Few technologies have remained as quietly foundational and as widely misunderstood as domain names. For those outside the industry, a domain may seem like just a web address, a string of letters pointing to a website. But for domain enthusiasts like Jothan Frakes, CEO of Private Label Internet, each domain represents far more: a spark of innovation, a persistent digital identity, and a bridge between past, present, and future internet technologies.
In this article, Frakes shares his decades-long passion for domains, tracing their history from the early 1980s origins of the Domain Name System (DNS) to their modern role in Web3, digital security, and global communication. He explores how a domain is not merely a technical locator, but a tool for digital agency, an asset that endures beyond the fleeting lifespan of social platforms, trends, or applications. From traditional websites and email to blockchain integration and decentralized identity, Frakes illustrates how domain names continue to empower creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses in ways both practical and profound. More than a technical guide, this is an invitation to nerd out on the enduring power of domains and to appreciate why a simple registration can ignite ideas, preserve digital ownership, and unlock new horizons online.
Written by Jothan Frakes
I am probably quite boring at cocktail parties, because I will almost always find a way to share my enthusiasm over domain names. Since my first domain I managed in 1991, I continue to be very passionate about the benefits that domain names have brought to us. I often say that the internet and domain names are intertwined - that you cannot talk about the internet and its practical advantages without mentioning a domain name.
What I find truly amazing is how there is always a group of people who share my passion for domain names, and the conversation gets very nerdy and interesting when we do a deep dive on some of the cool things enabled by a domain. I hope you will read on and nerd-out with me a bit about domains.
At their core, domain names are a basic ‘speed dial’ technology that let us as humans interact with servers and services (and each other), but they can be so much more.
It can be very exciting to register a domain name when your idea is forming, and it is truly that spark that plants an exciting seed for your idea to grow and manifest. To build upon the vast and growing potential that the simple act of registration can get you, I want to talk a little about the past and future of domain names and their capabilities that you gain when registering.
The Genesis of Internet Identity
The Domain Name System (DNS), a foundational technology born in the early 1980s, remains the inconspicuous bedrock of the modern internet. Far from a relic, it is a testament to distributed design, providing the central, trusted authority that underpins global communication, commerce, and innovation. A domain name-your digital address-is not merely a locator; it is the ultimate expression of agency in the online world, the starting point for every new company, idea, and entrepreneurial endeavour.
“DNS remains the inconspicuous bedrock of the modern internet.”
The DNS was formally introduced through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) with the publication of RFC 882 and RFC 883 in November 1983, authored by Paul Mockapetris. This marked the birth of a technology designed to map human-readable names to numerical IP addresses, a system that, over four decades later, is still leveraged in the default configuration of virtually every contemporary Operating System and network-connected device worldwide.
“The DNS provides a crucial bridge between the legacy internet infrastructure and Web3.”
This deep integration and established trust make the DNS the de facto global directory, and there has
been ongoing evolution to introduce a variety of new records types, standards and best practices in the decades since.
The Domain Name as a Permanent Address
The choice between building a presence on a proprietary social media platform versus establishing a business address using a domain name is a critical inflection point for digital entities. Relying on a third-party platform’s address, such as platform.com/bandname, subjects the user to the platform’s volatility, whims, and eventual obsolescence. The history of the internet is littered with the digital tombstones of once-dominant social networks-from Friendster and MySpace to countless others-where communities, contacts, and content vanished when the platform closed its doors or fundamentally changed its terms. (Ed. note: see also Social Media Profiles: Evolution of Digital Identities).
Consider a musical band that built its entire fan base on MySpace in the mid-2000s. When MySpace ceded ground to newer platforms, the band’s primary address and connection to its fans effectively dissolved. For an even more contemporary example, while many of these social platforms may hold attraction in audience, in our polarized social world, one can be subjected to rules that govern behaviour in ways that other users (competitors or those with a different perspective) might disrupt your visibility through the lightest of efforts by weaponizing platform rules or even cause you account suspension, often without appeal. This can be devastating to a business or organization. (Ed. Note: see also are you really in control of your online persona?).
In stark contrast, a brand (or example band) that owned a domain name, such as BandName.com, possessed true digital ownership. As platforms rose and fell, this central, trusted address never changed. When MySpace became irrelevant, the band simply updated the DNS record-a two-minute task-to seamlessly redirect BandName.com to their new primary presence on a surviving platform like Facebook or Instagram. This simple act of redirection ensured that every fan, every search result, and every printed flyer or email footer still pointed to the right place, keeping their base intact and maintaining unbroken digital agency. The domain name acts as a persistent, user-controlled layer above the transitory infrastructure of individual applications.
“The domain name acts as a persistent, user-controlled layer above the transitory infrastructure of individual applications.”
The adoption of DNS in the blockchain space is particularly significant, demonstrating its enduring relevance. By allowing users to link a traditional domain name (the trusted central authority) to a decentralized, distributed ledger address (like a crypto wallet), the DNS provides a crucial bridge between the legacy internet infrastructure and Web3.
This integration solidifies the domain name’s role not just as a pointer to content, but as a universally recognized handle for digital assets and verifiable identity. Where the core conventional DNS advantages, such as website and email use of a domain name are complemented by new capabilities with web3, and allow for familiar namespace syntax of the existing domain name space where browsers have wallet-like capabilities in place, either as an extension or natively.
Some of the practical advantages of blockchain wallet use are becoming norms (as opposed to solutions in search of problems to solve or notional activities). Users that take advantage of web3 wallet capabilities are able to participate in a variety of trusted ledger- based activities, such as document signing, consensus voting, federated identity (log in to browser wallet accesses numerous websites), and transfer of value.
Users or services can of course conduct these with or without a human-readable domain name, but user simplicity and clarity are a real thing, and decades of domain name familiarity contribute to aiding users newer to blockchain technologies in their comfort and adoption. There is a very significant psychological boost to trust where it is tied to a domain name that someone may have been interacting with over a long span of time.
These are just a small set of examples of just how amazing the expansion of this simple, distributed protocol of DNS has delivered trusted value and service across decades, and will continue to do so for years to come. This is why I remain a very prolific enthusiast of domain names, the underlying technology, and the innovation and spark of a journey they can represent.
About the Author: Jothan Frakes (CEO of Private Label Internet)
Years in the industry: in the domain space since 1992, in the domain industry since 1995. (Location: Seattle, WA)
Notable Achievement:"Just celebrated 30 years of owning jothan.com" and
“I toured with a popular top-40 band Stevie B in the late 80s/early 90s.”
Motto: “There are no strangers, only friends you have yet to meet.”