[ALAC] [GTLD-WG] [At-Large] Registrars: The new travel agents? (was Re: Amazon, Google And Others Going After Generics)

[Evan Leibovitch]

Followup:

Almost everyone in the domain industry -- based on publicity to date -- has
been following Verisign and its monetization / distribution model,
differing mainly in target audiences, services levels and choices of
partners. It's a path of tradition, not necessity, that could have looked
very different had ICANN made different priorities a decade ago. The
newcomers, absent such tradition, offer alternatives -- not replacements --
to that status quo; whether these alternatives succeed is of course far
from being determined.

Like Bret, I agree that the "domain tenancy" model is *not* a broadly
useful models. But then, it may be possible that -- like has been
envisioned for some dot-brands -- that these domains are primarily for
Amazon internal use. What if Amazon, for instance, used an entire TLD as a
basis for categorization of goods in its virtual department store? (ie
http://www.rum.beverages.food.amazon).

In any case, Amazon is not what I was referring to, in thinking about the
disruption that bothers Michele. Why did Amazon need so many nearly
identical TLDs? Not sure. Don't really care. It looks like some were purely
defensive against Google, IMO, as the domain game is sometimes less about
getting a name than preventing others from doing so (or getting in the way
such as you must be paid off for merely being involved). How many existing
applications have no intention to sell subdomains but exist for purely
speculative or defensive purposes?

But it only takes one truly disruptive TLD from amongst the hundreds to
turn the rest of the industry on its ear.

I don't have any trust at all in the "intentions" part of the applications,
since existing gTLDs have had a habit of breaking commitments in their
application when convenient, and there have been no consequences for doing
so. In other words, I'm not speculating on the future based on the content
of the applications, but rather based on the past and current behavior of
some of the applicants.

So I look at what Google and Microsoft and Apple have done to the
commercial email (ie, Lotus Notes), and GPS industries. I see how some
internet service companies don't need to directly monetize domains any more
than they monetize email, productivity applications, media players, mapping
services.or even computer operating services. It is from this history that
I see a potential future of domain industry disruption as described in my
first email.

Studying the applications will not, IMO, reveal the disruption to come.

- Evan