Type-in traffic has been, from the beginning, a bit of a miracle. Any slight change in Internet technology could wipe it out--and that's been the case since the beginning.
KRL is right about government intervention, though the fact that many of us are structured in different countries means that we can get around any US intrusions. But never underestimate how quickly governments can shake your business model upside down. KRL's experienced and been through many cycles of this stuff, and I believe that Bush will use some of his second term to make things difficult for the business.
Time was, you invested in perhaps 3-5 years revenue on a domain, because Internet traffic was still growing exponentially. Now that is no longer the case, at least in the first world that is English speaking. I'd love to be Chris Chena, tapping the Latin market, as that is nothing short of explosive, and Chris has told me of some of the scale of his projects.
To Polish's question: I was convinced a few years ago that type-in traffic would be doomed by the rise of Google. But as sure as night falls, people still type direct into their browser the object of their fascinations.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed, in business or life. Prepare for change and it won't hurt as much when it comes.
The other significant factor at play now is, as KRL was saying, is that players from outside the domain world are now hovering, ready to buy up significant portfolios, whereas in the old days it was only other guys in the business, really.
I can't talk about it now, but there will be a deal in the next few months that will significantly change the landscape and drive domain values to peak levels.
