Starting today, you can register a domain name in Japanese script
Google announced today that Internet users can now register .みんな domain names. .みんな (pronounces mee-n-nuh) translates to “everybody” .
Google applied for more than 90 new gTLDs ,including .Youtube, .Gmail, .Foo, .PHD, .FREE and .Boo.The Internet giant registered also domain names in non-Roman scripts, such as .谷歌 , which means Google in Chinese.
Google said on the page introducing the original project :
“.EDU has always meant education, .GOV government, .ORG non-profits. Today’s new domains are infinitely more open-ended. There will be new homes for creativity, for business, for explorers, comedians and professionals. What will .HOW mean? .EAT? .SOY? We have our ideas, but how you develop your piece of this online real estate is up to you. Whether you’re a dad or a traveler, a developer or a movie maker, a Japanese speaker or a tour guide, the web, happily, is what you make of it.
We hope that .みんな will make it easier for Japanese people and companies to create more recognizable website names that better suit their businesses or personalities and are easier to understand and remember in Japanese.“みんな” means “everyone” in Japanese and suggests multiple people doing things together.
Our vision is for .みんな to be a collaborative space, where folks can build online communities — something along the lines of “Cook, everybody!” or “Run, everybody!” But that’s just a thought. We can’t wait to see what new ideas the new domain will help make possible.”
Sedo Tops Domain Name Industry Sales Charts in 2013
Sedo, the world’s largest domain name marketplace and monetization provider managed to maintain its leading position in 2013,according to DNJournal’s Top 100 Domain Sales Chart.
Sedo sold 34 of the top 100 domain name sales in 2013, totaling more than $4,5 million. The next marketplace managed to sale 18 of the year’s top 100 sales.
“2013 was another landmark year for Sedo where the quality and depth of our marketplace, and talent and knowledge of our team shone through once again to lead the industry through some significant changes.We’re especially encouraged by the number of non-.com sales Sedo powered as we head into the first full year where new TLDs will be available. With hundreds of new extensions hitting the market this year, 2013 may be the last time we see .com extensions dominate top sales lists,” said Sedo’s CEO, Tobias Flaitz.
According to DNJournal’s Top 100 Domain Sales Chart, .COM domain names accounted for 83% of the top 100 domain names sold. Only 17 non .COM domain names were among the 100 highest reported domains in 2013.
Sedo had eight non .COM sales on the top 100 list, while the next most active marketplace closed only two .
Check out Sedo.com for more information.
Sedo’s German New Year Auction Ends Today
Sedo’s German New Year Auction ends today, at 12:00 PM EST.The auction features 50 .de and .com domain names.
Up until now, only nine domain names received bids :
Weltmeisterschaft.de Current Bid 3,100 EUR
Indians.de Current Bid 109 EUR
ClasSe.de Current Bid 100 EUR
Videodienst.de Current Bid 100 EUR
Interesse.de Current Bid 150 EUR
ClassicClub.de Current Bid 99 EUR
Theatergmeinde.de Current Bid 109 EUR
CyberMedizin.de Current Bid 99 EUR
Pferderhaus.de Current Bid 121 EUR
Other interesting domain names included in the auction are:
HorseShop.de
PartTime.de
ScifiVideo.de
Steingasse.de
EigneCharter.com
You can see the entire inventory and place your bids here.
Nominet To Screen .UK Registrations For “Serious Sexual Offences”
Nominet is to institute a system of post-registration domain name screening for .uk domain names, within 48 hours of registration, the registry announced. The screening will be for domain names that appear to signal or encourage serious sexual offences.
Where registered domains that meet these criteria are discovered, they will be suspended or de-registered. The new screening only applies to the domain name itself and will not mean Nominet is drawn into policing web content and will be applied to existing and new registrations.
If a .uk domain name signals other criminal content and it is brought to Nominet’s attention, the .uk registry will refer these cases to the police for further action, in keeping with their current policy.
The changes come about following a recent policy review led by former Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Ken Macdonald QC. Following the report, which is now published on the Nominet website, the board agreed to make the change.
Nominet will also amend its terms and conditions to make it clear that registration of a domain name that appears to signal a serious sexual offence will constitute a breach of their terms of business and will also make it clear that use of a .uk domain name for criminal purposes is not permitted and will be suspended or de-registered.
“Nominet has always had an important role as a trusted guardian of the UK internet,” said Lesley Cowley, CEO, Nominet. “This update to our registration policy is something we feel is appropriate and practical. Even though we are only talking about a handful of domain names, we agreed that we do not want those domain names on the register – regardless of whether there was an associated website or content. So we are taking steps to remove domain names for which we can see no reasonable use.
“We thank Lord Macdonald for his thorough report. In keeping with our commitment to operating in the public interest, the Board has unanimously agreed to implement his recommendations.”
The report is available here and consultation feedback will be published later this week. Details on how these changes will be implemented will be published in the months ahead.
ICANN: IANA Functions Satisfaction Survey Yields Overwhelmingly Positive Results
ICANN is reporting extremely high levels of customer satisfaction according to the results of the 2013 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority ( IANA ) Functions Customer Satisfaction Survey.
Read the report » [PDF, 1.19 MB]
“We are pleased with the high level of satisfaction reported by our customers,” said Elise Gerich. ICANN ‘s Vice President of IANA and Technical Operations. “We continue to explore ways to improve the service of administering the protocol parameter registries, the allocation of Internet numbers, and changes to the root zone.”
The survey, conducted by Ebiquity, investigated seven critical areas of the IANA functions, including:
- Documentation quality (100% satisfaction)
- Process quality (100% satisfaction)
- Accuracy (99% satisfaction)
- Courtesy (99% satisfaction)
- Transparency (95% satisfaction)
Unlike the previous year’s survey, the 2013 survey targeted specific customer groups to better understand how each group perceives ICANN ‘s handling of the IANA functions. Of the eight groups surveyed, 5 reported over 90% satisfaction.
“It’s good to see that the people who request protocol assignments or routine root management changes and use our registries report such high levels of satisfaction,” said Michelle Cotton, Manager of IANA Services. “We will be following up with small groups over the next few months to discuss how to further improve customer satisfaction.”
With the results of the 2013 survey finalized, ICANN will investigate ways to increase participation in next year’s survey.
“In 2013 we gathered input from each customer group, while maintaining anonymity, improving on the more general survey conducted in 2012,” said Leo Vegoda, Operational Excellence Manager, “In 2014 we plan to improve participation in the survey.”
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To learn more about IANA , go to www.iana.org/
Ebiquity is a global media, marketing and reputation consultancy, with over 20 years of experience in customer and stakeholder research. For more information, go to www.ebiquity.com/en.
This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-15jan14-en.htm
