.Co Internet CEO thinks new TLDs will gain acceptance over time and ultimately be good for his own .co domain name.
Everyone has been asking the question about what new TLDs mean for .com. Few have been asking what new TLDs mean for existing alternatives to .com, such as .me, .info, and of course .co.
.Co Internet CEO Juan Diego Calle has weighed in on the issue on the .Co company blog.
It’s a well-thought out post worth reading in its entirety, but I’ll attempt to summarize it a bit:
– new TLDs will increase awareness that there are alternatives to .com, which is good for .co.
– previous attempts by ICANN to allow new TLDs have been too limited to raise enough awareness, so this round is different.
– slowly but surely, brands will begin using new TLDs. Others will start to adopt them over time, too.
– the .com namespace will actually benefit in the shortrun, as previously unused domains are offered for sale at reasonable prices and more get used.
– .co will rise with the tide, helped out by its head start, implied meaning, and lack of ICANN restrictions (as a ccTLD).
You may not agree with everything Calle argues, but I think it’s mostly a fair representation of how things will look in the future. And if I were a new TLD applicant, I’d pay close attention to what .co thinks. It already has the battle scars of trying to launch a new TLD.
Robbie says
Does .co stand for cocaine or colombia?
D. Higgins says
The new GTLDs likely will be very good for .co and many of the “old guard” extensions. See this post related to the .cc domain boom that may occur.
http://www.newmarketnames.com
Samit says
Even .us is doing better than .cc
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=.co%2C%20.tv%2C%20.cc%2C%20.me%2C%20.us&cmpt=q
And you really can’t compare it to .co
jZ says
so he thinks people will sell .com’s for less due to the new gtlds? i doubt it. you could also look at it as any alternate to .com loses value since there are now 1000’s instead of 10’s of them.
Juan says
Hi JZ, it’s already been happening for some time. We are .COM investors in a travel niche (hotels) and the re-pricing effect that is happening there is very tangible. The same is true for most other verticals. Simply put: less domain investors + less end users seeing .COM as the only option = lower prices. But like I said, that is probably good for the .COM space in the short term (in terms of quality).
D. Higgins says
Dot (cc) has a wonderful opportunity to rebrand itself as the “dot credit card” extension before the new gTLD (.creditcard) gets to it. .CC has an opening the size of the grand canyon to rebrand the company and drive a luxury yacht right through it. .CC has has a limited time to probably do this. They are aware of this opportunity- and well see if they can capitalize on it. If not, .cc will remain a second/third rate extension.