Fresh gTLDs is a horrible name for…Fresh gTLDs

The term means nothing to the typical internet user, let alone domain registrant.

Yesterday, Wired published an article regarding “Weird Domain Names” referring to fresh top level domain names.

While “weird domain names” certainly isn’t the name people in the domain industry would like used to refer to fresh TLDs, I think it’s actually a lot better than fresh TLDs (or fresh gTLDs). Here’s a response I made to Jeff Neuman on Twitter:

People understand “weird domain names” more than “fresh gTLDs” even if it isn’t ideal

— Reglike.com (@Reglike) December 20, 2018

I was at a party last night and discussed domain names with a couple. One of them worked for a business that sold products to veterinarians. I mentioned the .vet top level domain. But I didn’t use the term top level domain or fresh top level domain. That means nothing to most people. I typically use the term “domain extension” or sometimes “domain ending”. That makes a lot more sense to most people.

It reminds me of early in my career when I worked for a telecom firm. One of the execs was lamenting the fact that DSL revolutionized how people use the internet but the best marketing name the firm came up with was DSL.