Country code domain name .pw to be relaunched as generic domain.
Directi (see disclosure) today announced plans to rebrand and relaunch the country code domain name .pw to stand for “professional web”.
.Pw is the country code for the island country of Palau.
Kevin Murphy has some of the backstory including an interview with Directi co-founder Bhavin Turakhia.
The domain will be released similar to a traditional top level domain, including a sunrise period for trademark holders.
.Pw is the latest country code domain name to undergo a transformation into a “generic” domain. .Tv (Tuvalu), .co (Colombia), and .me (Montenegro) have all become successful registry businesses.
Of course, branding .pw as “professional web” takes a bit more explanation than these other examples, which means the business model and marketing will be different. One key difference: domains will likely be priced at a wholesale level below that of .com.
(Disclosure: I work with advertising companies affiliated with Directi, including Media.net.)
Dominio says
Yeah, right!
Not too professional of Directi to push this trash on everyone.
Abdu says
Professionals use .COM’s… just sayin’
pro domains says
Wow, they even took the whole tie thing from .pro! Good news here is that more than one company now realizes there is a future in the professional web space. .pw is shorter but it’s no .co!
Then again, competition is not a bad thing.
Mike says
While I wish them luck with the rebranding, I don’t really see it catching on.
Sam says
This would be a great avenue for the business that are in Palau! But I have seen this come up before and never went anywhere.
Amir Nasir says
not an attractive TLD…and i think it is costing $90.
who will pay for this huge amount?
Sanket says
Nice efforts by Directi. Competitors will always have burning tires on them. Atleast something new is coming up. And if professionals use .com then probably would like to make someone aware that .com is almost exhausted in terms of domain names.
John Grioffith says
I like it!
Pricing is comparable to .com and domain name choice is very open at this stage.
Like it or not, .com just cannot keep pace with name demand (especially for short, meaningful ones).
We have no choice but to go with alternatives, and .pw looks like a good one to me.
jim says
p double u.
does that mean it stinks twice as bad as p – u?
pathetic web?
Rohit Singh says
Professional like web designer, Engg, lawyer, doctor can select this extension for their personal use but why others will choose it.