For those of you with .io domain names, how do people in the "real world" (i.e., people who aren't very tech-savvy) respond to them? Have you gotten any positive or negative feedback? Any misunderstandings or confusion?
This is just one data point: I was planning to use a .io domain for an online fashion store. I talked to several customers and asked how they felt about a domain ending in .io. ~30% of them thought it looked weird or plain "fishy".<p>If you're trying to sell something directly to people (especially physical good or stuff where you don't get a trial) I'd try to stay away from them. They seem handy for URL shorteners and techie stuff.
I use it for hosting my resume, a personal link shortener, and shortcut to my GitHub page. I've handed it out to recruiters and other people in tech, and more broadly, to some clients who are less than tech-savvy. Generally it's been well-received, but it helps that it's wicked short and much easier to recall than my old domain.
I originally thought you actually needed to be situated in the Indian Ocean in order to get a .io domain. It might lead to some confusion (although I assume the tech savvy generally look at the TLD).