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I still think that way too but I'm old. I remember back when domain names first opened up for registration in the early 90s and talking about it with a friend.
by NelsonMinar 9y ago
I still think that way too but I'm old. I remember back when domain names first opened up for registration in the early 90s and talking about it with a friend. We recognized the opportunity but thought it'd be unethical to exploit it. Now it's 25 years later and I still have my smug sense of moral superiority but am no richer for it.
- z3t4 9y agoi dont like domain squatters, though one way of looking at it is they are investing in the TLD.
- DaiPlusPlus 9y agoIt's not investing. It's speculating.
- personjerry 9y agoisn't all investment speculating?
- kuschku 9y agoNo, usually investment provides money for people that want to build something with it, and you get it (and a small profit, for the risk) back afterwards. In this case, though, no one but you has a benefit.
- z3t4 9y agoWhat about running a top level domain (TLD) ? Instead of company shares you get a domain name under that TLD.
- dguo 9y agoThe Benjamin Graham (who taught Warren Buffett) distinction between investment and speculation is: "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative." See http://buffettpedia.com/2015/07/investment-versus-speculation/ http://buffettpedia.com/2015/07/investment-versus-speculatio... Personally, I think it's helpful to think of it as a spectrum rather than as a necessarily binary distinction. Graham's definition is nice and succinct, but the problem comes with the word "promises". The safety of principal for anything cannot be guaranteed beyond all doubt.
- rowyourboat 9y ago"Promise" is not meant in the strict logical sense. "Promise" can also mean "to give cause to strongly expect", as in "the upcoming thunderstorm promises hail damage". In this case, it probably means "the investor is reasonably sure of". No, it is not an exact definition, but we are dealing with human behaviour and value judgments here, not mathematical proofs.
- dguo 9y agoYep, I agree. That's why I like to think of it as a spectrum. Based on analysis, someone can believe one operation is more of an investment than another operation. I know I was being pedantic, but I wanted to avoid making it seem simpler than I think it really is.