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Though
they are essentially a done deal
the
debate over new gTLDs continues
with the Massachusett Institute of
Technology's prestigious Technology
Review coming down hard on the anti-new
gTLD side in a new article by Wade
Roush (a former Senior Editor)
today. In the piece, titled "ICANN's
Boondoggle," Roush
wrote, "ICANN says it's opening up
these |
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domains
to promote competition and choice in the
domain-name industry. But confusion
and profiteering are the more likely
results...There is no general shortage
of Web addresses. If there were a
genuine clamor for additional top-level
domains, one might have expected to see
businesses flocking to .biz, .info,
.name, and the handful of other gTLDs
that ICANN has introduced over the past
decade."
Roush's
view was seconded by Esther
Dyson who served as ICANN's
very first Board Chairperson from
1998 to 2000. Dyson told Roush, "I
don't think it's illegal, but it's wasteful,"
she said. "One version of the
future is: a lot of people spend a lot
of money marketing [domain names], and a
lot of new consultancies are created,
and a lot of lawyers are very busy
protecting and enforcing property
rights, and there is no net benefit
to anybody." |
New
gTLDs will begin arriving in
the
near future but the debate over
whether
that is a good thing or a bad one goes
on.
(Image
from Bigstock) |
Dyson
also believes that the launching of hundreds of
new gTLDs at once, as ICANN plans to do, will
create so much confusion it will drive people to
search engines (and away from direct navigation)
to find sites they are interested in.
Dyson told Roush, " As fewer and fewer
consumers resort to direct navigation, owners
of new gTLDs could soon find that they have
"spent large amounts of money on something
that is fundamentally worthless."
With
the new gTLD program also still faced with a lot
of opposition from major corporations who resent
having to pay for "defensive"
domain registrations across so many new gTLDs,
Dyson also predicted "the whole thing is
going to be mired in litigation for a
long, long time."
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While
critics lament ICANN's new gTLD
program, proponents say it will bring
many
benefits and spur innovation on the
Internet.
Image
from Bigstock |
The
first responses in the comment section
that accompanies the article are from a
couple of well-known domain industry
figures who strongly disagree with
Roush and Dyson's take on new gTLDs. Roland
LaPlante, the Chief Marketing
Officer at Afilias (who will
provide backend registry services to
many new gTLD registry operators) wrote
that there will be many benefits to
brands who operate their own TLDs. Using
Rolex as an example LaPlante
wrote, "Rolex will have 100%
control over their domain and can use it
to validate anyone who is
licensed to sell genuine Rolex
products."
Tom
Barrett of registrar Encirca.com
was more indignant, writing "The
basic premise of this article is all
wrong. Who are you or anyone else to
decide if there is a good reason for the
internet expansion? We should be
encouraging start-ups activity,
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trying to
hold it back. This expansion is being
undertaken with an abundance of caution
in terms of ensuring the internet's
security and stability. Let's see what
innovation results."
(Hat tip to
Scott Ross for bringing the M.I.T.
article to my attention). |
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