Ten Good Reasons for the New Internet Extensions (new gTLDs)
The news agency CNN announced: “The largest-ever expansion of the Internet's naming system is coming …”. On “Reveal Day”, the 13th of June 2012 a list of 1930 applications for the new generic Top Level Domains was released. This initiative by ICANN, the regulator of the domain name system of the internet, should introduce more innovation and competition to the existing extensions like .COM, .ORG and .NET. Applications come from online-visionaries with .AMAZON, .GOOGLE and .APPLE as well as from world-renowned industrial and service brands with .BMW, .DELOITTE and .DHL. Additionally, many cities applied like .LONDON, .BOSTON, .TOKYO and .PARIS and private investors go for .ART, .LTD and .MED. and many others.
Though exact timing hinges on various parameters difficult to assess, it is rather safe to assume that the first new TLDs will be launched in 2013. The first ones will be the IDN-TLDs (Internationalized Domain Names). These are extensions in non-latin script which most probably will be launched in August / September 2013 with e.g. .москва (Moskau in Cyrillic) or 點看, the transliteration of .COM in Chinese script. Through the following months and years – very probably until 2015 – the other endings will be launched. It is expected that the number of new endings will surpass 1000. This can result in a four-fold potential enlargement of the current Domain Name System of the internet and must be compared to today`s only 22 generic TLDs with the likes of .COM, .ORG plus 295 country specific TLDs like .DE, .NL und .CO.UK.
From numerous meetings with clients and prospects it appears that mostly companies specialized in online services fathom the importance of the new gTLD launch and its consequences for their business. Indeed, most brand owners seem to lack concrete information as to what is at stake for them. When informed about the new gTLDs there are nearly always two reactions: 1) Why is it important for my business? 2) The second reaction is being overwhelmed by the sheer number of new endings and the seeming complexity of the subject. This very often results in inaction.
This paper will try to contribute to clarifying both questions. Firstly, concrete reasons will be outlined – using real-life examples – as to why the new gTLDs could be of interest to one’s business. Secondly, the case will be made that the issue can be greatly simplified.
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