Followup: Almost everyone in the domain industry -- based on publicity to date -- has been following Verisign and its monetization / distribution model, differing mainly in target audiences, services levels and choices of partners. It's a path of tradition, not necessity, that could have looked very different had ICANN made different priorities a decade ago. The newcomers, absent such tradition, offer alternatives -- not replacements -- to that status quo; whether these alternatives succeed is of course far from being determined. Like Bret, I agree that the "domain tenancy" model is *not* a broadly useful models. But then, it may be possible that -- like has been envisioned for some dot-brands -- that these domains are primarily for Amazon internal use. What if Amazon, for instance, used an entire TLD as a basis for categorization of goods in its virtual department store? (ie http://www.rum.beverages.food.amazon). In any case, Amazon is not what I was referring to, in thinking about the disruption that bothers Michele. Why did Amazon need so many nearly identical TLDs? Not sure. Don't really care. It looks like some were purely defensive against Google, IMO, as the domain game is sometimes less about getting a name than preventing others from doing so (or getting in the way such as you must be paid off for merely being involved). How many existing applications have no intention to sell subdomains but exist for purely speculative or defensive purposes? But it only takes one truly disruptive TLD from amongst the hundreds to turn the rest of the industry on its ear. I don't have any trust at all in the "intentions" part of the applications, since existing gTLDs have had a habit of breaking commitments in their application when convenient, and there have been no consequences for doing so. In other words, I'm not speculating on the future based on the content of the applications, but rather based on the past and current behavior of some of the applicants. So I look at what Google and Microsoft and Apple have done to the commercial email (ie, Lotus Notes), and GPS industries. I see how some internet service companies don't need to directly monetize domains any more than they monetize email, productivity applications, media players, mapping services.or even computer operating services. It is from this history that I see a potential future of domain industry disruption as described in my first email. Studying the applications will not, IMO, reveal the disruption to come. - Evan