New gTLD Investor speaking at the Asheville Investor’s MeetUp

Legendary domain name investor Michael Berkens talks about new gTLDs at the 1st Annual Asheville Domainer Investors MeetUp. Some of the information he shares in this talk has never been discussed before.

Morgan Linton is the co-founder at Bold Metrics, a SaaS solution that is changing the way the world's most innovative brands make clothes. Learn more on LinkedIn.

New gTLD reports are Up-To-Date

All 20 new gTLD reports for July the 31 were updated. Reminder: these reports are monthly domain name registration volumes according to categories of domain name extensions:

1. New gTLDs related to POLITICS (.gop - .vote - .republican - .democrat - etc...);
2. New gTLDs related to LUXURY (.rich - .yachts - .chanel - etc...);
3. New gTLDs related to the MUSIC community (.music - .band - .hiphop - etc...);
4. Multiple Registries : group of Registries operating five (5) and more domain name extensions;
5. Singular VS Plural versions of a new gTLD : these are domain name extensions which exist in their singular and plural version (ie: .gift and .gifts);
6. New gTLDs related to CATERING and CULINARY (.restaurant - .kitchen - .bar - etc...);
7. New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY (.photo - .film - .gallery - etc...);
8. New gTLDs related to CITIES : these are city names only (.paris - .london - .tokyo - etc...);
9. New gTLDs related to COMPANIES : new domain name extensions that we believe a company should keep its eyes on;
10. New gTLDs related to the LAW and LEGAL matters (.legal - .attorney - .lawyer - etc...);
11. New gTLDs related to FINANCE (.credit - .capital - .finance - etc...);
12. New gTLDs related to a COLOR (.orange - .pink - .green - etc...);
13. New gTLDs related to SPORTS (.hockey - .basketball - .ski - etc...);
14. New gTLDs related to ALCOHOL (.beer - .wine - .vodka - etc...);
15. New gTLDs related to REAL ESTATE (.realestate - .realtor - .villas - etc...);
16. FRENCH new gTLD applications : these are applications submitted by French companies only;
17. New gTLDs related to RELIGION (.catholic - .bible - .church - etc...);
18. New gTLDs related to CARS (.taxi - .auto - .car - etc...);
19. New gTLDs related to HEALTH (.health - .doctor - .hospital - etc...);
20. New gTLDs related to ADULTS (no comment).

The .RIHANNA new gTLD

I investigated a little bit and I found that no super star operates his or her own Name or Trademark as a new domain name extension. As a fan, I believe that the Rihanna string is a good case figure to take a look at...in terms of online innovation.

The first thing that I did was to enter Rihanna on a search engine: not only I made a mistake in writing the name (mixing the “i” and the “h”) but I also forgot an “n”. I found plenty of content on the first page about my superstar. In the order: some “top stories” from various sources of information, then the Wikipedia page, the link to her twitter account, a rihannanow.com website with an old kind of title, her Instagram account, then a YouTube channel, etc…

There is a “.com”
I notice the RihannaNow.com domain name is listed but I didn’t see the Rihanna.com, even if it does exist. It seems that someone chose to communicate on the RihannaNow.com rather than the Rihanna.com domain name. I sincerely hope that this same person noticed that there is a “.now” domain name extension coming anytime soon: something like Rihanna.now could be an idea but hey...this is not the subject here.
All superstars tend to do the same

Beyoncé displays the exact same content in Google, in the exact same order. Madonna does almost the same too. I quite like Sting too and guess what: they all have their name ending in “.com” and the exact same communication channels (Yes Wikipedia is a channel, Twitter, Facebook, a website… but none uses his or her name as a new domain name extension: there is are no domain names ending in “.rihanna”, “.beyoncé” (with an accent), “.madonna” or “.sting”.

Rihanna is not just a singer
Rihann is a singer but she also “is” lingerie with Savagex and “cosmetics” like perfume trademarks and names, etc: dozens of generic strings like “perfume”, “fashion”, “bio”, “shop”, or “fragrance” that any communication specialist would want to use on the Internet to increase visibility for the super star’s products: doesn’t something like www.perfume.rihanna looks descriptive? What about www.fragrance.rihanna : not nicer than www.rihannanow.com/fragrance/?

What about www.charity.rihanna : wouldn’t it be instantly recognizable when searching for her involvement into the Clara Lionel Foundation?

Music.rihanna makes sense too and there are many more to suggest when digging on her main website.

Branding but not only
There are many other advantages when focusing on one single branding for Internet (security, brand protection, positioning, U-N-I-C-I-T-Y, etc…) instead of several different domains names but if many, like Jovenet Consulting, have already discussed this, there is one thing for sure: there are no superstars to have considered taking advantage of the new gTLD tool as a Brand...yet.

The .MADRID Sunrise Perdiod

The Sunrise Period for the .MADRID new gTLD starts today.

The purpose of .MADRID
This content was extracted from the application submitted to the ICANN:

The Comunidad de Madrid (the Government of the Region of Madrid) is applying for the .madrid TLD to serve the Madrid’s community, defined as the community of individuals and legal entities with a bona fide presence, direct or indirect, in the Region of Madrid, including Madrid as the capital of Spain.

The goals of .MADRID are:

• Facilitating digital communications from, to and within the Region of Madrid.
• Providing a platform for the urban development in the digital space of the Region of Madrid.
• Strengthening the image of Madrid in the online world.

This is to be achieved by:

• Actively designing and developing the .madrid TLD name space with a focus on the needs of the Region of Madrid, involving cultural, civil society, business and public-sector stakeholders.
• Allowing registrations of second-level domains in the .madrid TLD by individuals and organizations with a bona fide nexus with the Madrid area.
• Operating the .madrid TLD under the stewardship of the Region of Madrid in consultation with the local public authorities of the area and the private-sector stakeholders. 

The .madrid TLD will be the new trusted domain-name space that offers a secure and global option for local institutions, companies, brands and citizens. It will allow them all to be present online by creating a multicultural space that integrates and facilitates new opportunities; a space that enables the materialization of public and private initiatives in order to promote and strengthen the brand image online driven by the solid image that Madrid already enjoys globally.

As .madrid Registry, the Region of Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid) is well aware of and fully acknowledges, the responsibility that arises from the management of the domain name ad commits to manage it in full respect of the interest of both the .madrid and the larger Internet communities.

The constant and sustained effort made during the last years, makes that the implementation of the Information Society in the Madrid area is a consolidated fact and in this sense, the Region of Madrid is the most suitable public institution to execute the management and running of the .madrid TLD.

Dates:

• START: Tuesday, 16 July, 2019 - 16:00
• END: Thursday, 3 October, 2019 - 16:00

To learn more, check the TMCH website.

Now more simple to find a new gTLD

Super happy to announce that my fix to properly recognize new gTLDs is now live in the Google app and search bar on Android. Upgrade to today's release, type in a domain on a new gTLD, and it'll immediately go to that domain (like desktop Chrome does) rather than searching it.

— Ben McIlwain (@CydeWeys) July 9, 2019

The Challenge of 20K .BEST domains

Guys, we are 3 days now from our 1st .Best year anniversary and very close to our initial objective to be at 20K on 14 July 2019. Countdown is on ! Stay tuned.#best #execution #growth #business #plan #businessplan #vision #startup #x10 #icann #tld #domain #domains #wearethebest pic.twitter.com/o5VBmXIA4I

— Cyril.Best (@FremontCyril) July 11, 2019