Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Cambridge, UK
    Posts
    471

    The future of .tv domains - safe?

    So the true TLD's such as .com, .net, .org and even the likes of .eu, .info
    We all know where we stand with them.
    If we market a site around such a domain the chances are that years down the line the domains will be safe and if you've marketed well then everyone will be happy.
    If it fails then it is your own fault, the domain name is probably not your failing point.

    However, just how safe is it building a product, service or something around a .tv domain?
    At the moment the .tv domain is prety open, anyone can grab one and for the right product or service you could say it is ideal.
    However as we know .tv is really nothing more than a country code assigned to Tuvalu and people have just seen the potential revenue flow from using it.
    As far as I know there would be nothing to stop the island of Tuvalu in 6 months time saying a new T&C is you have to live on the island and whats more we want all the domains we've currently registered back.
    That would leave some people potentially in trouble.

    So what are peoples opinions on this?
    Is it safe at all marketing anything around a .tv domain (even if it is the perfect domain "tail" for the product/service) or is it nothing more than a calculated risk?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,042
    AFAIK the government of Tuvalu has entered into a fairly long-term contract with Verisign to run their ccTLD for them, and as they are making a lot of money out of this it is not very likely that they would suddenly go back on this. The only danger with .tv is that Tuvalu could end up being swallowed by the sea if global warming continues (and yes, this is a real possibility!).

    However, as a general rule... yes, you do take a bit of a risk if you design your corporate identity around another country's ccTLD. Moldova (.md) was trying to market itself as the TLD for medical doctors, and that all went wrong. Marketing .la as dot-Los-Angeles went wrong first time round, though the idea got resurrected by a different company a few years later. And of course there was the "uk.co as an alternative to co.uk" saga... people weren't even told that they were registering their name in Colombia, and when the .co registry pulled the plug on uk.co many UK companies disappeared off the web.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Mexico
    Posts
    1,762
    Other problem with TV is price, too.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Posts
    199
    $24.95 at enom.tv
    $39.99 at godaddy (27.99 with promo code)
    $32.99 at moniker

    common dictionary word which fits extension has reselling value

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    3,797
    Quote Originally Posted by Lubeca
    The only danger with .tv is that Tuvalu could end up being swallowed by the sea if global warming continues (and yes, this is a real possibility!).
    I'm actually more concerned about human disasters like a military coup. With small (I mean REALLY small) countries like Tuvalu, you don't even need any weapon of mass destruction to wipe out the entire territory. Therefore their contract with Verisign is little more than just a piece of paper. By the way, I think Verisign is a bigger entity than Tuvalu (in terms of annual revenue for example). I won't be a bit surprised if the latter becomes the first privatized country on earth (bought out financially e.g. by the former). LOL!
    Co-Founder @HostHideout. Profoundly influenced by #Bauhaus, @Nameslave unrepentantly embraces #Minimalism with a bias for functionality, color theory and pixel precision: a #multimedia messenger in the McLuhan sense. His totally irrelevant M.Ed. dissertation examines Organizational Culture and Change Management. He also likes Patrik Ervell, Wong Kar-wai and IKEA.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Cambridge, UK
    Posts
    471
    Thanks for the opinions.
    I honestly cannot go into any details as to why I'm asking this question at the moment - it is extremely confidential within the company I work for.
    The main reason I ask is that something I will no doubt be heavily involved with (being the IT Manager) is currently being built around a .tv domain.
    I have put forward the recommendation that although it does seem to fit perfectly it may not be the best option.

    They want to simply do something.tv
    I am saying they maybe better off doing:
    somethingtv.com
    somethingtv.co.uk
    somethingtv.de

    And so on as these would appear safer domain names - even if in the future country codes weren't available at least they would still have their TLD's to fall back on.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    London, United Kingdom
    Posts
    4,455
    No ccTLD is same from governmental decisions - see the .uk.co debacle for more history lessons.

    Its as safe as any other ccTLD, and even .com/net arent necessarily immune to policy alterations.
    Rob Golding Astutium Ltd - UK based ICANN Accredited Domain Registrar - proud to accept BitCoins
    Buying Web Hosts and Domain Registrars Today @ hostacquisitions.co.uk
    UK Web Hosting | UK VPS | UK Dedicated Servers | ADSL/FTTC | Backup/DR | Cloud
    UK Colocation | Reseller Accounts | IPv6 Transit | Secondary MX | DNS | WHMCS Modules

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    3,797
    Quote Originally Posted by othellotech
    Its [sic] as safe as any other ccTLD, and even .com/net arent necessarily immune to policy alterations.
    I must say that some ccTLDs are *more* equal than the others. .de and .ca are definitely "safer", not only because they are way much more stable, politically, economically and socially, but also because they have a democratic political system that forbids policy change with any overnight personal or group preference.
    Co-Founder @HostHideout. Profoundly influenced by #Bauhaus, @Nameslave unrepentantly embraces #Minimalism with a bias for functionality, color theory and pixel precision: a #multimedia messenger in the McLuhan sense. His totally irrelevant M.Ed. dissertation examines Organizational Culture and Change Management. He also likes Patrik Ervell, Wong Kar-wai and IKEA.

  9. #9
    .us is good too....

    Quote Originally Posted by nameslave
    I must say that some ccTLDs are *more* equal than the others. .de and .ca are definitely "safer", not only because they are way much more stable, politically, economically and socially, but also because they have a democratic political system that forbids policy change with any overnight personal or group preference.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •