To avoid any confusion, what we're talking about is the part of an internet address after the dot. For example, .com, .gov, .uk, or any of the 22 suffixes that appear in a URL. Now a company is free to put their own stamp on their address and, assumably, sells domains with that extension. Cannon, Unicef and Paris (the city, not the heiress) have already expressed their intentions to purchase their own names.
To avoid the hijacking that happened in the '90's, they’ve implemented a policy of reviewing every application to make sure the organization has a legitimate business plan and a legal claim to the dot name. If more than one company wants the same name, it will go to auction where the highest bidder wins. Any Joe-off-the-street cannot purchase a dot name unless he provides business details, which is meant to stop people from hoarding names for resale.
This is pretty exciting news for anyone who's ever tried to find a decent domain name. Websites are so important to a business' livelihood that it's not an uncommon practice to wait to commit to a new business name, until you've seen what domains are available. This has led to some pretty crazy names. Luckily, alternate dot names have been gaining acceptance which should help us move away from creating unintelligible business names, just to secure an unused dot com.
The Move to Alternate Domains
The website Good is an example of this move. Their URL– good.is –says more about their mission statement than any other address could. The premise of their business is spreading the word about acts of goodness throughout the world, especially in sustainability, human rights and culture. Their domain is their mission: Good Is.... The website itself answer the end of the sentence.
Here are few other examples that add meaning to the domain name:
• Connect.me: a service that manages all of your social media.
• Aquent.us: more relevant because they have offices in other countries. The .us moniker is becoming very popular.
• CentralCoop.coop: too bad for them someone already owns central.coop because it would be even better without the redundancy.
Not only do alternate domains provide a way to bring more meaning to your web address, it helps that there isn't as much competition so acquiring a concise and appropriate name is easier.
The Google Effect
In the end, it probably doesn't even matter what your domain name is. Browsers have become more like cell phones in that there's almost no reason to remember a URL anymore. Between the auto-fill in the address bar, the integrated search bar and the advanced bookmarking capabilities of modern browsers, it's possible to find anything you want without ever knowing the address. More than ever, the domain name is less important than communicating relevant information about your company, so the audience can Google you when it's convenient for them.
The question is: if the name you want is not available as a dot com, is it better for you to select an alternate dot name or pick a dot com that is too long, or doesn't really describe your business? There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but the more options we have, the more likely it is that you'll find something that works for you. Or hey, if you've got an extra $185K lying around, you might want to spring for your very own dot name. Now wouldn't that be fun?
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