Cybersquatter.
These days the media reports seem to drop the “cyber” part; an apparent fallout with the writings of William Gibson and his “cyberpunk” novels.
Squatters are, according to the popularization given to the term by various digital pulp media, anyone who decides to spend money on a domain and hold it, in an apparent attempt to profit from this act.
The term is definitely inaccurate, as it equalizes domain investing with the practice of entering someone else’s property and making use of it, refusing to leave it.
Since the real estate market is the immediate reference, domain investors are in fact acquiring digital lots of land. There is no law that states one has to build anything on a piece of land; they can let it grow weeds, or plant trees that generate apples. They can also build a house and resell the entire lot for a profit.
That’s the way that Capitalism works.
Just like real estate, every property is unique. If you can’t have Print.com, you need to settle for another TLD, ccTLD, gTLD or another combination of the keyword. You can cry all you want about the “squatters” who took control of a domain so generic, that everyone wants it. But that won’t change anything.
So those who use the “squatter” card, need to get on with the times, instead of embarrassing themselves with an inaccurate term and a variety of tantrums. Good names cost money, and domain investors chase good domains to generate profit, plain and simple. A land buyer does the same, and if one followed the “squatter” logic then Disney squats on several thousand acres of prime bushland in Florida.
Domain investing isn’t a hobby, and it’s not a cult. One can learn the basics and improve their position by investing in domains the way stocks, bonds, options, precious metals and real estate work.
When someone else has the domain you want, don’t get mad – get educated.
You summed it up perfectly with the fact that they “embarrass themselves”
Education is the key, but its more about people being lazy or feeling entitled, its at its best Theo when its a name like you mentioned Print.com.
You want Print.com ? Yeah we all want Print.com welcome to Planet Earth.
Well said Theo!
Theo, I shared this on my Facebook timeline because I have a lot of friends who do not understand the difference.
THANKS for posting this!
Totally agree with you Theo!
Education is definitely the key.
This way they will also probably learn that they can’t purchase a premium .com for $10 … 😀
Couldn’t have said it any better…. 🙂
Walk up to a Ferrari owner and tell him that if he didn’t own it then you would – see how he looks at you. Call him a dick. Tell him he should give it to you because he doesn’t use it enough.
That’s the industry for you… Really still in its infancy. No matter how polite and professional we are we still get called a dick sometimes.
When you have been doing this long enough you want to tell those who don’t get it something like:
So you kind of understand the concept… Now take that to the depths of forever multiple it by infinity, and you still barely have a glimpse of what I’m taking about. (from a movie I think…)
OK, maybe that’s a stretch and if you are running a business it’s important to remain polite, after all because just like a baby tasting his first ice cream cone this may be the first experience someone has ever had with domain names…
or maybe they are just a dick. 😉
While domain investors defend their holdings with the real estate analogy, those who despise us sometimes argue domain investors add no value – just a cost which inhibits innovation. Well, if premium domains were not in the hands of investors, would the best domains be put to their ideal use? I don’t think so because in such cases you would still see inexperienced developers but first arrivals launching MFA minisites..
.com domains are far more unique than real estate. If a real estate seller asks a high price buyer can just move on, but if domain buyer desires one particular domain above all others he can face a grueling battle.
It is particularly annoying if a buyer suspects he is willing to pay more than anyone else, but can’t buy the domain because the sellers requires him to not only beat all other offers but do so by a wide margin.