Is .xyz Rising Above Controversy
Mon, May 11, 2015The new .xyz domain name has been a huge hit, but it hasn’t come without first facing accusations. Where does .xyz stand now?
Towards the end of 2013, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) officially released the first wave of new gTLDs. Research shows that ICANN’s new program has been an overall success, and that the .xyz domain name extension in particular has stood out from the others.
Here’s a quick domain names refresher for you: gTLD stands for generic Top-Level Domain. A TLD is simply the ending portion of a domain name (think .com or .net). This extension is an easy-to-remember representation of an IP address, which directs your site’s visitors to the correct place (as orchestrated by DNS, the internet’s Domain Name System).
In August of 2013, ICANN began to publish new TLDs, giving everyone more opportunities to find a domain name that benefits their business or personal projects. Although some are still skeptical about the program, the new gTLDs have helped millions to find their perfect domain names.
The question many have asked is whether or not .com and .net will eventually become obsolete. It’s hard to believe that the world’s most popular TLD – .com – will ever fall from the top. However, .xyz is becoming a popular choice for people and businesses around the world and can now be found in the web addresses of large businesses, personal blogs and everything in between.
At the time of writing this article, 905,003 .xyz domain name extensions have been registered. This is much higher than 2nd and 3rd place, which are .网址 (.website in Chinese) at 348,808 and .science at 249,900. In addition to being the current most popular gTLD, it is also the fastest growing.
.xyz launched on June 2, 2014 and has seen nothing but constant growth; over 100,000 .xyz domain names were registered in its first month. Is .xyz Rising Above Controversy
Like with all success stories, there’s a reason that .xyz has done so well at market…
Network Solutions, a popular domain name registrar, ran a campaign that offered their customers a free .xyz domain name with every .com domain. This stirred up controversy in the domain name world as it led to inflation of the number of .xyz domains registered. Although the promotion only lasted 10 days, over 100,000 domain names were registered during this short timespan, accounting for a sizable portion of the 903,003 .xyz domains in evidence today.
Daniel Negari, CEO of the .xyz registry, claimed that nothing was done incorrectly when .xyz was released; every .xyz domain name was paid and accounted for. The young CEO pointed out that as a domain registry .xyz sells its domains at a fixed cost to domain registrars, and following this these registrars (such as Network Solutions) can resell their domains at whatever price they see fit. Negari has made it clear that nothing was done illegally or unethically for the popular gTLD.
We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not Daniel Negari or Network Solutions crossed lines when introducing the .xyz domain name. But putting the controversy aside, .xyz has been a huge hit. Even if you disregard all of the .xyz domain extensions that Network Solutions has sold (or given away), it would still stand as the most popular new gTLD.
Here are some of the reasons .xyz continues to be a hit:
- Easy to remember
- Works for any market
- End of the alphabet – end of a domain name
- Crosses the language barrier around the world
- Inexpensive
- Abuse policy (the .xyz registry monitors spam and phishing efforts)
- Rising in popularity
Here at Intispace, we think the most important reason for the popularity of .xyz domains is that they can work for any kind of business. Unlike other new gTLDs that only pertain to certain markets, .xyz can be used for anything. .xyz domain names are usually similarly priced as .com domains.
We are seeing more .xyz examples popping up. On the hit TV series Silicon Valley, a tech company called Hooli creates a new division of projects. Their domain name? [The new .xyz domain name has been a huge hit, but it hasn’t come without first facing accusations. Where does .xyz stand now?
Towards the end of 2013, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) officially released the first wave of new gTLDs. Research shows that ICANN’s new program has been an overall success, and that the .xyz domain name extension in particular has stood out from the others.
Here’s a quick domain names refresher for you: gTLD stands for generic Top-Level Domain. A TLD is simply the ending portion of a domain name (think .com or .net). This extension is an easy-to-remember representation of an IP address, which directs your site’s visitors to the correct place (as orchestrated by DNS, the internet’s Domain Name System).
In August of 2013, ICANN began to publish new TLDs, giving everyone more opportunities to find a domain name that benefits their business or personal projects. Although some are still skeptical about the program, the new gTLDs have helped millions to find their perfect domain names.
The question many have asked is whether or not .com and .net will eventually become obsolete. It’s hard to believe that the world’s most popular TLD – .com – will ever fall from the top. However, .xyz is becoming a popular choice for people and businesses around the world and can now be found in the web addresses of large businesses, personal blogs and everything in between.
At the time of writing this article, 905,003 .xyz domain name extensions have been registered. This is much higher than 2nd and 3rd place, which are .网址 (.website in Chinese) at 348,808 and .science at 249,900. In addition to being the current most popular gTLD, it is also the fastest growing.
.xyz launched on June 2, 2014 and has seen nothing but constant growth; over 100,000 .xyz domain names were registered in its first month. Is .xyz Rising Above Controversy
Like with all success stories, there’s a reason that .xyz has done so well at market…
Network Solutions, a popular domain name registrar, ran a campaign that offered their customers a free .xyz domain name with every .com domain. This stirred up controversy in the domain name world as it led to inflation of the number of .xyz domains registered. Although the promotion only lasted 10 days, over 100,000 domain names were registered during this short timespan, accounting for a sizable portion of the 903,003 .xyz domains in evidence today.
Daniel Negari, CEO of the .xyz registry, claimed that nothing was done incorrectly when .xyz was released; every .xyz domain name was paid and accounted for. The young CEO pointed out that as a domain registry .xyz sells its domains at a fixed cost to domain registrars, and following this these registrars (such as Network Solutions) can resell their domains at whatever price they see fit. Negari has made it clear that nothing was done illegally or unethically for the popular gTLD.
We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not Daniel Negari or Network Solutions crossed lines when introducing the .xyz domain name. But putting the controversy aside, .xyz has been a huge hit. Even if you disregard all of the .xyz domain extensions that Network Solutions has sold (or given away), it would still stand as the most popular new gTLD.
Here are some of the reasons .xyz continues to be a hit:
- Easy to remember
- Works for any market
- End of the alphabet – end of a domain name
- Crosses the language barrier around the world
- Inexpensive
- Abuse policy (the .xyz registry monitors spam and phishing efforts)
- Rising in popularity
Here at Intispace, we think the most important reason for the popularity of .xyz domains is that they can work for any kind of business. Unlike other new gTLDs that only pertain to certain markets, .xyz can be used for anything. .xyz domain names are usually similarly priced as .com domains.
We are seeing more .xyz examples popping up. On the hit TV series Silicon Valley, a tech company called Hooli creates a new division of projects. Their domain name?]5 You can even visit the website to see what the fictional ‘Hooli’ is supposedly up to. Keep your eyes open and you’ll begin to notice even more .xyz domain names around the web.
Will a .xyz domain work for you? Whatever business you’re managing, a .xyz can be a perfect fit. If you’re a domain reseller, consider making .xyz domain names readily available to your clients. With .xyz, there really is no end in sight. Is .xyz Rising Above Controversy ?
Pick up your own .xyz domain name from Intispace.com! Also, send us a tweet @intispace with your own ideas on what makes a great domain name!
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