ICANN Reveals Proposed New Domain Names

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A change is coming to the Internet.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which as its name suggests, governs the Web’s infrastructure, today released the proposals it has received for new domain names.

Companies and organizations have filed more than 1,900 domain name proposals. Many come from major technology and online brands, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), AOL (NYSE:AOL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

However, other businesses are jumping in too, including American Express (NYSE:AXP) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). Proposed domain names include .app, .baby, .blog, .baseball, .blog, .money, .sex, .wtf, .pizza, .web and .vip, CNNMoney noted.

Some companies filed for multiple domain names. Amazon, for example, has requested 76, some of which conflict with the 101 proposed by Google.

Adding new domains marks a significant adjustment for the Internet. ICANN officials said the launch of the new domain names will begin a new era in Internet operations.

While some of the proposals may sound frivolous — Google wants to run the .lol domain — the backers of each suggested domain name paid $185,000 per application. With more than 1,930 applications, ICANN pulled in $350 million from the proposal process.

Now, ICANN will solicit public comment on the proposed domain names and negotiate with the organizations behind the proposals to see which names are approved and who gets them. Some domains could end up at auction.

While many of the new domains, if approved, are innovative, industry watchers said .com is so well established it was doubtful any other domain could surpass its popularity.

See ICANN’s complete list of proposed domain names.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/06/icann-reveals-proposed-new-domain-names/.

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