The Great gTLD Battle
Since June of last year, when Google applied to the ‘Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) for the registration rights to the new gTLDs such as .google, .youtube, and yes, even .lol, people have been talking. Mainly, people are curious as to whether they'll be able to snag the new gTLDs for their business' website, like .party, applied for by Oriental Trading Co or if they'll be locked down entirely. (That's right, other companies followed Google's lead and applied for their own gTLDs.)
In all, 751 applications were submitted for the 230 most popular gTLDs. 101 of those applications belonged to Google. Amazon submitted 76 applications for names like .app, .play, and .cloud. Not surprisingly, the majority of applications were brands applying for their own name, like .canon for the camera manufacturer, or .samsclub for retail giant Walmart.
Google listed the types of domains they were looking to snag on their blog. Basically, they want to secure trademarks like their name or services, like .youtube, or domains they find creative or interesting, like .lol.
The Great gTLD Battle: Ready Or Not, Here They Come
There are those that think this is a horrible idea, and pray that most of them don't pass the independent assessment process. These detractors see the ridiculous TLDs causing confusion for users. Regardless of that the process is still in motion, with some new gTLDs approved and ready to go.
ICANN’s site states: “This achievement is the result of many years of policy development and implementation work to bring diversity, competition, and innovation to the Domain Name System…This is not only an important and exciting moment in the New gTLD Program but also in the continuing evolution of the Internet.”
The Great gTLD Battle: Another Not-So-Small Problem
Some experts think that this is just a way for the big names like Google and Amazon to protect these domains from being used by anyone else, not simply a harmless way to protect their trademarks. Why would they think this?
The answer lies in the fact that multiple companies are applying for and oftentimes fighting against each other for the chance to obtain everyday domains: Johnson and Johnson are fighting with other companies for .baby; Hasbro is after .transformers; Travelers Insurance, for some reason, desires the clumsy .redumbrella. Some of them are brand specific so it probably won't be a big deal, but for others, it's a legitimate concern. Do you think that the company buying the gTLD .cars actually wants to allow it to be used by car dealers? It's possible they might not.
The Great gTLD Battle: Fighting Back
Despite some thinking it isn't that big of a deal, there is one gTLD applicant who is fighting the big fish. This person has yet to be named, but they have rallied lobbyists to work their magic in EU Parliament and Congress to block the act of locking these gTLDs.
What do you think? Is this something to be genuinely concerned about? Would you want to snag a .lol domain for your dedicated hosting website? How would you feel about your email hosting company having a .email address?
Big companies and IT administrators have alerted to adopt new questionable web domain names. Indeed .porn, .sucks, and .adult are some of 500 TLDs that will become available. Online enterprises are being advised to buy these unfavorable domain names before its too late. Some of businesses are still in a mandated period and some of them already purchased this controversial names. After June 1, it becomes a free for all respondents. Before worst nightmares occurs, IT companies and administrators warns to take these domain names unless somebody else would purchase the unfavorable domains names to torment them.
The Public Interest Registry (PIR) Dashboard report shows that Asia had increased 1.3% global growth in .ORG domain registration in year 2014. The .org domain registration are renewed and over 81% renewed before their renewal get completed as report says. In year 2013 .org domains increased by 2.6%. Last year many organizations move to .org domain to establish their mission, ideas and initiatives. All organization small to large will continue to accept .org as a domain name extending because of its legacy to bring people together globally.
The Domain Name Association hosted a meeting with its members and ICANN President. In this meeting CMO of the .club registry mentioned that the DNA has two primary objectives that are universal acceptance and universal awareness about new gTLD. It make sense that organization wants people to learn about the new gTLD domain names and wants to help promote the usage of the new domain names.