The New Domain Names: Get 'em While They're Hot (and Available)

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January 19, 1998

The New Domain Names: Get 'em While They're Hot (and Available)

By Jason Levitt
omain names are the prime real estate of the Internet. Without one, your business may be difficult to pinpoint in the virtual office park of the Web. But even with one, it may be hard to find if you can't get the domain name you want. With only a limited number of top-l evel domain names to choose from (see Table 1 below), companies have had to sue in court, get lucky, or simply settle for what they could get. If you're Id Software, makers of Doom, Quake, and other computer games of human carnage, you'd naturally want id.com as your address. When you went to register that domain, though, you'd find that it was already taken by Intrinsic Development Corporation of Vienna, Va. Id chose something close, idsoftware.com, but users will likely have to take that extra step through a search engine to find it.

Table 1: Current Top Level Domains

Domain Purpose

.arpa Associated with ARPANET, the research project that spawned the Internet

.com Commercial organizations

.edu Educational organizations

.gov Government organizations

.int International organizations

.mil Military organizations

.nato North Atlantic Treaty Organization

.net Networking organizations

.org Noncommercial organizations

.ad

.af

...

...

.zw

Andorra

Afghanistan

Country codes for every country in the world.

Zimbabwe

Though it's unlikely that Id Software, or any other site that simply supports external products, would lose any mindshare or money because it couldn't get the exact domain name they wanted, it's clear that some Web sites benefit by having a domain name that's interesting, memorable, or perhaps even self-referential. When I'm looking for freeware and shareware software utilities, for example, I often think of CNET's shareware.com . It's not that it's more useful than CMP Media's own filemine.com , it's simply easier to remember. Similarly, while Yahoo! has become as familiar a name as Star Trek to Web users, I tend to think of Infoseek when I'm looking for information and ready to call up a search engine.
Your choice of domain name won't mak e that much difference in today's Internet climate, but it likely will in the future. As more users start to use the Web the way they now use a telephone and phone book, and as more users use the Web for electronic commerce, a recognizable, easily remembered domain name figures to be a boon to business.
Unfortunately, given the current crop of top-level domain names (Table 1 above), the selection of unique and interesting domain names is limited. Also, reasonable pricing and relaxed registration requirements have allowed companies to liberally register domain names, thus further depleting the pool of available names. Some companies have even made a side business of registering domain names in hopes of selling them to interested businesses.
The New Domain Names:
Not Without Controversy
The easy solution to the domain name problem is to simply add new top-level domain names. That's exactly what's expected to happen early this year as seven new top-level domain names (see Table 2, below ) become available for registration. Already, companies are lining up for a virtual stampede to register new sites. You can line up to register your site via one of the new domain name registrars , though there's no guarantee that you'll be able to obtain it. The exact date when registration will begin has not been released, but it is likely to be around March, when the National Science Foundation's contract with Network Solutions, the current domain name registrar, expires. The Web site to watch for details is www.gtld-mou.org. .

Table 2: Additional New Top Level Domains

Domain Purpose

.arts For entities emphasizing cultural and entertainment activities

.firm For businesses

.info For entities providing information services

.nom For those wishing individual or personal nomenclature (i.e. a nom de plume)

.rec For entities emphasizing recreation/entertainment activities

.shop For businesses offering goods to purchase

.web For entities emphasizing activities related to the WWW

There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the domain name space issue in 1997, and not everyone is pleased with the current plan to decentralize domain name registration under the control of designated registrars who have met certain requirements . Some organizations proposing alternative domain name solutions are Alternic , eDNS , and name.space .
For now, it's a waiting game. If you're interested in registering a site using one of the new top-level domains listed in Table 2, I'd stay tuned to www.gtld-mou.org . Those wanting to ask important questions directly to the people in charge should go to this week's Internet Domain Name Information Session on January 22nd in Washington.

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