New gTLD

It is my understanding that the adult industry has been at the forefront of various industry changes. I have heard that the adult video business spurred the quicker adoption of in-home VCRs, and I also understand that online adult businesses helped to bring credit card processing online more quickly.

I am wondering if .XXX domain names could change browsing habits in the future and pave the way for the public adoption of gTLD domain names. Hear me out for a minute.

At the moment, adult websites can be found on a wide variety of extensions… com, net, org, info…etc. There really are no rules in place for where people can find adult websites. As far as I am aware, that will not change with .XXX domain names. People will still be able to visit adult sites on the same extensions as they can now.

As some websites migrate to .XXX domain names, and other new adult websites are developed on .XXX domain names, it’s likely more people will directly navigate to .XXX domain names for their adult pleasure. Frank Schilling has said that people already directly navigate to .XXX, so this isn’t a surprise. With increasing traffic patterns, I would not be surprised to see additional adult sites using .XXX domain names, despite the initial objection of some in the adult business.

Theoretically, I would think that when people become accustomed to visiting .XXX domain names, a “vanity” extension if you will (coined by David Castello), they will be more amenable to visiting other vanity gTLD in the future. If they want a restaurant, they might visit OliveGarden.Restaurant, if they want to make a hotel reservation, they may visit Marriott.Hotel or Philadelphia.Hotel.

I certainly don’t think this change will happen over night, and I am not sure how long it will take. However, I would not be surprised in the least if .XXX helps to usher in the public adoption and awareness of new gTLDs.

What do you think?

Last night, I posted a reminder to people that the Sunrise period to reserve .XXX domain names was going to end on October 28, 2011. According to an email I just received from Moniker, the Sunrise period has been extended to October 31, 2011.  The email stated:

“Great News! ICM Registry, responsible for the Dot Triple X sTLD (sponsored Top Level Domain), has extended Sunrise A and Sunrise B registration periods for an additional three days to conclude on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 16:00 UTC (Noon ET). This extension provides prospective registrants valuable time to secure their domains and protect their brands.”

Although the ICM Registry website still says the end date of the Sunrise period is October 28, I have confirmed this information with them. According to Vaughn Liley, Sales Director for the ICM Registry, the  extension is “due to incredible last week demand and at the request of several Registrars who wanted the weekend to process their backlogs of applications.”

In addition to this confirmation, Liley also informed me that they have received over 70,000 applications for .XXX domain names. Earlier this week, that number was around 42,000  applications. I am not surprised at how many sunrise applications they’ve received, but the figure is stunning. At around $200/each, that’s over $14 million up front cash. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they surpass 100,000 applications by Monday afternoon.

If you do wish to have your trademarks opted out of triple x domain names, now is the time to reserve them before the sunrise period ends.

One thing is for sure with regards to this year’s Traffic conference – a lot of people are talking about .XXX domain names. You really can’t help but notice the presence of .XXX and the ICM Registry, and that has people talking.

In public and private, I have heard a number of people asking if the publicly announced deals have been all cash.  Gay.XXX was reportedly sold for $500,000, Frank Schilling bought a small batch of .XXX domain names for seven figures, and Mike Berkens bought three .XXX domain names.

Of course, there is a BIG difference between someone writing a check for (or wiring) $500,000 USD vs. someone providing in-kind services like public relations or having some type of rebate in lieu of actual cash.

I saw ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley this afternoon and I asked him about the deals. I was told that the deals have been entirely cash, with no refunds, rebates, or anything else. That should settle that question many people have been asking.