The domain industry is understandably linked to the popularity of the internet especially for online shopping. Internet commerce continues to flourish. Yahoo! news reports that while many stores had a disappointing Christmas season, online sales were up 26%. Gift card sales were also up and I am betting that many of those gift cards will be spent online. This gives a good boost for internet retailers going into 2007. Generic names that represent commercial products or activities related to consumer purchases continue to increase in value.

In addition to retailing, the internet is coming on strong as a means for delivering media. I subscribe to three podcasts and wish that I had time to keep up with a few others. With more programming available online everyday, .tv is gaining popularity and value. This is one commercialized ccTLD that people understand. I am interested to see whether people begin using mobile devices for watching online programming and whether .tv or .mobi will benefit if mobile media goes mainstream.