oddsod - 6:35 pm on Aug 7, 2006 (gmt 0)

Just because it was first doesn't mean it will always be ahead. Sure, our generation associates the internet with dot com. When my little son grows up he may not ever see dot com as anything different to the others he regularly uses - e.g., a .co.uk (BBC), a .org, several .edu and, of course, the .tvs!

A single company like Google can change the tide. Imagine the unlikely scenario of Google publicly stating that .org will now be given preference in the algo. Do you see a rush to register .orgs? Sure! You'll register yours too. That may be too far fetched but demonstrates that a single company can make a big difference. A less unlikely event is for the algo to develop a local bias in time so that you get more traffic overall if you have a .eu, .co.uk and .us than a single .com. Would people move to multiple domains (especially if dup content wasn't a problem)?

Dot com is still the Big Daddy but is it still as big a daddy as it was five years ago? I think not. In another five years it's likely to be less rather than more important.

That's just my call. Now, those of you selling dot com domains feel free to push your case ;)