Archive for the ‘Domain Resources’ Category

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

American Idol winner’s domain names

Seems like finally famous or famous-to-be people are starting to think ahead when it comes to domain names and what they mean in terms of their overall marketing plan.

The American Idol winner is to be announced within the next few hours and the winner will be chosen between David Archuleta and David Cook.

A quick check of DavidArchuleta.com shows that the domain is registered to Jeff Archuleta ( a bit of research shows that Jeff is David’s father ) and it was registered in March 2007 - presumably when young David was just breaking onto the public scene. DavidCook.com has been registered since 1997 as it is a more common name - I don’t know if the David Cook that the domain name is registered to is the David Cook from American Idol.

So, lesson of the day: if you or someone you care about plan to have be a public person in the future, make sure you register YourName.com now. It is a heck of a lot easier then chasing up a domain name once you get famous.

Monday, May 19th, 2008

Greatest Domaining Blogging Contest Ever

Want to win over $8979.13 in real cash and prizes?

I am happy to announce the launch of the DNXpert contest / prize giveaway that is going to shake the foundations of the blogosphere.

This contest comprises of over 62 genuine prizes including cash, material goods and quality digital products that a domainer / blogger can make use of on a daily basis.

All the resources below ( include $1,360 in cash ) can be used to directly benefit a domainer or blogger in their daily pursuit of online wealth.

With so many prizes at stake you have every chance of winning!

Ok, ok, I know you want to look at the prizes so here they are:

The Prizes

Cash

$700 in cash from We Build Pages who offer Link Building Services. ($700 value)
If you are seeking higher search engine rankings for your pages then you should definitely check these guys out. They have been in the business of SEO and link building for over 9 years so they know what they are talking about.
$200 credit deposited into NameDrive domain parking account courtesy of NameDrive.com. ($200 value)
NameDrive provides top of the line domain name parking. The credit will be deposited into the winner’s NameDrive account once the winner earns $20 in parking revenue. To be eligible for the prize the winner must be a member at NameDrive.com so go over there and sign up. It’s free.
$100 Godaddy Gift card from instantdomaintool.com. ($100 value)
The AJAX based domain search tool at instantdomaintool.com helps make queries for available domains quicker and easier.
$100 credit in Bidvertiser account. ($100 value)
BidVertiser is a contextual advertising platform similar to Google Adsense. They offer a low payout of just $10 via Paypal and are an excellent advertising platform for bloggers and domainers who develop their domaining assets. To be eligible for the prize you have to have an account with them so go ahead and sign up. It’s free.
$100 Cash from wordpressfreelance.com. ($100 value)
Wordpress freelance allows webmasters to find freelancers and designers for their project needs. Webmasters can post projects which are then bid on by freelancers. The webmaster chooses the most appropriate bid and proceeds to arrange the project with the winning freelancer.
$50 cash from Ades blog. ($50 value)
AdesBlog is a daily documentation of Ades’ thoughts, ideas, opinions, critiques, suggestions and comments on various fields, including but not limited to: blogging, usability, entrepreneurship, making money online, web2.0, novel ideas, future forecasts etc.
$35 Cash from Tim Schroeder of eMonetized.com. ($35 value)
Tim Schroeder is the owner of the popular webmaster forum Webmaster-talk.com. He is also a very successful affiliate marketer and blogger.
$35 Cash from Web Hosting Reviews. ($35 value)
Web hosting resource kit is a new breed of resource site for web hosting businesses. If you are looking for reviews of various web hosting companies you should definitely check out the web hosting resource kit.
$30 Cash from Life is colourful. ($30 value)
Life Is Colourful is a make money online blog. It boasts a massive collection of make money online articles and howtos and is a must read for any budding entrepreneur.

Gift packs

1 MarketLeverage promo pack consisting of: MarketLeverage iFlip (digital camera), MLRewards card ($50), MarketLeverage USB Pen, MarketLeverage Polo and hat, MarketLeverage/Nike duffelbag. ($350 value)
Market Leverage is one of the web’s largest “Cost Per Acquisition” (CPA) networks. They pride themselves at maintaining the highest paying cash reward program in the industry. They provide an awesome service and have a great support team. If you are looking to make money with your blogs and website through CPA you should definitely sign up. It’s free.
2 x Market Leverage promo pack consisting of MLRewards card ($25), MarketLeverage USB Pen, MarketLeverage Polo and hat, MarketLeverage/Nike duffelbag. (2 x $220 value)
3 x Market Leverage USB Pens with $10 ML Rewards card. (3 x $35 value)

Domaining And Blogging, Resources, Memberships And Subscriptions

6 months subscription to MarketMotive.com top internet marketing minds. ($1794 value)
Market Motive provides one of the best online self paced courses in Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Market Motive’s mission is to make you massively successful in online marketing. Get exclusive on-demand video training, Q&A and direct conference calls with six online marketing specialists.
1 hour of SEO Consulting from Todd Malicoat from seo consulting. ($500 value)
Todd Malicoat is an SEO guru and web entrepreneur. He is one of the six top experts behind MarketMotive.com. 1 hour picking his brain about SEO is definitely worth more then $500!
1 year’s PRO Subscriptions membership to FreshDrop.net. ($395.40 value)
Freshdrop provides analytical information on all major domain auction houses and fast access to domain analytics such as PageRank, Domain Age, Archive Records, Backlinks, and many more.
With the pro version you get access to backorder feeds from SnapNames, Pool, NameJet in addition to TDNAM.
5 x 1 license of the software product Domain Name Pro (5 x $64.95 value)
Domain Name Pro is the most advanced domain name software available. Check for expired domains, generate hundreds (even thousands) of related domain names, quickly check domain traffic, check domain whois and much more.
3 months membership at Aaron Wall’s SeoBook course. ($300 value)
Aaron Wall has taken his highly popular e-book and converted it into a membership site to allow for more interaction and more frequent updates. If you are looking into taking that next step with your online business you really need to check his membership program out.
3 x 1 copy of the Domain Graduate ebook. (3 x $87 value)
Domain Graduate is a very interesting eBook that discusses the buying and selling of domains, and takes it to a new level with monetization methods for domains that you already own. Sean Stafford definitely teaches you how to get good value when you buy and sell your domains.
5 x 1 exclusive list of 100 expired domains from DNXpert.com. (5 x $50 value)
DNXpert is a domaining news and expired domains blog authored by yours truly. I regularly provide my newsletter subscribers with free lists of quality expired domains. Five lucky people will on this occasion receive exclusive lists of 100 expired domains.
6 months premium clustered hosting at iMountain.com (6 x $39.95 value)
DNXpert is currently hosted on a clustered hosting account at iMountain.com. iMountain.com is by far the best host I have ever been with. Their support is second to none and the performance of their servers is exceptional. If you are looking for a reliable, well supported host, you should look no further then iMountain.com.
2 months VIP membership at ClickMojo ($200 value)
ClickMojo is an expired domains premium service. Get premium access to Yahoo and DMoz listed expiring domains as well as Overture scores, Popular terms, type-ins and much more.
15 minute one on one phone coaching session with Simon Johnson from Domainer Income ($200 value)
Domainer Income is everything you need for profitable domaining. Their hope is to build Domainer Income into the largest resource for domainers in the world. You can check out their domainer Wiki and numerous how to articles.
2 year subscription to DNSstuff pro tools. ($139 value)
DNSStuff is a web application that empowers users with tools and expertise to test, resolve and configure theirs DNS and network. Over 2 million people trust and rely on DNSStuff to keep their businesses safe.
1 x 100 domain parking account at WhyPark.com ($99.95 value)
WhyPark is an unconventional domain parking service provider that lets you increase your parked domain earnings. If you are tired of traditional parking providers and want more control over the look and feel of your parked domain names then you should definitely take a look at WhyPark.
1 copy of the Revenue Domains Exposed ebook ($97 value)
This is an excellent and very practical domaining resource authored by Brian Johnson. The hands on video tutorials that explain step by step how you can go from acquiring an expired domain to monetizing it are especially helpful.
2 month subscription at Wordze.com ($90 value)
Wordze is referred to as the king of key words. Wordze is a great keyword research tool. Their keyword tools will not only show you what keywords are being searched for, you will also gain access to tools that will allow you to track keywords beyond their estimated daily search volume. If you want to dominate a set of keywords then you should really sign up with Wordze.
3 x 1 copy of the Domaining Manifesto ebook. (3 x $27 value)
Domaining Manifesto is authored by yours truly. It is one of the most detailed ebooks on the topic of domaining if I may say so myself. For a limited time, if you use the keyword dnxpert you get a $10 discount so go there and give it a read.
1 copy of Wordze’s Guide to Keyword Research & Niche Wealth Building! ($80 value)
Wordze is referred to as the king of key words. Wordze is a great keyword research tool. Their keyword tools will not only show you what keywords are being searched for, you will also gain access to tools that will allow you to track keywords beyond their estimated daily search volume. If you want to dominate a set of keywords then you should really sign up with Wordze.
1 copy of a single use license of Brian Gardner’s Revolution blog theme of the winners’ choice ($79.99 value)
If you are looking to give your blog a facelift you should look no further then Brian Gardner’s set of amazing Revolution themes. These search engine optimized themes are by far the best looking Wordpress themes available on the market today. You can get one here.
1 copy of Optin Comments WP plugin. ($77 value)
Do you want to start making serious money with your blog? If so, you need to get the Optin Comments WP plugin by Ian Fernando. You may have heard this a few times already but the Optin Comments WP plugin makes list building amazingly easy. It’s almost automated. You have to try it to see what I mean.
1 DNForum.com Platinum membership. ($59.95 value)
DNForum is the most popular domaining forum online today. Period. If you are looking to make it in the domaining business then you have to be a member of DNForum. It’s the place to be if you are looking to buy or sell domains or network with other domainers. You can sign up for the limited free membership at DNForum.com here.
1 yearly subscription to Gold Account at iwebtool.com ($59 value)
IWebTool provides an excellent array of Webmaster Services ranging from pagerank, backlink and keyword checkers to over 10,000 webmaster how to articles. IWebTool’s webmaster services can also be easily integrated into your own site.
3 x 1 copy of the Killer Domains ebook (3 x $17 value)
Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips.com recently published the Killer Domains ebook. In the book he teaches you how to research domain names, do keyword research, guides you to the best domaining tools and resources and much more. Definitely worth a read.
2 x 50 available domains from WordFuse.com (2 x $24.95 value)
WordFuse is owned by Mark Fulton of DotSauce.com. At WordFuse you can get some great available domain name lists ranging from 20, 30, 50 or 500 available domains in a pack.
1 featured listing on Sedo’s homepage for 1 domain. (worth $39)
List your domain name on Sedo’s homepage and get huge exposure. Sedo is the top domaining aftermarket and parking provider online today. To be eligible for the prize you have to be a member so go ahead and sign up. It’s free.
1 DNForum.com Gold membership ($19.95 value)
DNForum is the most popular domaining forum online today. Period. If you are looking to make it in the domaining business then you have to be a member of DNForum. It’s the place to be if you are looking to buy or sell domains or network with other domainers. You can sign up for the limited free membership at DNForum.com here.
1 copy of Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger ebook ($16.49 value)
Darren Rowse aka ProBlogger is recognized as the blogger with the answers when it comes to blogging online. He co-authored this book with Chris Garrett.

Advertising

1 Month DomainNews.com Newsletter Sponsorship - Top Position Advertising ($500 value)
Domain News provides daily domain name industry news stories as they break. Advertising with DomainNews offers your company the chance to target domain investors. Domain News has an Alexa rank of just below 24,000 and a PR of 4.
2 months 160×90 ad on ClickFire.com homepage (2 x $200 value)
ClickFire provides viewpoints, tools and content for webmasters. The site has a PR of 5 and an Alexa rank of around 95,000.
1 Month text link on JustDropped.com search pages ($100 value)
JustDropped allowes it’s subscribers to receive a daily list of all deleted domains twenty four hours before they drop! Your link will appear on all JustDropped search pages for the duration of the placement. JustDropped has a PR 5 and an Alexa rank around 32,000.
1 month text link at DomainNameWire.com ($60 value)
Domain Name Wire is a news source for the domain name industry written by industry experts and edited by Andrew Allemann. It has a PR of 5 and an Alexa rank around 74,000.
1 month of 125×125 banner advertising on Winning the Web ($50 value)
Winning The Web is a resource blog sharing Internet marketing strategy to make money online. It is run by Gyutae Park. It has a PR of 4 and an Alexa rank of around 102,000.
1 month 125×125 banner advertising at DNXpert.com ($50 value)
DNXpert is a domain news and expired domains blog run by yours truly. It has a PR of 4 and an Alexa rank of around 158,000.
1 month 125×125 banner advertising at DotSauce.com ($40 value)
DotSauce is an exclusive web magazine for domainers run by Mark Fulton. It has a PR of 5 and an Alexa rank of around 140,000.
1 month text link on blogaboutyourblog.com ($10 value)
Blog about your Blog (BAYB) is a place for good quality bloggers to come together and collaborate on one big project. They have bloggers from all over the world, blogging about a variety of topics. BAYB has a PR of 3 and an Alexa rank of around 186,000.

Disclaimer: Even though I have made sure that at the time this contest is launched each of the prizes is valid and each prize provider is fully committed to handing out their prize to the winners, I cannot give a 100% guarantee that each prize provider will do the right thing when it comes to prize distribution. I will however try my hardest to notify all parties involved and I trust that each prize provider will act as per out initial agreement to the benefit or detriment of their web reputation.


Prize Recap

This contest was partly inspired by my friend Gyutae Park of WinningTheWeb.com so make sure you pay him a visit.

How The Contest Works

Ok, so you have had a look at the prizes and you have to agree that they are mighty impressive.

This contest will last for one month. Winners of all the prizes will be selected by a random draw on the 19th of June 2008. I am currently thinking that to help promote transparency of the contest, I will hold the contest draw live in a chatroom at either NamePros or DNForum or in a chat room installed on here at DNXpert.com. You can win more then one prize as long as you are eligible.

To be eligible for the contest you simply have to perform a set of actions as specified in the instructions below. As you go through the specified actions you gain entry points in the random draw pot. The more entry points you gain, the higher your probability of winning prizes. ( Please note that prize providers are not eligible to enter the contest so as to avoid any bias issues. )

During this contest month I will be revealing further clues on how you can gain more entry points to increase your winning probability even further.

Contest Steps And How To Earn Entry Points

Step 1: ( This step is required ). In order to receive news about the contest progress and important clues on how to gain further entry points during the contest month you must be subscribed to the DNXpert newsletter. The DNXpert newsletter gives you access to regular free expired domain lists. I never spam my newsletter subscribers and you may unsubscribe at any time. You gain 1 entry point by subscribing to the DNXpert newsletter.

Please use the form below to subscribe. Once you subscribe to the newsletter please leave a comment below to indicate your participation in the contest ( you must do this to be in the contest as it’s the only way I can know that you want to participate ).

Step 2: Blog about this contest on your blog. Blogging about this contest gains you 10 entry points. If you blog about this contest and post the entire Prize Recap list which you can download here you will gain a massive 20 entry points.

Step 3: Perform further actions during the contest month that I will reveal via the DNXpert newsletter and the DNXpert.com blog.

Contest Steps And How To Earn Entry Points

  • Subscribe to DNXpert newsletter using the form above - required. (1 point )
  • Blog about this contest (10 points)
  • Blog about this contest and include the Prize Recap list in your post. You can download the Prize Recap list code here. (20 points)
  • Follow the DNXpert newsletter and blog for further chances of gaining entry points during the contest month

As indicated earlier this contest will end with a random draw on the 19th June 2008. Please make sure you use the same email and website during the entire contest so I can track your entries easier.

You have to be in it to win it! $8979.13 is at stake!

Good luck to everyone!

To help promote transparency for this contest I have compiled a list of current contest entries and their entry points. If you have entered the contest and your entry does not appear at the specified page please let me know.

Earn extra entry points

Additional Task #1 : Digg Your Way To Success ( 3 entry points )
Additional Task #2 : Stumbling Towards The Prize ( 3 entry points )
Additional Task #3 : Blog Rolling (10 points)
Additional Task #4 : Bookmark Like Crazy (Multiples of 3 points)

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Country code top level domains - ccTld

A country code top level domain ccTLD is used to identify a country or dependent territory. ccTlds are two letters long. The creation and delegation of country code top level domains is managed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority - IANA. The ccTlds usually correspond to the ISO 3166 country codes maintained by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency.

Here is the complete list of ccTLDs:

A

* .ac – Ascension Island *
* .ad – Andorra
* .ae – United Arab Emirates
* .af – Afghanistan
* .ag – Antigua and Barbuda *
* .ai – Anguilla
* .al – Albania
* .am – Armenia *
* .an – Netherlands Antilles
* .ao – Angola
* .aq – Antarctica
* .ar – Argentina
* .as – American Samoa *
* .at – Austria *
* .au – Australia
* .aw – Aruba
* .ax – Aland Islands
* .az – Azerbaijan

B

* .ba – Bosnia and Herzegovina
* .bb – Barbados
* .bd – Bangladesh
* .be – Belgium *
* .bf – Burkina Faso
* .bg – Bulgaria
* .bh – Bahrain
* .bi – Burundi *
* .bj – Benin
* .bm – Bermuda
* .bn – Brunei
* .bo – Bolivia *
* .br – Brazil *
* .bs – Bahamas *
* .bt – Bhutan
* .bv – Bouvet Island (not in use; no registrations)
* .bw – Botswana
* .by – Belarus
* .bz – Belize *

C

* .ca – Canada
* .cat – Catalunya
* .cc – Cocos (Keeling) Islands *
* .cd – Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly .zr – Zaire) *
* .cf – Central African Republic
* .cg – Republic of the Congo *
* .ch – Switzerland *
* .ci – Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
* .ck – Cook Islands *
* .cl – Chile
* .cm – Cameroon
* .cn – People’s Republic of China *
* .co – Colombia
* .cr – Costa Rica
* .cu – Cuba
* .cv – Cape Verde
* .cx – Christmas Island *
* .cy – Cyprus
* .cz – Czech Republic

D

* .de – Germany
* .dj – Djibouti *
* .dk – Denmark *
* .dm – Dominica
* .do – Dominican Republic
* .dz – Algeria

E

* .ec – Ecuador
* .ee – Estonia
* .eg – Egypt
* .eh – Western Sahara (not assigned; no DNS)
* .er – Eritrea
* .es – Spain *
* .et – Ethiopia
* .eu – European Union (code “exceptionally reserved” by ISO 3166-1)

F

* .fi – Finland
* .fj – Fiji *
* .fk – Falkland Islands
* .fm – Federated States of Micronesia *
* .fo – Faroe Islands
* .fr – France

G

* .ga – Gabon
* .gb – United Kingdom (Reserved domain by IANA; deprecated – see .uk)
* .gd – Grenada
* .ge – Georgia
* .gf – French Guiana
* .gg – Guernsey
* .gh – Ghana
* .gi – Gibraltar
* .gl – Greenland *
* .gm – Gambia
* .gn – Guinea
* .gp – Guadeloupe
* .gq – Equatorial Guinea
* .gr – Greece *
* .gs – South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands *
* .gt – Guatemala
* .gu – Guam
* .gw – Guinea-Bissau
* .gy – Guyana

H

* .hk – Hong Kong *
* .hm – Heard Island and McDonald Islands *
* .hn – Honduras *
* .hr – Croatia
* .ht – Haiti
* .hu – Hungary *

I

* .id – Indonesia
* .ie – Ireland
* .il – Israel *
* .im – Isle of Man *
* .in – India *
* .io – British Indian Ocean Territory *
* .iq – Iraq
* .ir – Iran *
* .is – Iceland
* .it – Italy

J

* .je – Jersey
* .jm – Jamaica
* .jo – Jordan
* .jp – Japan

K

* .ke – Kenya
* .kg – Kyrgyzstan
* .kh – Cambodia
* .ki – Kiribati
* .km – Comoros
* .kn – Saint Kitts and Nevis
* .kp – North Korea
* .kr – South Korea
* .kw – Kuwait
* .ky – Cayman Islands
* .kz – Kazakhstan *

L

* .la – Laos *
* .lb – Lebanon
* .lc – Saint Lucia
* .li – Liechtenstein *
* .lk – Sri Lanka
* .lr – Liberia
* .ls – Lesotho
* .lt – Lithuania
* .lu – Luxembourg
* .lv – Latvia *
* .ly – Libya *

M

* .ma – Morocco
* .mc – Monaco
* .md – Moldova *
* .me – Montenegro
* .mg – Madagascar
* .mh – Marshall Islands
* .mk – Republic of Macedonia
* .ml – Mali
* .mm – Myanmar
* .mn – Mongolia *
* .mo – Macau
* .mp – Northern Mariana Islands *
* .mq – Martinique
* .mr – Mauritania
* .ms – Montserrat *
* .mt – Malta
* .mu – Mauritius *
* .mv – Maldives
* .mw – Malawi *
* .mx – Mexico *
* .my – Malaysia
* .mz – Mozambique

N

* .na – Namibia *
* .nc – New Caledonia
* .ne – Niger
* .nf – Norfolk Island *
* .ng – Nigeria
* .ni – Nicaragua
* .nl – Netherlands *
* .no – Norway
* .np – Nepal
* .nr – Nauru *
* .nu – Niue *
* .nz – New Zealand *
* .nc.tr – North Cyprus *

O

* .om – Oman

P

* .pa – Panama
* .pe – Peru
* .pf – French Polynesia
* .pg – Papua New Guinea
* .ph – Philippines *
* .pk – Pakistan *
* .pl – Poland *
* .pm – Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* .pn – Pitcairn Islands *
* .pr – Puerto Rico *
* .ps – Palestine *
* .pt – Portugal *
* .pw – Palau
* .py – Paraguay

Q

* .qa – Qatar

R

* .re – Réunion
* .ro – Romania *
* .rs – Serbia
* .ru – Russia *
* .rw – Rwanda

S

* .sa – Saudi Arabia
* .sb – Solomon Islands *
* .sc – Seychelles *
* .sd – Sudan
* .se – Sweden *
* .sg – Singapore
* .sh – Saint Helena *
* .si – Slovenia
* .sj – Svalbard and Jan Mayen islands (not in use; no registrations)
* .sk – Slovakia
* .sl – Sierra Leone
* .sm – San Marino *
* .sn – Senegal
* .so – Somalia * (down, still is delegated to Monolith [ml.org] Philadelphia, an entity defunct since end-1998)
* .sr – Suriname *
* .st – São Tomé and Príncipe *
* .su – Soviet Union (deprecated; being phased out; code “transitionally reserved” by ISO 3166-1)
* .sv – El Salvador
* .sy – Syria *
* .sz – Swaziland *

T

* .tc – Turks and Caicos Islands
* .td – Chad
* .tf – French Southern Territories
* .tg – Togo *
* .th – Thailand
* .tj – Tajikistan *
* .tk – Tokelau *
* .tl – East Timor (formerly .tp) *
* .tm – Turkmenistan *
* .tn – Tunisia
* .to – Tonga *
* .tp – East Timor (deprecated – use .tl; code “transitionally reserved” by ISO 3166-1)
* .tr – Turkey
* .tt – Trinidad and Tobago *
* .tv – Tuvalu *
* .tw – Taiwan *
* .tz – Tanzania

U

* .ua – Ukraine
* .ug – Uganda *
* .uk – United Kingdom (code “exceptionally reserved” by ISO 3166-1) (see also .gb)
* .us – United States *
* .uy – Uruguay
* .uz – Uzbekistan

V

* .va – Vatican City
* .vc – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *
* .ve – Venezuela
* .vg – British Virgin Islands *
* .vi – United States Virgin Islands
* .vn – Vietnam
* .vu – Vanuatu *

W

* .wf – Wallis and Futuna
* .ws – Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) *

Y

* .ye – Yemen
* .yt – Mayotte
* .yu – Yugoslavia (subsequently renamed Serbia and Montenegro)

Z

* .za – South Africa *
* .zm – Zambia
* .zw – Zimbabwe

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

Generic Top Level Domains - gTLDs

Generic Top Level Domains (TLDs) are the suffixes ( extensions ) that identify generic domains. In theory they are used by a particular class of organization, however newer times have seen a drop in control of who uses these domain types.

The following gTLDs currently exist:

.aero - for the air transport industry
.asia - for companies. organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region
.biz - for business use
.cat - for Catalan language/culture
.com - for commercial organizations, but unrestricted
.coop - for cooperatives
.edu - for post-secondary educational establishments
.gov - for governments and their agencies in the United States
.info - for informational sites, but unrestricted
.int - for international organizations established by treaty
.jobs - for employment-related sites
.mil - for the US military
.mobi - for sites catering to mobile devices
.museum - for museums
.name - for families and individuals
.net - originally for network infrastructures, now unrestricted
.org - originally for organizations not clearly falling within the other gTLDs, now unrestricted
.pro - for certain professions
.tel - for services involving connections between the telephone network and the Internet
.travel - for travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, tourism bureaus, etc.

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Personal .IE domains now registrable

The Irish tld .IE is now available for registration to the general public. In order to register a .IE domain name, you must have a connection to Ireland. The domain you register must  be a combination of your first and last name, you must register the name via an .IE reseller and submit your registration to IEDR.

The domains became available after a seven week notice period which allowed sole traders, professionals, politicians and trademark holders who have not already registered their .IE domain name to do so under existing non-personal domain categories.

For further information visit the IEDR website.

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

.CAT reaches 25,000 registrations

The .CAT tld reached 25,000 registration yesterday (Oct 31, 2007), less then two years since their official launch.

"It is a marvellous achievement," said Jordi Iparraguirre, Director General of Fundació puntCAT, "but we are even more pleased with the number of pages in Catalan as well as our ratio of pages per domain name which is in the top ten for TLDs around the world."

Domains under the .CAT tld can be purchased by anyone but it is a requirement to provide at least some content in the Catalan language on pages under a .CAT domain name. You can find more info about .CAT domains at their website.

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

DomainTools launches RegistrantSearch

DomainTools launched RegistrantSearch this month, a tool enabling anyone to search for domains by registrant names. You simply access their site RegistrantSeach.com, type in the person’s details and hit the sarch button.

According to their press release, the tool has been in beta mode for the past 8 years. They were taking email requests from lawyers and legal representatives and doing brute force searches of their 80 million whois records to pull out data.

After all those years of taking email requests, they finally decided to put together a robust tool for everyday use by every day users. It is pretty damn cool, you go to RegistrantSearch.com, type your neighbours name in and you get a display of all the weird domains they own. Not to mention that you can pull up all the domain names your competitor owns, mark them down and wait for them to expire. Hm, the legal connotations are unlimited.

This is just another excellent tool by the ever growing DomainTools website. One  downside is that currently report requesting is not free, a report displaying all the domains I own would cost $88 US.

Thinking it through, a tool of this form probably should not be free to prevent these exact scenarios I mentioned above. If it were a free tool, the amount of spam, abuse and plain old annoyances to various domain owners would increase tenfold.

Still, I think I’ll hold of getting a report on what domains I own. A list of my competitors however… we will see.