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Does anyone actually use or go to services on super-generic TLDs like that? I can't think of any billion-dollar businesses that exist at <genericword>.com. I ca

Does anyone actually use or go to services on super-generic TLDs like that? I can't think of any billion-dollar businesses that exist at <genericword>.com. I can't imagine they're as valuable as people make them out to be, because businesses have brands that aren't generic words like "money" or "drugs". There's "amazon" but the business has nothing do with rainforests, so it's not like they're benefitting from traffic from people wishing to learn about the rainforest (much like we might imagine money.com would offer a financial service, or drugs.com pharmaceuticals).

Wowfunhappy 7y ago
> Does anyone actually use or go to services on super-generic TLDs like that? Well, I occasionally read CNET, which has the domain "news.com". But, the fact that domain points to CNET rather than something more well-known (and general-interest) is itself great evidence of the unimportance of general domains. Also, CBS Interactive bought CNET more than a decade ago, and the news.com domain with it. CBS has kept the domain pointed to CNET rather than, say, having it point to cbsnews.com.
jannes 7y ago
The only one that comes to mind is booking.com. facebook.com maybe as well although it has given the word a new meaning.
alasdair_ 7y ago
I’m still waiting for the $45 million spent on color.com and colour.com to pay off...
kick 7y ago
pets.com
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
  Redirects to a major retailer for pet and animal products.
  - kick 7y ago
    Am I really getting old enough to where modern developers know nothing about the dot com crash? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com
    - JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
      Ha, I know that. But my point is, you don't see petsmart.com 302'ing to pets.com. You see the opposite. Which furthers the point that <genericword>.com's aren't that valuable. Since Pets.com didn't last all that long, it might not be fair to characterize it's short-term existence and high-market value as a sustaining, legitimate billion-dollar business.
JohnFen 7y ago
> Does anyone actually use or go to services on super-generic TLDs like that? I don't, because those names are almost always used by major corporations and the like, and I almost never am interested those websites.
colejohnson66 7y ago
Disney still uses go.com
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
  Go.com has basically the same header as disney.com, and the main body content is just a list of web assets owned by Disney-- surprised to see FiveThirtyEight listed next to more traditional Disney content, didn't feel very cohesive. I would speculate this site doesn't get a ton of traffic since A/B testing could likely yield a higher level of conversion for whatever they're trying to achieve here.
rascul 7y ago
weather.com
toyg 7y ago
DIY.com is the website for B&Q, the largest UK retailer of diy tools, turnover £4bn (owned by Kingfisher).
GFischer 7y ago
I work for the owners of vacation.com , but to be honest the owners have never managed to leverage the domain into a great funnel. They're a multibillion dollar business but not thanks to the domain name.

Wowfunhappy 7y ago

> Does anyone actually use or go to services on super-generic TLDs like that? Well, I occasionally read CNET, which has the domain "news.com". But, the fact that domain points to CNET rather than something more well-known (and general-interest) is itself great evidence of the unimportance of general domains. Also, CBS Interactive bought CNET more than a decade ago, and the news.com domain with it. CBS has kept the domain pointed to CNET rather than, say, having it point to cbsnews.com.

jannes 7y ago

The only one that comes to mind is booking.com. facebook.com maybe as well although it has given the word a new meaning.

alasdair_ 7y ago

I’m still waiting for the $45 million spent on color.com and colour.com to pay off...

kick 7y ago

pets.com

JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
Redirects to a major retailer for pet and animal products.
- kick 7y ago
  Am I really getting old enough to where modern developers know nothing about the dot com crash? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com
  - JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
    Ha, I know that. But my point is, you don't see petsmart.com 302'ing to pets.com. You see the opposite. Which furthers the point that <genericword>.com's aren't that valuable. Since Pets.com didn't last all that long, it might not be fair to characterize it's short-term existence and high-market value as a sustaining, legitimate billion-dollar business.

JohnFen 7y ago

> Does anyone actually use or go to services on super-generic TLDs like that? I don't, because those names are almost always used by major corporations and the like, and I almost never am interested those websites.

colejohnson66 7y ago

Disney still uses go.com

JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
Go.com has basically the same header as disney.com, and the main body content is just a list of web assets owned by Disney-- surprised to see FiveThirtyEight listed next to more traditional Disney content, didn't feel very cohesive. I would speculate this site doesn't get a ton of traffic since A/B testing could likely yield a higher level of conversion for whatever they're trying to achieve here.

rascul 7y ago

weather.com

toyg 7y ago

DIY.com is the website for B&Q, the largest UK retailer of diy tools, turnover £4bn (owned by Kingfisher).

GFischer 7y ago

I work for the owners of vacation.com , but to be honest the owners have never managed to leverage the domain into a great funnel. They're a multibillion dollar business but not thanks to the domain name.