This is a Guest Post written by Andrew Merriam who is the Business Development Coordinator for Top Level Design LLC, the new TLD registry for .wiki, .ink, and an applicant for an additional 7 TLDs. Andrew has been involved in Top Level Design’s applications from their start and has a background working with CEO Raymond King on a separate project, ICANNWiki, where he first entered the world of domain names, TLD expansion, and wikis.
Here is the post which appears unedited:
There are a LOT of names in any new registry
.Com has over 113 million domains registered, and Verisign’s recent Domain Name Report states that any TLD registry has about 10⁹⁸ (Yes, 98 zeros) possible second-level domains (almost a googlel!).
Of course the mathematical possibility of registrable names is substantially different than what makes sense to register, since the DNS exists so that we do not have to remember clunky IP addresses.
The .Wiki Sunrise phase ends on Monday at 23:59 UTC, and it’s been highly productive given that hundreds of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands secured their .wiki addresses.
Now we’re ready to start making .wiki widely available.
On May 8th, .Wiki will enter Landrush, the phase in which motivated buyers can apply for the best names before the general public. Landrush will only last 2 weeks and involves an application fee. Any overlapping applications will go to auction.
I want to provide an overview of what the opportunity is and what kinds of names will be available during Landrush but likely won’t be available by the time Landrush concludes on May 22nd and General Availability opens on May 26th.
First, do you know what a wiki is?
Of course you do.
You’ve probably already been on Wikipedia twice today.
The .wiki TLD promises a future of community-specific wikis, whether they be dedicated to your favorite fan series, sports, or cities, and the opportunity to get many of these names will come and go during Landrush.
Here are a few general categories of names that you will likely find available during Landrush:
1. Nicknames for cities; Neighborhoods; Non-Capitals –
If it isn’t a huge world capital or is a nickname, then it’s available. Think: BigApple.wiki, WindyCity.wiki, Soho.wiki, Florence.wiki, Firenze.wiki.
2. Alternative sport and hobby names:
If it isn’t associated with a professional league, it will probably be available: Whitewater.wiki, Rafting.wiki, Kiting.wiki, FiveCard.wiki, Crossfit.wiki, Carpentry.wiki.
3. Specific academic topics and interests:
If you take one step beyond the general and into the specific, it will be available:
Ocean.wiki, Reef.wiki, Coral.wiki, Mammal.wiki.
4. Fan series or followings:
.Wiki is the perfect place for fan and super fan followings, barring the registration of trademarks. We have not included any references to fan series, sports teams, TV shows, or movies in our premium list.
Generic SLDs related to these topics will be available.
5. Popular first and last names:
Now that I look at it, we didn’t even reserve my name.
So while you may have competition for Andrew.wiki, chances are you can beat me in an auction.
5. Non-English terms:
Seriously, any and all words in every language other than English should be available.
6. Numbers:
As a New Mexican I recognize the value in 505.wiki as an important cultural identifier and domain name, but many area codes and other domain names that have numeric meaning are available to be landrushed.
7. Non Trademark Clearing House (TMCH) Brands:
Those brands that use common acronyms, terms, or non-TMCH validated marks will have their first chance to secure their name and start building their corporate wiki, during LandRush which is widely recognized as an indispensable internal collaboration tool.
Finally, yes, we have a very short list of premium names that will not be available at landrush, like, really short, at 2,552 names.
Go see if you can get any other new registry to tell you how long their premium lists are, and then come back and participate in the .wiki landrush.
We don’t agree with the mindset that many other registries have of grabbing up tens of thousands of their own names.
We expect to release our premiums in early 2015.
So, for example, basketball.wiki is not available at landrush, but Hoops.Wiki is as is domain names like Playoffs.wiki.
Stay tuned for more news on those other 2,552 names!!
So, there’s no need to get too far out of the box, just think of strong community identifiers and compelling topics and find a supportive registrar today!
Landrush will open and close before you know it.
You can read more about the .Wiki Registry here
The list of registrars where you can apply for a .Wiki domain during landrush is here
