It is no secret that I do not dig most new extensions. I am now a dot COM loyalist, save for a few other ccTLDs such as .co.uk, .TV and maybe of course .net and .org.

Well with that said, I have today registered 2 .tel domain names, KevinJackson.tel and eBusinessDomains.tel. I will refer to them as domains as I had to use a domain registrar, but of course the .tel extension is not really a domain extension as such. From what I gather, you can’t host a website on a .tel “domain” or redirect the domain to another website etc.

So what led me to register the 2 .tel domains? This promotional video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m50xrDcj0fc

No, I am not hoping or aiming to pick up any women with a .tel domain, as I simply don’t need to. But the video is brilliant promotional material and immediately gives the purpose and idea behind the .tel domain extension.

I hate business cards. I always lose the damn things when I get them, and never seem to have any of my own just when I need them. With Internet browsing going mobile, all I would now have to do is tell someone my name, followed by .tel – Kevin Jackson .tel.

Here in the UK, telephone numbers are 11 digits long. People often change numbers regularly due to lost or stolen mobiles, new networks etc. People move on and change jobs, cities etc. Facebook and all the other social networking sites are increasingly becoming hard work just to keep up with. What better way to quickly find the contact details of someone than to type “name” + .tel in your iPhone, scroll to the number and call.

I see the .tel domains as virtual business cards. I won’t be speculating on this domain extension. I don’t intend to register anymore. But I’m damn pleased to have gotten KevinJackson.tel, given my many unsuccessful attempts to purchase KevinJackson.com. I had to settle for KevinAJackson.com instead.

If Telnic, the .tel registry operator could get there message across to Joe Public, and get the buzz going, then people could soon go crazy for the .tel extension in the same way as for a social networking site such as Twitter, or a device such as the iPhone.

The .tel extension may fail miserably like dot Mobi, or it may take off like wildfire. I think I would prefer to risk the $17.50 investing in my own names than to lose out should the extension becomes a hit in future. I didn’t dig Twitter at first, as I thought it was a mere waste of time. I am now reaping quiet success with Twitter. The same may happen through my .tel domains.