Registries: where is the Holy Grail?

There are multiple registries I follow on LinkedIn and there is an hitoric one, Identity Digital (ex "Donuts"), I particularly like to check publications since their number one objective is to find ways to install their domain names and have clients to renew them. This is to me the Holy Grail every Registry is looking for and the job of Rachel Sterling, latest CMO at Identity Digital.

I read a lot of publications from Registrars, Registries and Backend Registries but as a Marketing guy, I also have my opinion on where this Holy Grail could be. I listed below standard and innovative methods to develop a Top-Level Domain focusing on meeting with adoption.

Traditional methods:

Registries, when they can afford it, essentially use the same methods:

• The network of accredited Registrars (when Registrars want them as a TLD to sell),
• Premium domain names
• Press Release
• Auto promotion in the online press
• Give away for one year
• Promotion at Registrars
• There are probably other ways but I try to be fast in my publications.

New and innovative methods:

1. I believe Registries can sell more and meet with adoption when they already have a network willing to buy "now" (and this information should be validated prior to creating the new gTLD application). It is precicsly what community TLDs try to achieve but numbers don't lie and - with experience - I believe this method would be much more efficient if community applications were just generic applications.
2. Poiting the Registry DNS to a CMS (Content Management System).
1. It is what the .TEL Registry attempted to do prior to the first Round of the ICANN new gTLD program in 2007. They succeeded and then failed. They were settlers but I was a serious fan of .TEL and kept using and renewing mine until Round 1 of new gTLDs in 2010. The .TEL was a directory solution which required to buy a domain name, use a second login and password to access its CMS, which then required to set up the directory: quite complex at the time but very innovative and exciting for the owner.
2. It is what the .BEST Registry (participant in Round of new gTLDs) is achieving right now after acquiring the TLD from its initial owner. The domain name is then automatically set-up when downloading the APP onto your mobile: https://app.best/. By the way, registrations are increasing in 2023.
3. Using a .BRAND to offer a service using a CMS: the method here is quite simple, it requires to sell a service, not a domain name. If this method does not benefit from the network of accredited Registrars, it kills all other problems met by the .TEL Registry in 2007: one login and one password "only" and operating costs reduced. Want to check for an example?

Round 2 of new gTLDs could be announced as early as 2026. Thinking that submitting another application in the huge list of already existing TLDs will be a success - without a studied project - is naive. Jovenet Consulting will help you prepare your project.

The COVID ended the .SHRIRAM new gTLD

This is the Notice of Registry Operator Request for Termination of Registry Agreement. The .SHRIRAM Top-Level Domain was terminated.

The notice was sent in May by SHRIRAM and it is due to the COVID situation:

We refer the registry agreement dt.23.01.2014 entered by Shriram Capital Ltd with you. Due to unprecedented Covid-19 effect on the business, we have no other option but to terminate the registry agrcement with effect from 3l't March 2020. We request you not to transit the domain name .SHRIRAM to any third party as we are the registered trademark owner of the name SHRIRAM. We requcst you to kindly do the needful at the earliest.

Download the notice of termination by the ICANN (PDF download)

New gTLDs for the Law: 2019 in Review

I listed eleven new Top-Level Domains (domain name extensions) which are connected to the law: it can be a profession or a generic term. In 2019, nothing extraordinary happened but here is what I noticed:

• One is a Trademark (a .BRAND new gTLD);
• One is a Chinese IDN (Internationalized domain name);
• The .ESQ new gTLD, operated by Google, was delegated in August 2014 and had two domain names created in January 2019, same as December.
• Four of these Registries have more than 10,000 domain name registrations and the number one had 27,324 domain names beginning of December 2019. Surprisingly, this Top-Level Domain is the .TRADEMARK new gTLD in its Chinese version: the .商标 (trademark) domain name extension.
• Two of these gTLDs exist in English and Spanish: .ATTORNEY and .ABOGADO. Note that "abogado" is the name of a fruit too.
• Three of these TLDs lost registrations during the year, it means that they had less registrations in December than in January of the same year: .LAWYER - .ATTORNEY and .ASSOCIATES
• Two had the exact same number of domain names during the entire year: no increase, no decrease.
• One of the TLDs that I like best is the .POLITIE new gTLD: is stands for "Police" in the Netherlands. It is the only one that I found from this kind: it's the only Police in the world to operate its own domain name extension. The application submitted to the ICANN says: "In addition, an Internet portal for the National Police will offer opportunities for partnerships with local stakeholders and provide a platform for local partners to share information concerning a particular incident or a structural problem within a neighborhood" but unfortunately, I was not able to locate that Internet portal. The .POLITIE new gTLD had eight domain names created as of December 2019.
• The .LEGAL and .LAW new gTLDs both gained an average of 600 domain names from January to December. Adoption is slow by end users but it is there.
• The .PARTNERS Top-Level Domain gained 1,000 domain names in one year.

Read the full report here.

Coming: "HEALTH new gTLD: 2019 in Review"

The.Best : three different channels

New owner of the .BEST Registry explains the 3 different channels of the .BEST new gTLD project.

Want to know what the 2 targets are for 2019? Watch the full video or keep a close eye to the  .BEST YouTube channel.

2 new Sunrise Periods: .DEV and .INC

The Trademark Clearinghouse just announced two new Sunrise Periods:

1. The .DEV new gTLD, a secure domain (by Google) for developers and technology:
1. Sunrise Period START: Wednesday, 16 January, 2019 - 16:00
2. Sunrise Period END: Tuesday, 19 February, 2019 - 16:00
2. The .INC new gTLD, for businesses:
1. Sunrise Period START: Wednesday, 16 January, 2019 - 16:00
2. Sunrise Period END: Tuesday, 20 February, 2019 - 16:00

Check the Trademark Clearinghouse calendar for more.

NB: the .FAN new gTLD opens to all today.

The LinkedIn new gTLD group is changing

Recently, LinkedIn informed group owners about a few changes on how groups will now work and on how can participants benefit more from being members. We are approaching the 3,000 participants but still, the level of participation remains low so I hope that the below will be of interest.

What's changing
What LinkedIn recently changed to the groups:

1. Groups are now accessible from the LinkedIn mobile application: note that this is something truly useful but I have not yet found how to do this. Since these changes are recent, it should be a matter of days.
2. Unless I missed something, it is not possible to send a weekly email to the members of the group anymore.
3. You are encouraged to invite people and again, publishing content related to new gTLDs (only) is open to anyone as long as you stick to the subject. I just block domainers who try to sell their domain names.
4. When sharing content from other sites, it is recommended to add a question to the content you are sharing to invite discussion.

Reminder

We now pay attention to publishing all content to the Google+ Community, which is another communication channel that we maintain on a daily basis.

The new gTLD group is free to access. You can join and contribute here.

A complete guide to SEO and new gTLDs

I tend to download most guides dealing with new gTLDs that I find on Internet but I admit that I never read them all completely. The reason for this is that there is nothing new and the guides are often used as promotion tools. This one, from English backend registry Nominet, is 8 pages and I made the effort to read it until the end.

These are the topics covered:

• What TLDs are and why organisations are using them;
• Different types of TLD and how they can be used;
• Benefits of TLDs including: improved brand recognition, better online security and more;
• How Google and other search engines treat new gTLDs;
• Explanation of ‘DotBrand’ – a particularly powerful type of gTLD for global organisations;
• How organisations are embracing new TLDs for greater SEO benefit.

And this is what you will find inside:

1. Introduction
2. A beginner's guide to Top Level Domains
3. The introduction of new gTLDs
4. What is a .BRAND ?
5. How do search engine treat new gTLDs
6. Interesting: SEO tips effectively utilizing a .BRAND

The last point on SEO tips utilizing .BRAND domain name extensions is one that I found interesting: it is short but it is a must read for applicants with the intention to use their extension. Such section should be read before creating the first ".brand" domain name.

Missing

It is always interesting to read what one provider can add to such guides but I found that the new URL redirection strategy used by some .BRANDs was not covered.

A dotBrand Top-Level Domain is a powerful tool for branding mixed with SEO, not SEO only: a trademark will be able to do SEO without its own extension using other domain names that will probably cost a lot less money.

Download the guide

The guide can be downloaded on the Nominet website. Nominet is a backend registry service provider for 37 new gTLDs. It offers service to extensions such as the .VIP registry with more than 800,000 domain names registered, .BLOG - .LONDON - .BEER and .BENTLEY

New gTLDs are political and religious assets

We often mention branding when referring to new gTLDs but since these also strongly refer to an identity (when comparing to ".com"), they can have a strong impact on the visibility of a specific community on Internet; no matter if some communities are sometimes not accepted, neither...liked, nor considered by their opponents.

What a new gTLD community really is
Whatever the type of application that was submitted to the ICANN (generic, community or geographic), some new gTLDs represent communities of a specific area or geographical zone but according to the definition one has of a community, such new gTLDs can become efficient communication tools for a community to expand and increase its visibility on Internet:

• a city like the .PARIS new gTLD which is for the city of Paris (France) and allows the creation of domain names such as www.earthhour.paris.
• a population like the .CORSICA new gTLD which is for the diaspora of Corsicans around the world. Note that Corsica is a French island which has initiated discussions with the French government to become independent.
• a religious community like the .CATHOLIC or .MORMON new gTLDs.
• a community like the .PERSIANGULF or .PARS

The .PERSIANGULF new gTLD
This application submitted to the ICANN is a generic one, neither a geographic nor a community one: it means that anyone may register a domain name ending in ".persiangulf". The application is on "on-hold" status at the ICANN, it means that there is a problem with it. The applications explains that: "The origins of the ethnic Persians can be traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples..." and there is a long explanation of who the Persians are. It also refers to "Ancient Iranian peoples" and the exact geographical zone represented by the Persian Gulf. As you can imagine, this can be a problem when you disagree on who a geographical zone belongs to in the history of the human kind. Of course, I am absolutely not referring to Palestine.

Some governments do not want the company to have applied to the .PERSIANGULF new gTLD to be the one to operate it, and the reason for this is probably politico-religious rather than economical or a trademark problem. The Persian Gulf community seems to be a political and religious problem to some governments and would this new domain name extension see the day, it would legitimate everything that the application says. It would also open the possibility for this community to multiply its visibility on Internet launching websites ending in ".persiangulf". That is where the real problem is for this application.

A problem with "Persians" maybe?
The Chairman and CEO of the CITRA (Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority in The State of Kuwait), who represents a country to have opposed the .PERSIANGULF new gTLD application, recently wrote to the ICANN explaining that, according to him, "this domain name extension is not in the public interest of the internet community". He gives several other reasons such as:

1. the name reflects a disputed name for the Arabian Gulf;
2. he was not consulted prior for the application to be submitted;
3. he believes this extension does not represent the interest of the targeted audience.

I believe that the reasons given in this letter hide the fear that such a community could develop; it confirms that a new gTLD can be a very strong political or religious asset. The letter ends urging the ICANN to terminate this application.

The .PARS new gTLD
This application was delegated and already allows the registration of domain names ending in ".pars" (not ".paris"). Persians can register domain names ending in ".pars" anyway.

Conclusion

New gTLDs are one of the most powerful and efficient tool the Internet has produced in the history: it allows to publish a message right into any search engine, without even having to offer the end user to visit a website. Printed on any document, sends a factual information to a reader too.

Some registries (the one to operate a new gTLD) are restricting the access to their domain names to to allow their community only to register them; but history has shown that restricting "just does not work" since volumes are necessary too. Opening a domain name extension "to everyone" is the best way to install it on Internet since it makes it more simple to register a domain name. Restricting a new domain name extension is a strategic mistake in the case of a community who would want to develop unless in very specific areas such as banking and a few others.

Think I am wrong? Then I wonder why more and more Top-Level Domains, Country Code Top Level Domains included are getting rid of their restrictions ;-)

When the Backend Registry is too expensive

What we call a "backend registry" is the mandatory technical platform to operate a domain name extension and all registries have one. It is the backend registry that allows accredited registrars to technically sell domain names for each extensions.

The question here is: what happens to a registry, who sells domain names to accredited registrars, when his backend registry solution provider is too expensive?

Creating your backend registry solution
In 2008, I remember going to a .BRAND meeting with Stephane Van Gelder and a technical guy told us: "we don't need a backend registry, we have enough resources to do it ourselves". Well...one can try to do it so for the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program - and there are tools for this - but I would certainly not recommend it for three reasons:

1. It requires serious skills to develop a backend registry platform;
2. It requires to pass the ICANN tests;
3. It's awfully expensive.

How to lower the expenses

There are less than 10 solution providers that I would work with worldwide, and the reason why I would not create my own backend registry solution is simple: the more your new gTLD project costs you, the more you will be tempted to increase the price of your domain names. Accredited Registrars, the ones Registries sell their domain names to, will have to take a margin so they will increase the price too, and here is what happens next:

1. The final price at the Registrant level (the person who buys the domain name) will be higher than a ".com"; it may be be a bad sign sent to new consumers: "hey, why should I pay more for a domain name?". Remember that the average price known by consumers for a domain name is between $10 and $12;
2. It will make your registry more difficult to develop in volume of domain names if your target is the general public. For domain names to meet with adoption: "use" is needed but "volume" is needed too to increase its visibility on Internet.

Think twice about creating your own backend registry solution: it will drastically increase the price of your new gTLD project.

Note that 500 registries have less than 10,000 domain names registered but is this what a new registry wants when creating a new domain name extension? I stopped counting at 200 domain names registered (June 2018) to exclude .BRAND new gTLDs from this approximate calculation.

Less than $2 per domain

Backend registry service providers offer different range of services but there is now stronger competition between them and offers should change for the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program. Prices should change too and there are three parameters that I will focus on when selecting a backend registry provider:

1. One price per domain name "only" should constitute the offer: a registry which wants to gain recognition cannot be blocked from lowering the price of his domain names because the annual financial commitment with his backend registry is too high: let's not forget that the more domain names a registry puts on the market, the more it benefits the backend registry.
2. No leaving fee: the knowledge to operate a registry relies a lot on the backend registry solution provider but it has now become easier and, for example, one might be tempted to change to a Chinese solution provider to access the profitable Chinese market with a MIIT licence. Once you're blocked with an important leaving fee, it blocks you from spending this money to find a better solution: a Chinese backend registry solution provider will be very efficient combining complementary solutions for you: the backend registry solution + the MIIT licence for example.
3. A "minimum annual commitment"? I read this fee at a service provider (...) With the number of registries to have launched at the same time in 2012, how can a niche TLD survive when it sells less than 1,000 domains a year (also because its retail price is already too high)? Added to a leaving fee, it makes it almost impossible to develop. For some, it means going "bankrupt". By the way: a backend registry asking for a minimum annual commitment does not care about the success of your project.

Note that such offers already exist: some providers have adapted to the market. It costs less than $1 for certain registries to create a domain name: "the lower the price is at the backend, the lower it will be for your clients".

If the backend registry is too expensive...it will impact the final price of your domain names and it is unlikely that new consumers will want to pay more than $12 to buy them. Registration volumes seem to confirm this: when new gTLD registration volumes are low, it is also because the price of domain names is often too high, the reason is that.

Why we're adding .APP to our new gTLD report

The "new gTLD reports" are monthly snapshots of new domain name registration volumes according to specific categories of businesses or groups and three of these reports are "special".

3 new gTLD reports are "indicators"
In our list of 17 reports, 3 are slightly different from the 14 others:

1. The report related to Companies lists the gTLDs in which we believe a company should register its name or trademark with;
2. The Singular VS Plural reports lists registration volumes but more important, it lists the TLDs that do exist in two versions: singular and plural (ie: ".accountant" and ".accountants";
3. The Multiple Registries one is an indicator of volumes registered from a group to have acquired several domain name extensions.

Why we're adding .APP to our report for Companies

There are several reasons for this:

• The cloud application market was valued at $ 52.605 billion in 2017 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 14% over the forecast period to reach $115.71 billion by 2023. If numbers remain number, it still means that it is expanding fast. In more simple words, "apps" are adopted and chances are high that more companies either decide to point their website visitors to an application, or even create theirs;
• Domain names ending in ".app" were massively registered during their General Availability Period and when this happens, the risk increases for a Trademark to have its name squatted; so $20/year to block this from happening is not a prohibitive investment;
• It is multilingual: you say "app" to qualify an application is many languages worldwide;
• It's a memorable TLD if you are in the application development business;
• A SSL certificate is mandatory to use a ".app" domain name and SSL is a sign that security is increased on such a website: demonstration of security increases trust in a company;
• It's cheap and when domain names are cheap, potential users tend to buy them more and install them;
• It can be free: we acquired jovenet.app for free (for its first year of registration).

Companies are not concerned by all new extensions but a certain number them. The number one reason why we believe that .APP should be added to our list is that companies are coming to the use of applications and informing about it on a domain name ending in ".app" demonstrates innovation. Of course, application developers are more concerned by this statement.

A hidden reason

There's another hidden reason actually why we think that companies should secure their ".app" domain name...but this one...well, this is what we think: Google operates the .APP new gTLD and it is also a search engine; not "a" search engine actually but "the" search engine most of the world uses. Google decides what can be best indexed on its own platform. When informing about a content related to applications AND using a SSL certified website (recently advertised by Google to give a ranking boost to secure https/ssl websites), we think that using a ".app" domain name will rank better in search engine results.

The latest new gTLD report for Companies is available here.

UPDATED: New gTLDs in your kids' future

Many people remember the .NAME new gTLD which qualified for a first name or a surname. I bought one at the time: “just in case” because the similar one ending in”.com” was not available and I thought that I‘d found a use for it (different from a redirection).

I checked my name in several new gTLD extensions and noticed that many first names have already been registered.

When thinking about my kids’ future: isn’t it time to secure a good domain name for them?

Available but Premium
I bought my three kids their first name in a specific domain name extension but I will be honest in saying that the extension chosen was not exactly the one I wanted. The reason for this was that a domain name could be expensive to renew, year after year. I don’t know when (and if) my kids will want to use them one day so…price is important. Also, a first name has value: a lot of value because many people have the same name. When looking for common first names, you will notice that there are many that are available as “Premium domains” and so on, at a higher price, for the reason I explained above.

Cheap but in niche TLDs
My name is “Jean” and this word has other meanings, it is also a short four letters word so it makes it even more complicated to find an available domain name in most extensions, even in new domain name extensions but niche ones. Shall I register jean.online for €9,000 because it is a generic TLD? Clearly not. I went to my Registrar and I found some first names available for registration for €3,19 but in niche extensions that my kids will never use.

For example, the “.bargains”, “.cash”, “.mba”, “.reisen” extensions and many others are extremely cheap to register and renewing the domain name is not so expensive but what is the point in registering my kids their first name in one of these extensions if they never use them?

Your kids and the future
I don’t know whether my kids will need a domain name in the future and, even is some ultra generic keywords will still be available in not so niche new gTLDs that could match with a business they might be interested in developing; I do not know either if their chosen business will match the generic domain name I chose for them. Hunting for their first name as a domain name is a good start I believe.

From my searches - and I wanted to register my kids their domain name in the same extension - I realized that I am not the only person to be looking for first names in new gTLDs. I also realized that, when searching, there are still extremely good domain names to register for your kid(s). The one I chose for mine are in the “.business” new gTLD.

I often hear that people often use more applications than they do for websites; the future is in apps. Let’s say that this is a fact but when starting a business, you often need a name and this can be the application’s name: why not start with your family’s name or the first name of your kid as a domain name? The risk is low and purely financial (a few Euros) but the value could be extremely high in a few years...for your kids.

A web crawler for new gTLDs

ICANN IT has released a UA (Universal Acceptance) Web Crawler that’s been published on GitHub. The website explains that it is "a tool to find the UAC compliance factor of any website". In more simple words: a tool to help you ensure that your domain names and email addresses can be used by all Internet-enabled applications, devices and systems.

What does the crawler do?

I first thought that ICANN had created its own browser but found out that it had nothing to do with this so since I am not geek enough (sorry Don) to try the tool myself, I pasted this from the official website so you can feel free to give it a try yourself:

The UAC Crawler will enable companies and website owners to find out the complexity involved in making their web assets Universal Acceptance Compliant. The idea behind the UAC Crawler portal is that it will give a complexity score which will help nontechnical user base to get started with the UAC journey. The UAC Crawler will crawl the website and generate a list of all internal links - Each use of a link might need to be checked that it can handle UA. It will then generate a score based on how compliant the website links are. The score will be out of 10 and will be based on the following factors:

• Domain Unicode URL Compliance - Checks if all links are UA compliant. It checks for the HTML encoding of the page to verify if it is UTF compliant;

• Unicode Email Address Compliance - Checks if all email addresses are UA Compliant;

• Inactive URL Compliance - The tool also checks for inactive or dead links.

Check the full presentation here.

Sad day for new gTLDs or...wrong move?

McDonald's is withdrawing its new gTLD applications. For whatever reason, someone at McDonald's took the decision to terminate the two applications for its domain names ending in ".mcdonalds" and ".mcd".

What the notice says

• McDonald's Corporation, in its function as the Registry Operator has represented to ICANN that it does not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registrations in the .mcdonalds TLD to third parties.
• Transitioning operation of the TLD is not necessary to protect the public interest.
• .mcdonalds qualifies as a .Brand TLD.
• Only one domain name is registered in the .mcdonalds TLD and it is mandated by the Registry Agreement (nic.mcdonalds).

McDonald's is good at Marketing
One thing that is for sure is that McDonald's is good at Marketing: they have been able to sell Hamburgers to French and make them addicted. They've also been able to have millions of American to eat their Hamburgers using "Bread", "Cheese" and "French fries". No doubt: they are excellent at selling hamburgers ;-)

With so many people working on the best ways to market its products, the giant seems have taken the decision to capitalize on using country code Top-Level domains (such as ".fr" for example)* instead of its own domain name extension.

*Oh...and ".com" too.

$40,000 a year to operate...so why?
There are such offers to operate a TLD and this includes the prohibitive ICANN fee of $25,000 a year so...when you're McDonald's: why would you withdraw your application when you don't know about the future? It is even possible that these fee will lower - for .BRAND new gTLD applicants - in the future round of the ICANN new gTLD program: isn't this another good reason to keep a .BRAND new gTLD?

"What if"
What if Papa John's, Jack in the Box, Arby's, Dairy Queen, Little Caesars, Big Fernand (and its "hamburgés"), Carl's Jr./Hardee's, Chipotle, Sonic Drive-In, Domino's, KFC, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin' Donuts, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Burger King, Subway or Starbucks submit an application in the next round and decide to create one domain name per restaurant opened or city covered? That could add a lot of visibility for these restaurants and make a difference when it comes to entering "hamburger" on Google (or Bing).

I am not even trying to contact McDonald's to understand such move but as a marketer myself, let's just say that if there are more, or as many, .BRAND new gTLD applications in the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program, I will consider that this choice was...not a good one: it is to me far to early for a Trademark like McDonald's to withdraw its new gTLD applications.

A ".dash" new gTLD coming?

About.com just announced: "Hi. We're Dotdash. We were About.com".

I don't know the reason for this change but it reminds me that a lot of people secured domain names starting with "dot" before round one of the ICANN new gTLD program to start. This was a way to secure a good domain name before the activation of the extension's first domains. It was a way to use the corresponding name of the extension to start publishing after "reveal day" in July 2012.

There was no application submitted for a .DASH new domain name extension in the first round and the design of this new name added to this new domain name could be a sign that a .DASH new gTLD project is coming... or not.

What does "oui.sncf" mean

One might have noticed the recent announcement of the SNCF to start using "oui.sncf" as a domain name in a close future.

The SNCF is not only changing domain name, it is changing one of its major brands so, as you can expect, "we're in France" and very few seem positive about this for the moment. I read a lot of critics in regard to this change of name so if such announcement does not mean much for train travellers - at least for today - it means a lot for the promotion of new gTLDs, here is why.

What does it mean for end users?
People don't like change so one can imagine what's happening when the number one train company, which has existed for generations, changes its name. If I strongly believe that the French company will be sanctioned by train travellers when the new website is announced, I also imagine the kind of question the SNCF online support will receive: "I don't understand, the website does not work anymore, I cannot order my ticket". Clients will need to adapt, and they will.

"oui.sncf" instead of "voyages.sncf"?
There is a change of Brand and "Oui.sncf" seems to be coming with an offer entitled "inOui" I see two changes here when the previous website was named www.voyages-sncf.com. Was a new name absolutely necessary? Wasn't it less confusing to innovate with a name clients could understand? I fear that there will be a little confusion but let's be optimistic: innovation remains here.

Security is highly increased for clients
Unfortunately, the SNCF clients won't be able to see it but their security, navigating on the new https://oui.sncf website (not live yet) will be highly increased. With the complete ownership of the ".sncf" domain name extension, the SNCF controls every registered domain name. When a domain name extension is open for registrations "to all", it means that anyone can register an homoglyph...

What does it mean for "new gTLDs"?
Who worries about what it means for our industry? :-)

".com" Domainers
".com" Domainers don't like new gTLDs and they like to make it known. We read a lot about how negative ".com" domainers can be about the ICANN new gTLD program. After so many months trying to understand why, there's two things that I noticed:

1. Domainers are professionals of the domain name industry: they buy and resell domain names. It is important to understand that new gTLDs have flooded the market so when the offer of domain names becomes so high in such a short period of time, it means a lot more domain names available on the market. This can kill the ".com" demand: ".com" domainers' benefits.
2. Domainers are not representative of users: live website owners are.

The reason why I refer to the domaining community here is that, combined to the annoyance of a change, the message sent to end users is bad to our business: our industry has a hard time promoting new domain name extensions. There is a new market where those affected by this change are the one to talk loud because they reside online all day long. When reading between the lines, this is just a matter of time. New gTLDs need time to become popular and used and not to forget that the young generation is growing up with new gTLDs.

Communication

There are plenty of methods to promote (and sell) new domain names: press releases, advertising online, on TV, paper ads, affiliation, price reductions at the Registrar, direct deals with major institutions, and I won't certainly talk about those that are not made public.

The number one communication that our industry needs is "use" and it is exactly what the SNCF is about to contribute to. The advantage that I see in the SNCF announcement is that it is going to communicate loud and this will go right into the ears of BtoB and BtoC consumers (future Registrants).

In one word; the SNCF is about to do the best "new domain names" promotion job that our industry needs. Whatever end-users say or write then, what matters is that they are trained to see new domain names.

Who's next?

SNCF is a major French player to help us develop our business but we need more. If the SNCF sends a strong sign to other French .BRAND new gTLD applicants, I believe that McDonald's and its .MCDONALDS and MCD new gTLDs would contribute to educate consumers too.

The .HEALTH Sunrise Period

The Sunrise Period for the .HEALTH new gTLD starts today:

• START: Monday, 8 May, 2017 - 16:00
• END: Friday, 7 July, 2017 - 16:00

There were four applicants to the .HEALTH new gTLD and one for .HEALTHCARE.

Mission and Purpose of ".HEALTH"

This is an extract of the new gTLD application submitted to the ICANN:

"At DotHealth, LLC, in recognition of these opportunities, challenges and risks, our mission is to establish .health as a safe, trustworthy and secure top-level domain for global health stakeholders. Our goals and objectives are to establish .health as the preferred online namespace for the trusted communication, dissemination, exchange and fulfillment of health-related information and resources. In support of the safety and protection of online health consumers and rightsholders, DotHealth has identified a series of policies, safeguards and standard operating procedures for the .health gTLD that collectively comprise our proposed registry services and procedural framework. 

We have also executed an exclusive agreement with LegitScript to provide enterprise fraud and abuse monitoring and intelligence services for the .health gTLD. LegitScript’s continued cooperation with leading U.S. and international industry organizations, including the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, The International Pharmaceutical Federation, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the International Medical Product Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force will play an important role in the creation and ongoing enforcement of DotHealth policies and standards for registrant compliance. LegitScript’s is the healthcare industry’s leading provider of online fraud intelligence and monitoring services, and works with several of the world’s most successful and recognized major e-commerce channels and search engines including Google, Amazon, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Additionally, LegitScript increasingly cooperates with major domain name registrars throughout the world, which will help DotHealth to execute on its goals and objectives for the .health TLD.

DotHealth’s proposed policies and registry services have been developed with consensus and affirmations of support from numerous global and regional health sciences industry organizations including the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), The Inter-American College of Physicians and Services (ICPS), The Association of Black Cardiologists and the World Federation of Chiropractic. Our continued cooperation these organizations and others will play an important and influential role in advocating and promoting widespread adoption and the meaningful uses of .health domain names".

Check the Trademark Clearinghouse calendar.

Latest new gTLD NEWS

A lot is said about new gTLDs every day and "reading it all" can be challenging and time consuming. We take care of this for you - everyday - in our Newsletter. Subscribe, it's free.

What was said recently:

1. New gTLDs: Holding ICANN Accountable;
2. Farewell to new gTLDs;
3. Combating Five Myths About new gTLDs;
4. French - Les new gTLD ont-ils de la valeur?
5. Question: Does Google index the new domain names as “keyword”?
6. Job: Director, Registry Services;
7. HOT - Notes for a new TLD round;
8. Chinese to invade .AFRICA? CEO thinks so;
9. Major SEO contest won with a new domain name;
10. Companies losing $10 BILLION by ignoring new gTLDs;
11. Two new gTLDs were just delegated:
1. .RUGBY
2. .HOTELS
12. The .WALMART new gTLD;
13. After long wait, .ECO domains roll out this month;
14. Top 10 Own Over 10% Of All New gTLD’s;
15. Lack of safeguarding checks leaves children vulnerable to online abuse (.KIDS);
16. New gTLDs = Amateur Hour;
17. Cool - "New gTLD" source of info in Japanese;
18. .CLUB Delivers Huge Sales of over $500,000;
19. French - Le .AFRICA est ouvert. Titulaires de marques, ne trainez pas!
20. Should You Use a New Domain For Your Website?
21. HOT (French) - Les extension Internet identitaires;
22. IWF calls on more in the domain industry to do the right thing;
23. .FFEDBACK fires salvo over PICDRP complaint;
24. New gTLDs are scapegoated for child abuse material;
25. Have you got the best domain name?
26. Self Driving Car Company Launches on a .AUTO Domain;
27. HOT - New gTLDs for Companies;
28. Major Startup launched with Pocket.Watch;
29. Coming Sunrise Periods:
1. .HEALTH
2. .CREDITUNION
30. Making new internet domains work for everyone;
31. How Local are They? (GEO TLDs like .LONDON in the UK, .BERLIN in Germany);
32. .FUN enters general availability today.

New gTLDs and City names

The city of Istanbul gains more than 1,000 new domain registrations in one month, with its .ISTANBUL new gTLD. Three cities have sticked to the red for the past 3 months and keep losing registrations. Six cities are "in the blue" and have kept gaining more registrations for the past two months.

Eight cities just...don't want to launch and have one single domain name registered. One of them, the city of Boston and its .BOSTON new gTLD, should launch soon.

The .SYDNEY new gTLD passed the 10,000 new domain name registrations: "Congrats".

We are comfortable with adding the .TOURS new gTLD as a city name since this French city, also called "Le Jardin de la France" ("The Garden of France"), has a population of 140,000.

The domain name extensions concerned are:

1. .NYC
2. .BERLIN
3. .LONDON
4. .TOKYO
5. .CITY
6. .AMSTERDAM
7. .KOELN
8. .HAMBURG
9. .MOSCOW
10. .PARIS
11. .ISTANBUL
12. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks)
13. .WIEN
14. .VEGAS
15. .IST
16. .MIAMI
17. .SYDNEY
18. .MELBOURNE
19. .QUEBEC
20. .BARCELONA
21. .BRUSSELS
22. .TOURS
23. .COLOGNE
24. .CAPETOWN
25. .NAGOYA
26. .YOKOHAMA
27. .GENT
28. .JOBURG
29. .TAIPEI
30. .OKINAWA
31. .TOWN
32. .DURBAN
33. .RIO
34. .OSAKA
35. .KYOTO
36. .DUBAI
37. .BCN
38. .MADRID
39. .STOCKHOLM
40. .HELSINKI
41. .BUDAPEST
42. .DOHA
43. .ABUDHABI
44. .BOSTON

The April 2017 full report is available here.

We are open to add more city names, no matter if they are a generic string with multiple meanings. Forward the names to us. Thank you.

Latest new gTLD NEWS

These are the contents related to new gTLDs that we published a link to, in our latest gTLD.club Newsletters:

1. The .FILM namespace is a viable new gTLD;
2. Spotlight on the .CAM new gTLD;
3. China approves more gTLDs;
4. Interesting - How SHARP uses its ".sharp" domains;
5. The .RADIO Launch timeline has been updated;
6. Events:
1. Webinar on Geographic Names: 25 April 2017;
2. The AFNIC Forum: 18 May 2017.
7. A new domain was sold for $183,000;
8. HOT - Innovation in new gTLDs;
9. .VIP and geographic gTLDs update;
10. Bloomberg Loses URS?
11. .BASKETBALL domains are live;
12. URS is fast and cheap, but…
13. HOT - Les modèles des nTLDs: questionnement;
14. From $111 .BET Premium to a $6,500 sale;
15. Search Engine Optimisation for .BRAND domains;
16. HOT - Experts agree, nTLDs are as good as any other TLDs for SEO rankings;
17. Can (and Should) Failed New gTLDs Be Saved?
18. Almost 10% Of New gTLD Registrations In Upcoming Delete Status;
19. Brand TLD Market Brief – March 2017;
20. Country Bias in new top level domains;
21. HOT - Studying .BRAND New gTLDs;
22. LOL - When is the next round?
23. HOT - The Dot Brand Observatory: a "date" is not the only question anymore;
24. Registry wins .AFRICA domain battle;
25. Want a .MAKEUP domain?
26. Your Guide to Brand Top-Level Domains;
1. What Are Brand TLDs?
2. Why Now?
3. What does the program status look like today?
4. Why Many Big Brands Are Making the Move
5. Cost Benefit
6. What are domain names worth?
7. What does it cost to protect a brand?
27. Donuts tries the dirt-cheap domain model;
28. Rightside changes brand blocking service for new TLDs;
29. New gTLD Public Comment Opportunities.

We look for one single sponsor to which we will offer exclusivity on all contents and publication platforms until - and during - the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program. For details please see this offer.

Photography and new gTLDs

There are 3 major increases this month in domain name registration volumes related to photography and one extension which keeps losing records. The extensions chosen to match with the subject of photography are:

1. .WEBCAM
2. .PHOTOGRAPHY
3. .PICS
4. .MEDIA
5. .PHOTO (s/p)
6. .STUDIO
7. .DIGITAL
8. .VIDEO
9. .PHOTOS (s/p)
10. .GALLERY
11. .GRAPHICS
12. .PICTURES
13. .CAMERA
14. .FILM
15. .CAM
16. .ART
17. .MOVIE
18. .SONY ®
19. .CANON ®
20. .MOV
21. .PANASONIC ®
22. .YODOBASHI ®
23. .GOLDPOINT ®
24. .NIKON ®
25. .OLYMPUS ®

The few photography trademarks to have applied for their own domain name extension still do not have found how to use them. If Canon has launched one commercial ".canon" domain name, its major competitor Nikon is still in stand-by. The Sony Trademark, which is not only related to Photography has launched a few initiatives and has 8 ".sony" domains registered as of today.

Check the full report at Jovenet Consulting.