HOW DOMAINERS BECAME VICTIMS OF THE BIGEST SCAM IN THE DOMAIN INDUSTRY?
-Scammers used 4 narratives (the fantastic 4)
Here is the full story, what they did and how they did it, hopefully this will rise your awarness so next time you are not off guard.
***** THE FANTASTIC 4 *****
The promoters of .xyz, as well as domainers who heavily invested in the TLD, utilized four narratives primarily to manipulate and convince other domain investors that .xyz is "the future" and a TLD they shouldn't miss out on (FOMO).
Narrative 1: "Google has
alphabet.xyz"
This is the first narrative and also the most ridiculous one. It was spread everywhere that .xyz would become the next big thing or as the DomainPunk preached "xyz is the future". All because Google acquired
alphabet.xyz. However, the truth is that Google's acquisition of
alphabet.xyz had nothing to do with the potential of .xyz as a TLD. Google simply chose
alphabet.xyz because the domain
abc.com and
alphabet.com was already taken, and they wanted a creative name their Alphabet brand.
In reality, the acquisition of
alphabet.xyz by Google has had no significant impact on the overall usage or success of the .xyz TLD. Google gives zero F** about xyz, and you can check in alphabet site that nothing useful is there. It was merely a practical choice for their specific branding needs, and it does not validate the exaggerated claims made by the .xyz promoters.
Narrative 2: ".xyz is for crypto"
The second narrative revolves around the claim that .xyz is specifically designed for the cryptocurrency industry. However, if you examine the actual usage of domain extensions within the crypto space, you will find that .xyz is not widely adopted. In fact, if you visit
coingecko.com, a popular cryptocurrency tracking platform, you will notice that crypto projects primarily use domain extensions such as .com, .io, .org, .tech, .fi, .finance, .net, .co, and .app.
With big effort you will find max 2-5 crypto projects using .xyz from the 20,000 coins out there.
So, where did this narrative come from? It originated from a few NFT projects (many of which turned out to be scams) that initially used .xyz domains. These projects chose .xyz because it allowed them to use single-word domains, which would enhance investor trust. However, it is important to note that this association between .xyz and the crypto industry is not widespread or representative of the overall crypto space. In reality, .xyz is not the preferred TLD for legitimate crypto projects, just as it is not the preferred TLD for reputable businesses.
After realizing that no crypto projects were adopting .xyz as their
#domain extension, the narrative shifted to claim that .xyz is suitable for Web3 applications. However, this narrative is also false. The fact remains that .xyz is not widely embraced or recognized within the Web3 ecosystem. Legitimate Web3 projects typically opt for domain extensions that align more closely with the technology and principles of decentralized applications.
The attempt to associate .xyz with
#Web3 was another misleading tactic used to create a false perception of value and relevance for the TLD. It is essential to exercise caution and conduct thorough research when evaluating such narratives in the domain industry to make informed decisions.
Narrative 3: "Swetha & friends"
This was the most effective one, well done Dani!
Undoubtedly, this narrative involving Swetha and her alleged domain sales played a significant role in manipulating and deceiving domainers. Swetha emerged seemingly out of nowhere, with a portfolio of 24,000 premium single-word .xyz
#domains that she was selling for five to six-figure prices like hot donuts such as
bull.xyz which is not resolving even today after almost a year. "She" Promoting these sales through her Twitter account and getting them listed on platforms like NameBio, created an illusion of legitimacy and success.
The tactic was simple yet effective. By leveraging the credibility of
#NameBio since reported sales only require a screenshot to be verified as real a sale and published in
namebio.com as namebio itself said
"i cant know if a sale is real or not, screenshots can be easily faked, i need to trust on people good adult behavior" :
nitter.app/NameBio/status/1… <------
She also leveraged the support of other promoters and bloggers such as DNW and DomainInvesting by Eliot Silver (i dont know if they were asociated with xyz or just wanted to take advantage of the sensational news to add content to their sites and bring visitors but their articles about swetha and xyz were very biased), the news of Swetha's supposed sales spread like wildfire among the domain community.
#Domainers, eager to follow the perceived success and profitability, were convinced to invest more in .xyz domains.
However, the truth is that Swetha never made any public appearances at industry events like
#Namescon, declined interview invitations from Domain Sherpa, and avoided video calls with industry experts like Mike Mann when he confronted her. This raised significant doubts and questions about Swetha's legitimacy as a real
#domainer. In fact, the mystery surrounding Swetha and the lack of substantial evidence or verifiable information about her activities as a domain investor far surpasses the doubts regarding extraterrestrial beings.
In fact there is more evidence out there about ET's than evidence of swetha being legit and real domainer.
In the future, Swetha will likely be remembered as a myth rather than a genuine figure in the domain industry. The narrative surrounding her and the subsequent doubts and unanswered questions serve as a cautionary tale about the risks of blindly following sensational stories without concrete evidence.
Narrative 4: "Number of registrations"
The narrative that emphasized the high number of registrations for .xyz was another tactic used to manipulate domainers. It is true that .xyz had the largest number of registrations among the new domain extensions, which created a sense of success and popularity for the
#TLD. However, the misleading aspect of this narrative was that it implied these registrations were primarily driven by end-user demand and indicated the widespread adoption of .xyz by actual businesses and individuals.
In reality, the large number of registrations was predominantly a result of domainers' speculative demand rather than genuine end-user interest. Domainers, motivated by the fear of missing out (FOMO) and the perception of scarcity, acquired a significant number of .xyz domains for investment purposes. This speculative activity artificially inflated the registration numbers and created a false impression of widespread usage and demand.
It's important to distinguish between the number of registrations and actual end-user adoption. While .xyz may have had a high number of registrations, it does not necessarily reflect the success or widespread usage of the TLD by genuine businesses or individuals. This narrative aimed to create a sense of urgency and FOMO among domainers, leading them to invest heavily in .xyz domains based on a false perception of scarcity and popularity.
99.8% of xyz registered domains are for sale by domainers. 0.2% are developed sites with content and traffic.
Narrative 5?
What do you think will be the nect new narrative?
I think this time they will say "xyz is for Ai"
In fact if you check xyz twitter account you will see they are already working on that one.
Dont fall again.
"fool me once shame on you,
fool me twice shame on me"
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ntldstats.com/tld/xyz <------
#domaining #scam #scammers #swethaxyz #dotxyz