The seven new global top-level domain names (gTLDs) announced late last year by ICANN are now just months away from being available. It's time to look at the names individually and see what impact they are likely to make on the web. Three of the seven are very much niche names:
dot Aero for the air-transport industry.
dot Museum for museums.
dot Co-op for business co-operatives.
They will be important within their respective industries, but have limited impact elsewhere. The other four names: dot biz, dot info, dot pro, and dot name are worth examining more closely. In this article I will take a detailed look at the dot biz and dot info names.
Dot Biz
Purpose: Businesses only
Applicant: NeuLevel (http://www.neulevel.com)
Here's what the applicants, NeuLevel, say about who will be able to register names using their system:
(i) "The TLD shall be restricted to any individual, organization, or entity that desires to advertise their business and/or conduct commercial activities on the Internet."
(ii) The registrant will be required to state that "the name is reasonably related to the registrant's business, and that the domain name will be used for commercial purposes only"
So really this domain is not much different from the original purpose of the dot com suffix. Contrary to what I reported in last month's article, dot biz names are not going to cost $2000
to register, but are expected to be priced in line with current dot com prices. Given that, are they an attractive proposition for a new site? Well, if you can find a good short dot biz name,
perhaps, but consider the potential downside:
1) The short name you locate might well have an active dot com site already up and running. By launching the dot biz version, you may well confuse your customers, and lose a lot of them to the established dot com equivalent.
2) By using such a new name, you are instantly flagging site visitors that you have just launched online. Given that consumer confidence amongst Net users is currently running very low, this is not a great way to gain credibility with your potential customers.
Predicted uptake rate: Gradual uptake over a number of years.
Bottom line advice: If you are considering running an eCommerce site, register or buy a dot com name instead.
Dot Info
Purpose: General use (Unrestricted gTLD)
Applicant: Afilias, LLC (http://www.afilias.com)
The applicants for this name, Afilias, a joint venture containing 19 different domain registrars, actually submitted three names for consideration: dot info, dot web, and dot site. They clearly stated in their proposal that dot web was their preferred name, and indeed, this would have been a highly marketable domain name. For whatever reason, ICANN ignored the applicant's wishes and awarded them the 'plain Jane' dot info instead. Frankly, a duller sounding name would be hard to imagine.
In keeping with the generic nature of the name, dot info domains will be freely available for anyone to register. The name will obviously find some kind of a market amongst content / resource sites, but few site owners currently running dot com sites are going to spend money changing their name to dot info. Therefore the only real takers for this suffix will be companies launching new sites. And again, the problem that exists with dot biz exists here as well: why risk
your site's credibility using a new dot info name, when there are still dot com names to be had.
Predicted uptake rate: Very slow.
Bottom line advice: Great for hobby sites.
In next month's article, dot name and dot pro will come under the microscope.
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