The difference is that brand names were created expressly for that purpose,
but domain names were not. Domain names were created as a better way to
signify servers than IP strings. If domain names were abolished tomorrow, we
could still get by if we remembered IP numbers to type into our browsers.
It is the business community, not the Internet community, which has attached
to domain names an artificial and misplaced value by which it thinks domain
names are similar to brand names. They are not. A domain name assigned to a
business is not something which applies to any of its products or services. It
is assigned to one of its assets - a server sitting in an airconditioned room.
A brand name has an intrinsic worth to the business, because it has invested
time and money into building up the reputation of that brand, but a domain
name does not. People assign value to a domain name, but it is not really
worth anything. A rare exception to this rule is when entrepreneurs brand
their business with their domain name, like Amazon.com or greengrocers.com.au.
Another essential difference is that brand names are given out by
government-sanctioned agencies, whereas domain names are sold by private
companies who answer not to governments, but to IANA (RIP Jon Postel, BTW).
-- Paul Montgomery, features editor for Image & Data Manager and assistant editor for Internet World. Lives like a JavaBean. Fan of Robert Rankin. Tel: +61 2 9318 2644. Fax: +61 2 9310 4608. mailto:monty@knapp.com.au http://australia.internet.com “I am a railroad track abandoned.” (JB)