Go global with .INTERNATIONAL? I don’t think so.
GoDaddy is marketing the new top-level domain INTERNATIONAL. This is one TLD that I can’t imagine recommending to anyone. For starters, you don’t need this domain to go global. Every TLD …
Domain names
From Russian to Arabic to Chinese, new TLDs have arrived
This screen is from a website advertising two new top level domains in Cyrillic. Here are the two domains and what they represent: .САЙТ (Website) .ОНЛАЙН (Online) Two other domains …
France to offer support for actual French domain names
The French domain name registry AFNIC has published a PDF explaining why it will soon support internationalized domain names (IDNs). According to AFNIC: As of July 3, 2012, it will …
What the heck is an IDN and why you should care
Here’s a new article I’ve written for UX Magazine on the emergence of internationalized domain names (IDNs). I view IDNs as an inevitable (albeit awkward) evolution of the Internet. And here are the …
Country code wallpaper for your iPhone
I realize I’m a bit obsessed with country codes. It’s a sickness, I know. After I created the Country Codes of the World map, I began looking at other platforms …
Where is China’s fast-track IDN?
In January of this year, ICANN announced that four fast-track IDNs had made it through linguistic approval — effectively clearing the way for commercialization. Oddly missing from that list was …
The world’s most dangerous country codes
If you want to know the world’s most dangersous ccTLDs, ask an anti-virus software company. McAfee has released its list of most dangerous country codes. Here are the top five: …
A fantast.ic new country code
Last week I wrote about the coming of IDNs (internationalized domain names). But IDNs aren’t the only new country codes to keep your eyes on. There is also the occasional …
.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. …
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, …
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 …