Video content is the future: “If it moves, put it on .tv.” The .tv registry provider is VeriSign. They just relaunched the ccTLD with great tools to help you and your customers. The numbers speak volumes: every minute 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. In the US, 80% of Internet users watch online video at least once a month. We are a culture embracing online media.

.tv is the preferred destination for video, film, animation, user-generated content and playable media of all kinds. It’s also a great choice for product demonstrations, how-to videos, keynote addresses, plus training and educational content. Whether you are in the business of creating videos or just use videos in support of your business, a .tv domain name is the natural place for your video content to live. Some of the most prominent .tv sites on the web include: Leo Leporte’s twit.tv, justin.tv, ustream.tv and blip.tv.

When you sign up for the .tv promo (until December 31, 2009), we’ll give you a complete package of .tv marketing materials (.tv logo, icons, animated banner ads and email templates).

Quick Facts:

• VeriSign is the Registry provider
• It is a TLD that is a statement about who you are. You can tell people to expect video on your web site by choosing a .tv.
• .tv is a ccTLD
• There are no residency restrictions.
• .tv was started by dotTV in 2000.

Available resources:

• VeriSign’s Watch.tv site
• Watch.TV Blog
• Watch.TV FAQs
• For more ccTLD context, Check out the VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief (specifically p. 2 -3 for ccTLDs)
• Follow WatchTV on Twitter
• Facebook with WatchTV
• Watch TV’s YouTube channel
• Watch TV research with Delicious bookmarks

With a renewal rate of 74% and an annual growth rate of 20%, .CA serves value for your Canadian domains customers. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) operates the .CA domain.

Disponible en Français au-dessous

Started in 1988, Growing Strong

The first .CA domain name was upei.ca, registered in 1988 by the University of Prince Edward Island. Back then, .CA was run by a group of volunteers at the University of British Columbia. In 2000, control of .CA was transferred to CIRA, a non-profit corporation that manages the .CA domain space on behalf of all Canadians.

.CA Today

With over 1.2 million .CA domains in existence today, .CA easily ranks in the top 20 of ccTLDs worldwide. According to CIRA, more than 400,000 times every minute someone initiates an action online that involves a .ca domain name. CIRA has a new campaign to help Resellers leverage this activity. It’s called “Get my Own .CA” and features great Canadian small businesses and organizations such as Midnight Poutine and Blade Tape (hockey stick tape). CIRA has targeted the small business market with ads appearing in Marketing Magazine, The Globe and Mail, CBC.ca and Yahoo Canada.

Why .CA? CIRA’s Annual Report has more statistics to help your customers when they consider .CA:

• 70% wanted to show their site was Canadian
• 60% of Canadians prefer .CA for online shopping
• 35% use their .CA for personal use
• 64% use their .CA companies/organizations

Adam Eisner, Director, Domain Services for OpenSRS on .CA and the Canadian Market:

Quick Facts:

• The .CA registry is CIRA, a not-for-profit corporation
• .CA domain names are reserved for Canadian people and organizations that meet CIRA Canadian Presence Requirements
• Started by UBC researchers in 1987 and became available for the general public in December 2000
• .CA, a ccTLD, has over 1. 2 million domains registered
• Registering a .CA means you can apply to become a voting member of the organization

Available Resources:

• Visit CIRA’s news portal
• Get some .CA facts
• See CIRA Announcements
• View CIRA Policies
• Get answers to FAQs
• Understand CIRA Canadian Presence Requirements
• View CIRA’s Annual Report
• Read “Public Domain” – the CIRA blog
• Follow CIRA on Twitter
• View videos on CIRA’s YouTube channel
• Slideshare

Avec des renouvelements de 74% et une croissance annuelle de 20%, point-ca offre vos clients une aubaine. L’Autorité canadienne pour les enregistrements internet (ACEI) est le registre des noms de domaine .CA. En opération depuis une vingtaine d’années, le ccTLD .CA gère au-delà de 1,2 millions de noms de domaine:

Au moins 400,000 opérations chaque minute passent au cours de domaines point-ca. L’ACEI a récemment lancé « Get My Own .CA » , un projet démontrant des entreprises et organisations canadiennes, entre autres Midnight Poutine et Blade Tape. l’ACEI cible les petites entreprises avec ses annonces dans Marketing Magazine, Globeandmail.com, cbc.ca et Yahoo.ca.

Pourquoi point-ca? Le rapport annuel de l’ACEI pour 2009 offre quelques renseignements pour vos clients:

70% désire montrer aux visiteurs qu’il s’agit d’un site Web canadien

60% de canadiens préfèrent les domaines point-ca pour la commerce électronique

35% utilise point-ca pour tâches personelles

64% utilise point-ca pour compagnies ou organisations

Adam Eisner, Directeur de Domaines, au sujet de point-ca et le marché canadien:

Données:

• Le registre point-ca est l’ACEI, un société du secteur privé à but non lucratif
• Créé in 1987 par des bénévoles de l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique et ouvert au publique en Décembre 2000
• Point-ca, un ccTLD, gè au-delá de 1,2 million domaines
• Comme titulaire, vous pouvez devenir membre de l’ACEI et aider à façonner l’avenir du Canada sur l’Internet
• En Octobre 2009, l’ACEI a lancé un banc d’essai pour le DNSSEC, technologie importante pour avertier l’usurpation de sites web

Resources Disponibles:

• FAQs
• Nouvelles
• Votre passeport au domaines point-ca
• Gérez vos informations ACEI
• Annonces Publique
• Mise à jour des politiques
• Connexion des titulaires de noms de domaine
• Exigences en matière de présence au Canada
• Rapport Annuel 2008-2009
• blog ACEI (anglais)
• Twitter (anglais)
• Youtube
• Slideshare

Special thanks to Ben Zanin, Senior NOC Analyst, OpenSRS for providing his translation assistance.

.ME puts the “you” in Internet domains. One of the biggest growth areas with Internet products and services is the personalized web. How can you and your customers capitalize on that movement with a domain name?

.ME can be used as both a personalized Web or email address and as a catchy business marketing tool around the world, initially in English followed by localized and standards compliant International Domain Names in, for example, Spanish, Italian, and Montenegrin.

.ME Registry offers a fun video to highlight possible brand positioning:

.ME has registrants from over 190 countries all over the world with 71% from the US, and the rest from Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Montenegro, Australia, China, Holland, Italy, Japan etc. .ME has steadily increased in market share since its inception:

Quick Facts:

The .ME domain is a ccTLD (country code top level domain) for Montenegro.

Registry provider is .ME Registry http://www.domain.me

Started May 2008 with general availability as of July 2008

Over 300,000 .ME domains registered

.ME does not have residency requirements.

Possible third-level zones for .ME: net.me, org.me, co.me, its.me, and priv.me

Available Resources:

• Why .me?
• News
• Explore .ME
• Examples of .ME sites
• Twitter
• Youtube
• Facebook
• Myspace
• Flickr

Este anuncio está disponible en español a continuación.

.ES is our registry focus this week. OpenSRS is meeting with ESNIC, the .es registry, when they visit Madrid on September 17, 2009 for the Parallels EMEA Roadshow.

With over 400 million Spanish speaking people worldwide, “.es” domains have the ability to cross borders as the Spanish domain. “.es” actually translates to “is”. Resellers can use the noun/verb combination to create domain names that play on language. During the last two years, .es have experienced high growth (reaching a million domains in 2008). This may be related to the reduced registration fee and the changes to registration rules.

Red.es, the registry sponsor, is heavily involved in a number of organizations with the goal of promoting the Internet in Spain and with the wider Spanish-speaking population. This includes activism as part of the greater Internet community. They currently have a contest promoting using .es within social networking sites.

.ES Registrations:

Quick Facts

• ESNIC (commercially referred to as dominios.es) is the registry, with Red.es as the sponsor
• Registration is open, however, there are restrictions on some of the specific sub-domains
• Established in 1988
• Over 1 million names registered and growing
• The website is offered in Spanish, English and Spain’s “co-official” languages: Catalán, Gallego, Euskera
• Can be registered and renewed for periods up to 5 years

Available Resources:

• . es Website
• Statistics
• News feed
• Anti-phishing campaign
• Facebook
• Youtube

.ES es nuestro registro de enfoque de esta semana. OpenSRS se reúne con ESNIC, el Registro .es, cuando visite Madrid el 17 de septiembre de 2009 para el Parallels EMEA Roadshow.

Con más de 400 millones de personas de habla hispana en todo el mundo, los dominios “.es” tienen la capacidad de cruzar fronteras como el dominio español. “.es” Realmente se traduce como “es”. Los distribuidores pueden utilizar el sustantivo/verbo para crear nombres de dominio que creativamente jueguen con la lengua. Durante los últimos dos años .es han experimentado un alto crecimiento (llegando a un millón de dominios en 2008). Esto puede estar relacionado con la reducción de tarifa y los cambios a las normas de registro.

Red.es, el patrocinador del Registro, está muy implicado en una serie de organizaciones con el objetivo de promover la Internet en España y con el resto de la población de habla hispana. Esto incluye el activismo como parte de la gran comunidad de Internet. Actualmente tienen un concurso de promoción cuyo objetivo es la dinamización de los dominios .es en las redes sociales.

.ES Inscripciones Estadísticas:

Datos básicos

• ESNIC (comercialmente conocido como dominios.es) es el registro, con Red.es como patrocinador.
• La inscripción está abierta, sin embargo, hay restricciones en algunos nombres específicos.
• Fundada en 1988.
• Más de 1 millón de nombres registrados y creciendo.
• El sitio web se ofrece en Español, Inglés y en leguas co-oficiales de
  España: Catalán, Gallego, Euskera
• Puede ser registrado y renovado por períodos de hasta de 5 años.

Recursos disponibles:

• Sitio web .es
• Estadísticas
• Contenidos de noticias (News Feed)
• Campaña Anti-phishing
• Facebook
• Youtube

Special thanks to Carlos Barrientos for his collaboration on this post including working directly with the registry and for his translation assistance.

We’re focusing on .nl this week to coincide with our visit to the Netherlands for the Parallels EMEA Partner Roadshow. On April 25, 1986, the .nl top-level domain name became one of the first country codes (ccTLDs) to be delegated to a body outside of the US. SIDN, the .nl registry provider, was created in 1996 and made responsible for the functional stability and development of the .nl internet domain. SIDN is actively involved in the technical, political and policy developments surrounding the Internet.

The .nl domain is now the fourth largest ccTDLs in the world. As of July 2009, the .nl domain has about a 70 per cent share of the Dutch market. There are twenty-two .nl domains for every one hundred people in the Netherlands.

Quick Facts

• .nl was established in 1986
• There are 3.5 million .nl domain names
• .nl is the 4th largest ccTLD after .de, .cn. and .uk
• .nl market share in the Netherlands 70%
• Registrants must provide contact address in the Netherlands.
• SIDN is the registry provider for .nl
• EPP will be implemented by the end of 2009
• SIDN is a participant in Opendnssec.org

Available Resources:

• Corporate website
• Extensive FAQ
• News
• Statistics
• EPP blog
• Opendnssec.org
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The .cc domain, from the registry provider VeriSign, is the top-level domain (TLD) for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Like some other ccTLDs, you can capitalize on it being short, easy to say and diverse. While it is commonly linked to commercial Web sites, there have been other unique uses. In 2006, there was an unusual increase in .cc registrations originating from China. It was discovered that online e-commerce sites in that region were using .cc to mean “Chinese company” and it was creating an unexpected groundswell.

Here are some of the great ways to use this flexible ccTLD:

Quick Facts:

• VeriSign is the registry provider.
• It is a ccTLD for Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
• Started in 1997.
• There are no regional location restrictions for purchasing.

Available Resources

• VeriSign’s .CC details
• VeriSign Domain Industry Brief (specifically p. 2 -3 for ccTLDs)
• Newsletters
• VeriSign Twitter Account
• VeriSign Facebook Group
• VeriSign Live Blog

It’s no secret: mobile content is a big part of the future. The .MOBI domain helps you and your customers get ready to take advantage. They provide a vast array of resources including .MOBI marketing and even tips on best practices for creating mobile websites.

.MOBI was conceived by Nokia in 2000 and approved by ICANN in 2005 to ensure that consumers have a simple, uniform way to identify content that will work on any mobile phone – not just high-end smartphones. The .MOBI registry, dotMobi, was formed by a consortium of some of the world’s top content providers, mobile phone manufacturers, operators, infrastructure and payment providers and associations including familiar names like Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Visa and Vodaphone.

dotMobi recently published a report which highlights that the number of mobile Web sites has grown sevenfold since 2008. With that kind of market growth, it is worth investigating your .MOBI options, especially to complement an existing .COM or .ORG site. Your .MOBI content should serve the needs of on-the-go users; it shouldn’t just be the same PC content sent to a mobile phone.

.MOBI Quick Facts:

• Number of domains: more than 1.3 million
• A consortium of 14 leading companies back the .MOBI registry
• General availability started in 2006
• Top 10 reasons to go with .MOBI (PDF)
• Named as one of the world’s 100 brilliant companies by Entrepreneur magazine in May 2009
• Received 2009 Mobile Internet Innovator in the Irish Internet Association’s Net Visionary Awards

Available Resources:

• dotMobi web site
• dotMobi Mobile marketing information and services
• Test to see if your site is mobile-ready
• Visit mobiForge and instantmobilizer for mobile site development and services.
• dotMobi resources, including videos from industry experts
• dotMobi Official corporate blog
• dotMobi group on Linkedin
• dotMobi on Twitter
• dotMobi on Facebook
• dotMobi Flickr: search dotmobi
• dotMobi on YouTube

The DotAsia (.ASIA) registry is a not-for-profit organization with the goal of promoting Internet development and adoption in Asia. This sTLD (Sponsored Top-Level-Domain) is formed by a consortium of country code Top Level Domains within the region including .CN (China), .IR (Iran), .JP (Japan), .KR (Korea), .PH (Philippines), .SG (Singapore) as well as pan-Asian Internet/Information Technology related groups. .ASIA has been available since October 2007. By building and coordinating multiple social networking sites, they are simultaneously defining the .ASIA community and expanding their presence.

DotAsia has embraced social media to communicate about .ASIA sites and help promote .ASIA communities. KeepClicking is a social media platform for .ASIA users to connect. Using two features, Resellers can learn more about this sTLD: “.ASIA in action” (a diverse list of .ASIA websites) and “Activities in the Cloud.” (.ASIA social media feed.) Other communities include: Relief.Asia (Disaster Relief and Rebuild knowledge platform), CreativeCommons.Asia (Sharing and Creative community), OSS.Asia (Regional Open Source Software platform) and OLPC.Asia (One-Laptop-Per-Child Initiative in Asia):

Video for One Laptop Per Child

.ASIA Quick Facts:

• Number of domains: Approx 300,000
• General availability started in March 2008
• Registrant qualification: one contact must reside in the DotAsia community

Available Resources:

• .ASIA website
• .ASIA News
• Upcoming .ASIA events
• .ASIA FAQs
• .ASIA on Facebook
• .ASIA on Twitter
• .ASIA on Flickr
• .ASIA channel on YouTube

.ASIA is running a promo until October 6, 2009. With every .ASIA domain, you can get a free Mini USB memory stick. Just sign up here. Then, register for your redemption.

With more than two million domains, the .BIZ gTLD is built for businesses of all sizes. Neustar has been the registry operator since 2001. Whether you are using .BIZ as part of your domain suite for branding or as a stand-alone domain, customers know that you are business-focused with this TLD. As the 10th largest TLD, .BIZ still has some great domains available, and Neustar has recently opened up an auction for 1- and 2-character .BIZ domains. Proposal submissions are due by September 30, 2009.

Who purchases .BIZ?

• Are between the age of 35-64 and are predominantly male
• 81% of registrants are between 35-64 years old
• 66% of registrants are male
• Are the business leaders of small companies with modest revenue
• 59% of registrants are the President, CEO, or Owner
• 73% represent a company of fewer than 10 people
• 52% of registered businesses have revenue of less than $250K

.BIZ Quick Facts

• .BIZ became available in 2001
• Neustar is the registry operator
• Reached 2 million domain names registered on June 23, 2009, becoming the 10th most registered TLD
• Business-focused gTLD with no geographic qualification
• .BIZ is no different than other TLDs such as .COM with regard to search results. Optimization and promotion are key to .BIZ becoming more prevalent in search results.
• 33.5% of .BIZ domains are used for the business and computers category

Available Resources

• .BIZ registry
• Neustar LinkedIn page
• .BIZ FAQs
• .BIZ News
• .BIZ Podcasts
• .BIZ Webcasts
• .BIZ White Papers
• Learn more about Neustar’s other businesses

Denic eG is the registry provider for .DE, the third largest TLD and second largest ccTLD in the world. Like other early TLDs, .DE had its start in the 1980s in a university setting (in this case, the University of Dortmund). It quickly expanded with the growth of Internet use requiring the need for more formal management. A foundation was formed in 1993, followed closely by the establishment of the Denic cooperative in 1996. By then, there were approximately 20,000 domains in existence. Now more than a decade later, the volume of .DE domains has grown to more than 12.9 million.

.DE Quick Facts:

• Denic cooperative founded in December 1996
• Number of .DE domains: 12,923,320 (check out their Daily Domain counter)
• Third largest TLD and second largest ccTLD in the world
• Full historical timeline
• Administrative contact must be a resident of Germany

Available resources:

• Denic Website
• Extensive FAQ
• Great RFC (Request for Comment) Library on DNS
• Zone check tool
• Mailing lists (including maintenance)
• News and press releases (in German)
• DNSSEC presentations
• Statistics