East, domainers finally turned the corner — At TRAFFIC

Conference chatter changed from looking backward to looking forward.

I was rather bummed following both of the major U.S. domain name conferences that took place in the first half of this year.

I was bummed since people were just talking regarding the past. They were talking regarding the same stuff they’ve been talking regarding for the past three years. Regarding falling parking revenues. Regarding developing domains. Same old, same old.

So that’s why this stretch at TRAFFIC in Ft. Lauderdale was a bit refreshing. There was little talk regarding monetization. Sure, everyone is still thinking regarding it. They’re thinking regarding Google’s parking changes and how they are affecting revenue. They’re still reminiscing regarding the good ole’ days.

But the conversation this stretch changed squarely to fresh top level domain names and what they mean for domainers’ portfolios.

Much of the conversation was regarding the fear of the unknown. Will .com values increase with fresh TLDs? Decrease? There was much debate. Most people I talked to on both sides of the issue admitted that the other side could end up being correct.

That recovering from the past few years has given away to worrying regarding the next few might not be a great advancement. But I, for one, welcome the change. At least we’re looking forward rather than complaining regarding the past.