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Comments Requested
Question:
> Certainly it is more important to have a UDN, if you’re doing consumer marketing > and expect to generated sales from having an online presence. > For business to, too, two (meant for VRU) business, sure one could go without a > UDN, but I sure wouldn’t want my letterhead at the bottom stating: > www.someplace.com/somewhere I would want my URL in the letterhead to be the > same domain as my e-mail (also in letterhead) or product or tag line.
There is one other reason for a "UDN" (which as an engineer I would refer to simply as a domain name): portability. Consider the expense associated with changing your company name: - New stationery - New business cards - New signage - New logo - New ad copy - etc. If you are seriously doing business on the Internet, your URL is on each and every one of these (well, maybe not the logo!). Now consider what happens when your URL is http://www.serviceprovider.com/mycompany and you decide to change service providers. All those things have to change because your URL changes! On the other hand, by owning your own domain name you can change service providers at will, and the outside world won’t need to know. Something to think about! — Kurt Schweitzer Sunrise Consulting, Inc. 716-427-7574 http://www.sunriseconsulting.com/ Small Business Technoplex – http://www.technoplex.com
Response:
> That was me. And I stand by my original comment. It was (and still > is) my opinion that lack of a unique domain (i.e. www.xxxx.com) > screams "small time operator" and "cheap."
An opinion with which I obviously disagree. I don’t see the reasoning, other than an image based irrelevancy. A prejudice propagated by web hosting services initially, and perpetuated by those who have been exposed to it for too long. The best argument I have seen for a domain name is the one that says it avoids throwing up questions about ones competence. I think this is valid only in the case of those who have bought in to the fallacy. > I insulted you? How? Because I stated my opinion?
I have many opinions also which would offend people if I used them indiscriminately. Things much more personal in nature than the issue of domain names. I don’t think that it would be wise for me to chance offending potential customers by expressing them in a casual way. The fact that you hold that opinion is understandable. Many people do. The thing I found insulting is that, rather than say what your reaction was, you directly stated that the person you were addressing was cheap. Ad hominem. > And one that you’ve already remarked about and I’ve responded to.
My apologies if I missed your response, which I believe I must have done. > Paul, I have to wonder why you’re going on and on about this.
I went "on and on", as you put it, about the issue of the importance of domain names. I consider it a spurious argument, intended, for the most part, to sell domain service to people who don’t need it. There have been a number of good reasons put forth supporting the idea, but none of them really convince me that they are essential. > What’s got you so worked up about it?
I mentioned your comment, I believe, twice. Once to point out my initial reason for jumping in to the thread, and once to point out what I thought was an example of a small thing that could hamper marketing and image efforts. The total of those comments probably took up about as much space as this paragraph. Hardly worked up. 
Frankly, I had forgotten who it was that made the initial comment. I will probably end up with a domain account, but not for the reasons most people put up as selling points. More because there will come a point at which I will want to make use of the tools that seem to be reserved by web hosting services for holders of such accounts. Another thing which I think will have to change before long. Competition will likely require it. Paul
Response:
I have been reading this discussion with great interest as I plan to go solo sometime 1997 and with that have a www presence. Certainly, I will go with a *unique domain name (UDN). As a matter of fact, a number of UDNs With no www presence at present nor doing business via the Net, I still receive a good amount of inquires, so I agree with Paul, yet on the other hand, really, what’s $150? Paul mentions his site is non-commercial which makes the UDN less important. I’ve done the same with this newsgroup’s www site, as it’s a service and not a site established to generate business. But for commercial purposes, a UDN for ANY business is just as important as choosing a company name, a product name. It makes it just as easy to remember by target markets as a vanity number. and/or associating as one does with a tag line; "The Card", "Just Do IT". The primary objective of a UDN as with tag line, company and product name is; reinforce and retention. Certainly it is more important to have a UDN, if you’re doing consumer marketing and expect to generated sales from having an online presence. For business to, too, two (meant for VRU) business, sure one could go without a UDN, but I sure wouldn’t want my letterhead at the bottom stating: www.someplace.com/somewhere I would want my URL in the letterhead to be the same domain as my e-mail (also in letterhead) or product or tag line. If I were Neil Friedman (head of Tyco’s preschool division), I’d want to have the following options to choose from(used in web context): Generic domain name: www.toys.com Company domain name: www.tyco.com Product domain name: www.elmo.com Tag domain name: www.tickleme.com To use your example of the need for Joe’s Bookstore. Why wouldn’t you look to differentiate yourself any way you could? To market more creatively than the competition? With that, why have www.aol.com/joebooks, when you can have offline and online respectively; Read at Joe’s (www.readatjoes.com), Books! By Joe! (www.booksbyjoe.com), or just simply; www.bookimjoe.com (laughing yet?) Paul, you are a sales professional, at the end of the cycle while others taking part in this thread are at the (pre) start of the cycle. Your points are very valid as content, result is what it’s all about…… but it’s only $150. I’ll wait to see your site go commercial and see if you’ve changed you mind and opt for a UDN. You’re lucky you don’t live in the UK and want a vanity license plate, average auction price