When writing about domain name values stick to what you know

One of the most common pieces of advice giving to writers is to write what you know.

I often find when those not familiar with domain names or the business of domain names write about them, they miss the mark.

Searching for something else on Google I came across an article from the Washington Post.

Labeled under economic policy, the article was titled, “I have a domain name to sell you’ is a terrible business proposition”

According to the author Wonk blog was communicating with an individual that was trying to sell them two domain names.

Wonk blog was publishing daily posts under the title of “Best Sentences”

The gentleman who described himself as an ideas man, offered the domain names bestsentence.com and bestsentences.com for $30,000.

Lydia Pillis thought the idea could possibly work but it was a terrible strategy.

Why?

Because Lydia believed the Internet was going to change big time with the introduction of new gtlds.

Lydia immediately went to the anti domain investor handbook. Calling legitimate domain investors, registering generic domain names like BestSentence.com.

Here was the quote:

Since the Internet was born, individuals and businesses have been bedeviled by cybersquatters — opportunists who buy up hundreds, even thousands, of URLs at rock-bottom prices and then sell them to the highest bidder, or extort protection money from people who fear the domain names will be used to besmirch their own names.

Yeah not so much, I would think the Washington Post should be educating their employees on the definition of extortion.

It then occurred to those at Wonk blog they could run with the idea proposed without paying $30,000. They could just register BestSentences.net, or BestSentenc.es.

The article goes on to talk about the introduction of new gtlds and how they will change things.

Then we got this statement that has not aged well, like some of these statements.

Having thousands of potential top level domains available brings the unique value of any one domain name down to almost nothing

Then added, “That means the end of cybersquatting as we know it.”

The article ended with this gem,

When ICANN eliminates scarcity, though, he won’t be able to charge anybody else for that undeveloped, formerly valuable piece of Internet real estate.

Lydia no longer works at The Washington Post, Wonk blog was shut down and having thousands of new gtlds has not brought the value of any one domain down to nothing.