I’m sure you read the various news accounts yesterday that Facebook.com paid Upwards of $8.5 Million dollars for the domain FB.com, making it not only one of the most highest priced domain transactions of all time but setting a new standard of what is possible to get for a great domain with the right end user.
Interestingly Facebook.com has always maintained that it acquired the domain name FB.com for “Internal Use Only” mostly for use as for the company’s internal email system.
If you check out FB.com today you will see its not for internal use only but redirects to Facebook itself.
So this domain may wind up not only becoming the most ever spent on a 2 letter domain with FB.com now redirecting to Facebook, this purchase looks like a world record for a URL Shortener.
The Zuckerburg Group is well aware of the values of .com business addresses.The asset of choice for the past decade (2000-2010) was Business Addresses ( Domain names)! If you had money in stocks you did not even break even for this time period.Gold did somewhat better but paled in comparison to domain names. Because of this we have been collecting institutional investors in our domaining game. This is only going to accelerate through the coming decade. Is it too late? We are in the halfway point of the first inning.
My prediction is before this is all over even the advertising industry will be aggressive buyers. The Internets foundation is built on Domain Addresses and you cannot advertise that fact away.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group)
It’s been redirecting since the first day it resolved. It also rewrites FB.com/anything to http://www.facebook.com/anything
Hello Mike,
Congrats on sluething out the fact that FB.com is now redirecting! We find it totally amusing how mark and his group tried to mask the real valuation for FB.com by insisting on the farm bureaus selling them a few more names so their release of this information would leave some question as to the real real value of FB.com. Why are these major players trying to conceal the true value of key business addresses? We know why do you?
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group)
“It’s been redirecting since the first day it resolved. It also rewrites FB.com/anything to http://www.facebook.com/anything”
Yep, in essence, every FB user’s address has a shortened alternate address. Thank you, Facebook.
George
Well they never said in any news story I read that the domain was acquired for or used in anyway other than as internal email.
I wonder if LL.CO & LL.TV domains will eventually (10 years+) become more valuable than LL.Com’s because of the length of the domain?
– TBC
5D
As a general rule I would say no
Mike: Well, they’ve been slow to even acknowledge that they acquired it, when I first noticed that it changed hands. It was 2 months ago that I noticed the URL rewriting, see:
http://twitter.com/#!/GeorgeKirikos/status/4362557024378881
so maybe one day they’ll let their users know. 🙂
Looks like the users are finding out with or without Facebook’s help:
http://twitter.com/#search?q=fb.com%20facebook
just a random thought
why ICANN has never approved a .mail TLD to have sites like G.mail Y.mail M.mail or H.mail or Hot.mail and now FB.mail ???
“Why ICANN has never approved a .mail TLD to have sites like G.mail Y.mail M.mail or H.mail or Hot.mail and now FB.mail”
Not sure anyone has ever applies for a .mail TLD
Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see at least one application for it under the new gTLD program
There had been a dot-mail sponsored TLD application back in 2004. It was rejected. See:
http://www.icann.org/en/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/
http://forum.icann.org/lists/stld-rfp-mail/
George
Thanks
Instead ICANN approved .Post
This acquisition and subsequent redirecting makes total sense.
Not sure about anyone else but certainly among my group of friends and acquaintances it is common to use FB as an abbreviation, in typed communication at least.
Eg
“Did you get my FB message?”
“Oh my God, so and so just FB’d me”.
Maybe in time people will come to say “FB” as opposed to “Facebook” and it will enter modern lexicon in the same way that people “Google” stuff.
Just sayin…
MHB, are you on FB?
Jim
Yes you can follow us on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/TheDomainscom/73590349124
and on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/Berkens
Or click on the logo’s on the top right
facebook joins the ranks of ‘biggies’ acquiring a two letter dot com that matches well with their brand… fb.com, wp.com, yp.com… wonder which will be next? 🙂
The buzz-term for the next decade is “social-video”. If you haven’t done so yet, read the article in this month’s issue of Wired Magazine (it’s online), written by Chris Anderson (TED curator). I love this quote from the article: “Video is the killer app. Don’t write me. Tell me. Show me.”
– TBC
One day, short links like ✯.ws or ➸.ws will be in vogue as well.
There you go: http://✯.ws/~qc
Does t.co/mrdeleted work like FB.com/mrdeleted?
Mr.deleted, .COM is more better for sure.
see here who really owns Facebook
reface.me/news/who-owns-facebook/
Demonstrates how the “facebook” brand and service mark & TM is not pure, inocent and untouchable
Facebook uses FB as its stock ticker symbol – I think this is what it is all about