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THE ORGANISATION WHICH oversees assigning names and numbers on the internet has voted to allow a massive expansion of web domain names.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has said that from next year website suffixes will be available in different languages and scripts, reports The Guardian.
Icann is calling the move “one of the biggest changes ever to the Internet’s domain name system”, and says it is opening the Internet’s naming system “to unleash the global human imagination”.
The new system will allow companies and brands to apply for their own domain suffixes, meaning the likes of .google and .coke are a possibility. The BBC reports that it will cost about €130,000 to apply for a new name. Companies don’t need to worry about someone snapping up their names either, because anyone applying will need to show that they have a legitimate claim to the suffix. Applications will start on 12 January.
However, not everyone is convinced that the new naming system is a good thing. The Guardian reports that it could create confusion and lead to an increase in “phishing” sites. Gulfnews.com reports that an Icann advisory committee member has expressed concern about possible “racial profiling”. Khalid Fattal says that applicants who don’t meet US foreign policy approval may be declined. He says that “background checks” will be carried out on applicants under US law, which may lead to a boycott of the system.
There are currently only 22 domain name suffixes in use, which are separate from the country-level domain names like .ie or .uk
By the way….paws off .thejournal…we saw it first!
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I look forward to seeing our developers, bankers, Fianna Failures, etc,
forced to having their email addresses ending in .nama
Or .enema
or .prison
Your more likely gonna get http://www.news. Thejournal or http://www.software.Microsoft, I’m not a fan of this. People will instantly known if a new online business has the cash behind it to go it large, and the merits of the business will be over shadowed by thier ability to pay huge money’s, effectively rent for these domain names, it’s the equivalent of renting on Graftin street and totally anti why the Internet has worked so far. The beauty of the Internet is someone can have a website built and effectively be on the sane playing field as say, Brown Thomas, now just by a domain name they are instantly going to be looked at differently. The idea is great, a cost of maybe 1-2k would be more suitable. Especially if it’s yearly. Low start up internet business say buy-bye!
Sorry Paul, but that doesn’t make any sense, people will not shop online based on the TLD of a merchant, they will do so based on the same reasons they purchase from .com or .ie, etc stores today, based on product, cost and desirability. i cannot think of a single reason that one would be put of going to http://books.amazon as opposed to http://books.amazon.com.
as for the cost, for the larger ecom merchants $185K is buttons in the context of their marketing / brand awareness spending
130,000 per name I hope it does,t become a td’s expense. Apart from a rush for .sex . It will be for large brands only, judging by the release of .eu it will not be without controversy.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense really, There was the proposal for .xxx domains, so, they would be the “New Domains”. But this is just odd.
Its also a bad decision, from a marketing point of view, as your if you told your customer to go to http://www.ps3.sony they will go looking for the TLD.
It will be interesting to see what others opinions are on this.
have your say