It so difficult to recall which TLDs have been applied for? — Why is

The fact that there are so many of them makes it more difficult for me to recall which ones were applied for.

I live and breathe domain names, and research what’s going on with fresh TLDs on a daily basis.

But when I’m put on the spot and people ask me for examples of some of the fresh domain names coming out, I often freeze.

I can think of a few, but following that I start questioning to myself: wait, did someone actually apply for this domain regarding regarding to mention?

Was it Boston or Chicago that is getting its own domain? Did someone end up applying for .automotive, or just .auto? Or was it .cars?

I don’t want to make a mistake and rattle off a domain that didn’t end up being applied for, especially when speaking to another reporter.

If you ask me to write a list of fresh TLDs, I can churn them out all day. But put me on the spot and it’s a bit more difficult.

I’m not the only one. Check out this recent USA Today interview with GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving. He manages to list a bunch of fresh TLDs that are coming out. But when pressed for more, he states some that aren’t in the current round.

They’re mostly near misses: photographer instead of photography, plumber instead of plumbing, etc.

Of course, near misses don’t bode well for the general public when trying to remember domains, either.

“Honey, was the plumber’s website joesmith.plumber or joesmith.plumbing?”