Following the announcement on Monday by The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) at their 41st International meeting in Singapore that they are going to expand the number of possible domain name endings from the existing 22, to include domain names of “any language or script” that can also be up to 63 characters, the online buzz surrounding this change has been considerable, and at points, deafening.
At the moment, the existing 22 generic TLDs, such as .com, .net and .org, as well as 250 country-level domains such as .uk are the only ones available to existing users and websites. Under this new announcement, companies would be able to use the new internet addressing system to buy a domain name that is completely unique to their product or company, such as .coke, .apple and even, .car.
The creation of these new top-level domains or 'gTLDs', was passed by a majority vote, with 13 members of the board voting for the creation of these new domains, 1 voting against and another 2 members choosing to abstain. This recent announcement follows three years of debate after the board initially announced its expansion plan in June 2008 at the 32nd ICANN Meeting in Paris. This approval marks the biggest change to the internet in 40 years, and ICANN are anticipating 300-1000 applications for new gTLDs when the applications open on the 12th of January 2012, and then close on the 12th of April the same year. Around 150 companies have already expressed an interest in purchasing a new gTLD to either protect their brand gain advantage over their rivals, but the price of having a personalised gTLD isn't cheap, and while the application for a personalised domain costs a cool $185,000 (£114,000) alone, regardless of the success rate. Successful applicants will also have to pay an additional annual of fee of $25,000 (around £15,000) for the privilege of having their very own gTLD, so this really isn't something that every Webmaster will be able to afford.
However, this is exactly what ICANN want, and by charging such big fees for a gTLD, it means that very few companies will be able to become involved in this new period of internet domain names and online marketing. To date, well-known companies such as Canon, UNICEF and Hitachi have all confirmed that they are planning to apply for their very own brand URL, and ICANN chairman Peter Dengare has proclaimed that the new gTLD's are part of: “the next generation of creativity and inspiration.” For companies and businesses, the advent of these new domain names heralds a new era for online marketing and retail, as these new TLDs paving the way for consumers to find companies, products and other items much easier than before. While for businesses, the new domain names help protect their brand and their customers from imitation sites, phishing and other fraudulent activities.
But while this change is pretty huge, what does it mean for the billions of internet users around the world right now? Are these new gTLD's going to have much of an impact on their browsing experience and online behaviour? The short answer is no, not right now. Because the first round of applications don't start until early next year, and with the very first of these gTLD's not expected to go live until 2013 at the earliest, it's a case of just having to wait and see what these new developments will do to internet browsing and online retail in the not-so distant future.
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Comments
New Top Level Domains....But Not For You.... As ICANN won't even consider applications from individuals or sole proprietorships, effectively ignoring the interests and needs of the majority of Internet users worldwide. Add to this equation non-refundable fees of $185,000 per TLD (plus potentially unlimited annual costs/expenses) and how many new ICANN TLDs will actually be launched? .... ICANN's main aims are to convince Internet users that they're the only game in town and then try to herd everyone into a tiny part of an otherwise infinite universe. In this respect, ICANN has been quite successful. However, it's rather like telling people that the only place they can shop on the entire planet is your local Safeway (not that one...the other one) and that there's nowhere else to go. Of course this is sheer nonsense and it’s understandable that people are starting to use alternatives..... Anyone can now create their own set of Top Level Domains at no cost and without reference to ICANN, simply by opting to register NON-ICANN Dashcom (not Dotcom) domain names. Dashcoms are highly memorable & relevant web addresses such as "business-com", "music-store", “basket-ball”. Available in any language or text, you can also use Facebook Emoticons (eg: musical notes "♫♫-♫♫")..... Here is a part of the Internet that’s totally outside ICANN's control yet able to exist quite happily alongside it. At present, resolution is via an APP, but new ISP links are coming online to negate that need..... It’s only a matter of time before other new options surface, and none of them will have anything to with ICANN.
No doubt the .com will remain heavily sought after. Particularly the short-letter domain names. Short-term, I don't think there is going to be a big difference. Who knows if these new .tlds will even be worth it?
It's really a very interesting decision on ICANN's part, because as Dashworlds pointed out, this only applies to businesses with the capital to invest in a new domain name. .com may well remain the most popular domain name, but until this scheme begins, we'll all just have to wait and see how it will affect the way we use the internet, if it affects it at all.