The PlanetDomain Blog

A growing number of domain registries have been leaning towards jazzing up generic Top-Level-Domains (TLDs) by replacing the recognised .com .net and .org with a subject defining ending. For example, there has been a recent push for ICANN (the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to introduce .xxx for adult only websites.

In theory this approach does seem practical. Type in .shop and a website related to shopping appears. Type in .mp3 and you can download the latest music. Catching up on the weekend sports scores; type in .sport. There are infinite possibilities, prompting the question of why ICANN hasn’t used a relationship between web content and domain names before.

Why Creating Content Driven TLDs Can’t Work

The idea is simple and appears effective. Yet in practice, category based TLDs would almost certainly be pointless and unsuccessful.

One of ICANN’s prime functions is to ensure the prolonged stability of the Internet. This stability relies on the relative simplicity of the current Domain Name System (DNS). By creating TLDs that effectively create a myriad of group filters, the complexity of the system is increased and thus, with the greater chance of error, becomes more unstable.

What’s more is the direct challenge category specific TLDs would be to the diverse nature of the web. The Internet is ultimately successful due to its decentralised make-up. Currently it allows for open freedom to information. However a strict correlation between content and domain names would allow barriers to be created, severely hampering that freedom.

Internet Growth and TLDs

Categories would also change over different times and places. It would be extremely hard to create global labels that appease all communities of people. For example the notion of .mp3 was completely foreign fifty years ago and still is to certain areas of the world. In another fifty years the concept will have evolved again meaning even more categories will be needed to compensate for the evolution. The whole process of trying to keep up with changing technologies and attitudes with the endless creation of filters would cause the net to become progressively less and less universal.

Even if ICANN was to allow the development of these TLDs, it is hard to see domain registrants all over the world moving to purchase new domain names appropriate to their sites’ particular category.

Not only would this be cost deficient for businesses needing to purchase multiple domain names, it would create a disparity between those using the old system and those with the new.

The current IP addresses have successfully created fair competition between domains because each site is read and located irrespective of what the site visually displays.

Category Based TLDs and the Market Today

Category specific TLDs are already being tested by a small percentage of web users and the results have been far from smooth sailing. Unless the computer and the ISP have specially downloaded software, the processor will be unable to resolve the domain.

Although the dotcom bubble of the late-nineties is a distant memory, .com is still by far the most popular and recognised TLD on the market. There are no conditions of use, it is cheap to acquire and the danger of content driven domains has had little tangible impact on its success.

When considering registering a domain, be extremely wary of the new .shop, .sport, .whatever fad because the results will not be as favourable as they appear.

By Stacey Manson

It has taken a few years, but changes to auDA policy mean Australia may finally enjoy some of the same domain name freedoms already considered normal in the US and Europe.

For six years, Australia has been unique amongst our international peers in restricting the .au 2LD from transfer. Anyone needing to transfer a .au domain name, for whatever reason, found it virtually impossible to do so.

Evolution of Internet Policy

The restrictions are a hangover from original attempts to shield the then fledgling internet from market pressures. Championing the belief that the internet should be open to all, auDA enshrined a policy designed to prevent the commercialisation of domain names and shut out speculators from the market.

Domain name speculation has become big business in the US and Europe, with some domains changing hands for six figure sums. There is no doubt that, despite the original non-commercial aspirations of the internet, domain names have become highly prized commodities with a large amount of power attached to them. But with many becoming frustrated at the inability to capitalise on the power of their own domain, the pressure has been on auDA for a long time to adjust this policy.

Commercial necessity required change, not merely from a financial viewpoint, but also a practical one. If a business can be sold on, the relevant domain should also be sold on and transferred with it. If a domain is an exclusive commodity for the purposes of registration and ownership, it should also be a commodity available to trade, when necessary or desirable to do so.

A Huge Step in the Right Direction

From June 1, 2008, the process of transferring a .au 2LD to another party, for whatever reason, becomes a whole lot easier. This is a major development and dramatically changes the domain landscape in this country, for the better.

Yet people should be aware of certain restrictions before going out and registering every variation of the most popular phrases and whacking them up on eBay.

Quoted from the auDA website.

“Key features of the new policy are as follows:

• it will not be allowable to register a domain name for the sole purpose of resale or transfer to a third party
• registrants will not be able to transfer their domain name for the first 6 months after the initial registration (this does not apply to domain names that have been renewed or previously transferred)
• after 6 months, registrants will be able to offer their domain name for sale/transfer by any means (eg. by listing the domain name for sale on a domain brokerage website, advertising the domain name for sale in a newspaper, or contacting a prospective buyer directly)
• the new registrant must comply with normal eligibility and allocation rules
  registrant transfers will be processed by the registrar of record using a standard transfer form, and the registrar may charge a transfer fee
• parties to a transfer will be asked to disclose the sale method and price, on a voluntary and confidential basis, so that auDA may collect aggregated statistical data to improve access to market information for buyers and sellers.”

Reading the Fine Print

It is yet to be established how these restrictions are to be implemented. It would be virtually impossible to police whether people were registering domains purely for the purpose of resale. Without direct complaints that can be supported by suspicious trading behaviour, it is hard to see how auDA intends to enforce this line.

Also, the 6 month non-transfer period after registration seems arbitrary. It may be designed to prevent opportunistic registrations – although rare, a phenomenon reported in the US. This practice involves domain providers snapping up any unregistered domain names entered into their search interface, holding them at a higher price should the customer later try to register.

In Australia, such behaviour is clearly against the code of conduct and would result in major penalties. Australian domain providers cannot register domains that are not for immediate use (ie; to pass onto a customer) so the six month restriction seems designed to prevent behaviour that already has sufficient safeguards.

A six month non-transfer period may inconvenience many who negotiate deals or need to make changes with legitimate reason in the first few months. The same reasons that would necessitate a transfer after 6 months are still valid before, so there may still be frustrated domain owners out there.

It is great to see changes bringing Australia into line with similar international territories. But it is certain that the domain name landscape will continue to evolve in Australia as the needs of business and the traditions of auDA find compromise.

Mobile phones (or Cell Phones) are a modern must-have accessory. No longer a big brick that you carry around with you to simply make a phone call, the mobile phone has become a necessity. It is also a feature-rich tool and an extension of your personality.

Mobile Phones are everywhere. From Zurich to Zanzibar the world has embraced mobile devices with great enthusiasm, and in particular the net-savvy Gen-Yers and business executives. Whether it’s the Chic fashion accessory that sits in your handbag which you can pull out to impress your friends at Friday night drinks or the feature rich phone that lets you do most of your work from that tropical island escape; the phone that doubles as a music player with the abrupt ring tones that annoys everyone in the office or the trendy Apple Iphone, these days everyone is connected.

Telephone companies in Australia are replacing traditional CDMA Networks with High-speed 3G networks for improved voice and data services. In 2008, the sale of mobile phones globally is outperforming computers by 4-to-1, with over 70% of mobile phones already enabled for Internet access, it is evident that Internet usage on mobile phones is on the brink of something huge.

One can already see evidence of this emerging phenomenon when commuting to work by train with executives checking their email, stocks and news on their blackberry or PDA-phone, whilst high-school students chat with friends on Instant Messenger, update their Facebook profiles or watching videos on YouTube.

.MOBI Domains

Dot MOBI is the Domain Extension exclusive for Mobile Phones. Websites operating on a .MOBI domain name are required to present their website in a format that is compatible and friendly with Mobile Phone handsets, so that the layout of the site fits, and easy on the eye when viewed on a smaller screen.

.MOBI launched in late 2005, and has proved to be a massive success with over 500,000 domains registered within the first year, and the popularity of some domains seeing domains such flowers.mobi fetch $200,000 at auction.

PlanetDomain is one of only three Registrars in Australia currently accredited for .MOBI domains, and our development team are working on the implementation of .MOBI Top Level Domain in our system, which we expect to come online in Early May 2008.

With more feature-rich handsets flying off store-shelves daily, and our need to stay constantly connected, mobile phones will play a major role in our browsing habits and access to information in the years to come. .MOBI is a major part of that growth in Mobile Internet Usage - will you be ready for that growth?

Register domains today with PlanetDomain.

Domain names are the cornerstone of the internet. As the primary source of internet navigation, without domain names, your customers couldn’t get around and wouldn’t know how to find you. Also, domain names form part of a company’s identity and branding. Yet many companies make mistakes every day that can be extremely costly by not considering their domain name strategy carefully enough.

A web design error can be fixed. Software applications can be updated. But some domain name mistakes can stay with you a long time and could potentially cost your business a lot of money in lost trade or corrective measures.

If you have an online presence, consider the following five mistakes and see if you need to do more to protect your online assets.

1. Updating WHOIS information

Your domain name registration contains all the relevant information regarding the registered owner. But if this information is out of date, when your domain name is up for renewal, the notifications may never reach you. It is extremely common for a business to register a domain using one email address and then transfer all of their email activity to the new domain without updating the registration with the new email address.

If all your domain name administrative correspondence is going to your old, unused email address, you may not be aware your domain is about to lapse until it is too late. A lapsed domain can be a costly affair, as your website becomes inaccessible, and there is always the risk that someone else could register the domain before you realize.

Always ensure your registration information is up to date.

2. Registering in the Wrong Name

A common scenario is for a business manager to ask an employee to register company domains on their behalf. After all, managers are busy people. But be careful that the employee registers the domains under the company details and not under their own name.

Although it may not seem important at the time, as this certainly doesn’t affect the performance of the domain, if the employee leaves the company, you may find yourself unable to access or administer your own domains. Further, some employees are only too aware of the value of domains. If they are able to gain control of your domains and you part on bad terms, your website could suffer from the fallout as ownership is debated and transfers (sometimes expensive) are negotiated.

Always ensure all company domains are registered consistently under the correct name and with the one contact address. Never allow individual employees to register under their own name.

3. Not registering all the alternatives

You may think that if you only have one website, you only need one domain. But what if someone else registers all the other related domain names? For example, if you own xyz.com but someone else registers xyz.net, xyz.com.au, xyz.org, etc, many of your customers may find their way to these other websites instead of yours.

If at all possible, register all the domain names related to your brand, trademark or website and simply point them all to the same spot. Therefore, no matter which domain the visitor accesses, they arrive at the same place – you.

4. Not registering typo domains

Some domain names aren’t so easy to spell. If you have a domain name that can easily be misspelt, consider registering those domain names as well. A common trick amongst unscrupulous domain speculators is to register ‘typo’ domains for popular websites and fill them with advertising to catch the high amount of traffic that hits the wrong key.

For example, one commonly misspelt word is ‘restaurant’. If a domain name contains this word – and many do - it is advisable to register the most likely typo versions as well rather than risk losing customers.

5. Not keeping your domain management login information secure

The risk of hackers continues to increase with more websites having their home pages hacked or domain names commandeered. If a hacker were to take control of your domain name, they can point your reputable name towards a website of dubious content; spam advertising, phishing, internet viruses or simply steal your business.

To do so, they need to be able to hack your domain name passwords. Surprisingly, many companies still don’t have very secure procedures in place to safeguard their passwords.

Protect Your Online Assets

You wouldn’t leave the front door to your shop unlocked. Domain names are just as vital to your online business as a front door is to a high street shop. By planning a domain name strategy and protecting the ones you have, you can reduce the risks of a costly domain name nightmare.

.ASIA Ready to Mark Online Territory!

Wow, do we really need another top level domain name? With the recent release of the .ASIA TLD, domain name providers are preparing for a growth in registrations as Asia’s huge business muscles begin to flex.

The market need of such a dynamically growing community is undeniable. Providing a unified front with an internationally recognized TLD has the potential to dramatically improve regional competitiveness and go some way to balancing global forces.

Asia as the New Market

Representing over 60% of the world’s population (and over 90 languages), Asia is experiencing tremendous economic, cultural and technical growth. The financial and economic problems of the 1990s are fading. By creating a new TLD for Asia, businesses in the region have been given the means to show their global citizenship as well as the potential for regionally targeted efforts.

Although there are dramatic cultural differences throughout the region, nations are still proud to be a part of Asia. The DotAsia Organisation hopes to bring together the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region, and by providing a unique identifier, there is the potential to create a particular online presence with greater relevance to the region and greater significance for the shaping of the world wide web. This will be reinforced by the reinvestment of registry proceeds into further development for the region. Although a single domain registry can’t solve all of the regional issues overnight, it is hoped this initiative can help lift the economies, businesses and people of the Pan-Asia and pan-Pacific countries to greater global competitiveness.

Why Not Stick to Local Identifiers?

The Internet is a key player in the resurgence of some Asian economies. As corporations start to expand out of their local markets into other territories within their region, a regional identifier becomes more desirable. Similarly, when multi-nationals establish presence in the region, they need a regional identity instead of simply a local one. For example, if a company establishes an Asian headquarters in Shanghai, a “.CN” address may be best for communicating with prospective clients in China. However, when this company visits Japan, a .ASIA address reinforces the broader scope of their market.

It is hoped that local companies may be able to avoid biases when they expand outside their local markets. By signifying membership of a much larger region instead of a specific locale, any negative perception of irrelevance in the new market is lessened. Instead of a Chinese company marketing to Japan, it becomes an Asian company marketing to Asia. Therefore, .ASIA is a truly neutral regional identifier, crossing all cultural and political boundaries.

These factors are of great benefit to the huge SME (small/medium enterprises) segment, by far the fastest growing segment of the market. The adoption of .ASIA provides massive benefits for these businesses by removing the traditional hindrances to expanding into new markets.

Prof. Kilnam Chon is a renowned Internet pioneer in Asia. He points out, just as there is a place for international magazines, regional magazines and local magazines, there needs to be a place for international TLDs, regional TLDs and local TLDs. From the point of view of DNS operations, a .ASIA TLD provides specific services for a specialised community that has unique needs not otherwise served by a generic or a country code TLD.

What’s in a Name?

.ASIA is a highly recognisable phrase that is short, easy to remember, versatile but specific and focused on the Asia identity. It captures the essence of the community served and is a sustainable phrase that will not easily become obsolete. “Asia” traverses a broad region yet elicits a clear concept and coherence of the community, providing registrants tremendous value in establishing an Internet presence with global recognition and regional significance. The name value for .ASIA is especially remarkable for the thriving SME (small medium enterprises) make-up of the Asia economies. This is amplified even more as these SMEs continue to expand beyond their local market to the regional marketplace, leveraging the Internet as a platform for growth.

The .ASIA domain can also be naturally used by individuals, businesses, organisations as well as community groups, without constraining to a particular silo within the community, promoting a diverse and dynamic community within the .ASIA namespace. This matches well and is consistent with the multicultural and vibrant community in Asia

Many of the less technically conscious SMEs in the region missed out on the rush for a presence in the traditional namespaces. The .ASIA domain gives another chance for these entities to register a truly representative and descriptive domain under the new TLD. Altogether, these elements will work to enhance both the geographic as well as the demographic diversity of the Internet namespace.

Also there are those entities for whom Asia forms a major part of their identity – Asian media and publishing organisations, community groups, regional programs, etc – who will benefit from the creation of a TLD that reflects their cultural nature.

Therefore, the arrival of .ASIA provides immense value, not only for the internet user but also for the registrant.