Goldstein Report

Tag: .CO Internet

  • .CO Celebrating 10 Years of Innovation

    It’s been 10 years this month since Neustar launched .co, taking it from “just” Colombia’s ccTLD to a top-level domain recognised around the world.

    (more…)
  • Neustar to Acquire .CO Internet S.A.S.; Terms Undisclosed

    Neustar to Acquire .CO Internet S.A.S.; Terms Undisclosed

    .CO Internet logoNeustar has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire .CO Internet S.A.S. and certain associated assets. .CO Internet is the exclusive operator of the worldwide registry for the .co ccTLD, which has been rebranded as a gTLD.

    Since its global relaunch in 2010, registrations have grown to more than 1.6 million in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Neustar has an existing partnership with .CO Internet to provide registry services and infrastructure support for .co extensions, the ccTLD assigned to Colombia.

    “The acquisition of .CO Internet is a natural fit for us given our successful partnership over the past four years and our domain name expertise,” said Lisa Hook, president and CEO of Neustar. “By combining .CO Internet’s innovative domain marketing capabilities with Neustar’s distribution network and technical resources, we will be able to broaden our registry services and the .co brand worldwide, while creating shareholder value.”

    The acquisition of .CO Internet expands Neustar’s registry services, which maintains the .biz and .us TLDs and has been selected to provide services for up to 350 new gTLDs.

    To provide perspective, .CO Internet exited 2013 with an annual revenue run-rate of $21 million. However, business combination accounting principles require Neustar to adjust the acquired deferred revenue to fair value. This adjustment to fair value often results in a write-down of deferred revenue that will reduce future revenue recognised as the services are performed, typically over a one year period. During 2013, Neustar recorded $4 million in revenue for its role as the back-end provider for .CO Internet, which will be eliminated upon consolidation. In addition, results for the first quarter of 2014 will include pursuit costs associated with this transaction.

    The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to close within one month. Following the acquisition, .CO Internet, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Neustar, will continue to manage the .co domain extensions from its headquarters in Bogota, Colombia.

  • Domain Name Association Signs 8 New Members

    Domain Name Association logo[news release] The Domain Name Association (DNA), the global trade association for the internet domain industry, has welcomed eight new members from all over the world, bringing the total to 30.

    The newest members are:

    “This membership growth shows gratifying support for the DNA’s mission at an exciting time for the industry, as hundreds of top level domain names are released to the public,” said DNA Executive Director Kurt Pritz. “Our globally distributed and highly respected newest members will play a key role in fulfilling the DNA’s objective to realize opportunities for the industry and new value for Internet users.”

    The DNA promotes the common interests of the entire domain name industry, especially for the uptake, adoption, and use of domain names as the primary tool to navigate the Internet. As part of its mission, the DNA will play a key role in raising awareness about the opportunities in new and existing top-level domains.

    The DNA was established in October 2013 by companies representing the broad Internet industry. Membership is open to organizations involved in all aspects of managing domain names, including top-level domain name registry operators, registrars, resellers, and registry service providers.

    Organizations in the domain name industry are joining the DNA to collaborate with peers, share best practice and ensure mutual success through this period of major growth of the Internet. DNA members will be critical players in the next phase of the Internet, with the opportunity to influence important industry policy decisions. Members can also leverage the DNA’s marketing and education programs in their own activities, and they will receive exclusive information via newsletters and bulletins, as well as access to research results.

    DNA membership is organized as a multi-tiered structure to accommodate various levels of interest and desire for participation in the work of the DNA. More information is available on the website.

    About the DNA

    The Domain Name Association (the DNA) is a non-profit business association that represents the interests of the domain name industry. It is independent and global in scope, and its membership is open to organizations involved in the provision, support, and sale of domain names, such as domain name registries, registrars, resellers, and registry service providers.

    Founding members include ARI Registry Services, Donuts, GoDaddy, Google, Rightside and What Box?

    The DNA’s mission is to promote the best interests of the domain name industry by advocating the use, adoption, and expansion of domain names as the primary tool for users to navigate the Internet. More information is available at www.thedna.org.

    This Domain Name Association news release was sourced from:
    www.thedna.org/pr_20140224.html

  • .CO Launching IDNs For Eight European Languages In October

    .CO Launching IDNs For Eight European Languages In October

    .CO Internet logo.CO Internet has announced they will be launching registrations for .co domains in eight European languages on 15 October.

    The eight European Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) being launched are Russian, German, French, Portuguese, Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian and Hungarian. Spanish is already available being the language of Colombia.

    Since January, .CO has launched 15 IDN language tables due to their belief that IDNs can be an important building block towards creating a multilingual internet. The accessibility of additional global languages in the .CO namespace is intended to increase local interest and use.

    There are now over 1.5 million .co domain names following their relaunch three years ago.

    The launch date is 15 October 2013, 00:00:00 UTC and includes all .CO domains – .co, .com.co, .net.co and .nom.co.

    The .CO Registry will not be conducting a formal trademark sunrise, landrush or grandfathering period for IDNs.

    More information is available from the .CO Internet IDN downloads page.

  • .CO Make It Ridiculously Easy” To Get A Domain And Website

    .CO Make It Ridiculously Easy” To Get A Domain And Website

    POP CO logoEncouraging many small businesses in particular to get online has proven difficult. For those without an interest in technology, the idea of registering a domain name, building a website and all the considerations that go with it are sometimes too complex and/or too expensive. (more…)

  • .CO Celebrates Third Birthday With Its Aftermarket Booming

    .CO Celebrates Third Birthday With Its Aftermarket Booming

    .CO Internet logoThe third birthday of the relaunched .co is this week, originally just branded as Colombia’s ccTLD and now branded as a generic TLD, sees it is a force to be reckoned with.

    Since its relaunch it has achieved a very decent 1.5 million registrations registered by people in over 200 countries. But beyond high registration rates, .CO has achieved strong brand awareness widespread domain development and impressive performance on the secondary market.

    Of the registrants, 53 percent come from the United States, ten percent come from the UK and nine percent from Colombia, while about 4 percent each from Australia and Canada.

    A study by Sedo, the market leader in the domain name aftermarket, has some impressive figures. Since the relaunch on 20 July 2010 the total value of .CO sales at Sedo has been US$2.6 million.

    Other figures put out by the registry resulting from a Sedo report include the mean average sales price for .CO domains on Sedo’s marketplace is high, reaching $2,486 in 2013, up 37 percent (from $1,819) since the TLD was introduced. It has also gone against the trend for TLDs Sedo compared it to, who have either stayed around the same mark or dropped, with the exception of .biz. Other TLDs in the study were .com, .me, .net, .org, .biz, .us and .info.

    The year-to-date average sales price of a .CO domain at $570, up 14 percent since 2010, has also surpassed the most well-established legacy TLDs, including .COM, .NET and .ORG.

    For median sales value, which is probably a better indicator of the value of domains, Sedo reports that the .com median is $650, the only TLD to best .co’s $570 in 2013. Again, most TLDs in the Sedo study have seen their median sales value decline over the three years, with the exception of .com and .us.

    The top sales price for a .co domain through Sedo in this three year period was $81,000 for e.co. Although there were sales not through Sedo for far higher prices.

    “It’s exciting to see that .CO is already achieving average and median sales prices on the secondary market that are on par with – and in many cases surpass – industry heavyweights like .COM and .ORG,” said Lori Anne Wardi, Vice President of Brand for .CO. “This said, we recognize that we are still a young TLD with a lot to prove, so we plan to redouble our brand building and community engagement efforts, working even more closely with Sedo and our other partners to build the long-term value of .CO.”

    With hundreds of new gTLDs slated to join the existing extensions in the second half of 2013, .CO is one of the most recently launched TLDs for new registries to study and learn from as they establish themselves in the market.

    “Our work with .CO – from creating a successful launch period and promoting and selling premium .CO domain names, to using consumer marketing and community building around the TLD – is a great case study of what it takes to successfully launch and build a new domain extension,” said Tobias Flaitz, Sedo’s CEO. “As we prepare for a slew of new TLDs, .CO not only shows that there is life beyond .COM, but also that a solid strategic plan, value-added benefits, and partners who have a global outlook and great strategic insight, are important factors for building any new TLD into a successful extension.”

    The Sedo study is available for download from:
    https://sedo.com/fileadmin/documents/pressdownload/dotCO_market_study-3_years_dot_co_2013-Sedo_.pdf

  • .CO Registry Lists 1100 Two-Character Premium Domains for Sale

    .CO Registry Lists 1100 Two-Character Premium Domains for Sale

    .CO Internet logo[news release] Effective immediately, the .CO Registry is listing its portfolio of two-character premium .CO domain names for sale with GoDaddy.  The two-character .CO domain names are now available through GoDaddy’s Aftermarket, and soon-to-be via the domain availability check on the front of the website, making these premium digital assets widely available to GoDaddy’s customer base of SMBs and global businesses.Until now, the .CO Registry had reserved all of the two-character premium .CO domain names, and had been the singular point of contact for the sale and management of these coveted names.  .CO curated the allocation of these domain names early on to ensure they were well placed in the hands of customers who would use the domains in a meaningful and memorable way, including, for example:

    • CS.co – Cisco uses cs.co for its global social media efforts
    • OM.co – Om Malik, founder of GigaOM, uses om.co for his personal blog
    • FI.co –The Founder Institute, the world’s largest startup accelerator, uses fi.co as its global brand
    • UP.co –UP Global, the partnership between Startup America and Startup Weekend, has branded itself up.co.
    • H2.co – The premier global leadership network for the digital industry is on h2.co.

    There are approximately 1100 two-character .CO domain names now listed on the GoDaddy platform, including #L, L#, ## and LL combinations.  The domain names currently range in price from $10,000 on the low end (for #L combinations, like 5x.co) to $100,000 on the high end (for super premium LL combinations, like dr.co and iq.co).  As awareness of the .CO brand continues to grow, and the secondary continues to flourish, these prices are subject to future modification.

    “At this point, the demand for premium two-character .CO domain names is far too great for us to continue to manage exclusively in-house, said Lori Anne Wardi, VP of Brand of .CO.  “GoDaddy is the perfect partner to help us start expanding our distribution channel to the world of SMBs and global businesses who are looking for short, memorable premium domain names to launch their big ideas.”

    “The two-character .CO domain names GoDaddy is offering present an excellent opportunity for a small business to get a short and highly brandable domain name,” said GoDaddy Director of Domain Name Aftermarket Paul Nicks. “By partnering with .CO on these domain names, it provides our customers premium aftermarket names and further extends our strong relationship with the .CO Registry.”

    GoDaddy is the .CO Registry’s largest retail partner, and has helped the .CO domain to garner awareness, growth and use worldwide.  The companies have collaborated on a Super Bowl ad for three years in a row, with the latest ad encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs to get off their couches and get their big ideas online.  You can see the critically acclaimed ad at www.YourBigIdea.co.

    To search for a two-character premium .CO domain name for your business or brand, please visit the GoDaddy Aftermarket and type your query in the search box.  You can immediately purchase the domain name directly through GoDaddy with a quick and simple credit card transaction.

    About .CO
    .CO is the domain name of choice for innovators and entrepreneurs all over the world. Since launching in 2010, the .CO domain has been registered by more than 1.5 million people and companies in more than 200 countries. From startups and small businesses to big brands and multinational corporations, .CO is where big ideas belong on the Web. For more information about .CO, please visit www.go.co or follow us on Twitter @dotCO.

    About GoDaddy

    GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain name provider, Web hosting provider and new SSL certificate provider, focused on helping small businesses grow larger. GoDaddy provides dozens of cloud-based services and is the largest worldwide mass-market hosting provider by annual revenue according to 451 Research (Mass-Market Hosting Report-Fall 2012) and is the #1 provider of net-new SSL certificates for 2012, according to the Netcraft, LTD Secure Server Survey. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com/PR.

    This CO Internet news release was sourced from:
    www.cointernet.co/media/press-releases/co-registry-lists-portfolio-two-character-premium-domain-names-sale-godaddy-pla

  • Small Business Can’t Get Domains They Want

    Small Business Can’t Get Domains They Want

    .CO Internet logoMany small business owners cannot get their preferred domain names, a study commissioned by the .co registry has found in what appears to be a plug for .co and is probably only relevant to the United States.

    The research found many small business owners have settled for less than perfect alternatives, and it is claimed, leading to dissatisfaction, and in some cases, lost business.

    The research, conducted by Wakefield Research among 500 small business owners, found:

    • 49 percent of small business owners tried more than one domain name before settling on their current one
    • 55 percent believe they have lost business by not having their first choice domain name
    • 52 percent would change their current domain name given the opportunity
    • 85 percent of small business owners do not consider ease of access to mobile devices when choosing a domain name
    • 63 percent do not consider the length of a domain name
    • 63 percent do not consider the TLD they are registering in.

    The survey does not make clear where it was conducted, but most likely the United States, where most registrants of any type would obviously consider .com for their preferred domain name. Registrants in other countries considering a local ccTLD, or those in the US considering .us, would find it easier, making the survey findings skewed to the US.

    “It has never been more important for small business owners to understand and leverage the power of a good domain name,” said Lori Anne Wardi, co-founder and VP at .CO. “The right web address, built on a global, credible domain extension, can make it easy for people to find, remember and refer you customers – and to drive your business forward.”

    However to a lesser extent, registrants may find it difficult, or have to be a little creative, when choosing their domain name.

  • .CO Internet Selects Sedo for Exclusive Partnership to Broker Select .CO Domain Names

    .CO Internet Selects Sedo for Exclusive Partnership to Broker Select .CO Domain Names

    .CO Internet logoSedo logoBrokerage Deal to Focus on Helping Entrepreneurs and SMBs to Acquire Short, Memorable Digital Brands to Build and Develop their Businesses Online

    [news release] Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and monetization provider, today announced that it has signed a two-year exclusive partnership with .CO Internet S.A.S. to provide brokerage of a select set of previously unreleased .CO domain names, including:

    • clothes.co
    • software.co
    • hardware.co
    • body.co
    • france.co
    • profit.co
    • onlinemusic.co
    • internetmarketing.co
    • onlinedating.co
    • jobsonline.co

    To see the complete portfolio of .CO domains available via Sedo, go to Sedo.co.

    .CO is increasingly becoming the top level domain (TLD) of choice for start-ups and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) searching for meaningful, memorable, and affordable domain names to brand their web presence. Since .CO was first introduced in 2010, Sedo has generated well over $1 million in .CO sales revenue, and the .CO domain extension has become one of the top selling domain extensions in Sedo’s marketplace.

    “Sedo has done a fabulous job helping to establish and develop the secondary market for premium .CO domain names,” said Lori Anne Wardi, vice president of .CO Internet S.A.S. “Given their expertise and global reach, we are confident that Sedo is the perfect partner to help us bring these valuable digital assets to end-users worldwide.”

    With more than one million .CO domain names registered by individuals and businesses in more than 200 countries around the world, CO has become a truly global TLD. The .CO domain is treated equally with legacy domain extensions like .com and .net by the search engines, making the domain particularly appealing from a search engine optimization perspective for businesses of every size.

    Many of the world’s most recognizable brands are already using the .CO domain to build or expand their online presence, including Internet behemoths like Twitter, Google and Amazon (which have acquired the single letter .CO domains t.co, g.co and a.co, respectively); the Aspen Group insurance company (aspen.co); and the well-known Silicon Valley incubator 500 Startups (which has rebranded to 500.co).

    “.CO Internet has been very successful in setting the bar for up and coming TLDs, and we are proud to be partnering with the .CO Registry to help bring these not yet released domains to businesses worldwide,” said Tim Schumacher, CEO of Sedo. “As we begin seeing new gTLDs hit the market in 2012, .CO will serve as an example to those applying for their own domain extension of the solid business model and strong partners that any registry will need to succeed.”

    .CO Internet has received a number of awards for its management of the .CO domain, including a nomination from the World Trademark Review, praising its efforts to make .CO an end user, business-friendly domain extension that protects the rights of brand owners. Recently, .CO was also recognized in the World Finance 100 List of the 100 finest businesses of 2011, alongside companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and other innovative companies who have outperformed the competition, and helped to redefine the business landscape.

    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.

    About Sedo
    Sedo, an acronym for “Search Engine for Domain Offers,” is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany and with offices in London, England and Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled the world’s largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 15 million listings. The success of Sedo’s model has attracted a global membership base of more than 1 million domain professionals and end-users. For more information, visit www.Sedo.com.

    This joint Sedo and .CO Internet news release was originally published here and here.

    America Registry logoTo register your .CO domain name, check out America Registry here.

  • .CO Internet Recognized as World Finance 100 Business Leader

    .CO Internet Recognized as World Finance 100 Business Leader

    .CO Internet logoCompany named among Industry giants for helping to redefine the global business landscape[news release] .CO Internet S.A.S. today was recognized in the World Finance 100 listing, alongside industry heavyweights 3M, Apple, Facebook, IBM, Google, Microsoft, and others. Spanning multiple industries and covering a breadth of global markets, the World Finance 100 recognizes “the very finest businesses and business leaders over the past year,” focusing on companies and individuals who have outperformed the competition, made great strides in innovative techniques, and helped to redefine the business landscape.

    “Realizing the massive shift that is about to take place in the domain industry as ICANN begins to accept applications for new domain extensions next week, we couldn’t be more pleased to be recognized as a leader in our field,” said Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet SAS. “Inclusion in this list of venerable industry heavyweights further validates our mission to help fellow entrepreneurs to build and grow great businesses online, and we have no doubt that the demand for short, credible .CO web addresses will continue to be in high demand, no matter where the industry heads.”

    Since its global launch in July 2010, over 1 million .CO domain names have been registered across more than 200 countries, including by fellow World Finance 100 honorees Google, Microsoft and Amazon, among others.  In addition to major brands, .CO has quickly established itself as the web address of choice for innovative businesses and individuals, including hundreds of thousands of startups and inspired entrepreneurs worldwide.

    The World Finance 100 is selected by the editorial board at World Finance Magazine, in conjunction with reader recommendations. World Finance is a leading financial magazine, produced every two months by World News Media from its Headquarters in London. World Finance content is essential reading for anybody who wants to understand the machinations of finance in the twenty-first century, reporting on capital markets, risk management, trading, technology, corporate governance issues and regional markets worldwide.

    To view the full list of winners, please visit http://www.worldfinance100.com.

    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.

    This .CO Internet S.A.S. news release was sourced from:
    www.cointernet.co/media/press-releases/co-internet-recognized-world-finance-100-business-leader

    America Registry logoTo register your .CO domain name, check out America Registry here.