New.net,
a Pasadena, California, start-up, has begun selling domain names based on 20 new extensions that are intended to function like the
familiar ".com" and ".net." The proposed extensions
include ".family,"".tech,"".law,"
".mp3,"".free," and ".xxx."
The company charges $25 for each name that uses one of the extensions.
The ambitious plan has the potential of challenging
the authority of The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN),
an international nonprofit group created in 1998 at the urging of
the U.S. government to oversee an effort to manage existing and
to release new domain extensions. There are reports that the much-anticipated release of the
new 7 suffixes (aero, biz, info, museum, coop, pro, name) will be
delayed for at least several months.
Should you register domain names under these? We believe yes! Here’s
why!
The best way to analyze the issue is to look at
the cost and benefit of these extensions.
The benefits include:
1. It provides an opportunity to own a domain name that is shorter
and is more indicative your corporate identity than your current
domain.
2. Registering additional domain names would increase the chances
of your corporate site being found by search engines. Large companies, including Yahoo and Amazon.com, have also
adopted such a strategy.
3. Owning your corporate identity under these extensions would
protect your intellectual property and enhance its value.
4. The extensions could become ubiquitous for a number of compelling
reasons.
a. ICANN might decide to officially adopt some of these extensions.
b. Some of the extensions, .free and .tech, for example, already
have captive early adopters, which would expand its use very quickly. “Free” is one of the most common key word used in search
engine queries.
c. Registration by few large companies such as IBM can create
instant credibility.
d. According to Brian
McWilliams of Internet News, the company has partnered with
mp3.com which will market the ".mp3" domain suffix to
its member musicians.
What are the costs and limitations?
The obvious limitation is that your browser would
not be able to access them automatically. However, Don Clark of
the Wall Street Journal notes that New.net has reached agreements
with some of the major ISPs, including EarthLink, Excite@Home, and
NetZero, to automatically route users to these addresses. Alternatively,
surfers can download plug-in software for their Web browsers to
reach the new addresses.
New.net has indicated that the cost to register
a domain under any of these gutsy extensions would be $35.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize
that companies should not rely solely on these extensions as their
corporate identity. At
least not yet! Moreover, customers
should stay away from registering names that infringe on the intellectual
property of others. Having
said that, we believe that the potential rewards out way the $35
cost per domain name.
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