NYCPHP Meetup

[David Krings]

On 9/29/2011 4:44 PM, Tedd Sperling wrote:
> David:
>
> In addition to all that was said about other Languages/Customs having access to the Internet in their own native Languages, let me add there ARE symbols in the English Language. We commonly use math symbols, dingbat characters, grammar, and other such symbols in our English language, right?

Yes, but are those characters a wise choice for an easy to remember URL? I get 
the Chinese characters and that it matters to Chinese speaking people, but for 
a US business to use a URL of €³.com does not make much sense. Yes, it may be 
technically possible and a perfectly valid URL, but aside from a handful of 
geeks you won't find anyone who knows how to enter these characters.


> In addition, these symbols are on your keyboard, or can be accessed by your keyboard. Just because the Windows environment makes it hard to type a BULLET for example, (ALT 0149), it is really a simple thing to do on a Macintosh -- it's just option 8 -- one character. The world no longer revolves around M$.

I could make the same complaint. How come that I cannot type easily €³ on a US 
keyboard, but it is a piece of cake on a German layout keyboard. Why does the 
world solely revolve around the US? That is even more the point for cyrillic 
or chinese characters.

> As such, in the Safari Browser I can type an option 8 in the address bar and go directly to: http://xn--nvg.com the URL will show •.com.
>
> Another example, if a Macintosh user types option v into the Safari Browser address bar they will go to √.com (square-root dot com), namely http://xn--nvg.com. Incidentally, that site receives over 200 unique Mac users per day and that rate is rising.

So how many unique users would it get when it was called squareroot.com? I bet 
it would be noticeably more. Mac and Safari users exist in negligible numbers. 
And I use Safari myself and part time a Mac at work, so it isn't that I diss 
the Apple products in any way.

> So, your questions as to "who wants such an URL for business anyway?", let me reply if your customers could remember your site by simply typing a single character into their address bar, would that sound like a good thing to you? Especially if you were selling a Mac product?

It would be a good idea if I sell a Mac product, but the vast majority of the 
computing industry does not come across Macs or Safari, they are still a niche 
product. I'm not dissing the products, but the user base is negligible for 
general purposes. Apple excels more with consumer devices, such as MP3 players 
and phones and tablets. Those all have no keyboards. I never used an 
iPad/iPhone (way too expensive for me), so not sure how the text entry works 
on those, but for that I could see a single character domain being useful.


> Keep in mind that while single character domains are not available, it has been speculated that they would run into the millions of dollars for each if they were. So, what's the value of a single character domain? In that regard, this makes a good read:
>
> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/28/tech/main1080245.shtml

The price for single character domains would be high, because there is really 
only a limited number of URLs available - as stated in the article. I get that 
part.


>
> In addition, these domains can be combined with other domains so that IF the user was on a Windows machine, they would go to one site and if they were on a Safari browser they could go to the url that would show the domain as a symbol. It is simply a redirect and a marketing consideration.
>
> In any event, considering I've been developing software for Apple computers for over three decades now, I'm considering using option v (square-root) OR option 8 (BULLET) as a site to sell my software.
>
> I think it's a neat idea, but I've failed before.  :-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> tedd

As far as the success of a URL is concerned, it is difficult to determine how 
well it does compared to a different URL. In order to really make a reasonable 
call both URLs need to be advertised the same way to the same audience. And it 
depends a lot on the audience. In your case you are solely focused on the Mac 
users, but do you honestly think that •.com would be a good name for a comany 
that sells round push buttons? Yea, it is awesome to have the product 
displayed right in the URL, but it will be odd that online orders come only 
from 4.6% of potential buyers (the market share of the Safari browser).
I understand that it works for you, but be honest, it is a special case.


David