That .Com is Still King — Two Reminders
What a baseball game and radio show remind us regarding domain names.
Last night I watched the Cardinals play the Phillies on ESPN. Play-by-play announcer Jon Miller mentioned a .tv web site (I think it was MLB.tv) and sidekick Joe Morgan chimed in “dot tv? I didn’t know there was a .tv.”
Then this morning I was listening to the radio and a guest was promoting a gala her nonprofit was holding this weekend. She told the audience of tens of thousands that they could buy tickets at nonprofitname.com. She even repeated the address with .com a second time. A couple minutes later she stated “I need to make a correction. Our web site is actually nonprofitname.org.
What do these two incidents tell us regarding .com and domain names? .Com is ingrained in our heads. It’s our default, and it would take a long time to change that. But little by little alternative extensions are gaining acceptance. The fact that the conversation regarding .tv took place on ESPN is an example; people are getting introduced to these extensions. But very slowly. Following all, .tv has been out for nearly a decade.
With dozens (perhaps hundreds) of so-called “vanity TLDs” on the horizon, it will become even harder for these alternatives to gain traction and rise above the noise. That only reinforces the value of .com.
