This post discusses the crucial role of domain names, highlighted by a recent incident involving the adult website MissAV.
About 2 week ago, numerous forums across Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong reported the shutdown of the popular adult website MissAV. Visiting MissAV's .com domain now redirects to a page in multiple languages stating that the site is a video piracy platform and the domain has been seized.
As we all know, a domain name is one of a company's most valuable digital assets. People worldwide use domain names to find company websites, emails, and other online presences.
With the rise of social media, many individuals, KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), and small businesses believe that having a profile or handle on platforms like Facebook and Instagram is sufficient for people to find them, access their content, and interact with them. This has led some to believe that a social media account can replace a domain name and a social media page can replace a website. However, this is far from the truth.
- Account Suspension/Loss: For various reasons, including violations of platform rules, attacks from competitors, or hacking incidents, your social media account can be suddenly suspended or even permanently lost. This means losing years of accumulated followers, making it difficult for them to find you again.
- Lack of Ownership and Control: You may think you own your social media account and its data. In reality, the social media platform (e.g., Instagram) owns the account and the data. Whether they allow you to access your follower data is entirely at their discretion. A prime example is the steadily declining organic reach over the years. Large companies now have to buy ads on social media to ensure their messages reach a wider audience.
Therefore, no large organization operates without its own domain name, website, and customer data. These assets must be owned and controlled directly, not solely reliant on social media platforms. Even small businesses should understand this crucial point.
Moreover, the cost of owning a domain name is relatively low. Unless it's a highly sought-after, memorable name, a typical domain costs only tens of US dollars per year.
Of course, simply owning a domain is not enough. To utilize it, you need to host the domain and connect it to various services, such as websites and email. GoDaddy is one of the most well-known domain registrars, and many people choose to host their websites with them as well. I did the same thing ten years ago, which led to an unfortunate incident (to be explained in a future post).
Returning to the MissAV case, MissAV and its sister site ThisAV operated on a business model that allowed users to watch a large amount of pirated AV content by viewing a small number of ads (don't ask me how I know). Another business model in this space is FANZA (a division of the Japanese DMM Group), which offers a Netflix-like subscription service for users to watch high-quality, legally licensed adult videos. Clearly, these two business models are in conflict. In this instance, FANZA used legal means to seize MissAV's original .com domain.
This incident serves as a clear illustration of the importance of owning and controlling your online presence through a dedicated domain name. Relying solely on social media platforms leaves you vulnerable to external forces and potential loss of your valuable online identity. This case highlights the importance of having a robust digital strategy that prioritizes ownership and control of key digital assets like domain names and websites.
