Q&A with David Castello: The Future for IDNs “Looks Bright”

David Castello needs no introduction. He is one of the patriarchs of the domain industry. He along with brother Michael owns CCIN (Castello Cities Internet Network) and the well known sites PalmSprings.com, Nashville.com, and Acapulco.com among many others. In the Q&A below, David tells IDNBlog about his thoughts on IDNs and the parallels he sees between the current IDN market and the early days of domaining.


Q: What do you think of the current and future value of IDNs?

A: The value of any domain is roughly equivalent to the old saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The only other gauge is intuitive traffic, but that can also be limited in scope. Different things are relevant to different people. We bought Nashville.com in 2003 for a (then) hefty sum and we never asked about its traffic because we knew what we wanted to do with the name. The value of IDNs will be perceived by investors and endusers the same way. And in many ways their future looks bright.

Q: How do the critics of IDNs remind you of your early domain investing days?

A: When my brother Michael begin acquiring names in 1995 many people laughed and told him, “Why are you wasting your time? These names are free. That means they’re not worth anything.” When I came aboard in 1997 they said, “Why are you wasting your time? These names cost only $100. That means they’re not worth anything.” In the Spring/Summer of 1997 we picked up Bullion.com, Rate.com, Cost.com, Traveler.com, Kennel.com , etc simply because people thought it was a waste of money to spend $100 on those names. However, we knew from the beginning the reasons those names would have fantastic practical value (which is why we ended up developing them). There is only one major vision a domainer needs to be successful – you have to pick names that will have practical usage with the masses or an enduser (the biggest mistake is to buy a name simply because you think another domainer will want it). It’s the same today with IDNs and I believe those with practical vision will do quite well.

However, I am starting to notice a difference between now and then, and IDN owners need to be careful. From the beginning, Michael and I were very confident about the future value of our names. And confidence is contagious. If someone criticized us, we never fired back and simply explained our reasons for our beliefs and investments in our domain names. On the contrary, I am finding many IDN owners to be quite thin skinned and they tend to get upset and unprofessional if their reasons for investing in IDNs are challenged. In the investment world this instantly raises a major red flag and IDN owners need to relax because they’re sending out the wrong signals.

Q: What words of caution would you pass on to IDN investors regarding trademarks and UDRPs?

A: Don’t blow it off. It’s the equivalent of standing on the deck of the Titanic and saying, “So what? It’s only a little iceberg.” I have no doubt that some of these IDNs will be challenged and lost. To think otherwise is to have your head in the sand. I believe Geos and Generics are your safest bets.

Q: What do you think of those who say that an ASCII.com (aka English.com) domain holder should be entitled to all IDN.com equivalents?

A: This will depend on TM law and how unique the word is to the masses. If it’s a Generic I’d say you’re in safe territory, but some IDN investors sound awfully naïve when they say, “There is no English/Latin equivalent in this language’s characters” as if that logic alone will stop a major corporate legal department from coming after them. Believe me, if a major international trademark owner thinks they are legally entitled to your IDN due to any type of infringement they 100% will try to think of a way to take it.