Just wondering if they are still considered a good choice or if they're "sooo 5 years ago"? They were all the rage a few years back, but how about nowadays?
There have been some frustrating and long outages of the DNS, causing hours of downtime. We switched our API endpoint from .io to .com because we can't afford that much downtime for no good reason.
I think so, depending a bit on your audience. When the .com you want is taken (almost always), going for the .io usually makes sense as it's now so commonplace (especially in tech-savvy circles).<p>If you're trying to build a big direct to consumer brand, .io might not be the best choice.
They were never a good choice...<p>When I see a startup with a .io, I always check the .com and almost always see their name was already taken by some other company.<p>That's a pretty big hint: think of a better name.
I think the novelty has worn off, yes. You won't get a bonus by it anymore, so ask yourself if it is worth the extra money and the potential stress of any DNS issues.<p>I've owned them in the past and I wouldn't buy them again for a new thing.
I would diversify across several tld's and be ready to make use of any of them in your application by switching a properties file or database entry. Should there be a problem with a set of root servers, your SLA impact can be reduced. Even for my personal hobby sites, I always get at least 2 TLD's, sometimes 4+. That is just my own opinion based on my own experiences.<p>There is also some factor of brand protection in this method. If you wait until your business is successful and fast growing, it is too late to go back and get all the TLD's for your brand. They will have been snatched up and you will have been too busy to remember this or notice until it is too late.
As others have said, .com is king.<p>But since it's very difficult to obtain a good name in .com these days, a good alternative is .app which was just released so there's plenty of good names at reasonable prices.