was encouraged to find that there is a growing undercurrent – “enough is enough.” I wonder and worry about how it will play out when an isolationist approach tangles with news of a competitor bidding for a generic industry name, or when a persistent in-house marketer becomes starry-eyed over the chance benefits of some new-fangled new TLD.
I’ll have plenty of time to think about it on the way home. I just hope I don’t have to do it from a middle seat.
Tags: brand, domain name, Geneva, isolationism, Switzerland, TLDs