213 Days Until .buzz TLD

.buzz coming soon!!

The other day I made mention that one of my good friends was on the verge of launching one of the most exciting tech startups that I’ve seen in a long time right here in Central Arkansas, .buzz. When a lot of people think startups they typically think about products and services like Facebook & Twitter, things that we didn’t know we needed until we got them. Well, .buzz, being a TLD – Top Level Domain, isn’t exactly a new concept, after all we are all familiar w/ .com, .net, .org, .info, etc. and what these extensions are. Granted, not many people can tell you a lot about what a domain extension is except that all websites have them – and that’s totally cool as far as I’m concerned, people don’t need to get bogged down w/ all of the details.

The thing that’s cool about .buzz to me is that it stands out, and to a business owner or person tasked w/ promoting a brand, product, idea, or platform, standing out is the name of the game. I really feel like .buzz is going to be a huge asset to the internet community – and that’s why I was more than happy to take an advisory role in the early development of this product. I challenge you to do an experiment, see how many times you hear the word “buzz” used during the course of any given day. It will astound you. I don’t think I realized how popular the word was until I started talking w/ Bill Doshier, CEO of .buzz.

So, when is .buzz going to be available? Well, I’m happy to announce that I have some inside information on this -that I can’t share as of yet, but suffice to say that we’ve got some pretty cool announcements coming up. Oh, and you can keep track of the days remaining until the launch of .buzz at their website (see their countdown clock).

For those of you that are wondering exactly what all goes into getting your own TLD like .buzz. I could literally share paragraph after paragraph and still not scratch the surface in terms of all of the paperwork, filings, proceedings, hearings, etc. involved and in terms of investment capital needed, well I promise you don’t want to know the answer to that. It’s up there. But, again I feel very strongly that .buzz is going to assume a premium position on the landscape when it becomes available. I promise to keep everyone in the loop as to when and where…

For those of you that are interested in the “launch sequence” of a new TLD, I found a very informative article here that I thought I’d share…

• Once a gTLD application has been approved and delegated to the root zone, it can be marketed and sold to consumers for use as an address on the world wide web. This Launch Sequence will dictate who can register a New gTLD domain name, when, and under what conditions.
• Each New TLD registry will follow its own unique launch sequence. The exact launch – rules, pricing, timing – everything is at the discretion of the registry for each top level domain. With 1900 New gTLD applications there will be wide variations in how new tlds are launched.
• New gTLDs will become available to different groups at different times, at different prices under different circumstances. A typical TLD rollout or launch sequence will likely include, but not limited to some of these stages:
• Founders Program: Some New gTLD registries may seek early adopters for some of the most meaningful,short, and valuable generic domains (not trademarks) by special arrangement. Think ‘Online.Poker’, or ‘Hotels.Vegas’. A Founder’s Program participant would likely pay a premium initial registration fee, and/or agree to meet promotional and use requirements to help establish the New gTLD as a valued property on the web. details
• Trademark Sunrise: Before domain names under a new tld can be broadly distributed, trademark owners must have the opportunity to register, or block their brand names. Brand owners will register with the Trademark Clearinghouse to facilitate this process across all New gTLDs. Learn More
• Community Sunrise: City, Geographical and Community TLDs may offer domain names to verifiable members of their designated community before allowing them up to be registered by the general public. Understanding these requirements could be key to getting the name you want. more on community sunrise
• Landrush / Auction: While this is the first opportunity for general public to register domains, landrush registration is typically Not first-come, first-served. Duplicate requests are auctioned between the parties desiring an identical name. Read on.
• Open Registration: This is the first time that registrations can be made on a first come, first served basis at regular retail price. Pre-registered domains are queued up by registrars who, in turn, attempt to register names for their customers. about General Availability
• Premium Auctions: As virtual real estate – not all domain names are valued equally. The best short, intuitive, meaningful and brandable names are withheld from release, sometimes for years, to be auctioned to the highest bidder how and when the registry decides. more