[highace]

I don't know how to feel about this. I've commented many times before, warning others about the .io domain and the consequences they'll face with ranking on Google. Now that won't be a problem. But let's face it, .io will never be as 'accepted' as .com by Billy Customer, and now squatters have a reason to go buying them all up, so good luck grabbing one for a techie startup or niche.

[derefr]

> .io will never be as 'accepted' as .com by Billy Customer

It's seemed to me that all the uses of .io so far are precisely for sites only developers will have any reason to visit--software libraries, B2B SaaS, etc.

[wcfields]

You people and your TLD purity...

Railing against re-use of small countries TLDs is the 2013 version of writing "Micro$oft".

[bcoates]

Don't worry, soon enough the .fart vanity TLDs will be coming online and we can complain about people using those instead.

[Gertig]

While I agree that .io will likely not be seen the same way .com is by your average customer it may not be that much of an issue if Google starts ranking .io domain names highly in search results. Which is how many people choose what sites to visit or buy from.

[kmfrk]

It requires something about the way we conduct ourselves to change, at least.

I remember reading about how Japanese advertizers would use Google queries in ads instead of URLs - and we in the West did little to improve on that with QR codes - so it's possible that there's a place for .io somewhere. I just think it'd be a really bad idea to use them interchangeably with .com domains.

I guess the same can be said of .co domains, which look like typos to the average person, when they aren't used as shorturls.

[corin_]

> I remember reading about how Japanese advertizers would use Google queries in ads instead of URLs

That's happened in the UK as well, though (in my experience) more often with video adverts (e.g. movie trailers) than print advertising. It began with stuff like "AOL Keyword: harry potter" (was it "keyword"? can't remember, was definitely AOL), and mostly died after that, but have seen it with Google a few times.

And on the flip side, you seem to suggest that QR codes are a western thing - actually they were invented in Japan, and are much bigger in Asia than over here.

[Maxious]

I see "Internet Search: 'model xyz'" in a lot of car ads. Easier to remember than a URL and shows off how good your SEO is ;)

[w1ntermute]

> I remember reading about how Japanese advertizers would use Google queries in ads instead of URLs

This is probably because it's hard for the Japanese to correctly remember web addresses, since they're in the Latin alphabet. By having them remember search queries instead, this problem can be easily avoided.

[eli]

Like it or not, Google is merely reflecting the obvious reality that most .io domains are not specific to the tiny island territory.

[jrochkind1]

I'm not sure typical non-technical users have any idea what the TLDs mean, or pay any attention to them at all.

Many users just type website names into google or their location bar, not paying any attention to the URL at all. Or, actually type the _hostname_ into a google search box, not realizing what a hostname/URL _is for_.