Something seems to be in the air in March as I’m noticing quite a few stories that seem to really miss the mark when it comes to understanding the domain industry. Earlier today, DarkReading published an article titled, Are You Prepared for a Zombie (Domain) Apocalypse?
Which in all honestly, does sound pretty darn scary. Until you hear what they mean by a Zombie (Domain) Apocalypse.
They mean, people simply buying expired domains. This is something me and many other domain name investors have done for years. This article makes it sound like anyone who buys expired domains is a shady figure looming in the shadows.
“When a domain registration expires, they can be claimed by new owners. And sometimes, those new owners have malicious intent.” (Source – DarkReading)
Spooky. The reality is, people registering expired domains aren’t usually a big problem online. Like anything in life, a bad person doing something a normal person does can go bad easily. Have a criminal (let’s say someone running a meth lab) moves into a suburban neighborhood and starts a “Breaking Bad” style drug house…well that doesn’t mean that we now should believe that everyone moving into suburban homes is running a drug ring.
The domain name world has long been both not understood and misunderstood. This article highlights another pretty big misunderstanding. The reality is, most people have no idea that you can just buy expired domain names. The people out there registering expired domains are often just investors, not nefarious criminals.
Hey, there are even blogs and newsletters focused on highlighting opportunities in the expired domain market. They aren’t there to support scammers and criminals, they’re supporting investors, just like a real estate investor or stock investor would share places to get good deals on either of those assets.
The silver lining for all of us who choose domain names as an asset class is, the rest of the world still hasn’t quite figured out what we do yet…and maybe that’s okay.
What do you think? I want to hear from you, comment and let your voice be heard!
