Minds + Machines

We are proud to announce the launch of Dot Cities, a resource for cities (or states, or regions, or provinces) who are thinking about launching a new TLD.

We’re providing what we hope is a fairly full slate of information for city managers to help them decide what they need to do to go forward:

• List of existing city projects
• How to determine if a city or region can support a TLD
• Information on the application process, and the special rules for cities
• Information on how to choose a registry provider, including an RFP guide
• Costs and benefits of a city TLD
• A collection of resources, including ICANN links, market research links, and sample support and non-objection letters

The site has already received some good reviews. Please let us know what you think, and how we can improve things.

New York City announced that it will seek the .NYC web address, making it the first U.S. city to seek a top-level domain. New York City now joins Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris and Rome as a global city applying for its own web address.

Paul J. Cosgrave, the Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), announced New York City’s intention to apply for the .NYC top-level domain from ICANN. The .NYC effort has enjoyed long-time support from City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and from its earliest champion, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Chair of the Council’s Technology in Government Committee. They all testified to the benefits of the new .NYC top-level domain for the businesses, organizations, and residents of New York City.

Former Mayor Ed Koch, who supports the dotNYC effort to operate .NYC on the city’s behalf, said on video: “.NYC is the best real estate deal since the Dutch bought Manhattan.”

dotNYC LLC, a private company that for the last year has been meeting with city officials about the plan for .NYC, is applying to become the city’s operating partner, working with Minds + Machines. dotNYC LLC congratulated the City in a press release about .NYC:

… .NYC will allow New York city residents, businesses, groups, government agencies and tourist attractions to register website names and have email addresses ending in .NYC – directly identifying themselves with the world’s leading city. Examples include: theater.nyc, pizza.nyc, blockparty.nyc, statueofliberty.nyc, yourname.nyc, yourbusinessname.nyc and millions more.

The story was covered in depth by the New York Post under the title City sets its sites on ‘.nyc’ Web domain. The Post called .NYC “the 21st-century equivalent of the 212 area code.” The Post article continues:

New York City is on the verge of getting its very own Internet domain that will give area Web sites the option of putting an “.nyc” rather than a “.com” at the end of their addresses…. New York City is the first American city to announce its intention to land its very own top-level domain…. Officials believe the domain will give New York City businesses a leg up and also generate much-needed revenue for city coffers.

Commissioner Cosgrave talked about how .NYC will make it easier to access information:

Each day the Internet serves as an essential tool in the lives of an increasing number of New Yorkers, helping inform the ways they live, learn and play. Through .nyc, we hope to make the search for New York City-related content easier than ever by providing individuals, organizations, non-profits and others a chance to own a virtual piece of the greatest city in the world.”

Speaker Quinn spoke about the impact of the NYC brand on the Internet:

A top-level City needs a top level domain, that’s why finding a partner to join the City in making .nyc a reality for small businesses in New York is vitally important. Once the .nyc program is launched, local business owners will be able to uniquely associate themselves and their business with their home, and the NYC brand.

Council Member Brewer talked about the impact on small businesses:

New York City, like many of its global competitors, plans to apply for a top level domain name. I hope that this TLD will assist local merchants based in New York City to be able to brand their businesses as located in the five boroughs. The small business community is a vital part of the New York City economy and any opportunity to increase their exposure while facilitating easy searching online is a step forward. I applaud the Mayor for applying for .nyc and I look forward to seeing this TLD attached to my local bakery or dry cleaner.

New York City municipal leaders, elected and appointed, clearly understand the benefits of the .NYC top-level domain for the City, and have spoken out unequivocally. This important announcement should prompt other cities, and businesses, to start thinking seriously about their own top-level domain strategy.

The much-anticipated Draft Application Guidebook is out!

ICANN has released Version 3. Lots of changes, some minor, some large. All worth reading if you’re a potential applicant or just interested in the promise of new TLDs.

The public comment period clock started October 4, and runs until November 22 of this year.

I am still digesting the many volumes of changes but caught this one for example in Module 2 at 2.1.1.4.1 (p. 14):

A string shall be considered to be a country or territory name if: (i) it is an alpha-3 code listed in the ISO 3166-1 standard

This means .GEO would have to get a letter of non-objection from the government of Georgia.

It also means that Apple would need a signature from the Chinese government or relevant authority in Macao to apply for .MAC.

An applied-for gTLD string that falls into any the above categories is considered to represent a geographical name. In the event of any doubt, it is in the applicant’s interest to consult with relevant governments and public authorities and enlist their support or non-objection prior to submission of the application, in order to preclude possible objections and pre-address any ambiguities concerning the string and applicable requirements.

Congratulations, Apple!

Minds + Machines has been selected to provide registry services by Bayern Connect GmbH, which is pursuing the .BAYERN top-level domain name for Bavaria. We are delighted to be chosen by this very strong applicant.

The press release from Bayern Connect quotes CEO Caspar von Veltheim:

“We need a strong and stable technical infrastructure to take our place among existing top-level domains,” said von Veltheim. “We are therefore using the Espresso platform, which powers over a dozen country-code top-level domains, is used by ICANN worldwide to demonstrate security best practices, and can deliver domain names for Bavarians at a fraction of the cost of other solutions.”

Bayern Connect’s choice of Minds + Machines to provide registry services is a natural evolution of our increasingly close relationship with CEO Caspar von Veltheim, who has also agreed to serve as Director of Minds + Machines Germany. In addition to the technical expertise provided by Minds + Machines, Bayern Connect has secured funding from Top Level Domain Holdings, Minds + Machines’ parent company.

Bayern Connect has already presented its project to the Bavarian State Government, and has the support of major Bavarian businesses and institutions, as well as important cultural figures. Prince Leopold von Bayern, a long-time advocate for the preservation of Bavarian traditions, is serving as Senior Advisor. “With .BAYERN, Bayern Connect will give Bavaria a home on the virtual Internet,” said the Prince.

Responding to concerns from intellectual property owners, Bayern Connect is being advised by Dr. Andreas Schulz, a prominent intellectual property attorney. “Trademark owners are entitled to a fair and transparent system by which the domain names are allocated. I will help Bayern Connect develop policies that will assure this,” said Dr. Schulz.

As a Bavarian business, Bayern Connect will donate a substantial portion of the annual registration revenues to Bavarian charities and cultural organizations. “Bavarians will make .BAYERN succeed, and therefore we will give back to Bavaria,” said von Veltheim. Bayern Connect GmbH is based in Munich.

UPDATE Oct. 7, 2009 — It has been brought to my attention that there is an inaccuracy in one of the quotes from Caspar von Veltheim in the blog post above. ICANN does not and has not used Espresso to demonstrate security practices. In fact, ICANN itself doesn’t demonstrate anything. Instead, they work with a company called DeltaRisk, which used an older version of the CoCCA registry software (upon which Espresso and Espresso CC are based) for the demonstrations.

This summer the number of registrars on the Espresso CC platform, jointly developed by CoCCA Registry Services and Minds + Machines, has steadily grown with the migration of several ccTLDs onto the platform.

Recent grants from Minds + Machines have enabled the development of several gTLD desired features including: one-step EPP server, WHOIS server and key retrieval configuration; transfer activity reporting; one-click database back up; banded volume discount settings, and many other easy-to-use features for TLD operators.

The Espresso system is EPP-compliant; supports IPV6, ENUM, DNSSEC; allows shadowed domains to combat botnet attacks such as Conficker; enables IDNs (internationalized domain names); and supports and multiple language files (15 so far) allowing registrars to manage their accounts in their native language.

Minds + Machines, as CoCCA’s partner, is offering a fully ICANN-compliant version of Espresso for new generic top-level domains in 2010. CoCCA (the Council of Country Code Administrators) is a member-owned organization that provides services to ccTLD operators. CoCCA began as a cooperative of three ccTLD operators, .CX (Christmas Island), .GS (South Georgia), and .NF (Norfolk Island) on a quest to build a better registry platform and to share resources as a way of achieving economies of scale. The more members, the less each has to contribute toward development, attorney fees, and infrastructure. In four years CoCCA has grown 700% , with twenty-one members now sharing resources using world-class EPP technology.

On behalf of its members, CoCCA accredits registrars that agree to follow best-practice recommendations in the registry-registrar-registrant business model. We warmly welcome the most recently approved registrars, who are now able to offer to their customers registrations in CoCCA member TLDs.

Here are the newly-accredited registrars, in alphabetical order. Welcome!

• 3w Media GmbH
  
  




• Bizcn.com, Inc.
  
  




• Blacknight Internet Solutions
  







• BRS Media, Inc.
  







• cctldnames
  







• Communigal
  







• Cybernaptics Ltd.







• DomainClub.com
  
  







• DomainersChoice
  







• Domain Monster
  







• Domain The Net Technologies
  







• Domaine.fr
  







• Enom
  







• Entorno Digital S.A.
  









• Gandi SAS
  







• Larsen Data
  







• Maridan Internet
  







• Moniker
  
  







• Networking4all
  







• Niceweb.eu
  







• NovaGroup
  







• Oxwell
  







• Register.eu
  







• Reg.Net.ua
  







• Todaynic.com, Inc.
  







• Web Solutions ApS
  







• Webworkers Internet Consultants
  







• Xin Net Technology
  

Minds + Machines has some interviews posted with our founders that have a wealth of information about the domain name industry, the new TLD process, DNSSEC, IDN, and an overview of the domain name business. There are some insights into the relationship between CoCCA and Minds + Machines, what we’re doing with capacity grants and Espresso CC.

Recently, Dot Eco released a comprehensive Green Paper (PDF here) detailing its principles and its mission. (Hint: Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Sierra Club and Surfrider think it can help save the planet.)

As the registry provider for .ECO, I decided that we need to support that mission. As I’ve already reported, Minds + Machines DNS services are carbon-neutral and do not contribute to global warming.

Now we’ve undertaken a major initiative within Minds + Machines to make sure we contribute less to global warming, and that to the extent we do, we do something else to offset it. Our goal is to ensure that none of our operations contribute to the destruction of the planet.

Here’s what we’re doing and plan to do:

• As we add or replace servers, replacing them with energy-efficient “green” machines
• Encouraging telecommuting and online communication in our company, and when we must travel, whether long-distance or for commuting, purchasing carbon offsets for each employee.
• At our offices, taking steps to reduce our energy consumption and emissions by upgrading insulation, air-conditioning systems, and (of course) our habits.
• For all of our business, purchasing carbon offsets for our activities that emit greenhouse gasses.
• Doing all of the above for our sister company CoCCA.
• Providing credits to registries and registrars using our systems for specific steps they take to make their operations greener.

The Internet is global, and it’s our view that Internet companies should do what they can to make sure their operations have minimal impact on the planet — because “global” doesn’t make much sense if there isn’t a habitable globe.

Some resources for green operations:

• Green IT: Framework for Building a “Hyper-Green” Virtual Server System
• Interview with Matthew Wheeland, author of the new book The Greening of IT: How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment
• Tapping into the Value of Being Virtually Green
• Purchase carbon offsets at Terra Pass
• Purchase carbon offsets at the Carbon Fund

We challenge every top-level domain registry provider to take responsibility, make a difference, and — especially for those registry operators backing ecologically-themed top-level domains — to put their money on the line.

Today, we’re very happy to announce the formation of Minds + Machines Italia, a joint venture with Massimo Ralli and the other the people behind DotRoma (English version here). Minds + Machines will act as the registry operator for Minds + Machines Italia clients, including Dot Roma, as well as ICANN application preparation services.

Minds + Machines Italia is our exclusive partner for the Italian market. In addition to .ROMA, M+M Italia will target new TLDs for Italian cities, brands, and for Italian generic words. In addition to the services contributed by Minds + Machines, both parties are investing cash in Minds + Machines Italia for sales, marketing, and branding.

Close observers will have noticed that Europe leads the way in publicly-announced new top-level domain efforts for cities and regions. Minds + Machines, with partners now in Italy as well as Germany, is well-positioned to take advantage of this trend.

Top Level Domain Holdings, Ltd., a major shareholder in Minds + Machines, today announced that it has raised 2.5M pounds (approximately US$4.1M) in a private placement.

TLDH is a publicly-traded company listed under the ticker symbol TLDH.L on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM Market.

TLDH is the only public company focused exclusively on new top-level domains. The London Stock Exchange’s AIM market is available to U.S. investors through major brokerage houses such as E*Trade and Schwab.

In addition to providing capital for growth for Minds + Machines, TLDH will use the new funds to invest in new top-level domains and as a reserve fund for eventual auctions at ICANN in case of contending applications.

One of our projects has been to gather and disseminate information about new TLDs, as well as about Minds + Machines and our clients. As well as this blog, we have two Twitter feeds. There’s a bit of duplication, naturally, but they each serve a different purpose:

• nTLD Twitter Feed — Comprehensive news feed of all news about new top-level domains — good, bad, or indifferent. This is *the* place to look if you need to see everything.
• newgTLDs Twitter Feed — Information about Minds + Machines. This feed echoes our blog feed and includes other updates as well.

Please follow either or both!