HostingCon 2011 - New Top Level Domains

New Top Level Domains:
The impact and opportunity
Adam Eisner
Director, OpenSRSProduct Management

About Me
Director, OpenSRS Product Management
With Tucows 7+ years
12 years experience in web hosting, domain names, Internet marketing

About OpenSRS
One of the world’s largest providers of domain names, SSL certificates and email
11,000+ resellers worldwide
Offices in Canada, UK, Germany, Holland, USA
A division of Tucows

Jargon
Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD): worldwide domain under contract w/ICANN
Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD): represent countries
.CA, .US, .ME, .CO, etc.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): Internet addressing, new TLD process

How Did We Get Here?

Result: New TLDs are Coming!
‘Right of the dot’ will matter
Three major categories:
.BRAND TLDs: .OPENSRS, .GOOGLE, .FACEBOOK
GENERIC TLDs: .SEARCH, .WEB, .BLOG, .HOST, .CLOUD
COMMUNITY / SPECIAL INTEREST TLDs: .TORONTO, .PARIS, .ECO

.XXX is NOT Part of the Program

Timelines
January – April 2012: Applications accepted
April 2012: Cards turned over
November 2012: Applications approved
Live in the root thereafter
Additional round possible at a later date
It won’t be soon

What are the Opportunities?
End users will understand “right of the dot”
Get your own for prestige and control
Reach new customers by selling new extensions

Moving “right of the dot”

Getting Your Own
The ultimate in prestigious web addresses
Before the dot” is an anonymous, less measureable experience
“After the dot” is exclusive, private, secure

Getting Your Own
All the good names are available
YOU control who can buy a name

New Customers: The Other Opp
Hundreds of new extensions mean selling to dozens or hundreds of new markets
What would these extensions mean to the segments you currently market to?
What about new markets?

Spotted in the Wild

And All Sorts of Others*
.WEB
.GAY
.BERLIN
.NYC
.MUSIC
.BAYERN
.GMBH
.GAMES
. HOMES
.IRAN
.KOREA
.BAY
.BIKE
.LOVE
.MADRID
.MLS
.MONEY
. MUMBAI
.PHONE
.POKER
.SPORT
.PEACE
.QUEBEC
.FAM
.ECO
.CAR
. BOARD
* Nothing has been approved just yet.

Pick Your Spots Carefully
History says launching a TLD is not easy.

gTLD Registrations Since 2001
All gTLDs
.COM
The other 21
Source: ICANN

A “Sellable” TLD …
Is smartly priced (less than $30)
Doesn’t have any wacky rules
Is specific
Think .TV or .ME
Resonates with end users

Getting Your Own
Application fee: $185k (if successful)
Partially refundable
More if there are contentions, auctions, clarifications
Legal fees, marketing fees, etc.
Brand names can get away with lower budgets

How to Apply
Fill out an extensive application
Details business model, technology, etc.
Consult Draft Applicant Guidebook if interested
Secure partners
Running yourself = bad idea
Many requirements around reliability, no-one wants a dead extension
Applications reviewed in early 2012

How Do I Sell Them?
Most will partner with registrars
What is your registrar’s strategy?
Brands won’t sell to the public
Integration should largely look the same as today’s extensions – just with more choice

Putting it All Together
The most exciting and fundamental change to Internet navigation since domain names emerged
Your own TLD means your own prestigious namespace where anything is possible
New extensions represent new markets and opportunities

Thank You!
Adam Eisner
Director, OpenSRS Product Management
Aeisner @ tucows.com

HostingCon 2011 - New Top Level Domains

by opensrs on Aug 08, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 1,070

Statistics

HostingCon 2011 - New Top Level Domains — Presentation Transcript

http://www.opensrs.com	1069
http://opensrs-opensrs.blogspot.com	1