Happy Reveal Day! Yes, it’s the day you’ve long been waiting for: The one when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – ICANN for short – revealed who has applied for their very own generic Top-Level Domain names, in order to be better positioned to take advantage of the future expansion of the internet beyond “.com,” “.net” and other familar suffixes.
According to ICANN, a total of 1,930 TLD applications were received during the application process – a lower number, perhaps, than would have been received had everything gone to plan – with applicants coming 60 different countries and territories. The US had the largest number of applicants, with 911 requests, followed by Europe with 675 (303 applications were received from the Asia-Pacific region, only 24 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 17 from Africa).
Ahead of the big reveal, ICANN President and Chief Executive Officer, Rod Beckstrom, sounded an optimistic, ambitious note. “We are standing at the cusp of a new era of online innovation. That means new businesses, new marketing tools, new jobs, and new ways to link communities and share information,” he said, explaining the need for the new TLDs.
The most popular TLD was “.app,” with 13 applications, followed by “.art” with 10, “.music” and “.movie,” both of which had 8 applicants vying for use, and “.news,” which had 7. Amazon was especially active when it came to applications, asking for “.book,” “.buy,” “.news,” “.movie,” .music,” “.mobile” and “.tunes,” suggesting that the company is looking to expand its digital footprint far further if given the opportunity. As you might expect, the list of applicants and their suggested TLDs reveals all manner of brands, including “.nfl,” “.aarp,” “.foodnetwork” and “.lego,” amongst many others.
There were, of course, some more risque suggestions: “.sexy” and “.sex” were both included in applications, as was the either suggestive or dismissive “.sucks.”
From today, a 60-day comment period begins, allowing anyone the right to comment on any or all of the applications or TLD suggestions, including the chance to lodge a formal complaint or objection to an application on any grounds. At the end of that period, ICANN will begin the process of deciding just who will get what TLD, with that decision expected some months from now.
