Digital Branding Blog

The latest issue of the VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief reports that the third quarter of 2007 ended with a total base of 146 million domain name registrations worldwide across all of the Top Level Domain Names (TLDs). This represents a six percent growth over the second quarter and 31 percent growth over the same quarter last year. The total base of ccTLD registrations was 54.6 million, a six percent increase quarter over quarter and a 38 percent increase year over year. Reviewing the total base of registrations in both global TLDs and ccTLDs, .COM has the highest base with the next two spots remaining unchanged with .DE (Germany) and .NET rounding out the top three. This quarter, .CN (China) moved solidly to the fourth spot. This leaves the fifth spot to be shared by .UK (United Kingdom) and .ORG with approximately the same number of total domain name registrations.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 6:36 PM | Permalink

The DotAsia registry has extended the deadline for Sunrise Phase 2B (General Registered Marks), Sunrise Phase 2C (Extended Protection) and Sunrise Phase 3 (Registered Entity Names) through January 31, 2008. VeriSign will accept Sunrise applications through January 23, 2008, to ensure that all requests are submitted before the registry deadline.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 6:29 PM | Permalink

Registrations for domain names for Tokelau, .TK, are now available via VeriSign Digital Brand Management Services. The minimum registration period is for three years. The DotTK registry is a joint venture of the Government of Tokelau, its communication company Teletok and BV Dot TK, a privately held company.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 6:28 PM | Permalink

The Sunrise Period for second-level .PE registrations will be open through December 31. During this period, all third-level .PE registrants can request a corresponding second-level .PE domain name. All applications will be approved based on an existing third-level domain. An IDN reservation period will be open from November 12 - January 12. Third-level registrants will be able to reserve the internationalized version of both the second-level and third-level domain name during this time.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 6:28 PM | Permalink

The first phase of the Sunrise Period for second-level .MY domain names will close on December 31, 2007. The Malaysian registry, MYNIC, began accepting registrations for second-level .MY domain names as of November 1. This is the first time the registry has made second-level domain names available. Previously, only third-level domain names (such as 'abc123.com.my') could be registered. The first phase gives priority to entities or individuals who had registered active third-level .MY domain names as of October 26, 2007. The second phase, from January 9 - February 29, will give priority to Malaysian companies and individuals.

Applicants during the first Sunrise period must ensure that the chosen second-level name is exactly the same as their currently registered third-level .MY domain name. No other extensions or variation would be allowed. All applications will be collected and processed at the end of the entry period. Applicants with the earliest original registration for third-level domains will be given priority. The number of second-level domain names registered during this period must correspond with the existing number of third-level domain names registered by the applicant.
Applications during the second phase will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants will be required to submit supporting documents in accordance with the registry's current registration rules and regulations. The Live Launch is scheduled to begin March 28, when applications will be accepted from the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 12:06 PM | Permalink

The latest numbers from comScore show that US online shoppers spent $733 million on the Monday after Thanksgiving, aka Cyber Monday, more than 20 percent than last year and 84 percent more than the average daily online spending totals during the preceding four weeks.
"While that makes it the heaviest online shopping day on record, we expect that a number of individual shopping days during the coming weeks will surpass the Cyber Monday total, with some days potentially surpassing $800 million," said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni, in a statement.
VeriSign reported that online consumers saw more than 150 million instances of the VeriSign seal on Cyber Monday. The one-day total was an all-time record and represented a 50 percent increase over last year's 100 million impression milestone. The VeriSign Secured Seal, which includes the widely recognized "VeriSign check mark," is a common fixture on Web pages of leading online merchants, financial services providers and other business.

Posted by Tempy Wright at 9:41 AM | Permalink