I dream of a web no longer full of .com and .uk domains, instead full of a variety of top level domains (TLD). Think about it, we could visit amazon.shop, greg.morris, tech.aeris or even google.android! With the release of new TLD’s we got a step closer, but you can forget buying a .app domain for your beloved developer account before someone like Google buys them all, because you’re already too late.
Acquiring the new TLD has been almost 2 years in the making for Google, culminating in them paying through the nose and forking out $25 million to do so. The organisation that controls the world’s domains, ICANN, is slowly auctioning off the new addresses after taking bids over the last few years.
ICANN Afford This
It’s not the first time that a company has paid out to have exclusive rights to a TLD, either – Amazon purchased the .buy domain for almost $5 million in late 2014. Google itself is reportedly eager to acquire .docs, .android, .free, .fyi, .foo as well, after being beaten by Dot Tech LLC to the .tech domain last year.
You might need to sit down for the vomit inducing pun laced statement by a Google’s spokesperson speaking to Business Insider:
We’ve been excited and curious about the potential for new TLDs for .soy long. We are very .app-y with .how, at a .minna-mum, they have the potential to .foo-ward internet innovation
Exactly what Google plans to do with the .app TLD is a mystery as of now, however it will more than likely sit alongside the .how, .soy and .minna that are already offered by Google’s beta domain registry service.
Developer Future
Coming the same day that sponsored search results are to begin showing in the Google Play Store, this may prove a lucrative move for Google. Clearly more search is shifting to mobile, and having a .app domain may be the best indicator of a mobile visitor. However, concerns have been raised regarding the ability for sponsored content and indie developers to exist side by side.
What price will .app domain’s cost in order for Google to recoup their spent $25 million? Keep an eye on the register if you want to snap one up!
[button link=”https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/auctionresults” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: ICANN[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
Comments are closed.