I wrote to Neelie KROES (.wine / .vin)

With no more information related to .WINE and .VIN from ICANN, I thought the EC would have more information so I wrote to Neelie KROES,

This is the message I received:

Thank you for your e-mail. It has been registered and you will receive a reply asap, within 15 working days. We ask your understanding for this delay, which is due to the  large number of messages that we receive daily. Please feel free to send a follow up message if your request incurred further delays.

    Cabinet of Mrs Neelie Kroes

    Vice-President responsible for the Digital Agenda
    Mail Registry Unit

Let's see what happens. Let's see if something happens.

Coming soon: Kari.Design. Read why new domain names can be just great

I am often asked that same question: “why would I use a new domain name?” and “why would I change my domain name? And I keep answering the same thing but recently I found a new argument.

Read my short post on gTLD.club

:-)

Why use a new domain name ?

The same question 

I am often asked the question: “why would I use a new domain name?” or “why would I change my domain name? And I keep answering the same thing:

• …because there is a lot more precision in using a new domain name;
• …it is new and novelty attracts the eye;
• …there is a very strong identity advantage in showing your clients that they are at the right place when visiting your website;
• …the business you are related to appears in your domain name;
• …Google shows the domain name extension in the result of a search;
• etc, etc.

Recently I found a new argument.

Kari Södö is a Virtual Artist

I am not Finish but I believe Södö must be the family name of Kari and I also believe that it is a good idea to register the family name as a domain name. I registered guillon.name a long time ago. Kari decided to register sodo.info.

Oh…you noticed ?

I did a few checks, starting with the .com domain name, the .net and a few others and I confirm that changing domain name can be a good idea, in particular in these early stages of the ICANN new gTLD program: it is possible to register a great – and short – domain name.

A new argument

When the domain name means something different or when it is the diminutive of something else in a different language, it can get confusing. In our case, changing domain name can be the opportunity to start from scratch and get rid of the confusing domain. Then this one will be redirected to the new one: sodo.info could be redirected to a new domain name and keep a good SERP (Search Engine Results Page). There are many ways to do this in an efficient way.

No matter whether the search engine positioning was good or not because what matters first is what the domain name means when you read it for the fist time. In the case of sodo.info, I understand it is the introduction of M. Södö, a Virtual Artist.

.DESIGN is a new gTLD to be launched “soon”

There are many new domain names but the one to come to my mind first for a Virtual Artist would be .ART or .DESIGN. If these two are not available yet, I would suggest to look at any Accredited Registrars for a new one. I personally find that kari.design would be a good match.

Limitations of .Brand Search Engines

Based on the success of these niche engines, some TLDs pundits have argued for the viability of search engines for companies that have registered their .Brands. Imagine a Search.Nike or Search.Apple.

Read the complete article on gTLD.club:
http://gtld.club/2014/09/01/limitations-of-brand-search-engines/

Do you know who this guy is?

Well, if you don't click here.

Success Factors for New gTLDs Program

An interesting post by Alex Tajirian founded DomainMart in 1996. DomainMart expanded its offerings to domain registration services in 11 languages, escrow, Web hosting, leasing, protecting online identity, appraisal and valuation, monetization consulting, and managing Corporate Training.

Read the post on gTLD.club

The success of the new gTLDs program depends on the actions of the winning registries and on ICANN’s allocation policies for the second round of applications. A successful landscape would be dominated by only a few registries but would be less confusing for users.

More here: http://gtld.club/2014/09/01/success-factors-for-new-gtlds-program/

Wrong question to ICANN and wrong answer...

I rarely read long articles and generally focus on what is written about new gTLDs. Articles from the INTA are good ones but something really hurt me when I read that interview. One question and one answer are just...wrong.


The question: "What has been the biggest obstacle to educating Internet users around the world about the New gTLD Program?"

Am I the only one to have a problem with this question and in particular the "has been"?

The answer: "I think that the sheer scale of the program, and the fact that many Internet users around the world still don’t know about ICANN or what we do, have made this extremely difficult".

Is ICANN seriously considering that the job is done with this answer? If this is the case we are in wonderland and my belief is that ICANN should invest more in communicating about new gTLDs because very - but very - few people have heard about them.

Read the interview here.

Who will apply for .SEO in Round 2 ?

Many domain name extensions with potential were not applied for in the first round of the ICANN new gTLD program. If investors targeted very generic ones such as sport extensions (ie: .FOOTBALL or .RUGBY) and other very generic strings (such as .CLUB or .FINANCE), many industries did not receive an application for their TLD.

Read my article on gTLD.club