This week we look at BlackBerry's demise, breaking news on Google's search monopoly and ten criteria for choosing a great domain name. Read on for all this and more in the fifth instalment of Fresh Insights (delivered 24 June 2011, subscribe to get it fresh).
Domaining
10 Domain Name Criteria
Two weeks ago I wrote about how we selected the Cowritable.com domain name using several domain ranking metrics. The ten criteria we considered, sorted by importance are (your weightings will vary):
- Relevance - How relevant is it to your business? E.g. "collaborative writing"
- Uniqueness - How many Google results for a keyword search?
- Syllables - freshcode with 2 syllables is better than xjd5 with 4 syllables, even if it's longer.
- Length - Less is more.
- Spelling - No hard words. Is not rhythmmusicstore.com.
- Pronounceability - Easy to say over the phone.
- Readability - No bunched up letters, gliding or silent vowels with difficult phonetic transitions like heist or froth.
- Typeability - Easy to type. Good spread. No double letters. E.g. abetted is bad.
- Confusing - No double-meanings. The purer form of write is worse than writable because when spoken, it sounds like right.
- Personality - More fun to say than jabberwocky?
The best domain brands are not the most valuable. Toys.com sold for $5.1M in 2009 and Business.com for $7.5M in 1999, but generic names require plenty of brand marketing. The exception is a dictionary domain with a clear purpose in a huge, saturated market like Diapers.com or Laptops.com.
Headlines
BlackBerry Friday, Drivin' On The Highway
Research In Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones, took a 20% dive in share price (RIMM) when it announced lay-offs last Friday, following abysmal Q1 profits.
In October 2010, Michael Mace predicted RIM's demise in his excellent analysis, What's Really Wrong With Blackberry. RIM's decline in sales growth is another reason why the (highly profitable) Apple is undervalued.
Google Faces Antitrust Probes
Just in (24 Jun, 4am): The BBC reports that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to make a formal inquiry into Google's anti-competitive search practices.
Competitors argue that the search giant has used its dominant position to unfairly promote mapping, shopping and travel properties. Wait, didn't I already cover this?
Developer Dinner on Monday
Within a month, our developer group has grown to 19 devs. I'm hosting the fourth fortnightly Developer Dinner in Cape Town on Monday, 27 June.
Stay Tuned
Next week's edition will cover domain name pricing. In an open-rate experiment, it will only be delivered next Monday, the results of which I will publish here. Email me for early access.
If you read this far, you should follow me on Twitter and forward this to a friend.
Best
Petrus
freshcode.co
@FreshCode