New gTLD

New gTLD domain names are a source of discussion and debate throughout the domain investment space. Off the top of my head, I can’t really think of a more polarizing topic related to domain names.

Last week, I reached out to a random group of colleagues to get their feedback on the new gTLD domain names that will be rolling out soon. I asked them to complete the following sentence using 5 of their own words or less: “gTLDs will…” As you can see below, the responses run the gamut.

Within the next few months, new gTLDs will become available for the public to register, purchase, reserve, and use, and I think it’s going to be fun to watch what happens. I invite you to complete the “gTLDs will…” sentence in your own 5 words in the comment section.

Thanks to those who participated and to those who participate with a comment!

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker  Christine Quinn (who is running for Mayor) issued a press release today heralding the approval of the .NYC gTLD, which had received support from the City. I don’t know how much NYC will help promote .NYC, but it’s clear from the press release, the plan is to target local businesses.

“Having our own unique, top-level domain – .nyc – puts New York City at the forefront of the digital landscape and creates new opportunities for our small businesses,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “They’ll now be able to identify themselves as connected to New York City, one of the world’s strongest and most prestigious brands.”

Registering .NYC domain names won’t be available to everyone. In fact,

Radix Registry will be the operator of the .Host domain registry, as it is one of the uncontested strings for which the company applied. Smartly, the company just announced that it will be accepting pre-registrations for .Host domain names at HostingCon, which is being held in Austin, Texas right now. There are three applicants for a competing .Hosting gTLD.

HostingCon is reportedly the web hosting industry’s largest tradeshow, and there are close to 2,000 attendees at the annual conference. Radix has a booth on the tradeshow floor, and the company will begin to accept non-binding pre-registrations for .Host domain names today.  Pre registrations are available for HostingCon attendees as well as people who aren’t at the conference, and they can be made at  DotHostRegistry.com.

There are several reasons why I think offering pre-registrations are smart: