In a sense, "com" is just a word, and not a very meaningful one at that. The only reason it is so accepted is because it was the first identifier for the web.

Over time, .com CAN (and probably will) lose its cachet, especially if so many generics remain on parking pages. A lot of consumer confidence for .com is slowly eroding, what with all the phishing and content-lite pages. When you land on a page, are you able to trust the site, or will it launch a virus or worm?

I can see major corporations applying for their brand TLDs; such branding would be an attempt to instill consumer confidence in their products and assure consumers that a .company page will be safe place to land and have something to offer, other than a list of ads to companies that may or may not be honest.

I doubt if "boutique" TLDs will be available for the average person with a credit card and a GoDaddy account.

However, I do see a day when TLDs are obsolete, though maybe not anytime soon.

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