The history of domain name development: the extension and sublimation of corporate brand value

In the year when domain names were first born, there were only 6 domain name registrations in the world. Today, after experiencing the explosion and precipitation of the Internet era and the mobile Internet era, domain names have undergone earth-shaking changes. From birth to rise, to now entering a new era, domain names have been given more meanings, but the core value has always been there.

In the front line, it is believed that in the past few decades, the development of domain names has undergone many changes, and the boundaries have been continuously extended, but its ultimate role is always the same: as the entrance to the Internet, it has become the key to present digital content and also carries the commercial value of the brand. In the future, domain names will still have investment and collection value for individuals or institutions, and domain names themselves will gradually become an important asset of the brand, especially as China's role in the world economy becomes more active.

Changes in Chinese domain names: Mother tongue becomes mainstream

Domain names, which look simple combinations of letters, have commercial value beyond letters and phrases themselves. They are by-products of the Internet and the portal to the era of traceability information.

Wang Peibi, the captain of the Internet name, is known as a big shot in the circle. He not only has a keen eye for domain name investment, but also has unique insights into the development of domain names. Listening to him share the history and stories of domain name development is like watching a blockbuster movie, which is very enjoyable.

In 1985, the first domain name was born. For a long time after that, the development of domain names was in an unknown stage, which can be called a "dormant period". Before 1995, domain name registration was free, but after 1995, domain name registration was no longer free, and the explosion of the domain name market began.

Domain names are important network portals in the digital age. They have many attributes. They are not only the basic resources of the Internet industry, but also an important embodiment of a company's brand culture, commercial value and strategic significance. my country is a big Internet country, and behind this, the enabling role of domain names is indispensable. Looking at the 20-year development history of domain names in China, we can find that a new round of transformation is taking place in the Chinese domain name market.

From the earliest beginning, China's original Internet companies imitated American Internet brands and rose up, and the use of domain names was also more Western.

For example, when JD.com first registered a domain name website, the original domain name was "360 Buy" (360buy.com), which is not very suitable for Chinese people's memory habits. Later, JD.com's domain name was changed to the full spelling "jingdong.com" and then to the current "JD.com". The evolution of domain names also shows that the Chinese domain name market is gradually returning to the mother tongue system.

Wang Peibi said that the development of domain names basically goes through a process, from imitation at the beginning to having its own local characteristics. The evolution of domain names often accompanies the growth of enterprises, and at the same time feeds back this evolution to the development of enterprises, enhancing the brand awareness of enterprises, optimizing corporate image, and improving self-commercial value.

At present, judging from the number of domain name registrations worldwide, the domain name market still maintains a relatively fast growth rate. Among them, the United States is in a leading position in the world, and China has seized the opportunity and has become the world's second largest domain name market. Especially in the field of new generic top-level domain names, the registration scale of the Chinese market continues to grow.

Returning to the mother tongue system plays a very important role in China's modernization of the economy. From single points to local areas and then to various industries, Chinese domain names are forming a complete industrial chain ecology, constantly promoting business innovation in various industries and accelerating the development of the digital economy.

Reflection on the value of domain names: Brand value that cannot be ignored

The world's first domain name is "Symbolics.com". It was acquired by the outside world after the original company retained it for 25 years. Until now, this domain name is still owned by Alan Milstead, the founder of the acquiring company.

A small domain name can become a collectible because of its special meaning, but this is only one of the manifestations of the value of the domain name. Its true meaning still exists tenaciously - shaping the brand assets and commercial value of the enterprise.

A high-quality domain name that meets the brand positioning must play a very positive role in the development of the enterprise, and in the new era of intelligence, domain names have also shown a different value.

The domain name is an important manifestation of a company's brand culture and brand value, and it is also the core point of future ecological construction. It has a guiding role in the formulation of the company's overall future strategy. A simple combination of a few letters and numbers can convey the power to influence the entire industry.

For the degree of insight into the value of domain names, companies in different industries and at different stages should use different angles to analyze.

From the perspective of industry type, Internet companies often pay more attention to the shaping of the overall brand image and gradually improve the business operations around the domain name. In most traditional industries, especially small and medium-sized physical enterprises, the importance of domain name construction is obviously lacking, and the importance of domain names is often not discovered until an important node.

From the perspective of enterprise scale, medium-sized to large enterprises will systematically plan domain names before a new business operation, and start registering domain names corresponding to businesses or products in the early stage. Generally speaking, large enterprises will acquire domain names in the mid-term stage. On the one hand, it is to improve the brand image and increase the brand value. On the other hand, it is also because the price of domain names will rise with the progress of enterprise projects. In the later stage, it will become a sky-high domain name.

In the growth process of Xiaomi, the change of domain names reflects the development direction of the entire enterprise strategy. Based on the positioning of an Internet company, Xiaomi uses "xiaomi.com" as a domain name to show brand value. In a sense, this domain name is already very consistent with the memory habits of the native language system, but with the maturity of the scale of Xiaomi mobile phones and other business forms, this domain name is difficult to meet the ever-expanding Xiaomi family.

In the era of intelligence, the core position of users is further highlighted, which also makes Internet services more and more important. The poor matching degree between domain names and corporate brands, the unsophisticated use, and the unclear meaning will directly affect the user's service experience. This is why when Xiaomi develops to a certain extent, it will change the domain name from the source, changing "xiaomi.com" to "mi.com".

"Mi" not only becomes more popular, but also promotes the formulation of Xiaomi's entire corporate strategy. By expanding "Mi" to the entire smart hardware business and establishing an integrated IoT ecosystem, the future of the Mi system will also be fully launched.

Wang Peibi used actual cases to point out the importance of domain names as the core support of the brand, and also showed the outside world the new value of domain names in the mobile Internet era.

Boundaries continue to expand: behind the continued rise in the value of domain names

In recent years, the explosion of mobile Internet has made the majority of users accustomed to using APPs, mini-programs, etc. It seems that domain names are disappearing from people's lives, but in fact, domain names are still the first portal for people to access the Internet world, and they are also the unique "equipment" for enterprises to develop, upgrade, and spread their brands.

However, overall, some enterprises and institutions still need to improve their awareness of domain names, especially in emerging fields such as digital native startups and rural e-commerce. It is imperative to improve the public's awareness of domain names. In this regard, VeriSign makes huge investments every year to improve the market's awareness of the importance of domain names, and also optimizes the domain name selection of enterprises to help enterprises take a key step.

As a reporter who has experienced several eras such as paper media, the Internet, mobile Internet and today's self-media, he has a certain understanding of the development of the media, and is also somewhat helpless.

In particular, recently, self-media platforms have been in a state of chaos and mixed (including WeChat public accounts, Weibo, Toutiao, Douyin, etc., and there are countless emerging media platforms). Although the relevant norms and systems in the industry are gradually being improved, at present, for self-media, relying on third-party platforms is not a stable choice.

From this, it is not difficult to see the importance of enterprises or individuals having an independent brand portal (traffic entrance) that is not attached to a certain Internet company. As the entrance to the Internet, the uniqueness and value of domain names are fully reflected.

The digital age is full of opportunities and challenges. Whether it is a company or an individual, the demand for domain names, especially the demand for domain names that match their own brands and businesses, has always been stable in this period, which also stimulates the continuous growth of the domain name investment market.

The reporter at Frontline has also registered several domain names, some of which are of special significance to him and have no investment value, but it is precisely this experience that made Frontline register domain names and trademarks on the first day of its establishment. Domain names are like the ID cards of a company or a person.

Overall, Frontline believes that domain names are still an important embodiment of the value of companies and individuals in the Internet era. Its own value is also heating up, and its original value is further highlighted, and it continues to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry. At present, the value of domain names is not just investment, its value has been fully extended and sublimated.