Domain values headed downward: Gary Vaynerchuk at DomainFest

Vaynerchuk makes a prediction regarding domain name values during talk at DomainFest in Hollywood.

Yesterday Gary Vaynerchuk gave a spirited keynote at DomainFest, with an even more spirited Q&A session.

It got interesting when Vaynerchuk predicted that the value of a good domain name will go down over the next decade or two as the importance of having a good domain name goes down.

Vaynerchuk thinks that the importance of domain names is being eroded by other platforms such as apps. To some people, the value of getting a good app name is more notable than a good domain name.

While most of us still buy stuff through websites, our kids might be completely comfortable buying stuff through apps instead of websites.

Let me be clear regarding what he conveyed.

First, he wasn’t saying the value of .com’s will go down in the wake of fresh TLDs. He was speaking regarding domains in general.

Second, he’s predicting a slow devaluation and doesn’t think the importance of a good domain will go completely away. He stated he’s not predicting domain names will go the way of the dodo bird.

There was quite a bit of back-and-forth regarding this with follow on questions from the audience. Aren’t apps a closed ecosystem? Won’t certain platforms go the way of MySpace? (At the same time, I heard some A-Mens in the audience in response to Vaynerchuk’s prediction.)

Perhaps. But Vaynerchuk’s real message was this: don’t romanticize the past of your business. Just since something worked 5 or 10 years ago doesn’t mean it will work in the future. You have to constantly change as the world changes, and sitting back on your laurels is a sure fire way to lose in the long run.

Vaynerchuk also noted it’s just his prediction and he could be wrong. And since the session was recorded, we’ll be able to replay it 10 or 20 years from now and see if his prediction comes true.