Canon.com is the corporate site
.Canon is for canon Customers. It doesn’t conflict with the corporate site & still uses the Canon brand. It’s a very clear difference, it’s low cost, they don’t necessarily have to host every domain the same place. Each country can manage their own customer base easier. No one is uploading stuff to Canon.com

Would you want every domainer to be able to have username.domainnamewire.com or would you think it’s better to separate user generated content but still let it be part of your brand?

I have no relationship with Canon, & this is no insider scoop but I do work at an agency where global clients want to just take advantage of technology. In domaining we hear of new extensions that only get bought by domainers. This is clearly a move for these domains to be used by their customer base & not just bought invested & sold. If this isn’t their plan it would shock me.

.brand TLDs as proposed will result in profound change to the dynamics of the Internet They will create a Super league and as with all Super Leagues the cost of entry is high.

At the moment the Internet is much more a level playing field and as a result anyone can compete – $10 for a domain plus hosting.

A Super league for the economically advantaged destroys that level playing field and is not something to be undertaken lightly.

I strongly believe Canon wants to use this as a domain for a photo/media sharing service to offer to customers. It enhances their brand & keeps the customer long term. So it will be beneficial. The amount it cost to register .Canon, & give away accounts with Canon cameras would even be worth it. Think of the ROI & customer loyalty.

JPNIC would realize that companies that do this compete with .jp in Japan. Just think about .Mac which used to be free, exact same business model. There is no way they would get this extension just to make money by people registering it. It will be tied to a service, it just makes sense for their market.

It’s not a brand protection strategy, or a brand hype. I think it’s a clear strategy, & with GMO a very large Japan internet company being behind it, I think it will be a service based strategy. Everything is not about who can register what, buy or sell. Domains should be about use. Think New School….