Is domain name investing dead in 2024? Not really

In the previous article, there was a discussion about the "death of domain investment," suggesting that newcomers should quickly learn about short videos or artificial intelligence. However, a few days later, someone expressed a different opinion by publishing an article titled "The Death of Domains - AI Edition" on their personal blog to refute this viewpoint. The content was quite intriguing, so let's take a look.

Spoiler alert: The reality is quite the opposite.

Perhaps, in fact, the opposite is true, as I will attempt to explain in this article.

I will start with my main concern: In reality, our experience on this planet is increasingly reliant on a decreasing number of large corporations. They wield significant power and resources through extensive consolidation.

At first glance, this statement may seem absurd.

After all, we have so many choices now that it can be overwhelming. With countless options vying for our attention, what should we watch? For example, with so many cereal boxes lining the supermarket shelves, which one should we choose?

However, as you begin to peel back the layers of ownership, you can't help but realize that although we do have a dizzying array of cereal boxes to choose from, approximately 70% (if not more) of them can be traced back to the same large corporation. The same principle applies across various sectors:

1. Mainstream media can be traced back to ownership structures similar to the cereal example.

2. Alternative media choices may appear more decentralized, but the platforms you consume content on are typically owned by dubious large corporations.

3. Even real estate is no longer safe, especially in the United States, where large corporations are once again driving an epic buying spree, including (or especially) things like single-family homes.

Jumping on a once-popular meme... isn't that worrisome?

Jokes aside, it is. Especially if you value the freedom of the little guy, the aspiring entrepreneur, to have their voice heard and make their mark on the world. When barriers to entry across industries are raised, it's easier said than done.

But ordinary old domains and websites represent an oasis.

For example, why would I write this blog when I have a YouTube channel with 187,000 subscribers?

Simple: Because this is my blog. It's on my domain, my WordPress setup, and my server. At least in a world where our livelihoods increasingly depend on large corporations, it's refreshing to know that you can still have your "stuff" without intermediaries.

Don't get me wrong, these intermediaries offer incredibly enticing benefits.

For my one-minute economics YouTube channel, Google provides traffic and worry-free monetization. Whereas for your personal blog or any website, you're on your own and must be creative... much like I did by leveraging existing traffic sources through Domaining.com.

Similarly, of course, it's more convenient to create content on TikTok or other social media platforms, where they handle the annoying parts (like keeping the servers online), not to mention the plethora of awesome free tools they provide to help you create content.

But what if you're a U.S.-based content creator on TikTok with a U.S. audience and end up losing everything basically due to issues like the impending ban being discussed, even though you personally did nothing wrong? What then?

While I don't think this scenario will happen and some solution will be found for TikTok, whether it's divestment or something else, it does show you that even seemingly rock-solid places like social media platforms with over 1 billion active users can't and won't make any guarantees.

Treating them as such and understanding that despite the increasingly heated tech debates, there's still a lot of room for digital sovereignty that domains can offer.

So, as in every previous cycle, domains as an asset class are fine.

Yes, even in the post-AI era.

In fact, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, in a world where "fast food" content is becoming increasingly saturated, domains as a "healthy" destination become more appealing, and you shouldn't be surprised. While quick, fast-food content like TikTok videos is always more readily available, there's a limited amount of content you can consume before you get sick.

Will the artificial intelligence field eventually be dominated by a few large corporations too?

Perhaps, but not yet.

But alternatives do exist, and artificial intelligence is not only not killing the "old-school" domains, but it's likely that the large corporations in it will be the last straw to make the glass overflow, as not all but definitely "enough" consumers start to realize that there's still room in our field. Born for sovereignty

Its digital version represents the simplest, and perhaps the most logical, starting point.

Below is the content the author refuted:

"I've been in the domain industry for several years, just a tip for anyone interested in buying and selling domains. You'd better learn something else. The domain industry is dead. Everyone already owns good domains, and they want to get the highest price.

I sigh when I see all these crappy domains in domain valuation and see people wasting a lot of money and think, "Damn, they're stuck in updating these pieces of shit, even though we all know they'll never sell.

We're in a wonderful era now, you can make money online in many ways, just find one that suits you. If you're a newbie, domains aren't one of them.

Learning artificial intelligence is the future direction, companies will pay you to find a ChatGPT prompt, help them organize data, and so on. You can batch produce Youtube videos with AI. You can use it to create creative images to sell. You can use it to scan real items and sell the designs to 3D printer users. These are just a few examples, just Google "how to make money with artificial intelligence." You can even use it to easily create websites.

Invest in yourself and start learning."