TeenSpeak is being rivalled by GeekSpeak: most Internet Geeks know what “the cloud” is. They know because they are “Internet Geeks”, most Internet users don’t profess to the same level of ‘Geekdom’. Now while I don’t claim to be an Internet Geek, I do like to think of myself as an educated Internet user; and the way I think of “the Cloud” is of a computer, plugged in somewhere, and holding lots of “computer things” for the use of anyone, anywhere. You may have heard the expression: “it is hosted in the cloud”.

But what does it really mean? The cloud is just a place from where you can download things and the term download has been part of computer terminology since the dark ages… long before Bill Gates took wearing dull sweaters to the next level: the fact that part of an application remains on a server, or is completely downloaded, it is still a “download”. As a user, I don’t really care so long as I can download to get the “computer stuff” that I need.

Keep it simple

Most online end-users need “simple things” explained “in understandable language”. It is like creating a website: users no longer click 3 times to find the right information: they only click twice and if they don’t find it, they forget about it or switch to something else. Internet Geeks are more single minded than the average user; they like to click around; I don’t.

Whether you are looking for software, a document, a movie, an e-book, some music or an application, it is all the same: to be efficient, the process must be simple, understandable and fast. After starting a search, the average user wants to find and select what he was looking for on the first click, and go to the right page on the appropriate website on the second.

Clarity is the key, if the user wants to get online content and applications what web address will he click on? Simple ... something with the term download in it—preferably at the end! It is completely unambiguous, if I go to (www.)music.download I know what to expect, the same with (www.)movie.download and even londonaccountants.list.download.

On Google, there are 874 million results when I type “cloud”, 823 million for “app” and there are almost 6 billion when I type “download.” This leads me to surmise that “download” is very popular term. I also tend to think that the word “download” is considerably more visible than either “cloud” or app.

But there is also something else that I am sure of: if I find two websites to watch a movie, one ending with “.download” and the other with “.cloud”, I am almost certain that I will click on the “.download” one, at least for two reasons:

1) I know .DOWNLOAD offers more chances to “download” the movie. The word “download” sends clear information. I don’t exactly know what a .CLOUD website would offer: a weather forecast ... maybe!

2) I also know I shall be able to watch my movie with the assurance that my comfort will rely on my reading device only, and not—also—on the speed of the connection. When you watch a movie hosted in the cloud, the movie is downloaded while you watch. This means that it stops, if the Internet connection is interrupted.

There is another reason why I would rather click on a .DOWNLOAD domain name than on any other: when downloading, it means that it goes from one platform to yours. It also means, once it is downloaded, that it belongs to you. Here again, the message is clear.