During the past 15+years or so, politicians and aspiring politicians have used domain names to their advantage. Most register their own name domain names, many register catch phrase domain names, and some register the domain names of their opponents.
It seems that there is a domain name story about a politician registering an opponent’s domain name every election cycle. This year is no different, as Philadelphia news outlets have picked up on a Philadelphia City Council election where one candidate registered the full name .com domain name of his opponent.
Philadelphia Business Journal posted a poll asking people what they thought about this political strategy, and it is no surprise that 69% of people who voted said that “It’s dirty politics” to do this.
I agree with that sentiment, but I think there is some responsibility for candidates to register their name in .com if it’s available. Of course, someone could easily register a .org or even a .Republican or .Democrat domain name and do what they would have done with the .com, but the .com remains authoritative in the eyes of the general public. With domain names costing so little, it doesn’t make sense for a political candidate at any level to leave a name .com domain name unregistered.
Whether you are running for office or not, I think it’s wise to register your .com domain name if it’s available. Forward it to your LinkedIn or Facebook page, or simply leave it as a coming soon page. Whatever the case may be, it makes no sense to not own your name in .com if it is available.
I don’t think you should vote for a candidate if he or she doesn’t have control of their ownname.com, shows a little ignorance and lack of interest in the internet, the most important tool of the 21st century.