> It is mostly about securing short domain names.

Slightly off topic observation: do we really care about domain names anymore? I mean, is it so important for a web start-up called "yourbooks" to own "yourbooks.com"?

It seems to me that decisions as important as selecting a product name are often being made on the availability of domain names. I think this doesn't make sense - most people will use Google if they're looking you up on the web, and apps are the dominate delivery channel, so who cares?

Focus on your business idea, not some arbitrary domain name issue... the world does not need another urbkly.com or another $100k ransom for a domain name.

Interesting point, and eventually things may move that way. It may become as transparent to the users as changing channels on the radio. But for now we're still at the stage where there isn't enough device cross-talk to afford us the luxury to do away with meaningful / memorable domain names (much like how many new radios still need to be tuned in to our preferred stations). We print website addresses and place a great significant on the address bar - so it makes sense that a domain name should fit the product.

While QR codes, mobile apps and search engines are mitigating the need for domain names - I don't think we're quite there yet.

    > ... increasingly becoming moot as more and 
    > more TLD's are become available (eg .io)

"Becoming available"?

Most TLDs don't have any second-level requirements, and AFAIK .io has never had any.

I'm wasn't talking about second level domains (though you're right that -where available- second level domains do widen the scope for TLD usage). But what I meant was that ICANN periodically releases new gTLDs for public use and even offers a program for companies to sponsor new gTLDs.

With regards to .io, technically that's a country code (ccTLD) that's been re-purposed as a gTLD by many organisations in recent years.