Alphabet soup: http, html, www, wmo, etc.

Did you ever wonder why all web addresses start with "http://www." and what does that stuff stand for anyway? 
Here are the answers and more:
 

http

This stands for hypertext transfer protocol. In 1991, a group of physicists at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerland decided to build an online system for ordinary users to easily share and disseminate text and graphics over a variety of computer interfaces. They developed http as the standard protocol for communicating and responding to data requests on their online system.
 

html

This stands for hypertext markup language. It is the standard computer language used on the Internet. The key to creating documents for the Internet is the clever insertion of hypertext (and now hypermedia) links to other resources on the Internet.

www

An easy one! This stands for the world wide web. The Geneva physicists quickly expanded their project into something far grander. In the words of one of the original developers, www is "the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge."
 

wmo

In the scientific world, WMO stands for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In the legal world, WMO stands for Withrow, McQuade & Olsen, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia.
etc.

Now that you understand the basics, you may be ready to write your own web pages. The existence of this page proves even attorneys with no formal computer training can do it, but a good HTML editor is essential. These web pages were created using a shareware editor called Aardvark Pro which I highly recommend, and the link enables you to download a trial version of the product.

Legal rights to Internet domain names

Domain names are the crucial part of Internet addresses. In a short time, an Internet address may become more important than a street address or telephone number. Unlike other addresses, domain names may be expressed in alpha-numeric characters which mirror the name of the person or business.

The Internet Network Information Center (InterNIC) assigns domain names on a first-come, first-served basis. Within the United States, domain names end with identifiers which include:

.com (commercial institution or service provider)
.edu (educational institution)
.gov (government institution or agency)
.mil (military)
.net (network service provider)
.org (nonprofit organization)

Outside the United States, Internet domain names end with a two letter country code. For example, the domain name for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland is "wmo.ch." The "ch stands for Cantons de Helvetia, or Switzerland.

On February 4, 1997, the now dissolved International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC) posted its very technical final report recommending certain changes in the Internet Domain Name System, including a recommendation for the implementation of seven new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). As confirmed, the seven new gTLDs, along with their permitted uses, are as follows:

.firm (for businesses, or firms)
.shop (for businesses offering goods to purchase) (formerly ".store" in the initial recommendation)
.web (for entities emphasizing activities related to the World Wide Web)
.arts (for entities emphasizing cultural and entertainment activities)
.rec (for entities emphasizing recreation/entertainment activities)
.info (for entities providing information services)
.nom (for those wishing individual or personal nomenclature, i.e. a personal web site)

While many web-based companies are offering un-guaranteed "pre-registration" of domain names using the new suffixes, it is predicted that official registration activities will not begin until after February 15, 1998. Prices for registration will be determined individually by each specially selected registrar. For answers to frequently asked questions with respect to the new gTLDs, see http://www.gtld-mou.org/docs/faq.html. Although the IAHC was dissolved on May 1, 1997, the IAHC web site contains some interesting and valuable historical information and documentation.

Given the worldwide scope of the Internet, domain names are issued without regard to whatever trademark or trade name protection might exist under the laws of the United States. Domain names of well known companies can easily be pirated and held for ransom. I am reminded of the situation when the Oakland Raiders originally discussed a move to Los Angeles and an enterprising fellow unrelated to Al Davis incorporated a California corporation named Los Angeles Raiders, Inc. before Al Davis thought to do so.

The addition of the seven new gTLDs will afford those who are unable to register their desired name with a traditional suffix (e.g. ".com" or ".net") the ability to register their name with one of the new suffixes listed above, on a first come, first served basis, of course. Keep in mind, however, that existing trademark and other intellectual property rights will apply to names using the new gTLDs in the same manner as such rights are applied to domain names using the traditional gTLDs. This means that, if a particular name or word is trademarked by, or otherwise proprietary to, a certain entity, that entity may still have recourse against an unrelated entity which registers the name or word as a domain name using one of the new gTLDs. For a more complete discussion, see an interesting article placed on the web by the Faegre & Benson law firm.

One mitigating factor to domain name pirating is the sensitivity of HTML (the Internet computer language) to each and every character in a domain name so that nearly identical domain names can be distinguished on the Internet.

The bottom line is anyone with a legally protectable trade name should obtain an Internet domain name immediately. In choosing trade names in the future, one should search the Internet for conflicts and obtain a domain name early in the process.

Buying Domain Names

 1. The Interested Bystander

You are thinking of buying a domain name so that you can have your own personalised site, and e-mail address. Or maybe you want to impress your friends: "You watched the game on TV last night? Well, that's nothing -- I set myself up with my very own domain on the Internet..." Alternatively, you could even be one of those people who just has to have a domain name because everyone else is getting one: "Never mind that we only slice eggs four times a year. This patented egg slice with built-in horseshoe remover is the latest thing."

If you fit into the Interested Bystander category, your choice of domain name will probably be dictated by one of the following:-

A) Your name

This could be in the form first name + last name (joe-bloggs.com), initial + last name (j-bloggs.com), last name (bloggs.com) and so on. Let your imagination be your guide, and don't forget to make abundant use of the "-" symbol if the combination you want has already been taken.

NOTE: You can forget this option if your last name is "McDonald" or a similar highly familiar trademark: you have lost the battle to retain your name even before it started. For more information on this issue, have a look at the trademark issues on my links page.

B) Your hobbies, inclinations or habits

Whether you are a sports fanatic (sports-mad-guy.com), an ardent role-player with a favourite character (darkwyrm.com) or a heavy sleeper (in-a-daze.com), once again nobody is standing between you and your ten seconds of fame. If you are a hacker or similar, you may find the territory has been pretty well cornered already, especially if William Gibson or Neal Stephenson are on your list of required bed-time reading.

C) Your taste, or lack of it

Although I am not able to prove this theory absolutely, preliminary research would indicate that InterNIC may refuse to register any name that is patently obscene. That is why the sex sites are rather tamely named, compared to their 1-900 counterparts. Still, if you want to make a religious statement (god-must-die.com), a personal observation (lovelysnot.com) or the like, more power to your flame-retardant e-mail address.

Why should I want a domain name?

You will want to own a domain name if you fit into one of the following categories:

•     You/your company supplies a unique good or service.
•     Your company has one or more registered trademarks/brand names
•     You would like your company to be generically associated with a concept. For example, if you are in the business of selling step-ladders, you might want a site called "step-ladders.com"
•     You would like a domain name to reflect your cool personality.
•     You would like to indulge in a bit of speculation/investment at a relatively low price.
•     Everybody else has one, so why not get one too?

What is a domain name?

All computers on the Internet have a unique number called an IP address. These IP addresses are fine for computers, but they are neither intuitive nor easy to remember. Just as it would be much easier to call your telephone "fred phone" rather than have to remember (012) 3456 7891, it would be nice to have some way of replacing an IP number like 234.12.34.212 with a simple alias.

Well, such aliases already exist. They are called "domain names". A domain name is divided up into 3 sections. Let's look at the following [fictional] domain names to see how it works:

    funny.comedian-actor.com

In this example, ".com" is the top domain, "comedian-actor" is the sub-domain and "funny" is an extra bit that was glued on later.

    fish.catch-it-in.net

Again, ".net" is the top domain, "catch-it-in" is the sub-domain and "fish" is an extra bit of the domain name.

Think of these domains as a tree. You are standing at the foot of the tree, and you want to reach the house your friend built rather precariously on an outlying branch. He could supply you with a list of instructions like "Take the second branch on the left", "Climb past the knot-hole and take the third branch on the right" or "Watch out for the squirrels!" and eventually you would no doubt reach his house.

On the other hand, if each branch of the tree had a unique name, the instructions would be much simpler to follow. "Take the .com branch then the comedian-actor branch to get to my village. My house has a funny nameplate outside. You can't miss it." You would soon be sitting in front of a warm fire while somewhere in a tree in an alternate universe your alter-ego would still be struggling to find the squirrels...

Bad picture of a tree.
Artists Wanted: If you think you could do better, and you are willing to draw for free, please let me know!

The top domains are fixed. There are several top domains, like ".edu" for educational sites such as universities and colleges, and ".com" for commercial sites. ".com" will be probably be the top domain of interest to you

The sub-domain is where your creativity comes in. You can choose your own sub-domain, subject to a few restrictions. The extra bit is a virtual piece of information that you can tack onto the domain name later to identify a single computer. For example, if you own the rights to "comedian-actor.com" it is a relatively simple task to find a technical wizard and ask him/her to perform a spell of binding on "funny" so that "funny" identifies a machine under your "comedian-actor.com" domain. That way, your brother, the straight man of the comedy duo, could be identified as "not-funny.comedian-actor.com"

I hope that you now have a better idea of what a domain name is. If not, don't worry. You don't have to understand how a microwave works in order to make use of one..

Selling domain names

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Brand Identity: But at what Cost?

The Internet has changed the way many of us conduct business. More importantly, an even greater number of people will be conducting business on the Internet in the future, whether it is through buying books, looking for a new home, or trying to reach clients. This recognition of a truly global economy conducting business in real-time has been the driving force behind the astounding price-to-earnings ratios of several Internet-based stocks. Yahoo?s valuation now exceeds many Fortune 500 companies, based largely on its name-recognition, which guarantees it an even larger user base when offline people finally log on to the Internet for the first time. Amazon.Com, which didn?t exist a decade ago, now exceeds the value of Barnes and Noble and Borders Books combined. The fact remains: If you are a business and aren't online, chances are you are being left behind or will soon be playing catch-up.

Domain Name as Identity

For many of us, myself included, we're being forced to play catch-up with the likes of companies and websites that are bigger, flashier, and more established than we are. One (not the only) of the biggest obstacles remains the domain name. Lets face it, short and intuitive domain names are appealing but how likely are we to steer our browser to Internic.net and secure a name like: books.com, family.com, doctors.com, and wallstreet.com? Not very likely. Six months ago I had never written a line of html code but decided (having finished a graduate degree in poetry) that I would launch a site dedicated to poetry reviews. Fortunately for me, poetry is not a hot commodity and I was able to choose a clever domain name. Today, I have a fairly active (and still growing) website on poetry reviews called PoetryPreviews.Com.
 

Domain Alternatives

However, what struck me during my web education was the level of importance placed on .com domains as opposed to the other options that exist online. Working in an international firm, I have discovered a large number of multi-billion dollar international companies abroad that ignore .com and launch/maintain their sites ending with the domain of their mother country: uk (United Kingdom); .jp (Japan); and .de (Germany), to name just a few. The fact for these companies is that .com is not necessary. Because many countries allow (and in the case of some non-industrial countries, encourage) foreigners to register domain names, you are much more likely to secure (or if already taken, afford) a memorable domain name. Granted, there are cons: users are more familiar with .com. However, I?ve noticed that many more surfers (especially those abroad) are paying closer attention to the last two or three digits of a domain (having learned their lesson when foolishly assuming all domains are .com

Sizing Up the Pros and Cons

I am the first to admit that if you can secure a short and memorable .com domain, you should grab it. However, I am also the first to admit that if you're faced with choosing an awkward name that doesn?t clue users into the nature of your business (such as www.mickiekennedyconsulting.com) or a non-.com domain that does provide some insight into the nature of your business (like www.stockbroker.vg), consider the latter. As the Internet becomes less U.S.-centric and more global in audience, the importance of .com will likely recede (if just a little), making room for others who decide to hang their virtual shingle on the Internet.

What is a Domain Name?

    A domain name identifies its position in the global Internet. If you think of the Internet as a huge C: Drive, then a domain name is a unique Directory on that drive. A domain name, like a directory, can also have sub-directories. These are call sub-domains. Believe it or not, the "WWW"s you see in web-site addresses are really sub-domains of the domain name. Sub-domains were initially used to specify unique computers within a domain's network. However today, many sub-domains can reside on the same computer.
    Example: yahoo.com is a domain name. www.yahoo.com is a sub-domain of yahoo.com. Go to Yahoo and enter a word to search on. You'll notice the URL changes to begin with search.yahoo.com. Search is probably a specialized computer in the Yahoo network used just for searching.

What do I need to know or do when buying or selling a domain name?

Here are some aspects to consider when buying or selling a domain name:

    Make sure there is some sort of contract or bill of sale that is in writing and signed by both sides. You don't want any surprises later.
    Make sure this document specifies that this domain name is being sold and not leased or anything else.
    Make sure the document provides for the fact that the new owner is the one and only owner (this is so that you buyers can make sure the seller is really selling only to you and not pulling a fast one).
    Make sure the document includes the sale/transfer of copyrights and/or trademarks. If you are buying zyzyk.com and the seller has registered a trademark on The Zyzyk Company, which you're now taking over, you will want your contract to reflect that any trademarks and copyrights are now your property as well. You'd hate to buy that domain and then have the seller sue you for trademark infringement just because you're using it! :)
    Consider using an escrow service, such as i-escrow. This allows a third party to get in the middle just for the money exchange. For the seller, this makes sure that the buyer pays on time, the right amount, and so forth. For the buyer, this lets your payment be in the hands of a neutral third party in case the seller backs out... that way, you will not have lost your money. Once the escrow service confirms receipt of payment, both parties can do what they need to complete the sale knowing that all is perfect and safe for both sides. Please note that escrow services do take a fee/commission, but you may find it's worth it for the security.

Should I trademark my domain name in a foreign country?

Some companies want to get you a quickie trademark in a foreign country claiming that this will protect your domain name worldwide OR at least keep you from falling "victim" to the InterNIC's Domain Name Dispute Policy. 
Our advice is to trademark your company name (AND domain name if you wish) in the country/countries where your office(s) is/are or in the country/countries where you do business. 
When's the last time you were sued in the Galapagos for trademark infringement? 
Do you do a lot of business in Tunisia? 
Protect yourself here at home.

What happens to registered names that have not yet been paid for?

The InterNIC "recycles" names that are not paid up in time. The non-payee loses that name, and it is thrown back into the hopper of available names. This is excellent for those who find that the name they wanted is being held by a domain dealer. 
 

Why should I have to pay at all to register a domain name?

The InterNIC currently charges about $15 per year per domain name. Some people make a living complaining about this. We think this fee is perfectly fair all things considered. Network Solutions (the folks behind InterNIC) have real humans working on registering these domain names, processing payments or nonpayments, and doing everything real humans do at real companies. These humans need to be paid some sort of salary. Companies have other overhead for which revenue must be brought in. InterNIC's goals are to help build the Internet as well as to earn money (nobody said they were altruists). Domain registration fees support objectives including the InterNIC newsletter, Roadmap 96, the Scout Report, the 15 Minute Series, the net-happenings mailing list, all of which are devoted to research and education on the internet.

Has the $15/name/year fee stopped anyone from registering a name? Most likely not. Maybe they had to wait a month and buy fewer Necco Wafers that month to save up that $70 "two years up front" fee, but we doubt $70 stands in the way of anyone interested in internet marketing. Additionally, we feel that we're all lucky that 1) the government isn't controlling domain name registration and pricing, and 2) we're not paying way more than $50 per year per name. Now that you've seen what companies charge to register names, which should be free, and to host domain names, the $15 could be a lot worse.

We're not saying the InterNIC is perfect, but we also feel that they do not deserve a lot of the negative press they receive. We feel they could have done a bit more to have avoided the evil and lawsuits that occur now. Our idea is that part of the registration form would contain a place where the registrant has to fill in legal information. There could be a spot on the form that asks, "Is any part of this domain name a trademark that you own?" and then you would fill in that info as well as your trademark number and expiration date.

Our question: why is one company "owning" the .earth domain and charging YOU to have a domain name that ends in .earth so much better than the InterNIC currently having control over .com and the like and charging $15 a year for you to have a domain name that ends in .com? Will the internet community, especially those that complain about the InterNIC's "monopoly," really benefit from countless small monopolies, each owning certain TLDs (top level domains)?   

Aren't there enough domain names go around?

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DOMAIN DEALERS

Have you heard? You can buy and sell names outside of the proper registry organizations. Would you pay $100,000.00 for grocerynet.com? You shouldn't have to! You should just pay the same $70.00 everyone else pays for domain names. If these Domain Losers weren't so busy registering names out from under you, you wouldn't have to pay $20,000.00 for the name you want.

Additionally, one company we found will sell you sportsillustratedswim.com for $9,000.00. How nice of them considering that that purchase will probably also buy you a major trademark infringement suit brought against you by Time Warner. All you have to do is hope Time Warner is very forgiving and doesn't want more than $9,000.00 in damages. Another company is offering billgates.com for $1 million. Think you could get sued over that?

Yet another demon to beware is the company that wants to lease you a domain name with matching server space. We've seen one company that would like to sell you bywire.com for at least $20,000.00 and then give you server space for that domain at $2,000.00 per month. Yet the same company will give you server space for helvetica.com (which they want to sell for at least $500.00) for only $50.00 per month. You can get server space for any domain for prices closer to $30/month. This makes us suspicious that you never really own the name (as in you're not the Administrative Contact). If you were, you could have your site hosted wherever you wanted and pay much less than $2,000.00 per month.

OK that sounds pretty bad... but why would someone waste their money like that?
Some people are not so bright about marketing, and some people are easily fooled or bullied. In some cases, a domain dealer stole your name, and to get your name back you have to interact with that dealer. No matter what it is, that person probably felt there was no other way out (that person didn't consider our solutions!). We found one site that claims, "In general no domain of any value would sell for less than $2,000.00 US." What's so special about $2000 US, and who came up with that number? Try applying this so-called value concept on any other item or industry, and you can see that is just does not hold up. Would you believe it if someone said no car of any value would sell for less than $35,000.00 US? What about no dentist of any merit charges less than $500 a visit? How about no potato worth your time can be bought for less than $10?

Please do not be fooled by thinking that your domain name will win you better business because it costs more. In the Suffolk County, New York Clerk's office, you can register a company name as a d/b/a ("doing business as") for around $35. Would your company have a better chance at success if you got the same d/b/a by paying somebody $1000 to get it for you? You see the logic working here.
 
So what are the solutions to all of this?
1) If someone has registered a domain name that infringes your trademark, you can sue. That person is obviously hoping that you won't want to spend the time or money suing, but you have that option. We'd love to see more domain dealers get their comeuppance of course.

2) Turn on your thinking cap, brainstorm, and choose another domain name that's right for you or your company. Add in a hyphen (-) between words, or abbreviate words. Use company initials. Throw in some numbers... but don't use 1997 or 97 in there because come 1998, your chief marketing person will be wearing a very sad face.

Can't think of some good domain names for your company?  
Ask everyone you know.
Is there no escape from this madhouse?
Hey, the bottom line is that it's your company and it's your money. You can choose any path you desire. We recommend against doing business with domain dealers, but feel free to research it if it interests you. You might want to spend the same time finding an internet company that you can trust with your domain name and hosting. There are escapes to this madhouse. Being informed about your options is just one of the many keys.

Do other people listed on my domain name registration have control over my name?

Possibly.
InterNIC has implemented a security measure, which makes sure that changes to your domain name are made by an authorised party (or so they think).

Here's how it works.
Anyone who has signed up to be an Admin, Tech, or Billing Contact on a domain registration has a "handle," which is an id number. I can go to the form that lets me change my handle information and choose options that give me power over every domain name in which my handle appears as a contact. The "Notification Info" section lets me set my preferred options for "use" (when a registration associated with me is used) and "update" (when a registration associated with me is updated or changed). My choices for each are "before," "after," and "not-care." "After," the default value, means that I am sent an email just letting me know that a domain name associated with me has made a change. "Not-care" means if a change is made to a domain name I'm associated with, it won't notify me... because I don't care! "Before" is the one that gives power. If I'm set to "before" in the "update" section, before a change can be made to a domain name's registration, an email is sent to me where I can authorise or reject that change. These settings are normally private, so you have no way (without asking) of knowing if your hosting company has sent their handle to "before-update." Again, by including a handle with "before-update" in your domain name registration, that person now has rights in changing or denying a change to your registration.

Advantage: If you are in your domain name registration, and especially if you are NOT listed as the Admin Contact, you will want to make sure you are set to "before-update." This means if other contacts try to make changes to your name, you have to OK those. This should keep truly yucky things from happening within your registration (assuming you're even on your own registration!).

Disadvantage: If your tech contact is your hosting copmany, for example, and they've set themselves to "before-update," that means if you want to leave them and change companies, they can actually block that change by replying "no" to the authorisation request email they will get. Not every company will block a change that would drop them out of the picture, but you can see how bad this can be if you happen to have a malicious and evil hosting company that just doesn't want to let you go (despite your interest in leaving). Yes, there are often ways to go around such a person/business, but who wants to end up with that situation?!

You can modify your contact handle here. You will need to know your handle, so if you don't know that, try a search for your last name via WHOIS, and make a note of your handle.

Who controls your domain name?

I know what a domain name is... but what are the different levels of domain names all about?

• The first level is the very end of the name, such as .com, .org, or .net. 
• The second level is what you put right before that, such as reignyourdomain.org, zyzyk.net, or aswas.com. 
• Third level domain names are subsets of the second level, such as search.yahoo.com or emerald.tufts.edu.

Oh boy, this is a great way to get taken. 
Internet/web companies disguising their evil will tell you they will help you register your domain name.
This should cost no more than the InterNIC's fee - anything else, and you're being taken.
But, where they REALLY get you is by registering YOUR name to THEM!
Imagine forming a company, and letting your lawyer write on all the documentation that he/she owns the company. That's what this is like.
What's the best way to avoid this?
Fill out the domain name registration form yourself.
You can do that on our Domain Registration page.

The InterNIC recognizes the registrant of each domain as the Organization listed in section 3 of the domain template.
The Organization has the final say in matters of domain name disputes.
However, the Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, and Billing Contact do have specific responsibilities.
It is most important that the correct Organization information be listed in section 3 of the domain template during initial registration.

Bill Gates on DomainMart and Domain Names

"[DomainMart] A broker of Internet domain names lists 'billgates.com' for sale for $1 million."

"Perhaps I should be flattered that somebody imagines the name is worth so much, especially since my parents gave me the same name 42 years ago for free."

"Asking prices for domain names are often between $500 and $2,000, and it's not uncommon for really good names to fetch $5,000 or more. A media company paid $7,000 for search.com and $15,000 for tv.com. Every once in a while, a name sells for much more; business.com reportedly sold for $150,000."

Bill Gates, Chairman & CEO, Microsoft

Success on the Internet

    Success on the Internet begins by owning a domain name related to your business or industry that is a keyword. For example:

•         industry specific like Stereos.com or Loghomes.com which cover multi billion dollar markets
•         market specific like Teens.com which covers a multi billion dollar market
•         product & market specific like Copier.com which covers a multi billion dollar market
•         regional specific like Tristate.com , or Twincity.com
•         company specific like Tristate.com, Bryan.com or Martz.com

    What makes these domain names more successful than others is that they are "the" key word in a information search. For example; you are looking for stereos. The "first" word you will search for is stereos. When properly registered on the web stereos.com will pop up in every stereo search world wide. The same applies loghomes, kids, teens and so on.

    There is a paradigm change taking place in the world of business and business communications. The Internet is the driving force behind this change. What is a paradigm change? A paradigm change begins to take place when you make a new law or change a old law. When the decision was make to allow the public on the Internet our world of business communications went into hyper drive and will accelerate to warp drive as fiber optic cables are installed nationwide.

    What does this mean to business? Business email is sent in seconds rather than days. The virtual office will develop with virtual employees. The US Post Office will eventually downsize and raise rates. Businesses will be conducted over the Internet in seconds. People and companies will send more business files back and forth on the Internet. Advertising to the whole world was never cheaper. Advertising agencies will go the way of the crank telephone. Large and small manufacturers and retailers will publish virtual catalogs. There will be a major re-alignment within the printing industry as more and more firms move to electronic media and in house publishing. Our language will change to keep pace with key words and shorter computerized logical sentences. Purchasing methods and habits will change world wide. Whole new industries will develop around Internet communications. All of this is taking place right before your eyes, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day.

    I would estimate that a million or more domains have been registered to date. Most were registered for the prestige of owning a name that relates to ones business interests.

    Today, smart retail companies are beginning to position themselves for new internet business through the purchase of key word domain names. Owning a domain name that is a keyword is the major key to success on the Internet.

    Our business is buying, selling, leasing and developing key Internet domain names. Take a look a few names listed with below. If you see a name listed here that applies to your business or industry, make an offer. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

What is a “good” domain name?

The criteria for domain names do not differ considerably from the criteria regarding the selection of a name for a product or a company:

1. Target group
The name should either be created in the target group jargon, or at best extend same by means of the new description (for example HOTWIRED.COM).

2. Remembering the name
Of all the thousands of domain names only those which can be easily remembered have a chance (for example screamingfrog.COM).

3. Quality
A good domain name makes people curious (for example FASHIONGIRL.COM).

Domain Name Philosophy

A domain name can be divided into the following groups:

1. Company corporate identity
In the case of well-known companies it is recommended that the company name be protected as a domain name. Any interested party would find a company such as IBM within the shortest possible time without Search-Engine (WWW.IBM.COM).

2. Product description
It is often the case that the product is more widely known than the company which manufactures it. In such cases it is worthwhile having the product names protected as a domain.

3. Company name and product description
It would be ideal if the company name and the product name were to use the same description (for example WWW.COCACOLA.COM).

4. Short-term name for advertisement campaigns
It can be the case that a name is only required, for example, for an advertising campaign during the period of a few months ( such as BEFIRST.COM, FIRSTBID.COM, LOVEIT.COM, SELECTIT.COM, etc.).

5. Branch descriptions
Early birds would perhaps have the chance of protecting for themselves the description of an entire branch as a domain name (for example MEDIA.COM, PAPER.COM, MOVIE.COM, etc.).

6. Activities
SUBMIT-IT is an example of an Internet service whose domain name describes the organisation’s activity.