The concept of domain (ing) is now shaping today’s information distribution and business industry riding on the introduction of many technological advancements on the internet. There has been a big leap from the past couple of years where the net was just seen as a tool for doing business in terms of managing employees, advertising, selling, buying and other facets of commerce.
Now, domaining is becoming an industry by itself. It is the act of monetizing in terms of selling and buying of registered domain names. Normally, the domain names engaged in this type of business are the names which are generic or are marketable in nature as well as those names that have been forgotten or unused but are still getting traffic from search engines. Some of the popular ones are .com, .org, .gov or .biz and other types which are popular by nature. “Domainers” is the term used for those people who buy, sell, or engage in any monetizing activity concerning domain names.
There have been a number of developments and improvements and some controversies as well, some more notable than others in this field. The domain tasting “5 day grace period” allowance given by the ICANN (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers) is definitely worth a mention. This involves the testing of a domain name’s marketability and is usually done by the registrant or any individual before buying it finally. The problem that arises here is that thousands are temporarily registered but only a few are given full operating licenses. The no “security” period has created issues for many businesses and there is no guarantee that a license could be issued. There is also the kiting controversy where the practitioners abused the “5 day grace period” by deleting a domain name and re-registering it for another thereby eluding payment for the service. The kiting controversy was almost considered as illegal by many.
Just last year there was a “landrush” on domain names with .asia as their extensions. This virtual time-landmark gave an opportunity for both domainers and investors to hit it big as it was the right time to professionally acquire, develop and sell domain names with the latest extension to become available in the cyber world. It should be noted though that all those who wanted to engage in this business were required to follow the strict guidance, procedures and requirements laid out in order to avoid confusion. The .asia extensions were to be given first-com-first-served basis or through an auction.
Search engines never fail in bringing up the latest in the field of ‘domaining’ and there is always something new happening almost everyday. It can be quite interesting to read some of the stories that this business throws out to its followers sometimes. Just recently we also read about how a pizza.com was sold for millions of US dollars.
All those dollar signs may actually motivate you to get involved in this business and try your luck. This will go on for as long as the internet is alive. There is always room for more and there will always be a need to house a new webpage.
