Following criticisms from two American advertising associations of the ICANN proposal for new generic Top Level Domains, two more advertising groups, one on each side of the Atlantic, have come out voicing their criticisms. In the US, three groups – the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and most recently the American Association of Advertising Agencies(4A) – have come out strongly against the plan. And in the UK the Direct Marketing Association has added its voice the chorus. However it would appear they have left it too late. Chris Combemale, executive director of the DMA UK, said that “the creation of new internet real estate will come at a cost to businesses that could outweigh any potential benefits.” “Creating a tranche of new internet domain names will be extremely costly to businesses. As well as the associated costs of registering new domain names and spending money to attract customers to multiple domains, businesses face the legal and financial headache of having to contend with cybersquatters grabbing specific domains. “Customised domain names won’t offer brands any enhanced marketing possibilities because consumers can easily search for specific information with the current domain name system.” Combemale adds: “Companies are already hard pressed to find cost savings in these tough trading times; adding a further financial burden that won’t reap any commercial benefits cannot be justified.” DMA UK say they will respond formerly to ICANN with a request to revise or withdraw its new rules. Meanwhile back in the US, 4A complained about the new gTLD plans saying that “if adopted [new gTLDs] would allow applicants to claim virtually any word, generic or branded as a domain name, resulting in confusion of brand identity and dilution of brand history and value.” “We are very disappointed in the position taken by ICANN concerning the assignment and sale of new domain names,” said 4A’s President and CEO Nancy Hill. “These changes would cost brand owners billions of dollars, severely, if not irreparably, diluting the value of trusted and respected brand names, as well as abrogate the good work 4A’s members have done on behalf of their clients.” “All marketers share the goal of a stable global marketplace, served by an Internet system that consumers can rely on to accurately reflect the quality and history of a product or service. ICANN’s actions would remove that trust and place consumers at a significant disadvantage in making marketplace choices and decisions.” The complaints by the advertisers have been aired many times and dealt with by ICANN. ICANN has been consulting with intellectual property groups, people involved in domain names including potential applicants, lawyers and anyone else who is interested for over five years, yet the American, and now British, advertising groups have seemingly only just realised the significance of the changes. Not only that, as Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s CEO and President, pointed out in a letter to the ANA in 2008 the ANA had complained to ICANN about new gTLDs, something seemingly overlooked by the ANA in their complaints. With ICANN board having approved the applicant guidebook at its Singapore meeting in June, and having announced a three month application window commencing 12 January, it would appear that advertising associations on both sides of the Atlantic have been asleep at the wheel.

Many in the ICANN community have the view that the announcement this week that Rod Beckstrom will not be seeking reappointment for a second three-year term was a case of he jumped before he was pushed. Or he was told that he would not be reappointed. Whether this is true or not, two ex-ICANN staffers have posted stories on their blogs and they are not sad to see him go! Kieren McCarthy heads his posting ICANN fires its CEO and says: “Behind the pronouncements lies a different story. It is well known in ICANN circles that there has been significant concern over Beckstrom’s performance for some time. And we understand that Beckstrom’s ‘decision’ was made for him at a secret Board meeting earlier this month.” McCarthy says Beckstrom “lobbied hard to have his contract renewed, even giving a public speech at ICANN’s most recent meeting in Singapore in June listing what he had achieved as CEO.” “Ironically, it is Beckstrom’s attempt to personally attach himself to all the organization’s successes that is a major reason for his failure as an ICANN CEO: he is seen as too quick to claim credit for others’ work and to put personal promotion ahead of effective management. In two years in charge, almost the entire senior management team has left. Community questions as to why were met with obtuse reference to industry percentages.” Also writing on this theme of management is Maria Farrell who writes “Rod’s most obvious legacy is a largely new, mostly American executive team with shallow ties to the global Internet naming and numbering community. They will need to work hard with the community to show they understand that ‘multi-stakeholder’ is more than a slogan, and that transparency and accountability are not optional.” “The next CEO needs to understand that ICANN is not a California nonprofit that happens to have a lot of volunteers. It’s a unique, multi-stakeholder organisation with a global responsibility to Internet users everywhere.” For the next CEO Farrell believes he or she has to hit the ground running with an intimate knowledge of the domain name system. Farrell says that unless the next CEO is one of “about 500 key people involved in running the DNS and numbering systems … then she or he will be a liability for at least the first year.” Writing from some experience, Farrell says “the remaining long-term ICANN staff are demoralized and eyeing the exits, especially as the new top level domain program creates opportunities for them to take their insider knowledge and relationships elsewhere.” And this is something she believes the next CEO will need to value and address. Farrell does give credit where she believes it is due and says “So credit where it’s due; I don’t agree with much of how Rod runs the organization, but his instinct to publicly call a spade a spade is admirable, albeit wielded inopportunely.” McCarthy though is less generous being critical of Beckstrom’s supposed achievements. McCarthy criticises Beckstrom’s claimed “great team building” quoting Farrell who “took the microphone during a public forum [at the San Francisco meeting this year] to announce her ‘profound disquiet about how the organization is operationally being managed’ and talked of a ‘hollowing out of expertise’ and a ‘climate of fear stalking the ICANN staff’. Her comments were met with prolonged applause.” McCarthy then criticises “Beckstrom’s most significant claim to have negotiated an historic agreement with the US government that saw ICANN gain greater autonomy is largely fanciful: he was in charge for less than three months before the agreement was signed, whereas negotiations had been going on for 18 months between ICANN senior staff and the NTIA.” McCarthy lists a number of key staff who left quit, often unexpectedly, that had key roles in negotiating agreements as well as within the organisation such as VP of Corporate Affairs Paul Levins, COO Doug Brent, Theresa Swinehart, former British Ambassador Nick Thorne, David Conrad, Greg Rattray and then the CFO. There are more criticisms in the article, but McCarthy concludes saying “ultimately though Beckstrom was unsuited – and too thin-skinned – to deal with the complex, geo-political environment in which ICANN lives. As criticism grew, Beckstrom retreated within ICANN pulling the culture and staff with him. An independent review complained of staff and CEO ‘laboring under an attitude of inordinate defensiveness and distrust’”. The articles by McCarthy and Farrell are available online at: ICANN fires its CEO by Kieren McCarthy news.dot-nxt.com/2011/08/16/icann-fires-ceo What ICANN needs now by Maria Farrell crookedtimber.org/2011/08/17/21300/

Reliability, stability, trustworthiness are three of the most important features of a TLD, and one of the main messages that auDA, the policy and regulatory body for .AU, has been striving to convey writes Chris Disspain, auDA CEO and these days also ICANN board member. “In fact, I’m pretty sure we have been banging on about the importance of trust ever since auDA was established and assumed responsibility for the operation of .AU,” writes Disspain. “The relevance of this message has been highlighted by recent developments that have negatively affected thousands of British companies” where there have been “legal and administrative battles surrounding the operation of ‘gb.com’, which offers third-level registrations as an alternative to .co.uk.” With the downtime that ensued from the .gb.com outage, Disspain writes “what the recent events surrounding gb.com do highlight is the types of added risks registrants expose themselves to by choosing to register in a space that is selling third level domains on a commercial basis as opposed to in a well-regulated domain with well-defined policy frameworks.” Another third level domain to launch as an alternative to the country code in recent days is com.de, promoted as an alternative to .DE. .DE and .UK are the two largest ccTLDs. A problem that can arise is if the business selling the third level domains goes out of business – you lose your domain name. “All of the marketing and promotional efforts you have made go down the drain and your business may follow soon after.” “In contrast, registrants in a regulated space such as .com.au are afforded certain protections in the unlikely event of registrar failure and can recover their name and livelihood with the assistance of auDA and whichever registrar they choose to switch to. “Also, .AU has mechanisms built-in to deal with circumstances where you might find your business, trademark or other intellectual property rights infringed upon by a com.au registrant.” Disspain then writes that “another advantage of operating your business in a well-run domain is that doing so can resolve issues of confusion and trust for your most important stakeholders – your customers.” In conclusion Disspain writes, “all of these arguments tie back to one main issue – and the main motivation for this post – the importance of trust. Trust in the domain space you register in, trust in the security and stability of your commercial investment, and the trust your customers will have in your operations and the protection of their rights. All of these are vital drivers of success in the bricks-and-mortar world of business – and just as important online.” To read this full article by Chris Disspain, auDA CEO and as of June 2011 ICANN board member, go to: blog.auda.org.au/2011/08/09/without-trust-there-is-nothing/

An image of the notice posted in place of the shut-down Poker sites as of publishing (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — As has been extensively reported over the weekend, the US government shut down three of the world’s largest online poker sites, in a massive case alleging billions of dollars in money laundering and bank fraud. According to several reports appearing over the weekend, payment processing firms involved in the transactions may have been involved in helping federal prosecutors build their case

Go Daddy’s CEO Bob Parsons posted a video of him killing an elephant. Now his rivals are trying to poach his customers. By Geoff Williams, contributing writer April 14, 2011: 3:29 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Small web hosting firms are trying to poach customers from industry leader Go Daddy, which continues to suffer fallout after its CEO posted a video showing him kill an African elephant .

Small web hosting firms are trying to poach customers from industry leader Go Daddy, which continues to suffer fallout after its CEO posted a video showing him kill an African elephant. A number of companies have recently launched campaigns to snare customers — with HostPapa being the latest — and some have seen a boost in their revenues because of it

Hosting Toolbox – Kamloops, BC – Less than two months after opening the first phase of its new 240,000 square foot data centre in Brampton, Ontario, Q9 Networks Inc. has expanded again, opening the first two phases of a six megawatt data centre site in Kamloops, British Columbia. Initiated as part of the previously announced agreement with HP Advanced Solutions Inc.