Sexy Domain Names

The world of domain names has always been a little ad-hoc in my opinion but it's an industry that's certainly always changing, even if that change is sometimes slow and considered. ICANN (the governing body of the domain name industry) are always looking to make the internet more usable and more names available. Domain names can be like personalised license plates, where the creative ones exceed in getting you noticed. A classic example being the Television industry using the domain name of the small Island nation of Tuvalu's extension .tv.

Soon it will be possible to register a .BRAND domain name, without the .COM like these examples, .NIKE  .IBM  .CANON  .SONY  .GOOGLE  .APPLE
Also, these new domain extensions are not limited to .BRANDS, you can apply for .GENERIC
eg: .MUSIC  .HOTELS   .CASINO   .SHOP   .WEB

So, think you might like one of these nice domain names for your business or organisation? ICANN's initial fees are set at USD $185,000 with several other fees added in depending on the complexity of the application. Hmmm, I don't think you'll see webdesigner.catchlight very soon.

In more domain name news .xxx domain names will soon be available after many years of planning and for only a few hundred dollars. I think this could ultimately be a good idea, as this means that adult content will be able to be filtered off much easier, making the web safer. That is if everyone in decides to embrace the idea. Often ICANN's ideas fall short due to lack of awareness combined with the fact that on the internet you can't just simply pass a 'by-law' for the the whole world to abide by. Also, businesses often want to be unique and often wont conform to the guidelines so that they can stand out from the crowd.

Interestingly, some companies have started buying up .xxx domain names already to protect their trademarked brand from creative marketing minds hi-jacking their goodwill and reputation.