One company is responsible for registering over 97% of the 9,025 .Voting new gTLD domain names.
We reported earlier today that .Voting had 9,025 domain names registered after the first day of general availability
However we see that 8,811 of the 9,025 domain names were registered by the domain name registrar, Registry Gate GmbH” which seems to be a member of the Key Drive family of registrars.
All of the domain names registered at Registry Gate were registered to the same registrant:
Registrant Name: Chief Executive Officer
Registrant Organization: innotarget AG & Co. KG
Registrant Street: Max-Stromeyer-Strasse 116
Registrant City: Konstanz
Registrant Postal Code: 78467
Registrant Country: DE
Registrant Phone: +49.363937503639
Registrant Phone Ext: 3750
Registrant Email: hostmaster@innotarget.net
Now here is where it gets interesting
Here is the whois record for innotarget.net which is the registrants email address on the .Voting domains:
Registrant Organization: Innotarget AG & Co. KG
Registrant Street: Max-Stromeyer-Str. 116
Registrant City: Konstanz
Registrant State/Province:
Registrant Postal Code: 78467
Registrant Country: DE
Registrant Phone: +49.753136393720
Registrant Email: 118e7782r4a@opensrs.namespace4you.com
Admin Name: Dirk Hamm
The email address for Mr. Hamm on the ICANN new gTLD application for .Voting is dirk.hamm@votingtool.de, which uses the Name Servers:
ns.namespace4you.de
ns2.namespace4you.de
These are the same Name Servers used on all of the 8,811 .Voting domain names registered to innotarget AG & Co. KG
This certainly would not be the first case of a new gTLD registry registering domains in its own extension but certainly raises the bar to a whole new level in terms of the percentage of domains registered and less than an transparent manner.
Is .VOTE launched ?
no, not even in sunrise yet
Strange, I’d rather go for a .VOTE instead of a .VOTING. I think .BUILD has the same problem : .CONSTRUCTION was launched first and now has less than 3000 names registered…
Indeed it is strange.
I think there will be some empty ones for sure but it all takes time. This is so new to everyone the anticipation is just as massive as the fear and hesitation to jump right in. I personally don’t see it to be very risky as to which domain extension you go for as long as you buy decent domain names relevent to your site you’re already a winner.
In terms of investing, I people should think years and years ahead.
.voting numbers seemed like .xyz, the extension did not seem that great to have that many people lined up to pay that sort of money for random voting type domains. The registries are only hurting themselves.
Might explain why .voting was so reluctant to turn over its zone files.
Gives a whole new meaning to rigging. 🙂
.Vote has not launched and I don’t see it on the schedule
I seem to remember there was a bit of discussion about the registry/registrant divide at various ICANN meetings prior to the launch of the new gTLD programme. The problem with some of the new gTLDs is that artificial scarcity of high value keyword domains is being created by the registries either reserving domains or plundering their own TLDs before anyone else gets a chance to register domains. This artificial scarcity kills natural development partterns in TLDs and can, in extreme cases, turn the TLD into a Dead Zone where there’s little development or consumer interest.
Well I reviewed the .voting domains that were registered I would say that vast majority would not be in huge demand
Would they be potential end user sales or campaign sales?
John
I have no idea here are the registered domains starting with the letter A:
a-tour-de-peilz.voting
aachen.voting
aalborg.voting
aalst.voting
aanekoski.voting
aarau.voting
aarhus.voting
aaron.voting
abakan.voting
abbotsford.voting
abby.voting
abchasien.voting
abdul.voting
abe.voting
abel.voting
aberdeen.voting
abgeordnete.voting
abgeordneten.voting
abgeordneter.voting
abha.voting
abhasija.voting
abidjan.voting
abilene-tx.voting
abilene.voting
abilenetx.voting
abilenian.voting
abkhaz.voting
abkhazia.voting
abkhazian.voting
abkhazians.voting
abraham.voting
abu-dhabi.voting
abudhabi.voting
abuja.voting
abuse.voting
abuses.voting
accra.voting
acevedo.voting
acharnes.voting
achim.voting
achmed.voting
achmet.voting
ackermann.voting
acosta.voting
ada.voting
adams.voting
adan.voting
adana.voting
addie.voting
addis-abeba.voting
addisabeba.voting
adela.voting
adele.voting
adeline.voting
adenta-east.voting
adentaeast.voting
adhoc.voting
adkins.voting
adliswil.voting
adolf.voting
adolfo.voting
adolph.voting
adrian.voting
adriana.voting
adrienne.voting
adschman.voting
advanced.voting
advertisement.voting
advertisements.voting
affoltern-am-albis.voting
affoltern.voting
afghan.voting
afghanestan.voting
afghans.voting
aflao.voting
africa.voting
african.voting
africans.voting
afrika.voting
afrikaans.voting
afrikanische-union.voting
afrikanischeunion.voting
afyonkarahisar.voting
agia-paraskevi.voting
agii-anargyri-kamatero.voting
agii-anargyri.voting
agios-dimitrios.voting
agnes.voting
ago.voting
agogo.voting
agona-swedru.voting
agonaswedru.voting
agram.voting
agrinio.voting
aguilar.voting
aguirre.voting
agustin.voting
agypten.voting
ahad-rafida.voting
ahmad.voting
ahmed.voting
ahmedabad.voting
ahmet.voting
ahrens.voting
aileen.voting
aimee.voting
air.voting
airline.voting
airlines.voting
airports.voting
aisha.voting
aix-en-provence.voting
akersberga.voting
akhisar.voting
akim-oda.voting
akron-oh.voting
akron.voting
akronite.voting
akronoh.voting
aksaray.voting
aktionaer.voting
aktionaere.voting
aktiv.voting
aktivitaet.voting
aktivitaeten.voting
al-ain.voting
al-arabiya-as-saudiya.voting
al-baha.voting
al-bahrayn.voting
al-chafdschi.voting
al-chardsch.voting
al-chubar.voting
al-dschazair.voting
al-dschubail.voting
al-hawiyya.voting
al-imarat-al-arabiya-al-muttahida.voting
al-iraq.voting
al-kuwayt.voting
al-maghrib.voting
al-mubarraz.voting
al-qatif.voting
al-qurayyat.voting
al-tuqba.voting
al-urdunn.voting
al-yaman.voting
alabaman.voting
alabamas.voting
alabamian.voting
alana.voting
alaskan.voting
alaskas.voting
alba.voting
albacete.voting
albanian.voting
albanians.voting
albers.voting
albert.voting
alberta.voting
alberto.voting
albertslund.voting
albrecht.voting
albuquerque.voting
albuquerqueans.voting
alcala-de-henares.voting
alcalade.voting
alcaladedehenares.voting
alcobendas.voting
alcorcon.voting
alden.voting
aldershot.voting
alec.voting
alejandra.voting
alejandro.voting
alessandria.voting
alesund.voting
alex.voting
alexander.voting
alexandra.voting
alexandria-va.voting
alexandria.voting
alexandrian.voting
alexandriava.voting
alexandroupoli.voting
alexis.voting
alfonso.voting
alfonzo.voting
alford.voting
alfred.voting
alfreda.voting
alfredo.voting
algeciras.voting
algerian.voting
algerians.voting
alicante.voting
alicia.voting
alina.voting
aline.voting
alingsas.voting
alisa.voting
alisha.voting
alison.voting
alissa.voting
alkmaar.voting
allan.voting
allen.voting
allenstein.voting
allentonian.voting
allentown-pa.voting
allentown.voting
allentownpa.voting
allie.voting
allschwil.voting
allyson.voting
alma.voting
almelo.voting
almere.voting
almeria.voting
almetjewsk.voting
almirante-brown.voting
alofi.voting
alonzo.voting
alphadog.voting
alphatier.voting
alphen-aan-den-rijn.voting
alphen.voting
alphenaandenrijn.voting
alphonse.voting
alphonso.voting
alt.voting
alta.voting
alternativen.voting
althea.voting
altmann.voting
alton.voting
altschewsk.voting
altstaetten.voting
alva.voting
alvarado.voting
alvarez.voting
alvaro.voting
alvin.voting
alyce.voting
alyson.voting
alyssa.voting
alytus.voting
amado.voting
amalia.voting
amana-md.voting
amann.voting
amarillo.voting
amarilloan.voting
amazing.voting
amazon-montana.voting
amazon-river.voting
amazonmontana.voting
ambelokipi-menemeni.voting
ambelokipi.voting
amber.voting
amelia.voting
american-samoan.voting
american-samoans.voting
american.voting
americans.voting
americansamoan.voting
americansamoans.voting
amie.voting
amman.voting
amos.voting
amparo.voting
amstelveen.voting
amsterdam.voting
amstetten.voting
amy.voting
anaheimer.voting
ananindeua.voting
anapolis.voting
anastasia.voting
anchorage.voting
anchoragite.voting
ancona.voting
ancyra.voting
and.voting
anderlecht.voting
anders.voting
anderson.voting
andorran.voting
andorrans.voting
andrea.voting
andrei.voting
andrej.voting
andres.voting
andrews.voting
andrey.voting
andria.voting
andy.voting
anette.voting
angarsk.voting
angeleno.voting
angelholm.voting
angelia.voting
angelica.voting
angeline.voting
angelique.voting
angelita.voting
angelo.voting
angers.voting
angie.voting
angolan.voting
angolans.voting
anguillan.voting
anguillans.voting
anibal.voting
anita.voting
ankara.voting
anloga.voting
ann-arbor.voting
ann-arborite.voting
ann.voting
annabelle.voting
annarbor.voting
annecy.voting
annegret.voting
anneliese.voting
annelise.voting
annette.voting
annmarie.voting
ansfelden.voting
antakya.voting
antalya.voting
antananarivo.voting
anthony.voting
antibes.voting
antigua-barbuda.voting
antigua-und-barbuda.voting
antigua.voting
antiguabarbuda.voting
antiguan.voting
antiguans.voting
antioch-ca.voting
antioch.voting
antiochca.voting
antiocher.voting
antje.voting
antoine.voting
antoinette.voting
anton.voting
antone.voting
antonia.voting
antony.voting
antrazyt.voting
antwan.voting
antwerpen.voting
aotearoa.voting
aparecida.voting
aparecidade-goiania.voting
apartment.voting
apartments.voting
apel.voting
apeldoorn.voting
apia.voting
appel.voting
apples.voting
application.voting
applications.voting
applikation.voting
applikationen.voting
appointment.voting
appointments.voting
approval.voting
apsny.voting
aquatorialguinea.voting
arab.voting
arabia.voting
arabic.voting
arabs.voting
aracaju.voting
araceli.voting
arad.voting
arar.voting
arbeitgeber.voting
arbon.voting
archangelsk.voting
archie.voting
are.voting
arendal.voting
arezzo.voting
arg.voting
argenteuil.voting
argentinean.voting
argentineans.voting
argentines.voting
argentinian.voting
argentinians.voting
argentinien.voting
ariel.voting
arizonan.voting
arizonas.voting
arizonian.voting
arkansan.voting
arkansas.voting
arklow.voting
arlene.voting
arles.voting
arline.voting
arlington.voting
arlingtonite.voting
arlingtontexas.voting
arlingtontx.voting
armand.voting
armando.voting
armawir.voting
armenian.voting
armenians.voting
armenien.voting
armin.voting
arndt.voting
arne.voting
arnhem.voting
arno.voting
arnshalde.voting
arnulfo.voting
arpa.voting
arrangement.voting
arrangements.voting
arriyadh.voting
arron.voting
arsamas.voting
artemiwsk.voting
arth.voting
artjom.voting
arts.voting
artur.voting
arturo.voting
aruban.voting
arubans.voting
arvadan.voting
as-sudan.voting
as-suma.voting
asamankese.voting
aschgabad.voting
aserbaidschan.voting
ashaiman.voting
ashford.voting
ashlee.voting
ashley.voting
asia.voting
asian.voting
askim.voting
askoy.voting
asmara.voting
asnieres-sur-seine.voting
asnieres.voting
asnieressurseine.voting
assen.voting
assipowitschy.voting
astana.voting
asti.voting
astrachan.voting
atg.voting
athen.voting
athenian.voting
athens-clarke-county.voting
athensclarkecounty.voting
athina.voting
athiopien.voting
athlone.voting
atkinson.voting
atlanta.voting
atlantaga.voting
atlantan.voting
atschinsk.voting
attika.voting
aubervilliers.voting
aubrey.voting
auctions.voting
audra.voting
audrey.voting
auer.voting
august.voting
augusta.voting
augustaga.voting
augustan.voting
augustin.voting
augustine.voting
augustus.voting
aulnay-sous-bois.voting
aulnaysousbois.voting
aurelia.voting
aurelio.voting
aurora-il.voting
aurorail.voting
auroran.voting
aus.voting
aussies.voting
ausstellung.voting
ausstellungen.voting
austin.voting
austinite.voting
austintexas.voting
austintx.voting
australian.voting
australians.voting
australien.voting
austrian.voting
austrians.voting
aut.voting
autos.voting
autumn.voting
avarua.voting
avellaneda.voting
avery.voting
avignon.voting
avila.voting
avis.voting
axel.voting
aydin.voting
ayers.voting
ayisyen.voting
ayleen.voting
aylesbury.voting
aylin.voting
aze.voting
azerbaijani.voting
azerbaijanis.voting
azeri.voting
azeris.voting
It is a classic mix of campaign and geos, Michael,
The problem is that some of these are English language terms where English language is not the first language. Voting also tends to be highly localised so some voting sites will be in the local ccTLD. Political parties tend to focus on a brand identity with all candidates running under the party domain. It is very much a question of marketing and packaging. There are quite a few American geos there but for campaigning, the .COM and .ORG might be the obvious choices. Unless they come with a free electronic voting machine, this gTLD might find it hard to get registrants. One possible market would be television/radio shows with audience voting but many of them use premium phone numbers to make money.
John
I respect your opinion
Your a smart guy and make relevant points
So why apply to operatea registry, spend the money and then register 97% of all registered domains on the 1st day.
I mean how is that helpful on any level?
It is possibly the trickle down effect, Michael,
The registry may try to use some of these domains to encourage use of the gTLD. It will have to reach out to the city and town councils and perhaps offer the category killer ones (the geos) at no cost to build publicity. With some local voting, (legislation and local decisions) the issue being voted upon is going to be highly topical so those domain names would be unpredictable, possibly unique, and one year wonders in terms of registrations. The second set, the personal names, is the other part of the effect. When the gTLD gets some usage and publicity, they could, theoretically, be sold or auctioned as functional vanity domains.
Some of the recent gTLDs like .MOBI and .ASIA also went for the auction approach on high value keyword domains but those gTLDs were not quite as differentiated as this gTLD. The .MOBI was supposed to be the mobile TLD but it was still generic. The .ASIA was supposed to be a regional TLD like .EU but unlike .EU, there’s no common legislative infrastructure or economic community so it was more generic than regional. It was also up against very strong ccTLDs (.AU and .CN for example) in the region. This is purely a voting TLD and the TLD string acts defines and limits it.
By allowing these domain names to trickle out it should, if it works, create a continuing interest in the gTLD. However it is only the first day and this is going to be an extreme niche gTLD so it will be a very long play. This gTLD and the other vote related gTLDs are something that the market really hasn’t seen before – event driven TLDs. This is where events dictate registration pattens rather than demand. (Actually .bio might also have an event driven element.) The closest example in .COM is when a celebrity dies and there is a burst of domain names registered with the celebrity’s name in them except those are typically being registered for resale. The voting domains would be purely functional or campaign related. The spikes in registation figures may appear at election times and as such the gTLD’s growth will occur in bursts.
This new gTLD isn’t the only one to have significant arms-length activity from the registry registering domains in bulk. It often more noticeable because of the low numbers of new gTLD registrations without any appreciable publicity driven Landrush phase. Everyone still thinks of these new TLD launches being like .EU, .MOBI or .CO with hundreds of thousands of domains being registered in the first few days. The problem with these expectations is that they don’t take the niche nature of many of these new gTLDs into consideration.
As somebody who owned nearly 200 state “voting” domains in .ORG and .COM during an election year and dropped virtually all of them without any sale whatsoever that I can remember, I just don’t see the need for .VOTING.