New domains will cause a stir in the world of big business deals too. Dot-coms have gone for as much as $12 million dollars, due to their perceived exclusivity. With a completely open naming system, valuations of some fairly large companies could change. For example, in the CNET/CBS buyout, CBS valued CNET’s domains, including news.com, in the hundreds of millions. Now, when the .news top level domain could be bought for a few thousand dollars, will news.com lose a little bit of its luster? Dot-com might finally lose its exclusive place as the only way to have a “respectable” domain.
In 2009, expect another domain land grab, as major companies fight to protect their copyright from squatters. But then watch for the .com-only world start to melt away, as the modern-day “Lewis and Clarks” of the Web expand the ways in which they get content in front of you.
More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:
- Special Feature: Where are they now? The Industry Standard tracks down 10 dot-coms from the Web bubble of the late 1990s
- News: ICANN approves new domain naming rules, new profits for them
- News: Debate over new top-level domains drags on
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