The Domain Market Economy

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech

I have written extensively in this column regarding the relative prospects of the success of the (upwards) of 1000 new domain name extensions. Many new domain name extensions have been introduced and many more are yet to be introduced. We now have .buzz, .events, .guru and .loans and soon we will see .web, .shop and .app and many, many more.

Who will be the winners and losers of the new domain name extensions in the end?  Well the answer is that only the free markets of the market economy will decide. 

Here is a great definition of the "Free Market" from Wikipedia.org:


A free market is a market system in which the prices for goods and services are set freely by consent between sellers and consumers, in which the laws and forces of supply and demand are free from any intervention by a government, price-setting monopoly, or other authority. A free market contrasts with a controlled market or regulated market, in which government intervenes in supply and demand through non-market methods such as laws creating barriers to market entry or directly setting prices.

Also regarding the "Market Economy" from Wikipedia.org:

A Market economy is an economy in which decisions regarding investment, production and distribution are based on supply and demand,^[1] and prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system.^[2] The major defining characteristic of a market economy is that decisions on investment and the allocation of producer goods are mainly made through markets.^[3] This is contrasted with a planned economy, where investment and production decisions are embodied in a plan of production.

Why do I take the time to post what are generally well known definitions of well known market dynamics?

The answer is that because the winners and losers of the new domain name extensions will be chosen just like any other free market venture. Through the free market economy.

In my previous column titled One Thousand Splinternets,  I speculated regarding an imaginary conversation taking place around the water cooler say 10 years from now. The point of the exercise was to demonstrate some of the inherent potential of  just a very few of the new 1000 domain name extensions that are flooding the marketplace as we speak.

From this column:


Imagine if you will the following conversation taking place between three friends at the water cooler in say 20 years from now:

Mary: I haven't heard anything from Steve in a while. Someone told me that he's spending all of his time on .web. You know, the Google owned Splinternet that offers free domain names and free websites. Apparently nearly everything is free there. Free and easy. Just like the 1960's. No wonder Steve likes it there. He never grew out of the sixties and I guess he met a girl on .web. I wouldn't take much of anything seriously that goes on there though.You get what you pay for right?
 
Joe:  I know what your saying. For me I've been using .secure for almost everything. With the encryptions and extra security measures that they take with all of the sites there. I've been thinking that I may just do everything there. That domain is growing so rapidly they say once you try it you wont use anything else.  However, I do use .bank for all of my banking and financial stuff. I do like that too. My wife likes .books, .music and .apps. I'm not really interested. However, they say the apps at .secure are like Fort Knox as far as security goes. So I use some of them.
 
Johnny: All I can say is thank God for .com. With all of these splinternets and new domain name extensions popping up like candy I think we could all go crazy if it weren't for the old standby .com. Dot com is still the standard bearer of everything that is on the Internet. Good, bad and indifferent. Dot com keeps taking these pot shots from the new domain extensions and keeps coming back stronger than ever. I'll take .com anyday and that is all that I need. I has everything that I need and everything that I don't need and sometimes sample if you know what I mean.
 
Mary: I'm with you on .com however I do have a confession to make. I probably spend 80% of my time on .shop. The way that they have integrated all of the shops and malls there the last I heard they had 100,000 stores and counting. Their top stores are apparently JC Penny and Best Buy. Who would have guessed that?  They also have this really  neat point system where you get points for buying at any shop there. The savings are unbelievable.  I heard on the news the other day that .shop was projected to overtake Amazon in overall sales by 2025. Wouldn't that be something. They have alot more than shopping as well. Just about anything related to it.
 
Joe: My nephew tried to get on the Chinese Splinternet just for the fun of it. Then he found out that it's all in Chinese and you need permission from the Chinese Government or or something like that. I guess its bigger than all of the other Internets added together. Too bad its so isolated.
 
Mary: Well back to work for me. Just between the three of us I may be taking a job with the .shop homeworker program. With their direct selling and network marketing programs, I earn points from everyone that I recruit as well. I can cash out the points for a discount and I am making more money there than I do here.
 
Johnny: Good for you Mary.
 
Joe: Maybe I can get a job with .secure.

The Dot Com Kingdom

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech 

This is just a reminder to the participants of the upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions being released into the wild of the Internet. I have been beating my drum for a long time about the importance of the .com extension to the Internet and this is another take.

I do keep an eye on the teletype for the posted domain name sales each week across the Internet. There are some very interesting trends continuing. Especially with the ongoing gradual release of upwards of 1000 new domain extensions. The most interesting is that .com domain names are holding their values. That is quite interesting with the new domain name extensions (and direct competition for .com) gradually being introduced. 

Domain names are and will continue to be critical to the smooth functioning and access to the Internet. From the mechanical perspective domain names are necessary for the average person to get to a specific destination on the Internet. Whether that be a web page, a blog or something else. Domain names represent the intersection of the real world and the Internet. Domain names facilitate that interaction. That connection point. A doorway to the Internet if you will.

Now of course, .com is an abbreviation for dot commercial. Let's take a look at the definition of commercial from Dictionary.com. The first and most simple definition as it is most relevant.

From Dictionary.com:

com·mer·cial

[kuh-mur-shuhl] Show IPA adjective
1.
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of commerce.

Now, what is the Dictionary.com definition of Commerce?

com·merce

[kom-ers] Show IPA noun
1.
an interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale between different countries (foreign commerce) or between different parts of the same country (domestic commerce) trade; business. 2.
social relations, especially the exchange of views, attitudes, etc.

So, the definition of commerce (.com)- covers pretty much all of what we all do on the Internet. That includes all business, social networking, blogging, news reading, music/media downloading, and just plain old communicating (such as email, texting, twitter, chat etc.)

The next time you hear that .com is the overwhelming favorite of domain name buyers, investors and users- you will know exactly why.

Dot com (.com) or the term "commercial" is synonymous with the Internet.

How do you compete with that?

Domain Name Valuation

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech 

What is a given domain name worth?

There are a number of automated domain name valuation tools on the market and many of them are free to use. Many have some real benefits and some have none. However, if you want to value a domain name for consideration of a future sale, my best advice is to toss those valuation tools out of the window.

Here are some some generally valuable qualities often found in domain names:

Keyword Rich

Short

Brandable

Generic

Descriptive

Proper Names

Geographic

Industry Wide

Memorable

 .com

But, just as old saying goes that something is worth whatever another party is willing to pay for it.  Every once in a while I see a domain name sale go accross the teletype machine that is just a real head scratcher.  Most average domainers and even the occasional hobbyist domainer know exactly what I'm talking about. For example when we see the announced sale of  something like (just an example):

BigBobsDiscount.com with a sale price of  27,000 usd.

That's just a hypothetical case and in fact that domain name is currently unregistered if anyone wants it. But my point is of course that at domain name is worth whatever another person is willing to pay for it. In this hypothetical case it would appear that someone would have a strong interest in that name. However, there are completed sales just like my example nearly every day in the domain aftermarkets. Instances where a given domain name was worth a good deal to one party and not worth much more than a registration fee to others. Happens every day.

Here are two real life recent examples from the past month (March 2016) to further illustrate my point. These names were sold on the Sedo.com Marketplace:

tekpoint.com    30,000    USD
equalityhealth.com    30,000    USD

Let me see if I can construct another hypothetical example that will illustrate my point. Lets say a new domain name registrar is launching as many are right now. The company has millions of dollars in resources for their venture and wants the perfect name. They consult with naming companies and utilize their own experts. The name they come up with is Namesaur.com (pronounced like dinosaur).  Now lets say that name is registered (it actually isn't). But lets say that it is registered. How much is this new hundred million dollar venture willing to pay for that domain name? The answer could be quite a bit.

If the seller doesn't know the identity of the buyer then they might let the name go for a lesser fee. What would the seller hold out for if they knew who they were dealing/negotiating with? If they knew they were dealing with a large venture with nearly unlimited resources? The lesson here is to of course do your research. No matter which side of the negotiation fence you are on.

Or maybe you just think that you have this domain name that is a fantastic name.  A name that will ultimately sell for xxx,xxx or whatever. If that is the case, then hold out for the price that you want. It may take you 5, 10 or 20 years to sell the domain, however when you do, and you get your price-you'll be glad that you held out for your asking price.

Negotiating the sale and settling on a sale price are arts and sciences of themselves. I won't get into that here. My only point is that in this mythical case, you have a registration fee domain (currently unregistered) that could ultimately be worth a good deal of money- in the right situation, at the right time with the right parties involved.

And just maybe, if you hold out for your top price, (even if it takes years) you'll get the jackpot that you have dreamed about. As beauty has always been and will remain in the eye of the beholder. 

The Great Domain Name Lottery

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Mainstreaming Domain Names

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech

Verisign has recently released their latest quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief covering the 4th quarter of 2015. The operator of the .com and .net registries reported that the year ended with approximately 314 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of approximately 15 million domains over the previous quarter. 

Considering that there are over 7 billion people currently living on the earth, the figure of a 314 million domain registration count is actually quite miniscule.

So, how many email addresses are there in the world? I have no idea and no one else does either. However, I would hazard a guess that the figure is in the multiple of billions. How many telephone numbers are there currently in use in the world? Someone probably does know that number- however I'm going to guess it's in the multiple of billions as well.

And only 314 million registered domain names and counting?

Will the domain name registration numbers ever change to more of a "mass appeal" type level?


If so, the main catalyst will be ICANN's (The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) ongoing introduction of upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions onto the global marketplace. Extensions such as the following are proposed along with many more:

.app, .book, .car, .deal, .eco, .fun, .green, .home, .inc, .kids, .law, .mail, .news, .online, .pets, .radio, .sale, .security, .shop, .tickets, .web, and zip. (No to mention nearly 1000 more proposed extensions.)

What impact are the new domain extensions going to have on the average Joe or Jane Internet user?

It could ultimately be big.

Domain names represent the intersection of the Internet and the real world. They always have done this and they will always do that. At one level, domain names are how we communicate with the Internet. They are also identifiers. They identify a location on the Internet. Quite literally, domain names are Internet addresses. By the way, how many physical addresses are their in the world. As in places we live?

Let's see there are castles, mansions, towers, homes, houses, apartments, flats, cabins, cabanas, tree houses, shacks, hovels, tenements, tents, YMCA's, homeless shelters, and bridge abutments to name a few. Not necessarily in that order. Those are our residences. The places we live. How many residences are there in the wide wonderful world?

Billions.

How many Internet addresses will there ultimately be? The places that we all will live on the world wide web?

Billions again?

Keep in mind of course that much of the world is not on the Internet yet. However, that is rapidly changing. India. China. South America. Africa. They are all getting on board at a hyper accelerated pace.

Now my final question.

How long before everyone has an Internet domain name of their own?

Or several? Or hundreds? Or thousands as many current domain investors do?

So let me get my math straight. Seven billion people on earth. A large majority of them ultimately getting involved with the Internet in some way. Masses of people buying domain names and using them in hundreds of different ways (many of the uses likely to not have been invented or created yet.)

What will ultimately happen to the domain name markets?

What will happen is that domain name registration numbers may ultimately accelerate and explode and we could be counting the total number of domain registrations in the billions. The early years of domain names and a measly 314  million total registrations will soon be a distant memory as we all look back and wonder why domain names didn't catch on sooner.

The Wild West All Over Again?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech 


Have We Seen This All Before?
The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global Internet overseer, is in the process of introducing over 1000 new domain name extensions onto the global marketplace. The largest ever domain name expansion. Over 1000 new domain name applications were received by ICANN. Some of the new applicants are .art, .book, .buy, .cloud, .credit, .email, .game, .home, .hotel, .law, .money, .news, .pay, .run, .team, .web and on and on.

Like it or not, domain names are a significant part of all of our lives. What will this dramatic domain name expansion mean to all of us? More importantly, what will the expansion mean to the Internet architecture, marketplace and economy? How will the expansion roll out? How will it play out? What will it mean for the future of the Internet?

Or even more interestingly, have we seen this all before?


There is a famous phrase which is a quotation from William Shakespeare that says "The Past is Prologue." The phrase means that history influences and sets the context for the present and future. I wanted to test this premise in comparing the ongoing  launch of upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions with the wild, wild west of the American Frontier.

Many are asking what will become of all of these new domain name extensions? How will the new domain name extensions be utilized? What will the domain extensions be marketed for? How will the newly registered names be valued? What will the names be worth?

I would like to show you a description from Wikipedia.org of the "Wild West" in the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century on Wikipedia:

"Frontier history tells the story of the creation and defense of communities, the use of the land, the development of markets, and the formation of states." They explain, "It is a tale of conquest, but also one of survival, persistence, and the merging of peoples and cultures that gave birth and continuing life to America."[1] Through treaties with foreign nations and native tribes, political compromise, military conquest, establishment of law and order, building farms, ranches and towns, marking trails and digging mines, and pulling in great migrations of foreigners, the United States expanded from coast to coast fulfilling the dreams of Manifest destiny.

So how does this wild west comparison hold up in relation to ICANNs current and ongoing release of upwards of 1000 domain name extensions? There is a compelling argument that the best comparison for domain name development and growth is the value of physical land over time. Most property/land values have gradually increased over time in the contiguous United States. That is not a straight line graph and it is not month by month, year by year or decade by decade. There are too many variables to compute into the equation as to how a certain piece of land is valued over time at given points in time. However, I can say that most property/land values have gradually increased over time. Is this what is likely to happen with the new top level domain names?

Using the wild west for comparison to domain names is a terrific guideline in many ways. For example, think of the known land mass and comparative values in the America in the second half of the nineteenth century. The known available property/land was smaller (and valued at pennies on the dollar) compared to the known land mass in America today. What would the frontiersmen of the wild west have said at that time- if you told them you were going to multiply the total land mass available for usage by one hundred? Would they have thought that land would be terrifically valuable or would they have thought that there was too much land and the sheer volume of land would make the land in many cases nearly worthless (not worth the trouble to maintain and pay for)? Jump ahead a few hundred years and what is much of that "worthless" land worth now? What new uses were developed or discovered for much of that land that was seen of little value at one time? How many people would be interested in the property- and how is that figure continuing to multiply. How is the population effecting the value of the now scarce land/space.

The success of each individual gTLD (domain name extension) will of course largely be influenced by many prevailing factors that have the ability to influence their success or failure. Just as with physical land. There is plenty of physical property/land that was once highly valued and is now worthless due to contamination, tapped out resources, flooding, the economy, regulations, mismanagement, wars etc. The same will be with the new gTLDs. Many factors will have impact on the individual gTLDs success or failure including who is managing the property and how it is managed (the individual domain registries in this case). However, as a group or mass of names-starting with upwards of 1000 new gTLDs and potentially thousands and thousands more. The value of many of the gTLDs will increase over time. Some gTLDs will succeed. Some will fail. 

WHOIS Records: The Advertising that Isn't.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech 

Ever wonder how much information is garnered from your domain name WHOIS records by other parties who are potential strategic partners? Information that probably inadvertently ends up promoting and reinforcing positive information about you or your business? (or reflecting negatively?)  I don't market or advertise my business through the WHOIS directory. In fact you can't. That's against ICANN regulations. See an excerpt from the ICANN website below:

From the Whois Marketing Restriction Policy (from ICANN Website)

1) Section 3.3.6.3 will be replaced with the following language:

"Registrar's access agreement shall require the third party to agree not to use the data to allow, enable, or otherwise support any marketing activities, regardless of the medium used. Such media include but are not limited to e-mail, telephone, facsimile, postal mail, SMS, and wireless alerts."

That's all fine and good. In fact, I've never heard of anyone violating that policy and I'm sure if they did that it was corrected fairly rapidly. If a domain owner were called on using the WHOIS improperly all they would have to do is to change the improper data (through the registry). Something that takes I'd say between 10 seconds and one minute on a bad day.  Also, if the registrar or ICANN didn't like the entry I believe it wouldnt be allowed from the start (due to improper format) or it would be taken down. Not a big deal. Everyone knows that the WHOIS records do serve many valuable purposes and one of them is not for advertising.

However, as is often the case. Something funny happened along the path of good intentions. What happened is that many domain name owners are able to garner a tremendous amount of benefit from their WHOIS records. 

First of all, let me say a few things about WHOIS  privacy protection services. They are great services and quite valuable in certain circumstances. However, most of the parties who use them probably shouldn't. These services are largely overused and many parties could be garnering significant benefits from disclosing their WHOIS information for that particular domain name. They may be trying to be secretive, defensive or strategic. However, generally all they are accomplishing is  sacrificing  potential gains and strategic advantages that they could get from disclosing the records or providing information about them or their company that may benefit them in numerous ways.

What advantages could they gain from disclosing the records?

Without getting into the individual minutia of each WHOIS record detail. I'll elaborate on a few key pieces of standard/required WHOIS data/records:

Your Domain Name: If your company name is not Google, Facebook or Yahoo you might consider getting a great domain name. (i.e. sought after, interesting etc.) You will find that many, many people will end up finding your business by looking up your domain name WHOIS records first- or looking up the domain name/site and then seeking out the WHOIS record. It's easy to overlook that your domain name is such a critical aspect of the WHOIS record. However it is through the domain name that the WHOIS records is found. It is through the WHOIS record that information about the domain name and ownership records is found.  In my book, that's free advertising.  Much of the information garnered from the WHOIS records is used for further inquiry into your company, business and you. There are many tools around the Internet that allow for example to find how many domain names your company does own and what they are, how many domain names do you personally own, and what additional business enterprises, services or legal issues you or your company have been involved with?

Your Name: Whether you use your name, an employees name, full name, initials, administrators name, nickname etc. What you put here for data reflects strongly on you. Professional "Name Analysts" could go on for days here regarding what you put here and what it means to who. I'll leave that analysis to you and just suggest that you think carefully what you put here.

Address: Same considerations here. Do you use a PO box, physical address, home address, corporate address or whatever. What you put here reflects on how you go about doing business.

Phone Number: Make sure it works. Make sure it doesnt go to a funky voicemail. What image does the voicemail portray? Maybe generic (electronic), professional or personal. Whatever you want.

Email address: Same standards apply here. Make sure its active. Is it a corporate address, work address, personal address, domain name address (if it is, what is the username?) or Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook address. Each says something about you and your business. As you username does as well.

None of that sounds like much. However, the point I'm making is that people do get information from your WHOIS records. Many more people than you probably think. (unless of course you track that- as some do and there are tools readily available to do that). Much of the information can be used in some fashion for strategic purposes.  Much of the data is used to do research on you, your company, and your history etc. What do you want people to find out about you- and how will that information benefit your business or you strategically? It's something to think about.

Tagline Ads: Will Native Ads Take the Day?

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo
xtradot.com and tagline.tech 

It is very possible that the advent of adblocker apps will drive a shift towards more native advertising or sponsored posts (i.e. tagline ads). Whereas websites place advertorial style content in editorial posts with disclosure regarding what is paid for. Yes, the ad blocker apps are a direct attack on Googles  revenue platform. However, tagline ads could be the beneficiary of the ad block apps. Adblock apps and browsers don't block domain names. Domain name are integral to every website and location on the Internet. Domain names represent the addressing system of the Internet. 

Tagline ads can  be described simply as follows.

1. Tagline ads are domain names. (first, second, third, fourth level et al.)
2. Tagline ads are also taglines created with domain names. 
3. Tagline ads are the most successful when used as links.    

You see tagline ads are nothing more than creative use of the existing domain name system. Tagline ads utilize sub domains. Subdomains are extensions of your domain name that you can forward to URLs or point to IP addresses. 

For example this is a domain name formulated as a tagline ad:

boston.real.estate.finance

Whereas .finance is the first level domain. estate(second level) real (third level) boston (fourth level) et al.  


Tagline ads can be a form of native advertising that encompasses the various channels and methods of advertising along with utility of use and economy of  use. (easy to use and economical).



Here are some sample tagline ads that I put together using the new domain name extensions. Using your domain name administration panel there is no limit to the number of words that could use to develop your own personalized tagline:

not your.fathers.tube
linking.moms.online
the.john.and.mary.taylor.band
the.coffee.thats.seattles.best
detroits.working.man.beer
get.fast.at.lake.williams.bike
get.capetown.buzz
hawaii.waist.watchers.camp
join.the.artificial.intelligence.club
western.world.artisan.community
we.are.just.that.cool
sarahs.elegant.design
dont.diet.with.the.no.diet.diet
a.leader.in.skateboard.science
euro.camp.soccer
miami.guitar.lesson.guru
the.surfing.life
free.original.jamestown.pizza
play.your.highest.level.tennis
rated.best.charlestown.tours
rent.french.villas
view.chicago.home.properties

A few more examples of business/advertising tagline ads:

miami.seaside.rentals
best.frozen.pizza 
return.to.seventies.fashion
bostons.original.beer
earn.extra.cash
seattle.bike.guru
the.freelancers.web
fantasy.sports.lovers.club
best.scallops.online
get.your.free.artisan.website
maine.made.shop
super.secret.deals
home.and.hearth.design
local.lawn.and.garden.help
gluten.free.market
small.town.lawyer 

And just a few opportunities for linking from the tagline ad:

website
web page
blog
Twitter page
You Tube site
Instagram
Linkedin
your store or shop
social cause
political cause
political campaigns
sports teams
clubs and other groups etc.

Our digital tagline, tagline ad and dot slogan registry is here: tagline.tech

Digital Taglines, Tagline Ads and Dot Slogans: The Language of Domains.

By Duane J. Higgins, ceo 

xtradot.com and tagline.tech 

There are the beginnings of a "buzz" around the Internet regarding a new domain name usage that has potential to be truly explosive. 

Digital taglines,  tagline ads and dot slogans are an innovative domain name application that offer an array of new advertising, promotional and marketing channels for the Internet marketer and individual alike.

The impetus for this development of the domain name taglines has been that the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is facilitating the ongoing release of upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions. First we had .com, .net, .org and a handful of other domain name extensions. We now have or will soon have .app, .blog, .buzz, .guru, .fun, .group, .fashion, .love, .music, .news, .deals, .play, .shop, .sport, .video, .web, .club, .design, .flowers, .cool, .tube and on and on.

From day one the Internet has been "aflutter" with methods and strategies that we all use for location, identification, promotion and linking. From the individual to the corporation.  With the evolution of the Internet and how that medium is integrated into all of our lives- many identification techniques have been created over time. To name a few we have real names, user names. handles, email, screen names. aliases, domain names, web pages, urls, blog names, phone numbers and on and on.

So with the expanded opportunities for Internet domain name extensions available I wanted to talk about these new alternative and expanded uses for domain names: Domain Name taglines.
  
The definition of the tagline from Wikipedia.org is here: In entertainment, a tagline (or tag line[1][2]) is a small amount of text which serves to clarify a thought for, or designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, social group, or product. As a variant of a branding slogan, taglines can be used in marketing materials and advertising.

Also from Wikipedia: A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose.

Digital taglines are nothing more than creative use of the existing domain name system. Domain name taglines utilize sub domains. Subdomains are extensions of your domain name that you can forward to URLs or point to IP addresses.  Sub-domains are nothing new. You will see many companies use them to indicate specialized sections of their website or for another purpose. Sub domains can easily be set up within the domain name administration panel. 

According to Wikipedia.org:

A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain; the only domain that is not also a subdomain is the root domain.^[1] For example, west.example.com and east.example.com are subdomains of the example.com domain, which in turn is a subdomain of the com top-level domain (TLD).  

Following are a few examples of domain taglines for demonstration purposes only.  Note the dots between each word.

street.actor
skateboard.style
detroit.sexy
epic.rugby    
pocket.cash
davis.rocks
football.life    
gifted.one    
joseph.cool    
fearless.fashion    
bostons.best    
coding.guru
bostons.best
Digital taglines or dot slogans are not limited to two words. Here are a few examples or longer ones:

smash.mouth.rugby
your.country.cool
get.phone.cash
mary.baker.does.rock
seattle.bike.guru
not.your.fathers.sport 
only.the.best.deals

You get the idea. With upwards of 1000 new domain name extensions currently being launched the possibilities are literally endless.
 
Expanded uses far beyond traditional domain names. 
The best way to think of a domain tagline is much like a Twitter handle. 

Only more like a phone number or email address.

The digital tagline affords the user opportunities for identification, branding, self expression and linking to other locations around the Internet.

I should note that the domain tagline is always a domain name. For example: football.life and bostons.best can be domain name taglines. They are also domain names.
 

However, a domain name is not necessarily a digital tagline.

Digital taglines also have the following uses and more:

Embedding in websites for marketing and SEO purposes (search engine optimization)
Traditional advertising
Digital advertising
Text and SMS marketing 

We have begun experimentation with embedding digital taglines into our own websites. These taglines can serve as a stand alone entity (and be used for advertising purposes) or you can link from there to another location on your site or another site entirely.

Digital taglines can also be used as an advertisement unto themselves (i.e. tagline ads).


It is very possible that the advent of adblocker apps will drive a shift towards more native advertising or sponsored posts (i.e. tagline ads). Whereas websites place advertorial style content in editorial posts with disclosure regarding what is paid for. Yes, the ad blocker apps are a direct attack on Googles  revenue platform. However, tagline ads could be the beneficiary of the ad block apps. Adblock apps and browsers don't block domain names. Domain name are integral to every website and location on the Internet. Domain names represent the addressing system of the Internet. 


Tagline ads can be a form of native advertising that encompasses the various channels and methods of advertising along with utility of use and economy of  use. (easy to use and economical).


The digital tagline can be used anywhere that a domain name could be used and anywhere that a hashtag could be used and beyond. (We all know what hashtags are. They provide a way for social media users to tag their posts with keywords, which in turn make it easier for social networks to organize the information and for users to search.)

Think of digital taglines being attached to social media posts. (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) Remember that if you use the tagline you can then connect the tagline (string) to any other site or location that you want because the tagline is actually a domain name. Or you may just use the tagline as an identifier for you.

Digital taglines can be used in the body of any sms/text message. Allowing the user to include their tagline in the body of the text and consequently link to where you choose (or not).
Domain taglines can also be used for vanity email. For example: john@coding.guru

Digital Tagline vernacular can be integrated into everyday language just as the term "hashtag" is often used relating to social media posts. For example sleek.style would be pronounced sleek (dot) style. yoga.gal would be yoga (dot) gal and on and on. Further integrating the use of taglines into popular media and culture.

You could of course buy, sell and trade digital taglines. Much like what is done with domain names. Domain name marketplaces are numerous and already designed to trade and deal in virtual taglines and dot slogans.

Remember that every tagline is unique. This gives the tagline unique value. Unique to you. Your brand. Your online identity. However you wanted to look at it and use it.  No two would be the same.  (by the way, the uniqueness is what makes domain names so valuable to begin with). The value is in the differentiation. The uniqueness. The originality. The unique value that can not be replicated. For example. Capital.com is probably worth several million dollars. What do you think Captial.com is worth? (note the misspelling) Virtually nothing. Those value differentiations could apply to taglines as well.

There will soon be 1000 new domain name extensions. Certain domain extensions would certainly be "grooved" for virtual tagline marketing. Some of those were listed above such as: .app, .blog, .best, .buzz, .guru, .group, .fashion, .love, .music, .news, .one, .deals, .play, .shop, .sport, .video, .web, .club, .design, .flowers, .green, .cool, .tube and on and on.

So I did find it more than interesting that on (May 11, 2015) when news came out in various news channels that Facebook is testing its own in-app search engine. An application that will allow users to post links in their status updates. Without having to visit Google or another search engine.  The way it works is that users will see an "add a link" option next to buttons to add photos or other information.  I'm sure Facebook will be providing more information on this potential Google killer as we move forward. As I have mentioned domain taglines are nothing more than links. Links that either identify yourself with an Internet identity or brand or carry you to another location on the Internet. Just as most other domain names do.

There is also a very interesting recent article (by Barry Swartz) found in Search Engine Land.  According to the article:

"Google Confirms New Experiment with Twitter in Search Results."

According to this article Google is expected to begin showing Twitter content in search this month.

Google is apparently finally making use of the new deal it signed with Twitter to put tweets into Google’s search results. The company confirmed a “small experiment” that some are seeing in the search results.

Is this "small experiment" the beginning of something big and potentially the impetus for digital taglines, dot slogans and tagline ads to ingrain themselves into Twitter, social media and popular culture?


If you are interested you may visit our domain name tagline, virtual tagline tagline ad and dot slogan registry here:

tagline.tech