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Not Com: Domain Changes Approved

The Internet’s domain name regulations are about to change. Starting January 12, 2012 webmasters will be able to submit an application to register almost any TLD (top level domain), regardless of language. The changes that were approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in June will open up top level domains to more personalization, no longer restricting websites to the limited number of gTLD (generic Top Level Domain; i.e. ‘.com’, ‘.net’) choices.
The new system is billed as “owning your own little piece of the Internet.” The idea is that instead of the current system where your address reads: ‘’, under the new system your address will be more along the lines of ‘anything.yourbusiness.’
The application process is composed of 6 main steps and there are three main requirement criteria that needs to be fulfilled:

• Applicants must be an established brand or represent an reputable organization
• Applicants must submit $185,000 in application fees
• Applicants must be willing to wait 9 to 20 months for completion of the application process

The relative merits of this are debatable:
The benefits of this new system is a little murky, as the majority of web users are accustomed to the old .com system and the addition of an infinite number of gTLD variables appears to leave a lot of room for confusion.

All this comes not longer after Related .xxx scare has some brands protecting their online image by registering their pornographic counterpart in order to avoid potential public relations disasters down the line.

From an Internet Marketing standpoint the prevailing question is: will anybody care? It is still unclear how widely, and with how much enthusiasm these changes will be adopted.

To learn more about the changes: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm