Google has become the latest Internet company to acquire a one letter .Co domain.
In a Press Release just issued by the .Co Registry, Google has acquired G.CO for an undisclosed amount (The full PR appears below).
According to Google’s blog; Gary Briggs, Google’s VP of Consumer Marketing, announced that G.CO would soon be the “official URL shortcut for Google websites.”
“Only Google will be able to create G.CO shortcuts, says Briggs; that means “you can visit a G.CO shortcut confident you will always end up at a page for a Google product or service.””
Here is the post on Google’s blog:
“”In the world of URLs, bigger is not always better. In 2009, we helped shrink up long, unwieldy URLs by launching our public URL shortener, goo.gl. Today, we’re announcing a new URL shortcut that will only link to official Google products and services: g.co.
The shorter a URL, the easier it is to share and remember. The downside is, you often can’t tell what website you’re going to be redirected to. We’ll only use g.co to send you to webpages that are owned by Google, and only we can create g.co shortcuts. That means you can visit a g.co shortcut confident you will always end up at a page for a Google product or service.
There’s no need to fret about the fate of goo.gl; we like it as much as you do, and nothing is changing on that front. It will continue to be our public URL shortener that anybody can use to shorten URLs across the web.
We’d like to thank our friends at .CO Internet SAS who operate .co domain names for facilitating the acquisition of g.co, and keep your eyes open as we start rolling out g.co as our official URL shortcut for Google websites.””
Nice
In the same Press release by the .Co Registry it was announced that Silicon Valley seed fund and incubator, 500 Startups, also announced that it will be rebranding its web address from 500Startups.com to 500.CO this Fall.
“Founded by Internet entrepreneur, Dave McClure, 500 Startups has become one of the most prolific forces in today’s startup ecosystem, currently operating over 150 companies spanning five continents.”
“.CO is quickly becoming the hot new geek TLD in Silicon Valley,” said McClure, in a blog post today on the 500 Startups blog. “At 500 Startups we focus on doing things faster, making cycle time shorter, and simplifying brand – we know no one will care about your product if it’s not fast, easy-to-use, and memorable. We want to OWN the brand 500, and 500.CO helps us get there.”
As since Overstock acquired O.co for $350,000 last year, it has re-branded itself as O.Co.
Godaddy.com has acquired X.co, Twitter.com acquired T.co
Although neither this acquisition or the Amazon Acquisition had a price tag on the .Co domains, Juan Calle CEO of .Co Internet S.A.S., was been quoted recently as saying that the price of any one character .Co domain is already north of $1.5 Million”
Another great achievement by the .CO registry
Here is the press release:
“”Today .CO Internet S.A.S. announced that Google has acquired the domain name G.CO and will use the URL to more easily connect, communicate and engage with customers by launching an official shortcut for Google’s products and services. ”
“The Registry also announced that well-known Silicon Valley Seed Fund and Incubator, 500 Startups, will be rebranding its web address from 500Startups.com to 500.CO.”
“Just days ahead of the one year anniversary of the public launch of the .CO domain, on July 20th, 2011, momentum continues to be strong as world-leading companies and entrepreneurs increasingly embrace the .CO platform. Since it launched, the .CO domain has attracted more than one million registrations by individuals, organizations and businesses in more than 200 countries worldwide, including major brands like Twitter, Amazon and Overstock – and hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs around the globe.
“In an announcement on the official Google Blog today, Gary Briggs, Google’s VP of Consumer Marketing, announced that G.CO would soon be the “official URL shortcut for Google websites.” Only Google will be able to create G.CO shortcuts, says Briggs; that means “you can visit a G.CO shortcut confident you will always end up at a page for a Google product or service.””
Increasingly considered to be a strategic digital asset by brands seeking to attract and engage consumers online, Briggs noted that “[i]n the world of URLs, bigger is not always better,” and that “the shorter a URL, the easier it is to share and remember.”
“We are thrilled to have Google join the select group of premium Internet brands that are using the .CO domain to innovate online,” said Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet SAS. “By featuring G.CO in its product and service marketing efforts worldwide, we are confident that Google will help to drive massive awareness and adoption of the .CO domain extension in the years ahead.”
On a related note, Silicon Valley seed fund and incubator, 500 Startups, also announced today that it will be rebranding its web address from 500Startups.com to 500.CO this Fall. Founded by Internet entrepreneur, Dave McClure, 500 Startups has become one of the most prolific forces in today’s startup ecosystem, currently operating over 150 companies spanning five continents.
“.CO is quickly becoming the hot new geek TLD in Silicon Valley,” said McClure, in a blog post today on the 500 Startups blog. “At 500 Startups we focus on doing things faster, making cycle time shorter, and simplifying brand – we know no one will care about your product if it’s not fast, easy-to-use, and memorable. We want to OWN the brand 500, and 500.CO helps us get there.”
“From the very beginning, .CO was built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs,” said Lori Anne Wardi, Vice President of .CO Internet SAS. “By making 500.CO its online brand, 500 Startups will role model to entrepreneurs in every corner of the world that .CO is the premium domain of choice to build the next generation of great companies online.”
“With .CO, startups can launch businesses and brands on a short, cool, credible domain name — without having to shell out a million bucks to do it,” says McClure. “That’s why we recommend .CO to companies in our portfolio, and why 500startups.com is moving to 500.CO.”
About .CO Internet S.A.S.
.CO Internet S.A.S. is the Registry Operator for the .CO top-level domain. The .CO domain offers individuals, organizations and businesses a truly global, recognizable and credible web address for branding their online presence. Thanks to leading-edge technology, enhanced security and unprecedented rights protections, the .CO domain is poised to become the world’s next premier web address. For more information about the .CO Registry, please visit www.Opportunity.co — or follow us on Twitter @dotCO.
We’ll be shortening up official Google webpages with the URL shortcut g.co, stay tuned: goo.gl/BIpz5
I would expect google to do nothing else. .co is being promoted hard and it just might become bigger than .net. I was speaking with a start up through email and he said he bought the .co before he bought .net.
Maybe there will be hope for .co after all………………….
Another well timed press release right before the year anniversary.
Just like O.co before the launch last year.
The .CO registry just has amazing timing….
Brad
This is great news! I have noticed that many people are renewing thier .co domain names! This news should help change the minds of everyone else that isnt sure to renew to do it!
Dave
“This news should help change the minds of everyone else that isnt sure to renew to do it!”
That is clearly the goal of the timing of this. However, it has no relevance to the average investor and average quality .CO domain.
Brad
g.co does make sense. It also has little relevance to the overall .co market.
As for 500.co? It’s arguably better than 500Startups.com and no doubt at a cut rate price for someone (McClure) who has previously worked with the Cointernet team.
Not exactly an independent picking a new name, buying it from a domainer, and launching… but I guess you take what you can get.
I think Brad predicted an announcement would happen this week about..let’s see…. a year ago? I think Lori Ann Ward should give him Nostradamus.co
I think I predicted a major announcement right before renewal time as well.
These .Co people are smart.
Been telling you for a year now
Amazing timing…
July 19th, 2010 – It is reported that Overstock.com buys O.co for $350K.
July 20th, 2010 – Open registration for .CO begins.
July 19th, 2010 – It is reported that Google acquires G.co
July 20th, 2010 – One year anniversary of .CO. Many people deciding on their renewals.
What a coincidence.
Brad
Pret.ty goog.ly 😉
Brad
its goes back to a post of mine about luck timing and talent, remember that one?
Its great planning and strategy which leads to great timing
Now the overstock deal I had involvement in and that deal started at ICANN Brussels maybe the Google deal was “done” months ago but waiting until now to announce it is just smart planning.
It’s official, looks like “.CO” found it’s niche on the internet … as the URL shortener extension.
@ “MHB”
I am just way to slow…. I checked ‘domining .com’, and this story had not been posted by anyone…
As soon as I made a small post about about it… I am now going to run a ‘bad 3rd’ 😉
Just to fast….Micheal!
Andrew @ DNW…also had it up faster than myself, but you were about 50 minutes in front of us all.
I wish, I would have ‘refreshed’ my browser….as I would have already seen your post and Andrews…and I would have not made my post, no reason to have multiple G .co news post.
Yours is best anyway 😉
Nice work,
‘D’
___
BTW: Any .CO fans might want to check out “Elliots Blog”….quite the amazing .co thread…to say the least
http://www.elliotsblog.com/sell-your-co-domain-names-42864
“maybe the Google deal was “done” months ago but waiting until now to announce it is just smart planning.”
If that did hold it back from months ago, I guess the .CO registry is using it as a final tool to try and avoid the renewal bloodbath that is coming.
Brad
@ jud
Silly comment I must say. So you probably think that those 1 million regs are shorteners?
No sir… what this means is that .CO has found a way to break into the big internet brands in a way that no other domain extension has done in the past, giving the darn thing instant credibility to the masses. All the while, profiting big time from it.
If fu*@&ing genius if you ask me.
The second part of that timeline should read 2011, not 2010.
Brad
Brad
They are maximizing the good news.
Like any smart businessman would
You use good news to maximize it to your benefit.
This is somehow in your opinion bad?
Mar will now rush to buy f.co 😉
a.co, g.co, k.co, o.co, t.co, z.co – are gone.
20 to go.
Good job Juan!
By “Mar” I meant Mark Zuck of course.
@ MHB
Leave Brad alone. He’s just discovered a big conspiracy called “marketing”. I’m sure he’ll come to terms with it.
X.co is gone too
godaddy
Good timing/marketing move?
No doubt.
However, with the forth-coming massive .co non-renewal bailout, total .co regs will fall below 1 million by year’s end; never to reach that level again.
These single-letter .com typos mean nothing to the long-term viability of the .co extension.
Nothing.
I just renewed my 3 .CO’s. If they were .coms, they’d be worth $xxx,xxx-1M.
ps This g.co sale did do one thing, though.
The value of GCO.com just multiplied by at least 10x.
These .Co people are smart.
—–
They’re beyond smart.
This is genius level stuff. They’re showing everyone how its done. The depth and nuance of their strategic planning has been totally impeccable- light years ahead of any other registry.
Of course, the ‘game’ they’re playing is good old fashioned “shear the sheep” – but man, what a case study in how that game is played.
For the big companies like Google it’s obviously a big advantage if the visitors can type G.CO instead of Google.com on their pads or smartphones.
But still – I wouldn’t be surprised if .Co ends up much like .ly, remembered by the average Joe as a “URL shortening service”. A.co, G.co, K.co, O.co, T.co, X.co, Z.co are good examples. I think this type of association can make it difficult for .Co to challenge .com because the everyday guy on the street will remember .Co as a URL shortener for the big companies, not a memorable internet presence.
In Europe I have yet to see a commercial, ad or company make use of a .CO . Most companies within the EU stick to their ccTLD’s or .COM if they want to cross borders.
Oh well, time will tell where we’re heading!
@LS Morgan
If they’re beyond smart I would fully expect an announcement 18 months from now that cointernet.co has been sold to the Colombian government.
That’s time for one more “registry release” party, a few more L.co before letting someone else carry the bag-o-poop. The $20+ renewal won’t and can’t be sustained and the vital valuable virtual property is gradually leaving the building.
There’s not a lot left. The perfect organization to pick up the scraps and lose money? A government body.
Take money out of the business and put it in your pockets. Once your pockets are full who cares what happens?
Hi,
@LS Morgan… Well said, They have ‘played the game’ extremely well …with this small window of opportunity…but for the most part, I think it is going to be “shearing the shleep”
As “MHB”, put it so well….
“They are maximizing the good news. Like any smart businessman would. You use good news to maximize it to your benefit.”
But,
IMHO…
When the first new 400+ ‘generic’ domain extensions come out… .CO for the most part is going to get lost in the shuffle big time.
Other, than maybe these single letter .co’s
Cheers!
‘D’
“You’re known by the company you keep.”
Google is willing to allow dot co to be attached to their brand. That will be good enough for many others to follow. No challenge to dot com, now or ever, but a huge step in people seeing dot see oh on screen every day and becoming comfortable with it.
Yawn: it is still the emperors new clothes, Google has G. Columbia Viva, Viva (yawn) you really believe Google would destroy the entire cc protocol to support .co as a recognised name, Black Tulip to each Muppet Swaggard Messiah.
They copied Twitter and Facebook simply because they entered the social market with Google plus. Not big deal. .co is very safe versus the popular Bit.li (Libya- not so safe).
Now .co will be positioned as the shortcut code because of o.co major ad campaigns. it plants a seed. Great positioning and again great for holders or llls.
Lori is a genius! She’s just getting started too. Wait till you see what she is capable of.
Brad is 100% correct. Also, I own some strong .co names, Peliculas.co, Vacacion.co
(Movies, Vacation) and I can’t get my dog to offer me even $60 for them. If those were .tv names, I could fetch 30K or more for them, and I have done that with .tv names not as well. Therefore, I don’t see it personally with .co outside of incredible marketing.
Also, do you think .co is giving steep discounts or even giving G.co to Google as a PR tool, or do you think Google really paid for it? It would not surprise me if Google got it for free or on the “cheap”
These shortened URLs are really great for smartphone users. Sounds like they are filling in the shoes that .mobi intended to do ages ago.
@MHB
COInternet people are smart indeed. Since the very beginning of their activity, they haven’t missed a single move!
the most incredible part of this news is that
Google will be using G.Co for their own use.
this is akin to admitting G.Co will be preferred to be used over Google.com
They will actually be using it and we will be seeing it all over the place.
watch out .com, you’ve just been upgraded to .Co.
—————————————-
Is this going in.
The most incredible part of this news is that
Google will be using G.Co for their own use.
This is akin to admitting G.Co will be preferred to be used over Google.com
They will be actually using it and we will be seeing it all over the place.
Watch out .com, you’ve just been upgraded to .Co
Was there a number ($$$) thrown around for this?
“Google will be using G.Co for their own use.”
If they don’t use it publicly… then there is not much to the positive for .CO speculators. If they make it for public use in some form or fashion, then it will embed .CO into the public conscience.
Just my 2 cents.
Cheers
Lori is a genius! She’s just getting started too. Wait till you see what she is capable of.
—-
If she manages braintrust behind their marketing strategy, every Fortune 500 headhunter should be sending her gift baskets and weekend spa packages.
I think .co got a bit ‘oversold’ in the domainer world, but their strategic planning has been off-the-hook impressive.
“This is akin to admitting G.Co will be preferred to be used over Google.com
They will be actually using it and we will be seeing it all over the place.
Watch out .com, you’ve just been upgraded to .Co”
///////////////////
I would suggest reading what Google have actually said about it,
““”In the world of URLs, bigger is not always better. In 2009, we helped shrink up long, unwieldy URLs by launching our public URL shortener, goo.gl. Today, we’re announcing a new URL shortcut that will only link to official Google products and services: g.co.”
Viva COlombia ! Me gusta !
@Brad
You say these things like the .CO team is manipulative but your cynicism is misplaced. They are, of course, trying to do what is best for the registry and they have done a fantastic job so far. They have taken an awesome (if accidental) asset and turned it into an incredibly successful business. They are helping entrepreneurs by giving them another option in terms of a credible and (dare I say) sexy domain extension.
One day you will have to accept that the extension (while run out of Colombia) is not .COlombia. It is the .co as in .co.uk or .co.jp or .co.it. That is how people see it. That is why it is gaining popularity in the UK and that is why it is the best new extension since .com.
Congratulations COInternet! You guys are doing a fantastic job! I would say this even if I had no interest in the extension….which I do 😉
Wonder what’s left for Apple? a.co was taken.
May be M.CO ( for Mac)
I really see a new trend shifting towards shorten extension of .CO
These are the real trend indicators where big mobile online shopping on-the-go, social media, internet companies such twitter, google, amazon, overstock etc get into short and sexy brands of a.co, g.co, k.co, o.co, t.co, z.co, x.co that are perfect use in gadgets smartphones, tablets and mobile internets… simply because it is short and quick to type in… and easy to recognized in distinctive brands…new and refreshing..
The shifting trends of these domain names are getting into shorten words or letters with short extension like .CO
Once all this shifting use of big companies rolled out in global market place, there will be many smaller companies want to catch up with the successful big players, and there will adapt .CO as short and sexy branding.
I see the shifting trends where:
.com becomes an Old Tech (started where traditional value of words.com normally used in PC in old days)
.CO is a New Tech ( new tech refers to short, quick and easy usage…best convenience use in all mobile gadgets)
These are my opinions…ha ha…
Here is the message a g.co. I would feel much better if it was used for public use. I am not sure how to feel about this….
You’ve arrived at this page because you typed or linked to “g.co”, Google’s official URL shortcut just for Google websites.
Whenever you see a short “g.co” link, you can trust that it will always take you to a Google product or service.
We also have a public URL shortener at goo.gl. You can use this to shorten up URLs across the web.
It all will depend, if then do random codes, like goo.gl/kC1WG – they will be less attractive.
People like meaningful URLs like http://brief.ly/g.co-launch/
would like to see Google put a search bar on g.co
until then, just click on the Google logo on g.co
Nice one google, will be interesting to see where it crops up. I should imagine that mapping g.co to google.com pages will take a little more work than a 301 and htaccess hack, monkey work for someone Im sure.
Earlier today I didnt own any .co , then I bought 1 .co and now I have allthe.co , awesome 🙂
I have toomuch.co
I like your site AllThe.co! It’s so easy to list. Thanks!
Thanks, welcome aboard y’all! Ive not used this script before and Ive got a couple more creases to iron out but yeah Im trying to keep it as simple and functional as possible. Hope you can get some sales!
I just need to know how to edit/delete my listings
After all this hype today and all the hype .co has done for it’s name I think I can say that .co is now in the #2 spot for domain names. Now just roll with this for a sec. I am a hardcore domainer and in many of my recent searches for the .com jewels which are hard to find I have noticed that the .net,.org and the .info are not registered but the .com and .co are taken. I really do believe that the current .co registration numbers are most likely 2 mil + right now. My advise is stay away from the .net and grab the .co if the .com is not available. This means all of us that own .co are going to be in the money!
Hi Christopher. That is actually a very good question!
The links to delete or amend a listing are contained in the email confirmation the system sent to the address you submitted. (email me the details to contact(@)allthe.co if you didnt receive this mail, and I’ll go in and make the changes/deletions you require manually)
Because Ive got it on the slackest settings right now you didnt need to click anything in the email to confirm or activate the ad, so not suprisingly you never would have had cause to see that. In future when the accounts functions are live, those links are included in the sidebar. My bad, thanks for pointing out the issue I appreciate it.
Ive altered the settings and in future a post will require email confirmation to go live and I’ll be adding a buyer/seller/users guide later today.
.CO is firing at the moment.
Companies are replacing their garbage .COM names for .CO.
The big boys are using it for redirection and rebranding.
Wait another 5 years.
This is not a .ME, .MOBI or .TV, .CM etc.
.CO is on a completely other level.
That’s why it has .COM investors running scared and posting massive amounts of comments. They are beginning to understand it is starting to decrease the value of .COM. It will continue as well. They are scared and frustrated, especially if they did not purchase any .CO. Why else would they post? Think of the psychological aspect, not just the words you read.
You have to also rememeber that when they post arrogant remarks, the ones that sheepishly post “.com is king” are only reiterating what they have been told. They are sheep that follow the crowd. No innovation and no contribution to the growth of the Internet. Sheep are very easy to spot.
.CO is going global, and it will become a true TLD.
The morons that compare it to other extensions that have been realeased over teh last few years are either fools or not very educated. Either way, don’t give them 2 cents of your time. The fact that people are hating means it is a threat.
@Peter
“…I have noticed that the .net,.org and the .info are not registered but the .com and .co are taken…”
I have been buying .CO as the best option when .com is taken, even the .net . org .info are still available.
I haven’t bought any .net since .CO came on market.
To me .CO is the best alternative option when .com is taken.
Forget about .net…
well what this shows that most domainers are idiots complaining about the .co suffix.as i stated several months ago when o.co purchased the o.co and branded the stadium this was a big deal. now we see several more top companies move into the .co market.and with top tier companies going after .co it will not take 15 yrs for .co to be more commonplace than .com. just look back on this board and review all the stupid commets about .co.
what this shows domainers are stupid and fail to understand the future
impediments to selling domain names.the domainer intelligent commets are far and few between.the truth is ugly as i have stated many times before.here it is again in print.
@LS-
“Of course, the ‘game’ they’re playing is good old fashioned “shear the sheep” – but man, what a case study in how that game is played.”
It all about making money – unfortunatly the people that think they are going to make money will not – kind of like the late nite tv guy telling you to buy his $24.95 book on how “you can also make a $Trillion in Real Estate”
There are simply too many “geniuses” in the .co nation
Thank God, I registered some .co last year. Easier for me to promote and develope It with shorter names, and the most important is that dot co names don’t have any restrictions to register ’em, at least until today 🙂 It could works globally rather than other cctlds.
It doesn’t get any bigger and better than Google in my opinion.
This is a huge win for .CO.
This is making even more people outside the domain industry stand up and take notice of the .CO
Good luck to all!
How about one letter .me?
Read this research into whois:
http://thatis.me/~jBt$XJ
G.co has been a joke. There is nothing really going on there, they just made this announcement days before the 1 yr anniversary of the .co release. It was a smart move to get people renewing their domains. Other than that, G.co is not good at all!
I also believe that google did this to promote the .co domains, otherwise it makes no sense for google to use a confusing domain
Google won’t do something just to help the .co registrar to sell more domains or something like that. Do you know how much money Google makes? In a day probably more than the amount the .co registrar made in a year. If Google announced it is likely because is going to happen. I mean, it makes sense. g.co is just a four character domains. Super short and convenient for a shortening url.
LOL
Now that o.co, or is it o.com, err Overstock.com have reverted to their former name, all the nutsac riders comments above are looking pretty stupid
Like i said they would…but of course Berkens has deleted all my comments from his blog b/c I don’t tow the ‘company line’
F/U
Aggro
Just went through my comments Logs and see you have 11 pages of comments or well over 100 comments posted on the blog.
Not sure what the hell your talking about