Frank Schilling

.Click to Launch Without Registry Reserved Domain Names

Uniregistry is set to launch the .Click new gTLD domain extension on November 25, and unlike most other new domain extensions, the only reserved domain names will be those on the ICANN APD block list. Aside from the nearly 8,000 strings prohibited from being registered by ICANN, everything will be available to the public on a first come, first served basis. I understand that the vast majority of the 8,000 registry reserve names have no commercial value, but are reserved for technical reasons, so there should be plenty of top keyword domain names available to register from the outset.

According to Uniregistry founder and CEO Frank Schilling, North Sound Domains will not be competing with other domain registrants for .Click domain names when they become available to purchase. He did tell me  that “about 4 weeks after launch we have a large list of premiums that we may or may not register as registry assets for the future.” Since .Click domain names will be available to the first registrants to buy them, there will not be registry / registrar auctions for .Click domain names.

Uniregistry is banking on

Uniregistry Domain Names Now at GoDaddy

Uniregistry has been selling its new gTLD domain names since the end of February of this year,  but they have not been selling them via GoDaddy, the largest domain name registrar in the world. According to a tweet from Uniregistry founder Frank Schilling, as of yesterday, new gTLD domain names managed by Uniregistry are now available for purchase by customers at GoDaddy.

I checked, and GoDaddy is now selling Uniregistry extensions like .link, .sexy, .tattoo, .blackfriday, .guitars, and others. The pricing seems comparable to other registrars, although the prices are more expensive than buying the domain names directly from Uniregistry (not taking any discounts into consideration).

In February of this year, Kevin Murphy of DomainIncite.com wrote an article about “why registrars are boycotting .sexy” and other Uniregistry new gTLD domain names. In his article,

Uniregistry is Still Hiring

By now, I am sure you heard about the two big Uniregistry hirings this past week. Uniregistry hired Vern Jurovich as its Chief Operating Officer, and the company also  hired Michael Ward as its Director of Registrar Operations. Both of these individuals have considerable experience in the domain name space, and these hirings make sense for the company as it competes for talent with several other growing domain industry companies.

In addition to these two hirings,  Uniregistry also has other job opportunities for qualified individuals. According to its  career page, Uniregistry is looking to hire employees in the following areas:

B. Riley & Co: 20 Million New gTLD Domain Names by 2016

Earlier this week, Sameet Sinha, Sr. Equity Research Analyst at B. Riley & Co., published a research report on the new gTLD business and Rightside. The report, which is available to B. Riley clients and subscribers, made some projections about the new gTLD domain names and the impact they will have across the board in the domain industry (from registries to registrars to service providers…etc). In addition, Mr. Sinha initiated coverage on Rightside (ticker: NAME) with a Buy rating and $15 price target.

Mr. Sinha’s report offered an extensive overview of the domain name space, as well as a history of the new gTLD program. It was quite comprehensive, and I think it will give readers a greater knowledge about the technical aspect of domain ownership and operations. If someone were to ask me for a resource to  explain the gTLD program, I think this report would give them all of the information they need to learn about its genesis and future.

I thought Mr. Sinha’s report was quite interesting, especially because it comes from someone  outside of the domain investment space.  With Mr. Sinha’s permission, I want to share some excerpts from the report as well as a few projections that were made:

Frank Schilling Comments on .London

This morning on Twitter, Uniregistry’s Frank Schilling commented on the successful .London domain name launch. As you can see below, Frank said, “35,000 .london names is a great start! It’s only day 1 and nobody knows what these things are! That’s all gonna change.”

I think Frank is right. Out of those 35,000 domain names, I think

Will There Be Plural / Singular New gTLDs in Round 2

I think it’s pretty safe to assume that ICANN will eventually approve a second round of new gTLD applications. I don’t know when round 2 will happen, but if I was going to place a wager, I would bet there will be at least one subsequent round of applications. I was thinking about what types of new extensions might make up the applications since most of the “good” ones are probably already assigned or awaiting approval.

I had a thought that some new gTLD registries might apply for the plural or singular version of the registries they already manage. For example, perhaps Uniregistry could potentially apply for .Links or the .Club registry could apply for .Clubs. It certainly wouldn’t make sense in many cases, but I could see a few reasons for it.

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