MENLO PARK, CA - DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has rapidly ascended to the top of Apple's App Store charts in the UK, US, and China following its launch on President Donald Trump's inauguration day. This swift rise has raised concerns among tech experts and free-speech advocates, with some labeling it as AI's "Sputnik moment." The application, powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model, functions similarly to ChatGPT, generating human-like responses to user prompts. Notably, … [Read more...]
Namecheap Publishes Results Naming Highest TLD, Domain Registrations for 2024
PHOENIX, AZ - One of the most well-known domain registrars in the world, Namecheap, has released the results of a study outlining the highest number of domains registered through its service in the Top-Level Domain (TLD) as well as National Domain categories for the year 2024. Namecheap’s report notes that the most popular TLD registered with the company in 2024, unsurprisingly, was .COM, which took a commanding lead with 3,661,899 registrations. The number two slot ended … [Read more...]
These Countries Are Beniffting Big from Their Distinctive Top-Level Domains
PALM BEACH, FL -The rise in prominence of artificial intelligence in the tech industry has proven to be a significant boon for Anguilla, which has seen a huge spike – and along with it, a lucrative revenue stream – from companies and organizations seeking to register the small Caribbean island nation’s top-level domain (TLD) of “.AI.” This development has been making headlines in the press, but Anguilla isn’t the only country with a TLD that is desired across the globe for … [Read more...]
FBI Shutdown Prolific Ransomware Group “Radar/Dispossessor,” Domains Seized
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The FBI has announced they have shut down a prolific ransomware group known as “Radar/Dispossessor” and seized multiple internet domains and servers utilized by the cyber threat actors, reportedly headed up by an individual known by the code-name “Brain.” As part of the FBI’s enforcement actions, they have dismantled a plethora of servers utilized by Radar/Dispossessor to carry out their ransomware attacks, including three in the United States, … [Read more...]
Google Now Displays Wallet Balances for Ethereum Name Services (ENS) Domains
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Google has recently integrated native support for wallet balances of Ethereum Name Services (ENS) domains in its search results, a move that should simplify the process of sending and receiving funds on the part of cryptocurrency holders by substituting standard – and, thus, easier to remember – domain names in the place of the complicated wallet addresses commonly associated with blockchain-specific domains. ENS translates computer identifiers into … [Read more...]
New 2024 Global Domain Report Notes “Game Changing” Industry Insights for “.AI”
CAMBRIDGE, MA - InterNetX and Sedo Have released their 2024 Global Domain Report, which breaks down the domain industry and examines trends and shifts that are expected in the upcoming year, with the main emphasis being placed upon tech developments and the evolution of AI and its growing influence upon the internet. The free-to-download 80-page report – of which this article will provide a brief summary – noted that 359.8 million new domains were registered in 2023, … [Read more...]
Shiba Inu Developers Planning on Launch of First Crypto Top-Level Domain “.shib”
NEW YORK, NY - The development team behind the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency – inspired by the Shiba Inu, a Japanese dog breed which also serves as the mascot for Dogecoin – is planning on launching the first ever crypto top-level domain in partnership with domain company D3. Shiba Inu are currently waiting for approval of the new domain, “.shib,” which is slated to be utilized for websites and email for what is being described as a “decentralized identity project for internet … [Read more...]
Twitter Competitor Bluesky to Start Selling Custom Domains to Remain Ad-Free
SEATTLE, WA - In the shadow of the impending launch of Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads, another rival of the microblogging social media platform – Bluesky – announced on Wednesday that it has acquired $8 million in new funding in addition to implementing a new change to their business model- selling custom domains in a bid to keep the service ad-free for its user base. In a blog post, Bluesky noted that they had raised additional seed funding following its … [Read more...]
You Really Can Make A Logo In 3 Minutes With Founder Richard Lau’s Logo.com
PALM BEACH, FL - Richard Lau, it’s a name many in the domain industry will be familiar with, as he was a Co-Founder of NamesCon, the domain industries “main event” so to speak, now owned by GoDaddy.com through its acquisition of World Hosting Days. Richard is also known for his long-term support of WaterSchool, a global nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. It was a staple at NamesCon events – at least that is where … [Read more...]
How Much Does It Cost to Build A Mobile App For My Website? Do I “Need” One?
PALM BEACH, FL - One of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to building and maintaining your own mobile app is that the development phase is a set-it and forget it endeavor; it is never over. How Much Does It Cost? The cost to maintain a custom app can be steep ($10k-$100k) and each time IOS and Android release an update, most apps will need to have their code modified for the new version so developers must be within reach or on-board continually. This … [Read more...]
Hallmark Continues to ‘Cash-In’ On Premium Holiday Web Name “Easter.com”, Or Does It?
WEST PALM BEACH – Originally registered in 1998, the domain name “Easter.com” redirects visitors to the Hallmark.com website where conveniently Easter cards and gifts are highlighted. This is a good use of a premium domain name, outside of development of course. Hallmark has owned this domain name since at least 2010 when it was highlighted by Domain Name Wire. Out of curiosity, I decided to visit it this morning to see what’s there. A good question to ask, if even … [Read more...]
Near $200,000 Missing from “Ordinary” Domain Sales Market, So Far This Year
NEW YORK – There is an old saying “Follow the Money”, popularized by the 1976 drama-documentary motion picture “All the President's Men” which was about the Watergate scandal (I’ve yet to see the movie, but plan to). However, in this case, I prefer not to follow the money, because it looks like it's disappearing into a region of space-time; one exhibiting strong gravitational effects that nothing - not even particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light can escape … [Read more...]
Solution for Domainers Who Develop, Have Traffic, Experiencing Revenue Declines
NEW YORK, NY - Anyone who develops website properties can tell you that the best website business you can possibly have is one that isn’t completely dependent on search engines and has a true following. However, there are two factors at play here; one, being, if your site is only receiving traffic from search engines, Google in particular can put a very real-hurtin’ on you in a minute; the other, point two, is that if your site doesn’t have direct advertiser relationships … [Read more...]
gTLD Madness: Five Years Later and Where Are We Now? T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Panel Debate
NEW YORK - By the time I started visiting domain conferences in person, unfortunately, what I feel was the greatest domain conference of all time, Howard Neu and Rick Schwartz’s T.R.A.F.F.I.C., had seen its last days. I wish it weren’t so. I think the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences were the best respected domain conferences in history; I can only wish that Howard and Rick, for whatever reason, will team up again and bring it back one day, because everything else, in my opinion, … [Read more...]
How to Become a ‘Rockstar Domainer’ by Developing Your Own Domain Assets
NEW YORK – Unless you have been living in a cave for the last few years, you’ve caught wind that parking your domain names is potentially the worst thing you can do to monetize them. Today, you need to DEVELOP your domain names into real web services to earn realistic profits from them, but development is not always easy, especially if you do not know how to do any of it yourself, as it can be VERY EXPENSIVE. Development involves an ‘idea’, planning, design, development, … [Read more...]