survival of .net and other non-.com domains

Do you think .net sites are just as viable (as .com), always struggling, or doomed, especially if a webmaster is starting his career with one? I've read and heard forever to just go with .com. (A few people say it doesn't matter.) But when I think about it...when would this really matter unless someone entered the entire domain in a search or in a browser assuming it was .com? Aren't people most likely to enter keywords in a search, or find a link to a new site in a blogroll or elsewhere, then bookmark it?

Less important question...what do you think about the .me domains. I bought some when they first came out, haven't used any yet, but I think it waste of money. I made the domains as such (not real examples of my own): give it to.me

Well, i can say nothing about .me domains, but i have several .net and .info domains. And i definitely can say they work as well as .com domains. Though, of course, if to think what can people type in their browser it probably would be .com ending. But for bookmarks i don't think people notice the ending of the domains.

.net's and .com's are seen as "global extensions" on search engines. Google ranks .me as a country code extension, which many say make it a bit harder to rank globally, compared to the global extensions (.com/.net/.org/.info).

The extension .WS, google sees as a global extension vs a country code extension, but many people stay away from that extension due to the pyramid money scheme that is often advertised on them. I think they might eventually consider .ME to be a global extension, but that might be awhile til' that happens, if ever.

I think country code extensions are great for local websites, hack names (ex: ho.me), and to get a good keyword based domain, that you couldn't afford on a more popular extension.

i have only ever bought .com right now but i am hoping in the next few months to start being able to buy some different names

I actually dont think ive ever purchased a domain TLD other than .com, i might have owned a .info a few years back for some reason (or i might have just been thinking about registering one) personally, i think registering TLDs other than .com can be a disservice, especially if you are trying to build an online traffic presence.

Regards,

Lee

I think Man Hunt is pretty happy with their domain!