A whole new domain

by Stratton Craig

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The news last month that Icann has approved a proposal to create new website domain suffixes really does put a new spin on the internet as we know it. Almost any word in any language could be used as a domain ending, but anyone wishing to create one will need to pay quite a hefty price (£114,000 to be precise).

In recent years digital communication has become increasingly important, and this move provides companies with ample opportunity to bolster their online presence. Comparing the opportunity to something more tangible, ‘it would be roughly the equivalent of getting approval to build a sky scraper’ saqys Bruce Tonkin, chief strategy officer at Melbourne IT.

That being said, there has been debate over the benefits of building said sky scraper. The huge price tags are the first barrier for many users. And it’s also important to consider that search engines like Google are proving increasingly effective at finding exactly what users want – how many people take themselves directly to a company website without making a pitstop at Google first?

Those are just two of the key issues on many people’s minds, and we’ve no doubt there’ll be plenty of media coverage as more are unveiled. Either way, it’s clear to see that this is a sign that digital communication will only get bigger, better and more important, and this is Icann’s way of catering for that.