CentralNic Secures and Greens the Web, As .US.ORG Enters General Availability

Enhancing its commitment to a higher standard of social responsibility and ethical behavior on the web, domain extension .US.ORG today enters general availability with two unprecedented security and environmental measures from Registry Service Provider, CentralNic.

* To coincide with the launch of .US.ORG, CentralNic has succeeded in attaining CarbonNeutral® company certi?cation by reducing its carbon footprint to net zero, taking the lead on environmental commitment within the domain name industry.
* CentralNic’s .US.ORG is the world’s first domain to be launched with DNSSEC enabled. Introduced by ICANN as a requirement for new top-level domains, DNSSEC is an added security feature which CentralNic pioneered, introducing the measure across 25 domain extensions during 2010 and 2011.

To achieve CarbonNeutral® status, CentralNic worked with The CarbonNeutral Company, one of the world’s leading carbon offset and carbon management businesses. All the emissions relating to the company, including energy consumption, waste and business travel, are quanti?ed and then reduced through combining internal changes (for example, using virtualization technology and more efficient servers to reduce power consumption in its data centers, increasing recycling and implementing low carbon vehicles) with carbon offsetting. Through offsetting, every tonne of CO2 is matched by an equivalent amount saved by a significant renewable energy or resource conservation project.

“We are thrilled to work with CentralNic, whose dedication to environmental sustainability was evident in its desire to be a pioneer for carbon neutral operations in the domain name industry,” said Rebecca Fay, Marketing Director, The CarbonNeutral Company.

Working with Xelerance Corporation, .US.ORG offers the highest level of security with DNSSEC, a new technology that secures the link between domain names and IP addresses – a previously insecure connection could be intercepted by hackers to divert Internet users to malicious websites.

“Obviously if CentralNic was one of those carbon-billowing Registry Service Providers without full DNSSEC implementation across all its domains, we could not hold true to .US.ORG’s socially-responsible philosophy,” said Ben Crawford, CEO, CentralNic. “Now with the launch of .US.ORG as the first DNSSEC-enabled and carbon neutral domain, domain owners and the public can feel confident that they are using the most secure and environmentally-conscious space that the Internet has to offer today.”

“And new TLD applicants from government, not-for-profits or business will enjoy these same security and environmental benefits when using CentralNic’s technical services,” Crawford added.

CentralNic announced .US.ORG in March 2011 with a ground-breaking intellectual property protection program that provided brand and trademark owners with six years of free registration. .us.org domain names can be registered through such leading registrars as eNom and Gandi.

About the Carbonneutral Company

The Carbon Neutral Company is a world leading provider of carbon reduction solutions. It works with more than 500 businesses in 32 countries to develop offset inclusive carbon reduction programs which enable companies to increase revenue, manage costs and engage stakeholders. Since 1997, it has purchased carbon credits from more than 200 projects in 24 countries.

About .US.ORG

.US.ORG is a new domain extension for organizations, projects, websites and people with a higher purpose than simply maximizing profits. As a leader in the ethical and responsible use of domain names, .US.ORG will be announcing continued innovations in such areas as: trademark protection, security and stability, environmental responsibility and bridging the “digital divide”.

Note: I work for CentralNic.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on CentralNic Secures and Greens the Web, As .US.ORG Enters General Availability

Billions Spent on Advertising Helps Cybersquatters

I’m really excited to see an official charting of the dollars spent in the United States on advertising and broken up by media.

U.S. Advertising Spend

This report by Barclays Capital and put out by the Silicon Valley Insider collaborates my white paper on how brands can use new TLDs to stop cybersquatting. I’ve believed for a long time that brands have unintentionally empowered their bitter enemies, the cyber-squatters, for years by advertising their .com domains.

When they stop this practice and begin advertising their own TLDs, they will make it more difficult for cyber-squatters to dilute their brands. If you’d like a copy of my white paper on how brands can stop cyber-squatting with new TLDs, contact me.

P.S. To my many & dear domainer friends:  Cyber-squatters are those who buy domains that emulate brands or who buy close brand typos, not those who buy & develop generic domain names.  I believe that buying generic, type-in style domain names is a great business practice and that those who’ve done this for years are intelligent visionaries, not cyber-squatters.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Billions Spent on Advertising Helps Cybersquatters

ICANN Releases New TLDs Video (with Application Dates)

ICANN has released a video with more information on the new TLDs including application dates.  Any company who cares about their brand needs to see this.

 

What will the next big .thing be? We can help you to understand this. 

The dates to apply are now official: January 12, 2012 through April 12, 2012.  This is going to go by really fast.

There is a lot to do.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on ICANN Releases New TLDs Video (with Application Dates)

How Brands Can Use New TLDs to Stop Cyber Squatting!

A process whereby companies can get their own Top Level Domains was approved on June 20, 2011. Within two years, the Internet will have a very different personality because of this.

I’ve been thinking about the value that new top level domains will bring to corporate customers for several years and have written a white paper…

How Brands Can Use New TLDs to Stop Cyber Squatting

It’s a little controversial. It’s about new Top level domains. But it will clearly demonstrate why any significant brand should apply for their own TLD.

I know that sounds a bit like hype but I can’t be honest and say it in any other way. Brands who spend any considerable amount of money on advertising ($100k per month or more) need to read this white paper.

  • It will show you how brands are empowering cyber squatters and how they can use a new top level domain to stop that practice.
  • It will also show you a hidden, but very real cost that is born by brands that continue to use .com as their primary web address.
  • It will show you how brands have unintentionally turned over at least 3 billion dollars to help cyber squatters.

If you want a copy, contact me and I’ll send you one.

By the way, according to the timeline, there is a four month preparation period beginning now and then there will be a three month application window. Late or incomplete applications will be refused so there is no time to waste.

Posted in New Top Level Domains | Tagged | Comments Off on How Brands Can Use New TLDs to Stop Cyber Squatting!