IDNs coming in 2010. Really.
It’s beginning to feel like Groundhog Day when I read these “IDNs are coming” articles. Here’s one I read this morning about ICANN’s meeting in Seoul, happening now, where the …
Country Codes
I’m flattered that Pentagram would “imitate” my country codes poster
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the saying goes. So I suppose I should have been flattered when I came across four new posters by the esteemed design firm …
.YU we hardly knew you
It’s funny how top-level domain names (TLDs) outlast the countries they represent. In 2007 I wrote about the end of .YU (Yugoslavia), though it didn’t exactly go away back then. …
IDNs on are the “fast track”
Could it be happening? Finally? After all these years? Internationalized domain names at last becoming a reality around the world — and not just in China? It’s looking that way. …
Bit.ly is leaving Libya for the islands
So Bit.ly has launched an even shorter URL: J.mp. You can’t get any shorter than this, at least not until we see single-digital TLDs. I can’t help but wonder if …
WordPress launches wp.me
Another day, another URL shortener. Only this one I think will be around a lot longer than many that are out there. That’s because it’s supported by WordPress. It’s also …
The Chinese domain name bubble bursts
Nearly one year ago, I asked Will .CN become the next .COM? And perhaps I was right in more ways than one. Because now it appears that .CN is experiencing …
The Branding of Country Codes: A list of “countryless” ccTLDs
A country code top-level-domains (ccTLD) has traditionally been used to signify a country-specific web site or resource, or simply to tell users where a given organization is located. For example, …
Global by Belarus
Here is an example of ccTLD usage that hits rather close to home. And it’s not some upstart web company out of the Bay Area. No, this is a company …
What does Libya have in common with Twitter? Ask Bit.ly
Bit.ly, the URL shortener now used by Twitter, is not the first company to craft its name out of a county code top-level domain (ccTLD). But Bit.ly does appear to …
.EU to offer Greek and Cyrillic support
The European Commission has announced that it will begin supporting domain registration in Greek and Cyrillic characters. This will allow for support of all 23 official EU languages. The EC …
Want to buy the number 8?
Someone is promoting the sale of a Chinese domain name, shown here. Technically, this domain is represented over the Internet as http://www.xn--45q.ws, which is the ASCII equivalent of the Chinese …
Per capita, Netherlands is the world’s ccTLD leader
The Netherlands, a country with just 16 million people, accounts for more than 3 million ccTLDs. That’s an impressive ratio of people to domains — one ccTLD per 5.3 people …
How many TLDs are there?
I love this visual, via ICANN, a diagram of the world’s top-level domains (TLDs) — all 280 of them. The overwhelming majority of TLDs are country codes, most of which …
Is .NYC the next 212? Or is it the next .LA?
So it’s looking like .NYC may indeed come to fruition. It certainly has its proponents. Paris and Berlin are also pursuing their own domains. But the reason I see .NYC …