Adrian Kinderis, CEO of AusRegistry International, explains how entrepreneurs and brands can get a slice of the $5 billion domain name industry through the new Top-Level Domain program. In January next year a revolution is set to usher in the most expansive and fundamental change to the Internet in its history. The new Top-Level Domain Program, administered by ICANN, will see web addresses move beyond the traditional .com to .anything in a dramatic shift that will introduce a new platform for creativity and major new revenue streams for online investment. For those not aware, the program will allow brands, entrepreneurs and governments to apply for their own version of .com – moving from pepsi.com to .pepsi for example – and secure a unique slice of Internet real-estate that will dramatically change the way Internet users around the world navigate to find content online. For more information, here is a video of an interview I did with Bloomberg Television about the program. So, now that I’ve got you interested, you’re probably thinking about the best way you can gain a slice of the $5 billion dollar domain name industry. You might be an entrepreneur out to make your next million or a brand looking to make a statement of leadership in the digital space. Here are my top six tips on how you can take advantage of this billion dollar opportunity and own a trusted, regulated slice of Internet ‘real estate’: 1. Don’t try to be the next .com The biggest revenue-making opportunity under the new Top-Level Domain Program lies within the formation of generic word Top-Level Domains. Rather than trying to become the next .com, entrepreneurs should look to create boutique name spaces, turning over lower registration volumes, but at higher margins – the online equivalent of running an exclusive VIP country club. Take .music, which would be created as a targeted name space specifically for the music industry. Such a name space is probably never going be a competitor to .com, however it will hold significant value to the music industry given it will be directly tied to the subject matter and the global music community. Imagine if you could capture even 20 per cent of the roughly 8 million music artists around the world and charge them each $US5 to promote their music under an official .music name space. That’s $US8 million in annual revenue before you consider other potential revenue sources from targeting users with content businesses like concerts.music and reviews.music. So, rather than trying to be all things to all people, think very carefully about your audience before making the move. Because in this game an audience of “everyone” is a very risky move to make. 2. Offer more than just a domain name You are securing a domain name space. You can do so much more that just sell domains. We call it “left of the dot” thinking. What more can you offer that will build value to your namespace? How else can domain names be used? Should you retain premium names rather than sell them and look to monetise those sites by building out content? You are starting with a clean slate here. You set the rules. Be creative and create something that will bring value to your market and provide something different! 3. Commercialise your .brand TLD For brand holders, the benefits of securing a .brand Top-Level Domain are immediately obvious: Trust, leadership, customer engagement and improved message recall. Think creditcards.hsbc, cars.ebay or justdoit.nike and you’re well on the way to capturing the opportunity presented by this unique change. However, a .brand Top-Level Domain can deliver more than this. For instance, imagine eBay securing .eBay and selling a slice of that space to its audience of 94 million registered users at $US2 per vanity domain name fee. Also, with more than 600 million registered users, a username.facebook strategy of a similar nature should be an absolute no-brainer. From a customer engagement perspective, imagine if BMW were to provide all customers with a john.smith.bmw domain name with the purchase of a new vehicle to allow access to critical information such as service scheduling and technical information. Not only would it deliver value to the customer, it would also play a role in the introduction of the customer to the BMW brand experience and lifestyle (car clubs, forums, social networking etc). There will also be huge improvements in online security and trust. Take the bank Chase for example, it would bring clarity and security to customers with the simple message, ‘If it’s not .chase, it’s not us’. Not to mention making it easier for customers to find content online without using Google, because all they will need to remember is investments.chase, for instance. 4. Remove the language barrier For the first time in history, new Top-Level Domains are available in non-Latin scripts and with 60% of the world’s population residing in countries where the native language is based on a script other than Latin, you could be one of the first to capitalise on this latest shift in domain name technology. Imagine what a relevant Chinese script Top-Level Domain could be worth to the thriving Chinese community? 5. Act now The clock is ticking on this limited opportunity. The application window for new Top-Level Domains will open on 12 January 2012 and we’ll start to see new ‘.anything’ domains in operation from late 2012. If companies and entrepreneurs miss the application window (12 January 2012 to 12 April 2012), it may be a long time before they have the same opportunity again. Get moving now to make sure you don’t miss the boat. There is less than 155 days until the application window opens and you’ll need all of that time to make sure your approach is on the money. 6. Seek advice The new Top-Level Domain program is not for the novice – there are few people who can run a slice of the Internet alone – so start with the idea and seek advice from an industry expert such as AusRegistry International who understands the application process, policy and technological infrastructure required to make the most of the new Top-Level Domain opportunity. This is just the starting point. The six tips explained above are just a starting point for a much larger analysis of your idea and associated business case. At AusRegistry International ( www.ausregistry.com ), we are currently working with brands, entrepreneurs and governments across the world in a full service capacity that can cover your entire new Top-Level Domain project from strategy right through to technology and launch marketing services. For more information please visit www.ausregistry.com or find out more about the new Top-Level Domain program here: www.BeyondDotCom.info By Adrian Kinderis, Internet industry thought leader and CEO of AusRegistry International, one of the few companies in the world with the experience and technology to activate and implement new Top-Level Domains. This article by Adrian Kinderis was sourced with permission from the AusRegistry International blog and originally appeared at: www.ausregistry.com/blog/?p=838

So, you’ve heard about ICANN’s new TLD Program and you’re thinking about the best way to get involved so you can gain a slice of the of the $5 billion dollar domain name industry. You might be an entrepreneur out to make your next million, a brand looking to make a statement of leadership in the digital space, a city keen to deliver a clear digital identity online or maybe something cool I’ve never even heard of! Regardless of your intention, what you might be missing is a real insight into the ways in which you can activate the new Top-Level Domain opportunity to introduce a business never before seen in the domain name space. As someone who has been following the program closely for a few years now, below are five key tips that will hopefully get your brain working in overdrive: 1. Act now: The clock is ticking on this limited opportunity. The application window will open on 12 January and we’ll start to see new Top-Level Domains in operation from 2013. If companies and entrepreneurs miss the application window (12 January 2012 to 12 April 2012), it may be a long time before they have the same opportunity again. Get moving now to make sure you don’t miss the boat. There is less than 176 days until the application window opens and you’ll need all of that time to make sure your approach is on the money. 2. Think different: This opportunity isn’t all about trying to be the next .com. The real value lies within the formation of market or vertical centric generic TLDs that will offer value to a specific target audience. Let’s take a .music TLD as an example of a generic Top-Level Domain that could be launched specifically for the music industry. Such a namespace is not intended to be a competitor to .com, however it will still hold significant value to the music industry given it will be directly tied to the subject matter as well as the global music community. The logical step regarding perceived value is the opportunity to demand a higher price per domain, driving profit up even if overall registration volumes don’t break world records. So think very carefully about your audience, as I firmly believe that the most successful new Top-Level Domain applicants will be those that are able to identify a consumer group that is willing to pay more per domain for the privilege of an authoritative, trusted and relevant domain name. In this game, an audience of “everyone” is a very risky move to make. 3. Commercialise your .brand TLD: .brand TLDs don’t just have to be an online branding exercise to improve message recall and online efficiency. There are huge opportunities available for .brand applicants to activate the namespace and drive return on investment. Imagine eBay securing .eBay and selling a slice of that space to its audience of 94 million registered users at two dollars per vanity domain name fee? Think michaeltwist.ebay and you’ve got the basis of a solid revenue generation model. 4. No language barrier: For the first time in history, new Top-Level Domains are available in non-Latin scripts and with 60% of the world’s population residing in countries where the native language is based on a script other than Latin, you could be one of the first to capitalise on this latest shift in domain name technology. Imagine what the Chinese equivalent for .com could be worth to the thriving Chinese community? 5. Seek advice: The new Top-Level Domain program is not for the novice – there are few people who can run a slice of the Internet alone – so start with the idea and seek advice from an industry expert who understands the application process, policy and technological infrastructure required to make the most of the new Top-Level Domain opportunity. The five tips explained above are just a starting point for a much larger analysis of your idea and associated business case. At AusRegistry International, we are currently working with brands, entrepreneurs and governments across the world in a full service capacity that can cover your entire new Top-Level Domain project from strategy right through to technology and launch marketing services. Please feel free to drop me a line if you’re after some advice on how you can make the most of this revolutionary opportunity. Also, be sure to read a blog we wrote last month explaining why choosing a domain name registry services partner for your new Top-Level Domain is the most important decision you will make from here on in. For more information please visit www.ausregistry.com or find out more about the new Top-Level Domain program here: www.BeyondDotCom.info This article was written by Michael Twist, Top-Level Domain specialist with AusRegistry International and was sourced with permission from www.ausregistry.com/blog/?p=831 .

The number of Chinese websites dropped by 401 per cent in 2010 to 1.91 million websites according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The dramatic drop was attributed to stronger regulation. “Although the Internet is posing some problems for new media, our regulation is becoming stronger, we have taken a very big step in this area,” CASS media expert Liu Ruisheng was quoted as saying on the organisation’s website reports AFP. But while the number of websites dropped, Liu said Chinese webpages increased in 2010 by 60 billion, an increase of 78.6 percent over 2009 the AFP report continued. “This means our content is getting stronger, while our supervision is getting more strict and more regulated,” he said. The drop in the number of websites corresponds from the decline in .CN domain name registrations. Registrations of .CN domain names plummeted to 3,379,441 active domain names as of 28 February, a decline of over ten million registrations in 14 months, according to statistics published by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) now not available from their website. The total number of registered domain names declined from a peak of 13,459,133 as of 31 December 2009 when .CN was the number one ccTLD (CNNIC previously published registration statistics dated the end of each month). The decline has meant .CN, which was easily the number one ccTLD at its peak is now at best fifth and probably sixth in terms of total registrations. The dramatic reductions are the result of the end of promotions that lasted for much of 2008 and 2009 where domain names could be registered for a few cents and the introduction of restrictions on registrants. The restrictions on registrants were monitored by 600 temporary workers that were hired in February 2011 to check all .CN domain names for pornographic content and inaccurate records according to an IDG report at the time.

Priority Sunrise Registrations will Close on July 25 2011 Open Landrush Registrations to Begin August 2, 2011 [news release] Following the approval from ICANN for the implementation of the new gTLD (Generic Top-Level Domain) program, DotAsia today announces its plans to support new gTLDs from Asia, including its own IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) TLDs: “.亚洲/.亞洲 “, “.アジア”, “.아시아”, etc. and applications from other Asian new gTLD applicants. “As one of the latest new gTLD ourselves, and as a not-for-profit organization with a core mandate to promote Internet development and adoption in Asia, DotAsia is well equipped to provide support to new gTLD aspirants from Asia.  We believe our experience and understanding in the ICANN process, domain policies, technology and market will help Asian new gTLDs, for profit or community initiatives become successful,” says Edmon Chung, Cheif Executive Officer of DotAsia.  “Domain names are analogous to real-estate on the Internet, and this opening of new gTLDs by ICANN is like a watershed deregulation.  We are eager and prepared to lend our expertise and to assist Asian initiatives so Asia does not lose out on this ‘land grab’.  Domain names are also an important Internet resource that supports development, especially the introduction of Asian language IDN gTLDs.” DotAsia is planning to offer support to new gTLD applicants from Asia, assisting in the application process, development of policies, finances, community development and other aspects of applying, creating and operating a new gTLD.  Interested parties are welcome to inquire further at: info@ngtld.asia. Meanwhile, building on the successful Sunrise and Landrush launch of English alphanumeric (ASCII) .Asia domain registrations in 2007 and 2008, the Sunrise (i.e. Priority Registration) for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internationalized Domain Name (IDN — web address represented in local languages) continues with a similar phased approach to ensure an orderly introduction of IDN .Asia domains. Sunrise ( www.idn.asia ) and the Pioneer Domains Program ( pioneer.domains.asia ), opened on May 11, will close on July 25, 2011. The launch of .Asia IDN coincides with the decision made by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to allow an increase in the number of Internet address endings – called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) beyond the existing 22 at their 41st Public Meeting, held last month in Singapore.  The plan will usher in one of the biggest changes ever to the Internet’s Domain Name System as Internet addresses will be able to end with and expressed entirely in any language or script, offering organizations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause, and to connect with users in new and innovative ways. “IDNs will change the perceived value of domain names in Asia as businesses discover the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) value of domains.  The hundreds of millions of Chinese, Japanese and Korean users are actively searching online in their native language. IDN realizes the SEO value by making it possible to have a domain name that matches what users are searching for, thereby improving the ranking of your website,” added Chung. About DotAsia Organisation DotAsia Organisation ( www.dot.asia ) is a regional not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote Internet development and adoption around Asia. DotAsia oversees the “.Asia” top-level Internet domain name, and is formed as an open membership consortium of official domain authorities around the region, including .CN (China), .JP (Japan), .KR (Korea), .IN (India), .NZ (New Zealand), .PH (Philippines), etc., and regional Internet organizations including APNIC, APNG, APCERT, PAN and APTLD. DotAsia has a core mandate towards digital inclusion, education and research and development. This DotAsia news release was sourced from: www.idn.asia/main/2011/07/dotasia-to-support-asian-new-gtlds.html To register your .ASIA domain name, check out Asia Registry here .

The tightening of registration policies for .CN domain names by CNNIC has seen a rapid decline in the number of phishers using .CN domain names and an increase in the use of other top level domains and services, and in particular the CO.CC sub-domain and .TK country code TLD. In a report from the Anti Phishing Working Group titled Global Phishing Survey 2H2010: Trends and Domain Name Use , the APWG found that millions of phishing URLs were reported in 2H2010, but the number of unique phishing attacks and domain names used to host them was much smaller. The .CC domain was used for 7.3 per cent of all phishing attacks in 2H2010 according to the report, the second highest proportion and vastly over-represented compared to other TLDs with six phishing domains per 100,000 domains. There are 4,030,709 .TK domain registrations. The largest TLD was .COM with 48 per cent of all attacks from domain names and 45 per cent of all domain registrations globally, and 2.1 phishing domains per 10,000. When looking at sub-domains, top of the list is co.cc with a total of 4803 attacks, a long way ahead of second place – t35.com with 642 attacks. T35.com dropped to second place due to the large increase in co.cc attacks. There were at least 67,677 phishing attacks worldwide according to the report, which was greater than the 48,244 observed in 1H2010, but significantly less than the record 126,697 observed in 2H2009 at the height of phishing on the Avalanche botnet. The attacks occurred on 42,624 unique domain names. This is a high in APWG reports going back to 2007, and the increase is due to new data about Chinese phishing. Of the 42,624 domains, 11,769 were believed to be registered maliciously, by the phishers (28%). Of those, 6,382 were registered to phish Chinese targets. The other 30,855 domains were hacked or compromised on vulnerable web hosting. Malicious registrations apparently took place in 56 TLDs. Of the phishing that was detected, it remains concentrated in certain namespaces. Sixty percent of attacks occurred in just four TLDs: .COM, .CC, .NET, and .ORG. And 89 percent of malicious domain registrations were made in four TLDs: .COM, .TK, .NET, and .INFO. Tightening of registration policies for .CN domain names was criticised for being restrictive and assisting censorship, new rules barred individuals from registering .CN domains, and required all potential registrants to present a paper application form with a copy of a company business license and a copy of the registrant’s personal identification. As a result, the number of .CN registrations fell from 13.5 million in late 2009 to just 3.4 million in March 2011. In the second half of 2009, APWG observed 2,826 phishing attacks on 228 .CN names. Through the first half of 2010, the numbers dropped to just 162 attacks on 120 domains. In 2H2010, the data shows 352 attacks on 278 .CN domains, with the increase due to CNNIC’s superior data contribution. Half of those domains were used to attack non-Chinese targets. Historically, about 80 per cent of phishing attacks have used the hacked web servers of innocent domain registrants. In contrast, the Chinese phishers prefer to register domain names and subdomains for their malicious work. In 2H2010 APWG counted 12,282 attacks on Chinese institutions, utilising 6,382 unique domain names plus a staggering 4,737 free CO.CC subdomains. Of the 6,382 domain names, just 487 looked hacked. And of the 2,429 .TK domains used for phishing in 2H2010, 2,001 were used to phish Chinese institutions. Top of the list, and top for the last 2.5 years, was .TH (Thailand) with 12.6 phishing domains per 10,000 registrations. But there were only 51,438 registrations in .TH with 65 unique domains used for phishing attacks. To download the 29 page PDF report from the Anti Phishing Working Group in full, go to: www.antiphishing.org/reports/APWG_GlobalPhishingSurvey_2H2010.pdf

The delegation and management of variant TLDs remains an important issue. The ICANN community seeks to develop solutions to enable the delegation of Variant TLDs for the benefit of users around the world.

DotAsia have announced the global launch of Chinese (Traditional and Simplified matched), Japanese and Korean IDN .ASIA domains. The launch will commence on 11 May 2011 with a Sunrise phase followed by a Landrush phase commencing on 2 August. For more information see the news release below: DotAsia Announces the launch of .Asia Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) for the Global Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internet Community Asia is continuing its rapid growth as the world’s most populated Internet marketplace, with an expectation to expand to more than 2 billion Internet users in 2013