.io is simply the new .net, what you get when you can't get .com but don't want to rename. Although .io and .ai are really expensive so I wouldn't be surprised if something new comes up.
over here .xyz is the new .io and nobody cares about the tld that much at all
if you’re relying on users to type in your domain name, or SEO, or some form of legitimacy with an equally as antiquated crowd, you’ve already failed and need to scrap the idea
good to know about the risks of price hikes though!
A lot of super cheap ones have expensive renewals.
Well yes, but not one that uses the Cyrillic alphabet or has this word.
In fact, unless you're selling to techies, it's dubious to operate a US business on anything but .com.
Investor value at the cost of hurting small business by increasing cost or creating confusion.
I've had a .net.au since 1999 and the same rules apply there.
People in Australia use .com.au all the time, domain.au almost looks broken to my eye.