it.com Domains Sponsors the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) in Las Vegas

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Joe Alagna

The ICA represents the interests of domain name registrants from all over the globe. From January 17th through the 20th, elite domain investors gathered to share their ideas, best practices, and concerns. It was also a chance for members to network and make new business connections. The ICA gathering is an annual event. Many activities are informal and allow attendees to network and do business.

On Wednesday evening, the event started with A Postcard from Earth at the fantastic new Sphere in Las Vegas – it.com was a title sponsor of the activity.
Joe Alagna, Richard Lau, Michael Cyger, and Tess Diaz at the Postcard from Earth at The Las Vegas Sphere.
Me, Richard Lau, Michael Cyger, and Tess Diaz at the Postcard from Earth at The Las Vegas Sphere.

This new venue features a 360-degree view and oversized, ultra-realistic sound and video. It featured a futuristic scenario where humankind expands into new planetary horizons.

On Thursday morning, the industry’s most influential domain name brokers gathered to discuss how ICA members could expand the namespace and promote the importance and value of domain names in the business. This group is comparable to the National Association of Realtors, except they ply their trade in digital properties.

The ICA has created a Domain Brokers Pledge for their broker members, allowing them to post this best practices pledge on their websites.

The afternoon was filled with various activities to encourage new relationships and discussion in a casual and fun environment. Attendees played pickleball, hiked, or visited local museums together.

Our own Tess Diaz, me, and about 30 others chose to climb the trails at the incredible Red Rock Reserve in the desert mountains about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Tess Diaz, Doron Vermaat , & Nikhul Sangvhi at the top.
Mark Goraffi, Joe Alagna, and Christian Voß on their way up.
When it comes to climbing, I’m never satisfied. I had to go further and wave it.com’s flag (my it.com hat & backpack) at the very pinnacle of this mountain.

In the evening, SquadHelp sponsored hors d’oeuvres and drinks for the whole group.

Friday’s agenda was full of informational topics and expert tables. Top domain investors shared their expertise and got to question domain name providers like GoDaddy, Namebright, Dynadot, SquadHelp, .art, and it.com.

After lunch, also sponsored by it.com, I addressed the crowd and shared the virtues of our new registry dedicated to the global IT community. Technical domains are in high demand now, and it.com domains fit the bill.

The evening was capped off with a memorial dinner and the Lonnie Bork Award presentation. Lonnie was a Domainer who passed away but exemplified how our community shares knowledge and expertise. ICA members vote for the annual winner. This year’s winner was Jason Sheppard, whose sister attended to accept the award on his behalf.

Before returning home on Saturday, we met one last time for networking and a discussion led by Tess Diaz on the history of the ICA and the domain industry.

The event was a great success and helped it.com to nurture relationships with some of the top domain name registrars in the world.

it.com Domains is committed to the rights of domain registrants and demonstrates that commitment by supporting the ICA’s mission. There is no other organization dedicated exclusively to this cause.

Posted in Aftermarket, Country Code People, Domain Name News, Domain Names, ICANN, Registrars, Registries | Comments Off on it.com Domains Sponsors the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) in Las Vegas

Reasons for My Faith in Jesus Christ

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Joe Alagna

I’ve been a Christ follower for over 30 years. I may not always wear it on my sleeves, but I’ll never deny it. As a natural skeptic, it’s taken me a long time to believe the way I do today. I can truly say I love God, that He is a real part of my life, and that I submit to Him in everything I do.

Although I grew up in an Italian Catholic home, true faith in Christ didn’t come naturally to me. So many things have stood in my way:

  • 1.) I’m a sinner. I make mistakes and do things that are not aligned with what I know I should be doing all the time;
  • 2.) I’m prideful. The idea of submitting to anyone or anything has always seemed weird to me (I didn’t understand that submitting to the God of the Bible is submission to the everlasting, all-present, all-powerful, all-knowing God. He is a God Who loves me, and He is a God Who will ultimately judge all men. He is my Creator and the Creator of the universe! – Nothing can go wrong by submitting to Him, and it simply means considering Him first as you go through your days).
  • 3.) Catholicism, like many other faiths referred to as “Christian,” is not aligned with Biblical Christianity;
  • 4.) A proper relationship with God takes patience and is a lifelong journey involving many setbacks.
  • 5.) Finally, as for this list, which is not complete, I’m a skeptic. I don’t believe the “experts” of this world, including the scientists, atheists, pastors, and priests. I believe we all have base egos and biases. But the thing is, I have come to believe what the Bible teaches, that it is unerring truth, and it is how God speaks to us. So, I measure anything I hear from any human being (including things that my pastor says) against the Word of God.

There’s a lot more that I can’t address in a single article, but something I saw this morning got me on the topic. It is a presentation given by the amazing John Lennox, who is a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, internationally renowned speaker, and author of several books on the interface of science, philosophy, and religion. Check it out. Anyone willing to take the time to understand what he is saying can see that the existence of the God of the Bible is undeniable. It’s the only life philosophy that makes sense to me. I hope you’ll listen, learn, and enjoy it.

I want to add that I think we all have a responsibility to seek wisdom and truth, and there can only be one truth. Truth is not relative, and it is not personal. Those who don’t seek it or don’t care really miss out. The Bible teaches it (much in Proverbs).

Another reason I love this video is that it is probably part of a longer debate on the existence of God. Oxford seems like a place where a civil debate can take place without a mob taking over. All of social media is basically a mob. It’s the reason I don’t do debates there.

Posted in Inspiration, Personal, Plain Interesting | Comments Off on Reasons for My Faith in Jesus Christ

it.com is Going to INTA!

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Joe Alagna

I’m looking forward to meeting you at the 2023 annual INTA meeting during the coming week. We are sharing our booth with Sedo and invite you to visit us there.

We will be in Hall B in booth Q17. As you enter the exhibit hall, move towards the left side of the hall, and when you see the CorSearch booth, take a right and follow that column back towards the Innovation Stage. You’ll see us on the left side.

it.com domain name logo

it.com domain names can be used in a wide variety of industries.

But they are especially useful to address four specific markets:

  • IT Businesses, Including Information Tech, Internet Tech, Insure Tech, and More
  • Marketers as a Specialized Tool for a Call to Action
  • and Italians!
  • Anyone who wants “it” – the undefinable quality that attracts others. 🙂

The it.com domain space is open and has completed a Sunrise Launch Phase in February 2023. Trademark holders should pay attention because our company has/is investing over $5M in the launch, growth, marketing, and promotion of this domain name extension within two years.

Come and visit me at our booth or, if you prefer, let’s request a specific meeting time. I’ll be there from Tuesday through Friday.

Joe Alagna – it.com

Posted in Aftermarket, Domain Name News, Domain Names, ICANN, INTA, Registrars, Registries, Tech News and Views | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on it.com is Going to INTA!

I’m Back!

Posted on April 5, 2023 by Joe Alagna

I’m happy to report that I’ve just accepted a full-time offer to work for it.com (Intis Telecom). I could not be more pleased with our arrangement, and we’re looking forward to an exciting future together. The it.com domain will become an important player in the DNS, providing excellent alternative naming products for IT students, professionals, and companies, as well as Italians!

As many of you know, I left the domain name business at the beginning of 2021. Afilias exited, and after some soul searching (and some job searching), I decided to make a complete change. With the help of my brother’s experience, I founded an insurance brokerage (which I will still own).

it.com domain name logo

In August 2022, I was contacted by Munir Badr, the Founder of AEServers.com in Abu Dhabi. I met Munir in the UAE while teaching about registry services as part of Afilias’ outreach to ccTLDs. Munir was an Advisor to Intis Telecom and referred me to them to help with a few of their trade shows. I accepted and became an Advisor as well. This has now turned into a full-time engagement.

Intis Telecom is led by Andrey Insarov, who founded an SMS Service Provider in 2008 and grew annual turnover to over $40M in 2022. He leads a prolific team of developers. By the time I came on board, they had built a small ICANN Accredited Registrar and began work on a registry for it.com. It’s very impressive, and we will make it into a great registry services provider.

In January, we launched our Sunrise and had great success, signing up over 15 registrars and helping large companies, including most FAAMG corporates, acquire their brands under the it.com extension. Registrars on board include CentralNic Reseller, Key Systems, 101domain, Mark Monitor, InterNetX, and many more. More are coming!

While we build our registrar channel, we are also working hard to create demand for the it.com domain name. In 2022 and 2023, we have already sponsored or are scheduled for the most important DNS-related events:

11/04/2022 11/07/2023Contracted Parties Summit Los Angeles, CA, US
02/06/2023 02/07/2023 Domain Pulse Winterthur, Switzerland
02/21/2023 02/22/2023 APTLD Meeting 83 Vientiane, Laos
03/01/2023 03/02/2023 Affiliate World Dubai Dubai, UAE
03/11/2023 03/16/2023 ICANN Community Forum Cancun, Mexico
03/20/2023 03/23/2023 CloudFest Europa Park, Germany
05/08/2023 05/09/2023 Nordic Domain Days Stockholm, Sweden
05/09/2023 05/10/2023 Middle East DNS Forum Istanbul, Turkiye
05/16/2023 05/20/2023 INTA Singapore
06/12/2023 06/15/2023 ICANN Policy Forum Washington DC
08/22/2023 08/23/2023 London Domain Summit London, UK
10/21/2023 10/26/2023 ICANN General Meeting Hamburg, Germany

These events are just the beginning. We are also a major sponsor of the Armageddon World Chess Championship Series, which will run from March through September 2023 and spans over five continents (https://worldchess.com).

Look forward to some exciting and innovative developments in the DNS from it.com.

Posted in ccTLDs, Country Code People, Domain Name News, Domain Names, ICANN, New Top Level Domains, Registrars, Registries | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on I’m Back!