Is your regional tourist attraction on the map?

Sydney gTLD plain logoAustralia has a lively and varied regional tourism industry. From scenic rural drives to trendy winery day trips, we love to encourage people to see more of the country than just its capital cities. There’s no denying, however, that bustling capitals like Melbourne and Sydney are often the first port of call for international and interstate visitors. The challenge for regional tourist attractions is to market themselves as uniquely appealing while playing up their proximity to capital cities.
Sydney gTLD plain logoAustralia has a lively and varied regional tourism industry. From scenic rural drives to trendy winery day trips, we love to encourage people to see more of the country than just its capital cities. There’s no denying, however, that bustling capitals like Melbourne and Sydney are often the first port of call for international and interstate visitors. The challenge for regional tourist attractions is to market themselves as uniquely appealing while playing up their proximity to capital cities.

One way for regional tourist destinations to create a link with their closest capital city is with smart online marketing. New Top-Level Domains (TLDs), like .melbourne and .sydney, open up a world of opportunities for regional destinations to ensure they’re on the map when prospective tourists are planning their travel itinerary. 

Marketing by association

Many regional tourist attractions are already using their nearest capital as a marketing tool. If you’re offering a rewarding tourism experience ‘just a short drive’ from Melbourne, or ‘easily accessed by train’ from Sydney, why not make that a selling point? Making a link with the capital on your website can be genuinely helpful for tourists who are keen to plan travel times and distances. From a marketing perspective, it’s also good SEO strategy to include mentions of the nearest capital as part of a keyword plan for your site when you’re looking to lure visitors from the city.

Lachlan Wells, senior digital marketing strategist with SEO company, Optimising, says that “.melbourne or .sydney are perfect for a hotel, convention centre or other tourism business where the city is integral to its marketing.”

Good advertising is also about trust, however, so it’s important that regional destinations don’t confuse visitors by linking to the capital if it’s not relevant. There’s no point “pretending to be Melbourne-based”, says Mr Wells.

But for many tourist attractions already claiming a close association with the capital, newly available TLDs could be a productive addition to their marketing arsenal. Along with tourists, it’s a great way to remind locals that you’re only a day trip away, and to follow the trends set by other city-based major attractions like the Melbourne Festival (www.festival.melbourne), Luna Park Sydney (www.lunapark.sydney) and Sydney Bridge Climb (www.bridgeclimb.sydney). 

Unique branding

According to Mr Wells, another way to utilise the new TLDs is as part of a branding strategy. A unique domain is “easy to remember and good for association with your product”, he says.  It’s easy to see this in action when you look at some of the tourist attractions already using the new TLDs, like www.biketours.melbourne.

From a business management point of view, registering a unique domain is also about protecting your brand. You may already own www.janesbakery.com, but you may choose to snap up www.janesbakery.sydney to preserve the integrity of your name.

Mr Wells points out that businesses should not attempt to create duplicate websites based on the new TLDs, as this may attract Google penalties, but it is possible to redirect new domains to existing sites. New businesses, of course, can get ahead of the competition by establishing their websites using the new domains or creating new, geo-targeted landing pages or microsites that complement your existing website.

The new TLDs have also opened up a huge range of domain names and keywords that were registered under .com long ago, which provides opportunities for regional tourist attractions to own their niche. You may find www.countrywinery.com is already in use, but www.countrywinery.sydney is still up for grabs.

Many tourists make holiday plans based on staying in a particular city. Once they arrive, they may be surprised to find that some of the most exciting and stimulating activities are actually outside the city limits. And we’ve all heard the one about city dwellers not appreciating the tourist attractions ‘in their own backyards’.

Ensure your regional tourist destination is ‘on the map’ with locals and visitors alike by using your nearest capital city across your online marketing.

This article was sourced with the permission of ARI Registry Services from the .SYDNEY website from:
iconic.sydney/media-release/is-your-regional-tourist-attraction-on-the-map/

Nominet Announces New Analytics Tool For .UK That Gives Enterprises Unprecedented Insight Into Their Internet Traffic

Turing by Nominet logoToday (11 June) [Nominet] announces the launch of a new visualisation tool for Domain Name System (DNS) traffic that quickly produces meaningful analytics from vast amounts of data. A British world-first, turing by Nominet gives enterprises unparalleled insight into their internet traffic and represents a powerful breakthrough in the war against cybercrime, enabling them to identify threats and improve network efficiency.

Turing by Nominet logoToday (11 June) [Nominet] announces the launch of a new visualisation tool for Domain Name System (DNS) traffic that quickly produces meaningful analytics from vast amounts of data. A British world-first, turing by Nominet gives enterprises unparalleled insight into their internet traffic and represents a powerful breakthrough in the war against cybercrime, enabling them to identify threats and improve network efficiency.

Every time someone types in a web address or an app makes an internet request, a DNS query is generated.  Nominet processes four billion queries every day and the company’s DNS experts originally developed turing as existing network tools couldn’t process the volume or nature of internet traffic crossing its systems fast enough. It quickly proved invaluable, identifying a major vulnerability in server software, as well as helping to track down malicious activity over the internet.

Whilst it was initially developed to help Nominet as a registry, there was an evident gap in the market. Over the last four years, the company has developed the technology into a product for network administrators, cyber analysts and DNS data experts. turing can perform a multitude of services including identifying botnets, pinpointing latency issues, recognising different bugs and errors, as well as detecting malware and man-in-the-middle cyber attacks.

turing is unique as it is capable of rapidly storing and analysing DNS query data in-depth. Using a patent-pending DNS metadata storage architecture, it can process terabytes of DNS traffic, handling over 250,000 queries per second, providing both real-time and historic overviews of network activity. It gives enterprises a new, tactile and very visual way of working with this data. It helps them to understand what their normal traffic patterns look like so that they can quickly spot any anomalies and take action, whether that’s to optimise systems for performance or efficiency, to identify and deal with malicious behaviour, or exploited or vulnerable code.

Russell Haworth, CEO, Nominet, commented on the launch: “We’re excited that we can now give any organisation running DNS services a key to unlocking the patterns in the data. One of the world’s largest ISPs is already using our technology and it has also attracted the attention of some major corporations who see its potential for spotting vulnerabilities in what they thought were secure networks.”

Simon McCalla, CTO, Nominet whose team developed the tool, commented: “Any enterprise with a large DNS infrastructure will know how difficult it is to understand what is happening with real-time and historic traffic. To build it we had to stop thinking like engineers and start thinking like detectives. Up until now, the available network management tools have simply not had the capability to rapidly store and analyse DNS query data in depth. turing changes the game completely.”

turing has been developed to provide real-time visualisation and analysis of DNS data which can be easily used by any enterprise. Its features include:

  • An overview window which shows a summary of DNS traffic, allowing the user to select a particular time scale – from a whole year down to a single day. Traffic information is shown in a simple graphical format where the size and colour of each dot represents the query volume and the ratio of error responses for each time segment
  • A purpose-built storage and retrieval system that means that manipulating vast quantities of data is simple and fast
  • It can be viewed on any browser on any device, circumventing the need for bespoke hardware
  • An intuitive touch-based user interface to easily interact with the data
  • A rich API to integrate with other network management systems

Find out more at www.nominet.org.uk/turing and for more information, see our infographic.

Notes to Editors

turing by Nominet has been designed to work on Linux and Microsoft Windows platforms and supports a variety of database engines. The hardware required depends on the topology of each customer’s network but needs no special provision to implement the software.  In some designs the turing components can be deployed on existing servers in the customer’s network.

This Nominet news release was sourced from:
www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/new-analytics-tool-gives-enterprises-unprecedented-insight-their-internet-traffic

 

ICANN: Board Approves Singapore Hub Expansion

ICANN logo[news release] As part of its globalization strategy, ICANN established an Asia Pacific Hub in Singapore in August 2013, to better serve its regional stakeholders.

To further such globalization objectives, the ICANN Board has approved that the Singapore office will be moving into a larger space in FY16. The staff have identified and evaluated the location and cost of a suitable office facility. The targeted move-in date is 1 October 2015.

Over the past year, both Singapore and Istanbul offices have grown in terms of staff strength as well as functional support. There are currently 18 staff members based in Singapore providing a range of services such as registry and registrar services management, stakeholder engagement, contractual compliance and customer service support, as well as support functions such as operations, IT, communications, legal, finance and HR.

In Istanbul, there are 12 staff members also providing a range of services including registry and registrar services, contractual compliance, policy development support, communications and HR, and plans to hire a Customer Service Center role to support our globalization strategy to provide multi-lingual support.

This positions ICANN for long-term stability to continue our work to maintain a secure, stable and interoperable Internet, and cements the vision of having three global hubs to serve the global community.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-06-10-en

 

 

 

 

 

Donuts Clears 1.369 Million Reserved Domain Names for Registration

Donuts logo[news release] Beginning this week, Donuts Inc., the world’s largest registry for new gTLDs, will release for registration 1.369 million previously reserved domain names. The company will make these names available in batches each week between June and September

Donuts logo[news release] Beginning this week, Donuts Inc., the world’s largest registry for new gTLDs, will release for registration 1.369 million previously reserved domain names. The company will make these names available in batches each week between June and September.

Those interested in these valuable, frequently searched terms can secure them through accredited domain name registrars. These names include just over 1.2 million terms (in 144 gTLDs) that were previously withheld to address the potential for “name collision,” or the possible leakage of Internet traffic from a closed private network onto the broader domain name system (or DNS), an issue no longer of concern. On September 9, Donuts also will release thousands of extremely desirable two-character combinations across all its gTLDs.

The release comes on the heels of significant milestones in the growth of new domains. Just last week, new gTLD registrations topped the six million mark. And on Tuesday, Lionsgate, the U.S. film studio, began promotion of its latest feature in The Hunger Games franchise by directing viewers to TheHungerGames.MOVIE.

Names are highly valuable

“This is an opportunity to secure some very strong domain names,” said Donuts co-founder and CEO Paul Stahura. “Over the past several months we’ve had thousands of inquiries about these names, many of which we’re offering at standard pricing. These are terms that already enjoy a high rate of lookup traffic and have great potential for appreciation.”

The names:

  • include highly intuitive, specific or usable terms, like Airport.LIMO, Digital.CAMERA and A1.DEALS;
  • along with other unregistered Donuts domains, receive billions of traffic lookups per month;
  • are available at low, standard prices (less than two percent are premium priced); and
  • will be offered via Donuts’ Early Access Program (EAP) for the first seven days of availability of each batch.

Launch Dates and Categories

Launch Date 

Category 

 Top-level domains

June 10, 2015

Photography

.PHOTOGRAPHY, .CAMERA, .PHOTOS,
.GALLERY, .GRAPHICS, .MEDIA, .PICTURES,
.PRODUCTIONS, .DIGITAL

June 17, 2015

Business

.ENTERPRISES, .MANAGEMENT, .INDUSTRIES,
.INTERNATIONAL, .SERVICES, .PARTNERS,
.HOLDINGS, .ASSOCIATES, .SOLUTIONS,
.VENTURES, .SARL, .COMPANY, .CAREERS,
.AGENCY

June 24, 2015

Generic and Fun

.COOL, .WTF, .ZONE, .GUIDE, .PLACE, .FAIL,
.CENTER, .EXPOSED, .GRIPE, .TODAY, .LIFE,
.CHURCH

July 1, 2015

Technology

.COMPUTER, .EMAIL, .CODES, .SYSTEMS,
.TECHNOLOGY, .DOMAINS, .DIRECTORY

July 8, 2015

Education

.EDUCATION, .ACADEMY, .UNIVERSITY, .TIPS,
.SCHULE, .FOUNDATION, .EXPERT, .GURU,
.TRAINING, .INSTITUTE, .SUPPORT

July 15, 2015

Food and Goods

.RESTAURANT, .PIZZA, .COFFEE, .RECIPES,
.FISH, .DIAMONDS, .CLOTHING, .WATCH,
.SHOES, .BIKE, .FURNITURE, .TOYS, .CARDS

July 22, 2015

Shopping

.DIRECT, .CHEAP, .DEALS, .TIENDA, .GIFTS,
.BARGAINS, .DISCOUNT, .GRATIS, .BOUTIQUE

July 29, 2015

Property

.CONDOS, .HOUSE, .ESTATE, .LAND, .VILLAS,
.PROPERTIES, .RENTALS, .MAISON, .FARM,
.CITY, .COMMUNITY, .TOWN, .LEASE, .CAMP

August 5, 2015

Building

.SUPPLY, .SUPPLIES, .CONTRACTORS,
.BUILDERS, .TOOLS, .EQUIPMENT, .REPAIR,
.CONSTRUCTION, .WORKS, .KITCHEN, .GLASS,
.SOLAR, .PARTS

August 12, 2015

Services

.CAB, .LIMO, .PLUMBING, .LIGHTING,
.FLORIST, .ENGINEERING, .CATERING,
.MARKETING, .CLEANING

August 19, 2015

Healthcare

.HEALTHCARE, .FITNESS, .VISION, .CARE,
.CLINIC, .SURGERY, .DENTAL

August 26, 2015

Financial

.CAPITAL, .EXCHANGE, .FINANCIAL,
.LIMITED, .CASH, .FUND, .INVESTMENTS,
.CREDITCARD, .CLAIMS, .CREDIT,
.ACCOUNTANTS, .FINANCE, .INSURE, .TAX,
.LOANS, .REPORT

September 2, 2015

Travel

.VACATIONS, .VIAJES, .REISEN, .VOYAGE,
.HOLIDAY, .CRUISES, .FLIGHTS, .DATING,
.EVENTS, .SINGLES

September 9, 2015

Two characters

About Donuts Inc.
Donuts securely operates the largest number of the Internet’s top-level domain names and provides varied and relevant online identities, in multiple languages and character sets, to businesses, individuals, and organizations worldwide. Donuts is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with offices in Southern California, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and London.  For more information, please visit www.donuts.co.

 

Two Letter .IE Domains To Be Available For First Time

IEDR Identifiably Irish logo[news release] Irish businesses will shortly be able to register two-letter .ie domain names for the first time, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) announced today (11 June)

IEDR Identifiably Irish logo[news release] Irish businesses will shortly be able to register two-letter .ie domain names for the first time, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) announced today (11 June).

The move will allow for up to 676 possible two-letter domain name combinations, including hp.ie, pc.ie, hr.ie and aa.ie, amongst others. The exact release process and mechanism will be confirmed after a public consultation.

While many other international domain registries have allowed for one and two-letter domain names to be registered, like cd.com and ba.co.uk, this is the first time Irish companies will be able to register a one or two-letter .ie domain.

There is expected to be intense competition for some domain names. This will apply in the case of company abbreviations, particularly where these are shared by one or more companies, such as HP, BT or AA. Additionally more general two letter domain names which describe a specific type of business or service such as HR are also expected to be in demand.

In the UK, when its domain registry made one and two letter domain names available there, there was a lot of interest, with 3 million pounds (€4.1 million) raised through the auction process. In the UK, global companies such as Facebook snapped up the address fb.co.uk; Mercedes Benz acquired  mb.co.uk and the clothing retailer H&M secured hm.co.uk.

In Ireland the arrival of two letter domains will also have a political dimension with party domain names like fg.ie, ff.ie or sf.ie all becoming available.

David Curtin, CEO of IEDR commenting on one and two letter domain names becoming available noted: “At IEDR we have been working for 15 years with Irish businesses, voluntary organisations and with individuals to help them register Irish internet domain names which are relevant to them or their business. Offering one and two letter domains is a welcome further extension of those services.’

“We are calling for interested parties to express their opinions during our 30 day public consultation process. IEDR’s policy advisory committee to the board (PAC) has worked diligently to consider the policy change and to build consensus among stakeholder organisations on the best release mechanisms. It is now the turn of the public to express its views.”

“.ie domain names continue to be the domain names of choice for a number of key reasons. For businesses they are guaranteed Irish as their owners have a proven real and substantive connection to Ireland. These Identifiably Irish dot ie internet addresses also give greater confidence to consumers due to their enhanced traceability and are also much safer, with lower risk of cybercrime and cybersquatting, than other generic domain extensions.”

“The availability of one and two letter domain names and the demand for them is certainly one to watch with interest. Many of our sister national domain registries across Europe and the world which have already been through this process. All experienced strong demand, often coupled with an intense bidding process. The UK’s recent experience suggests we can expect similar demand here,” added Curtin.

The timetable for the registration process will be announced following the completion of the policy development process by the PAC and the board of the IEDR. The conditions which currently apply to all .ie domain registrations will also apply to this process, i.e. each applicant must have a connection to Ireland and a legitimate claim to the domain name sought. Where two or more companies or individuals apply for the same one or two letter .ie domain name and also meet the registration criteria, then an auction to determine ownership will take place. The highest bidder will be awarded the right to use the contested domain.

A public consultation document and FAQ are available to download from the IEDR’s website at https://www.iedr.ie/p30/policy-development/

This IEDR news release was sourced from:
https://www.iedr.ie/2015/06/two-letter-ie-domain-names-to-be-registered-for-the-first-time/

Top 5 ways small businesses can profit from local domains

Sydney gTLD plain logoThinking about communication with your customers as a one-way street is a recipe for disaster. Small business owners must think about engagement in different ways – in particular, how best to utilise online strategies to deliver their brand messages and find new ways to profit.
Sydney gTLD plain logoThinking about communication with your customers as a one-way street is a recipe for disaster. Small business owners must think about engagement in different ways – in particular, how best to utilise online strategies to deliver their brand messages and find new ways to profit.

In March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released figures showing that the number of actively trading businesses in Australia had increased by one per cent between June 2013 and June 2014. According to the ABS’s David Skutenko, the Counts of Australian Businesses report showed there were just over 2.1 million actively trading businesses in Australia in June 2014.

This is great news for the Australian economy, but may cause concern for businesses operating in the same or similar sectors.

How does a business stand above its competitors?

“Small businesses have an advantage over larger businesses in that they are all about providing personalised service that helps them build solid relationships with their customers,” says Marc Cowper, founder of business networking start-up Recomazing.

“Business owners are also well aware that the majority of their new business comes from friend recommendations. In fact, 82 per cent of small business owners say the majority of their new business comes from friend recommendations (SB Mantra Report 2013).”

In which case you need a memorable product, service, website and a domain that stands out and is easily recalled. Let’s look at the domain in particular and the ways to use your domain as a brand to build profitability into the business.

 

1. Sell yourself as an expert

Use your online presence to sell your expertise. For instance, copywriter Robert P. Baker uses his chemistry and technology background as a unique selling proposition (USP).

What is your USP? Using a domain that spells out exactly what you do and where you do it, like www.sciencecopywriting.sydney, makes clear your area of expertise and where you operate.

2. Use your domain to kickstart your social media strategy

A domain name should be the digital asset that underpins your entire online presence.

Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or a different social media platform, you can use your domain to reach the vast number of people who use social media as their source of news, reviews and information. If your domain is www.bestcafe.melbourne, make it your Facebook name as well. This will generate likes, shares and word of mouth. The power of social media, when used properly, can help expand any business.

3. Make your domain name discoverable

Are you relying on traffic from search engines for people to find you? If so, then you should use real words and relevant industry terms in your domain name. Something like www.childcare.melbourne would definitely increase your search ranking.

4. Help your customers achieve their goals

A domain name that clearly defines the goals of the company and how you can help your customers solve their problems is a great investment. For instance, www.rarecollectiblecomics.sydney will have every Sydney comic book aficionado banging on your door.

5. Make your domain your brand

A great domain name can become a brand unto itself, in fact it is one of your most important brand assets. You want something unique; something that perpetuates an emotional connection as many of the best brands do.

When a group of entrepreneurs decided to host a giant water slide through the streets of Melbourne, they registered the domain www.slide.melbourne. They then marketed the event under the name ‘Slide.Melbourne’ (pronounced “slide-dot-Melbourne”). The company name and web address worked in perfect harmony to create a brand, the brand experience and to make sure the event was easily found online.

It is imperative for small businesses to find ways to stand out from their competitors – and they can do this through the effective use of domain branding.

This article from the .SYDNEY website was sourced with the permission of ARI Registry Services from:
iconic.sydney/media-release/top-5-ways-small-businesses-can-profit-from-local-domains/

Cyber attack on German parliament still active, could cost millions: media

A cyber attack on the German Bundestag lower house of parliament reported last month is still stealing data and could force officials to spend millions of euros replacing the entire computer system, German media reported on Wednesday.

A cyber attack on the German Bundestag lower house of parliament reported last month is still stealing data and could force officials to spend millions of euros replacing the entire computer system, German media reported on Wednesday.The online edition of news magazine Der Spiegel also quoted what it said were experts from an internal investigation saying there were indications that a Russian intelligence agency had staged the attack.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/06/10/us-germany-cybersecurity-idUKM1KBN0OQ2GA20150610

European Cloud Companies Play Up Privacy Credentials

James Kinsella is an unlikely champion for European technology.

James Kinsella is an unlikely champion for European technology.The 55-year-old American is a former Microsoft executive who previously ran MSNBC.com, the news website.Yet Mr. Kinsella, who has spent the last 15 years in Europe, is now backing Europe’s efforts to enforce its tough data privacy rules across the region — and potentially further afield.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/european-firms-play-up-privacy-credentials/

Cyber-Espionage Nightmare: A groundbreaking online-spying case unearths details that companies wish you didn’t know about how vital information slips away from them.

On a wall facing dozens of cubicles at the FBI office in Pittsburgh, five guys from Shanghai stare from “Wanted” posters. Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui are, according to a federal indictment unsealed last year, agents of China’s People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398, who hacked into networks at American companies — U.S. Steel, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Westinghouse — plus the biggest industrial labor union in North America, United Steelworkers, and the U.S. subsidiary of SolarWorld, a German solar-panel maker. Over several years, prosecutors say, the agents stole thousands of e-mails about business strategy, documents about unfair-trade cases some of the U.S. companies had filed against China, and even piping designs for nuclear power plants — all allegedly to benefit Chinese companies.

On a wall facing dozens of cubicles at the FBI office in Pittsburgh, five guys from Shanghai stare from “Wanted” posters. Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui are, according to a federal indictment unsealed last year, agents of China’s People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398, who hacked into networks at American companies — U.S. Steel, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Westinghouse — plus the biggest industrial labor union in North America, United Steelworkers, and the U.S. subsidiary of SolarWorld, a German solar-panel maker. Over several years, prosecutors say, the agents stole thousands of e-mails about business strategy, documents about unfair-trade cases some of the U.S. companies had filed against China, and even piping designs for nuclear power plants — all allegedly to benefit Chinese companies.It is the first case the United States has brought against the perpetrators of alleged state-sponsored cyber-espionage, and it has revealed computer-security holes that companies rarely acknowledge in public. Although the attackers apparently routed their activities through innocent people’s computers and made other efforts to mask themselves, prosecutors traced the intrusions to a 12-story building in Shanghai and outed individual intelligence agents. There is little chance that arrests will be made, since the United States has no extradition agreements with China, but the U.S. government apparently hopes that naming actual agents — and demonstrating that tracing attacks is possible — will embarrass China and put other nations on notice, inhibiting future economic espionage.
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/538201/cyber-espionage-nightmare/