IT contractors will be interested to learn that a new regime for domain names is set to revolutionise the World Wide Web.
There has been a lot of opposition to the move from a variety of organisations, including retailers and advertising bodies, but ICANN is forging ahead regardless.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a not-for-profit organisation, which is tasked with making sure the Internet functions. Thanks to them, businesses, including umbrella companies, will now have the opportunity to create their own top-level domain names.
Under the present system, people wanting to register their website only have 22 generic top level domains to choose from. We are currently restricted to extensions such as .com, .org or .info. There are also country specific extensions such as .co.uk but the restrictions mean it is becoming increasingly difficult for new companies to come up with a logical, relevant domain name.
Global corporations are now being given the chance to apply for a gTLD that features their brand name, such as .microsoft. It will cost a six-figure sum and there’s some legal stuff to go through, but anyone who’s struggling to find a catchy domain will be able to create an entirely new one.
If you’ve got a burning ambition to call your website www.jobebloggs.joebloggs then you’ve only got until April 12th this year to submit your application. After that date, ICANN will consider each application and implement the new gTLDs.
There are concerns that the increase in top-level domains will lead to added security risks giving Joe Bloggs a great opportunity to put his IT contracting skills to good use!
© 2012 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: Cyber Surfers: Pirates on the Internet by ShardsOfBlue
