So apparently a certain purveyor of rockets, tunnels and electric cars is infatuated with the letter "X" to the point of destroying decades and billions of dollars in accumulated brand value in renaming Twitter. Most involved in tech are I'm sure aware of this already.
Why am I posting this to ICANN mailing lists?
To call attention to the stupidity of confusing domains with brands, something in which many domain sellers -- mainly speculative domain re-sellers -- gleefully engage.
Apparently Mr. Musk seems to believe that acquiring "X.com" from Facebook -- along with some cosmetic redesigns -- constitutes a rebranding. Let this episode be a warning to others who would use a domain as a primary branding tactic, forgetting that:
- A great number of tech companies have trademarked uses of the letter X for web services, most notable among them the aforementioned Facebook. So this is not an issue of Musk being able to bully smaller companies;
- Then there's Microsoft, which has some such trademarks of its own and produces an obscure, little-known computing device known as an "XBox";
- Most people using Unix and Linux for their desktops have been using software known as "X" for decades (though it is being phased out ... very slowly).
- Also consider that doing searches for "X" on the Internet is ikely to find paths to very family-UNfriendly parts of the web. Consider the American "X" rating given to films before 1990.
Let this be a cautionary tale, unfolding before us in real time. A domain name is at best a minor part of branding strategy that must consider many other factors. Paying a substantial sum for that second-hand domain will not be the answer to your problems, and may indeed introduce new problems. And especially beware of domain resellers passing themselves off as branding experts.
Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada
@evanleibovitch / @el56