The .CO era
Are there any .com domains left? I for one have spent countless hours trawling the providers looking for something that vaguely represents the brand I am trying to build . It seems that in order to secure something of relevance, your brand or service has to be either a unique combination of letters or an unlikely combination of words (googlewhack anyone?). This problem is somewhat alleviated with the presence of country level domains such as .co.uk (UK), .de (Germany) and recently .eu (Europe) but nothing quite matches the online presence of a .com domain.
Well, that may all be about to change thanks to a country more commonly associated with cartels than cyberspace. At the end of last year Colombia decided to deregulate their own country level extension, making .CO available for registration worldwide. Arcelandia S.A. and Neustar, Inc have joined forces to administer its introduction, which will take place in three key stages: Sunrise, Landrush and general release.
They wouldn’t be the first of course. Other countries have ventured down similar routes, a notable example being Syria who released the .sy extension, attracting a whole host of domains with “cutesy” names. It was never taken seriously. The Columbian conterpart, however, holds considerably more promise. .CO is immediately associated with the words COmpany, COrporate, COmmerse and has already caused quite a stir. The big names are in, with over half of the top 500 global brands already registered. Twitter has got in on the game by securing t.co, a super simple web address which signifies the importance and indeed the shift to shorter domain names. It is particularly apt that Twitter, a service that operates in a world defined by 140 characters is leading this front. Will facebook follow suit and register f.co?
Further media hype was generated when on July 10th an auction hosted by sedo.com and .COinternet saw e.co sell for a record $81’000. “The e.CO auction not only marks the very first .CO domain auction in the industry, but signifies a new era for Internet users as it opens so many new doors for just about anyone looking to expand their brand online” remarked Kathy Nielsen, director of sales at Sedo.com.
The Sunrise phase gave a chance for trademark holders to register the key domains and finished on June 10th. This was followed by Landrush, designed to give companies a chance to obtain the domains they really want (at an inflated price of course). The Landrush phase was supposed to come to an end today. However, due to the overwealming number of applications, it has now been extended till July 16th. If there are multiple registrations for a paricular domain, it will go to the highest bidder.
On the 20th July 2010, the .CO domain opens to general availability and will operate on a first come, first serve basis. This is the real chance for upcoming brands to register the name they’ve been dreaming of and give them the slice of internet pie they’ve been craving. As always though, some will also see this as another business opportunity. Queue cybersquatters buying up every decent domain and throwing them straight back on the market at hugely inflated prices. Still, at least it gives new businesses and entrepreneurs a chance at the domain they actually want, rather than the .com scraps. With the .co extension comes a sense of something different, a globally recognizable extension for the purpose of brand promotion and development. It has been predicted that in 5 years, it will become second to .com behind .net. My advice is act quick and get your name on the pre-order.
More information can be found at cointernet.co
