Name/Domain...As World Wide Web addresses become ubiquitous, it is becoming apparent that, at least for a business, NOT having a Web address will soon be tantamount to not having a telephone number.
Anyone with access to the internet has a potential URL. It takes the following form: This format is fine for an individual. But most businesses opt for their own domain name.
We are all familiar with this format: In the US, domain name registration is handled by a private company based in Virginia, Network Solutions. It is currently processing around 80,00 domain name applications per month. It's not surprising, then, that the theoretical "supply" of domain names is running out.
So do you need your own domain name? And what are the issues? Let's take a look...
News, Views and Hot Shots...Healdsburg, unfortunately, was unable to cater to my "city kid" needs, so I'm currently squatting in Marin. If anyone knows of a studio or house share, please let me know on 415 381 8630. Thanks!If you're reading this, you may be interested in my daily column, 1st Steps: Marketing and Design Daily. It's chock full o' online marketing and design tips and hints, resources and polemic... The movie "Crash" won a Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1996, and has since excited considerable controversy. The web site is surely one of the most innovative around - but not for the squeamish or those with 14.4 modems...
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Dot Com, Org, Net ...or ?
The value of a domain name to a business resides in the name's uniqueness. It's like registering a trademark or a business name. Once you have a domain name, it's yours. No-one else can use it.
There are other advantages. You can be found easily - many Web users will try to find you simply by entering "yourname.com" in their browser, without looking you up in a directory or search engine. It also allows you to change servers (the computer on which your site resides) without changing URL or eMail addresses.
For example, in the last six months, I have had three servers, yet my URL and eMail have remained constant.
There are currently six categories of domain names in the USA. ".com" denotes a commercial organization. This is the largest category, and the one we are all most familiar with. (It seems that no TV advertisement is complete without a URL emblazoned along the bottom of the screen these days.)
".gov" is reserved for governmental bodies, while ".mil" is reserved for the armed forces. ".org" is assigned to non-profit organizations, and ".edu" is for bona fide educational institutions. ".net" denotes a network.
Domain name allocation and registration in the US is performed by Network Solutions of Herndon, Virginia. It is one of 56 registering bodies worldwide.
Registration of a domain name with Network Solutions is relatively simple, and can usually be accomplished in 48 hours or less. It costs $100 for two years and $50 per annum thereafter. On registration, your unique domain name is entered into a root file of one of eleven geographically distributed computers worldwide. When your URL is entered in a browser, this file is searched and the request is routed through to the appropriate network.
Until fairly recently, the distinctions between different classes of domain were fairly rigid. For example, in order to obtain a ".org" suffix, the applicant needed to show proof of non-profit status.
About six months ago, however, such was the pressure for domain names that Network Solutions abandoned its requirements for ".org" status, and allowed anyone to register an ".org".
The intention was to dramatically increase the number of available domain names "at a stroke". For example, the domain name "hilda.com" could be registered to a commercial entity, whilst "hilda.org" could now be registered to a completely different commercial entity.
I spoke to Dave Graves at Network Solutions about the designation of the suffix ".org". He admitted that there are no checks on the status of a ".org" domain name applicant. I pointed out that smaller companies would be left to slug it out in court (if they can afford it), or simply put up with a ".org" potentially trading on the good name of their ".com", while large organizations would simply register all the suffix combinations of their name just as the New York Times has done (check out http://www.nytimes.com cf http://www.nytimes.org). In any event, the pool of available domain names would not be enlarged by any great extent. And the potential for litigation is enormous. Dave concurred.
IAHC (The International Ad Hoc Committee - now theres a name to conjure with!) has come up with two recommendations to deal with the explosive demand for domain names.
One is a 60-day waiting period for domain name activation. This would allow time for potential trademark disputes to be settled.
The second is the institution of a further 7 domain name suffixes. These would be:
The problem of domain name designation is structural. The Domain Name System simply was not built to cope with the kind of traffic it is experiencing. There are no easy answers. As noted above, neither relaxing the qualifications for specific suffixes nor increasing the number of suffixes will do anything other than make the problem worse.
Perhaps the only solution is to randomly generate combinations of letters and digits.
But then, companies like BEST DOMAINS, who trade in domain names would doubtless protest restraint of trade.
There's an alternative. name.space, run by PG Media, is proposing a system whereby any company name becomes its own domain. For example, the domain name for FeNiX Business Communications would simply be fenix.bc. This would convert what is, by its very nature, a limited resource, into a limitless one.
Unfortunately, Network Solutions is denying PG Media access to its root file, thus rendering PG's names inaccessible to the Web networks. PG is suing.
In the meantime, we are stuck with the present system. And to have any chance of registering your domain name - and staking your claim in cyberspace - it's probably wise to act now.
April 4, 1997 |