An example of the confusion that will reign when new TLDs are launched.
This morning I saw an ad in the print edition of The New Yorker for Vogue.TV, the popular magazine’s multimedia web site. Here’s the ad:
Do you see the part of the ad circled in green? It’s kind of small, so let me blow it up for you:
What’s that? Does Vogue want to launch a new top level domain name .live?
Of course not. The dot is just a branding thing for its reality model show Model.Live. But it’s another example of the confusion that will occur once a slew of new top level domain names are released in the coming years. If something has a dot in it, is it a web address? Or does it need to have www in front of it? Then the Vogue.tv at the bottom would need to be changed to www.Vogue.tv for people to understand it’s a web address.
In other new TLD news, CFO Magazine has an article lamenting the high costs of new top level domains. It discusses the decisions companies will need to make regarding registering their own top level domain (not to mention protecting their brands in other TLDs). The last paragraph is telling:
Deutsch and others are hoping to work with ICANN to create simple remedies, even as they draw comfort from the idea that new TLDs could be a bust. “At the end of the day, ‘.com’ is still the one that global businesses aspire to,” says Peter Lamson, a senior vice president with NameMedia, which buys and sells domain names. CFOs can only hope it remains that way.
Patrick McDermott says
“The dot is just a branding thing for its reality model show Model.Live. But it’s another example of the confusion that will occur…”
To add to the confusion we have:
Soul singer- India.Arie
Rapper- will.i.am
BF says
This is how I view ICANN’s initiative to allow the launch of new TLDs:
Technologies require standards to operate. Software (outlook, browsers, etc..) is not competitively judged by the standards and protocols they use, but by the functions they provide.
I view domain extensions as a technology standard, like http protocol for the web, smtp for email, etc…
Standardizing technology strengthens products, as companies then focus on added services. For domains, added services means better development.
In the case of domains, I consider subdomains a marketing tactic (cars.ebay.com) and consider domain extensions to be standards (ebay.com, cars.com, etc…)
Spending lots of time and money on changing standards will just lead to consumer confusion and misguided focus by industry participants.
M. Menius says
I instantly, and incorrectly, assumed there must be an association with Windows “live” search when I saw Model.live. ICANN’s new tld move has so many negative repercussions.
If this thing is force fed on the internet world, it will seriously damage the public understanding of url’s, and it will undermine much of the organizational progress that has been achieved in the last 15 years.
Model.live? How about ICANN.finished? Or CommonSense.needed?
Rob Sequin says
Maybe they should register this since it is available:
modeldotlive.com
or
model.wtf
Jacob says
I agree, all of the new TLDs are misguided. ICANN = epic fail in so many ways. I hate the fact that a corporation owns the web addresses for the entire world. It is like they get to own the internet, which should be owned by the public — it is shit.
Also .biz and .info .tv etc NEVER really took off. In fact no TLD has ever really taken off since the initial .com .net .org — SO WTF do they keep trying? Seriously it is just annoying, and will never work ever. They make money on the stupid investors that hear “internet” and throw piles of money in to owning a new exciting TLD. Then in a year they realize how dumb .fly is, and dump the name. Then about 2 companies keep the domains that usually have nothing to do with flying, but fill some web 2.0 gap, then get bought out by a bigger company, and return to .com i.e. del.iscio.us