The Internet just got a little bigger today with .CO opening for general registration. Beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, .CO registrations began rolling in fast and furious at Webnames.ca.

A new domain launch is always exciting. For registrants it provides a rare opportunity to get truly premium domains - names that are memorable, dictionary words, combinations of words, popular phrases, trending terms and topics, first names, last names and place names.  Really good stuff is available at this early date!

Around the office, it's exciting to see the variety of names being registered and share in our customers excitement when they get the exact domain name they want, or in some cases, have wanted for years.

With most of the quality .COM's taken in the primary market, it's getting harder to secure a good, global domain name unless you are willing to pay the going rate in the aftermarket. When searching for a new domain to represent a business, product or brand, most people have to go through dozens of variations before settling on a second rate domain.

.CO presents a rare opportunity for people to get all their names - brands, business and product - and also register relevant generic domains they can use to drive traffic, expand their brand or hold onto for future use.

Online shopping giant Overstock.com announced today that they acquired the domain "O.CO" specifically to target new audiences and expand its global brand.

"We think the O is a really important part of our brand," said Jonathan Johnson, Overstock.com president. "We think many people think of us as the O. And single-letter domain names are rare so we're glad to have this one."

Overstock paid $350k for their new .CO domain, however you don't need deep pockets to follow their lead. .CO domains are only $29.50 at Webnames.ca and this is the best opportunity you will every have to register great brand building and marketing domains.

Register soon, an opportunity like this only comes around once every couple years.  This is your chance to get the domain that got away from you in both .COM and .CA!

Everything You Need to Know About .CO













Where:   Register .CO at Webnames.ca

When: .CO General Registration begins Tuesday, July 20 at 11:00 PDT

Cost:  .CO is $29.50 US/year at Webnames.ca.
(This is the best price available for .CO, lower than most discount registrars including GoDaddy.)

Term: .CO can be registered for 1 to 5 years.

Meaning:  Associated globally with the words "company," "corporation" and "commerce," .CO is a flexible domain for businesses.  It is also a great platform for socially networked companies or individuals.


.CO Highlights

• .CO is meaningful, flexible and available!
• .CO is easy to understand when writing, spelling or speaking over the phone for example.
• .CO can represent a company, corporation, or other commercially focused endeavor.
• .CO is a great fit for communities, cooperatives, coalitions, collaborative ventures, content sharing and communication platforms. [Learn more about .CO]

Help Shape Canada's Internet!

Are you an experienced professional with Board of Directors experience?

Are you looking for an opportunity to have a positive impact on the .CA domain?

Member Nominations are being accepted from August 3 - 16.

Who should apply?

Professional Canadians with Board experience and/or an interest in technology and the Internet. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, education, law, marketing and communications, human resources, or technology.

Why should this interest me?

Becoming a CIRA Board Member is a unique opportunity to work with Canada's Internet leaders as they develop strategy and policy that positions .CA for operational excellence.
You will gain valuable insight and experience around technical innovation, Internet policy, and organizational governance.

The yearly commitment from Directors includes approximately five in-person week-day meetings in various cities across Canada throughout the year as well as committee work.

Members of CIRA's Board of Directors are remunerated for their time and reimbursed for expenses. For detailed information, please visit: http://www.cira.ca/board-compensation.

What is the role of CIRA's Board?

CIRA Directors help determine strategic direction and provide oversight for Canada's .CA domain name registry. CIRA is a member-driven organization that develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

How do I apply?

CIRA Members can nominate themselves or another individual (who can be either a member or non-member) by completing the online Nomination Form from August 3 - 16.

To be included on the final Members' Slate, Member Nominees must then receive the endorsement of at least 20 CIRA Members during the Show of Support stage. CIRA Members will then vote during the September 22 - 29 election.

There is one Member Nomination seat available which will hold a three-year term.
For more information and to apply, please visit: www.ciraelections.ca

Root Zone Signed - DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) has been enabled at the root zone as of July 15. The work was done by VeriSign and ICANN, working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Commerce. DNSSEC supports the digital signing of DNS data, and the signing of the root zone together with the establishment of a root trust anchor should encourage widespread deployment of DNSSEC in the Internet.

Picks To Click

• "The End of the Beginning for DNSSEC", by Ram Mohan.
• Nominet's Policy Advisory Board has ceased to operate, and the organization is introducing an open approach for developing policy for the .uk domain.
• The U.S. Internet Governance Forum is meeting in Washington on July 21.
• The .nz domain is introducing IDNs, in the form of macrons over the vowels, to coincide with Māori Language Week 2010 which starts on July 26.
• Carleton University Students' Association Inc. wins a dispute over cusaonline.ca.

Timeline

• Tue, Aug 3 - Mon, Aug 16: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
• Thu, Aug 26 - Thu, Sep 9: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
• Tue, Sep 14 - Tue, Sep 21: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election
• Sun, Dec 5 - Fri, Dec 10: ICANN meetings in Cartagena, Columbia

Digital Influence Index identifies Canadians as social media savvy but cautious about information found online

Study by Fleishman-Hillard Study

Consumers across the globe are embracing the Internet as a primary source of information, but Canadians are unique in their use of digital and social media. The 2010 Digital Influence Index, released in Canada by Fleishman-Hillard in conjunction with Harris Interactive, reveals that Canadians have high online engagement but a lower level of trust in the Internet.

The study also measures several key aspects of consumers' use of the Internet, from media consumption patterns, to the degree of adoption of various digital behaviours, to involvement in social networking. Now in its second year, the Index has expanded to include 48 per cent of the global online population, spanning the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Canada.

"Canadian consumers are comfortable yet cautious when it comes to using the Internet," said David Bradfield, senior partner and global chair of Fleishman-Hillard's digital practice. "We lead the world in social networking and call the Internet our most influential source of information. There's a gap though. While consumers migrate online, marketers aren't making the move to digital fast enough. They need to realign their marketing and communication programs or risk irrelevance in the consumers' mind."

The Digital Influence Index reveals the following key insights that set Canadian consumers apart from the rest of the world:

1. Internet Most Influential Medium: The Internet is the most important and influential form of media consumed by Canadians. Compared to the 37 per cent of Canadian consumers who say that newspapers are important to their lives, 52 per cent say that the Internet is most important. 
2. Canadians are Sociable: Sixty-nine per cent of Canadian consumers have a Facebook account, compared with the 47 per cent average across the seven countries. Though Canadians embrace social media, they are cautious about its use and how much they reveal about themselves.  
3. Canadians Seek Accuracy: In Canada, consumers are more likely to identify and follow a couple of trustworthy sources for the most accurate information on the Internet.
4. Cautiously Trusting: Canadians are most likely to seek advice from others when making a decision and value conversations with friends, families and co-workers when it comes to decision-making.
5. Twitter Know-how: Consumers in Canada are the most knowledgeable of microblogs but have low levels of trust in companies that microblog.
6. Pay to Play Doesn't Pay-off: Consumers call into question the truthfulness of an article written by a blogger if the blogger was given a free sample or was paid by a company.
7. Adopting Mobile Behaviours: Canada has a relatively low level of adopting many mobile digital behaviours compared with other mature markets (U.S., U.K, France, Germany and Japan).
8. Where to From Here: Although the Internet is already considered an influential medium, only 24 per cent of Canadians believe that it will have a greater influence on their decisions in the next two years.

Download a complimentary copy of the Digital Influence Index white paper and read in-depth analysis on global insights.

View video commentaries from some of the sector experts at Fleishman-Hillard Canada.

About the Digital Influence Index
The Digital Influence Index is a joint venture between Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive. The project was designed and led by Fleishman-Hillard's digital research group, a team within the agency's network focused on providing research that supports the digital transformation of communications. Analysis and insight development was conducted in partnership with Harris Interactive.

The fieldwork for this study was also conducted by Harris Interactive through a comprehensive, 15-minute online survey among a representative sample of 4,243 Internet users in China, the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

This work took place between December 2009 and January 2010. Respondents to the survey were recruited from the various panels managed by Harris Interactive across the markets surveyed.

The data was weighted to online population targets, including those based on age, gender, education, region and Internet usage. Further weighting was applied to the analysis of the combined results to reflect the online population sizes in each country.

The Digital Influence Index was constructed by factoring in both consumption of a medium and the importance consumers attach to that consumption. Respondents were allowed to give various media a score out of 100 for the amount of time they spend on them and then rate how important this time is to their decisions. Consumption and importance were each scored out of 100 to produce a percentage score for each and a total score out of 200. This latter score is halved to produce a combined percentage score that sums up the influence of the medium.

About Fleishman-Hillard
Fleishman-Hillard Inc., one of the world's leading strategic communications firms, has built its reputation on creating integrated solutions that deliver what its clients value most: meaningful, positive and measurable impact on the performance of their organizations. The firm is widely recognized for excellent client service and a strong company culture founded on teamwork, integrity and personal commitment. Based in St. Louis, the firm operates throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America through its 80 owned offices. For more information, visit the Fleishman-Hillard website at www.fleishmanhillard.com.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Here are notes on a number of topics from the ICANN meetings held in Brussels on June 20-25, 2010:

• .XXX Domain Application Moves Forward - Following ICANN's 2007 rejection of ICM Registry's application for the .xxx TLD, and after an Independent Review Panel issued a finding against ICANN, the ICANN Board resolved to accept the panel's findings. This does not yet mean that the .xxx application is approved, because several steps still have to be carried out including the possibility of consultation with ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). It was clear that there was some discomfort, as indicated by these remarks from Director Harald Alvestrand:
  
  "To [say] that I am uncomfortable with this situation is an understatement. I believe that our process has been followed, our reconsideration process has been followed. We have received competent legal advice on what is the reasonable path forward for what the organization should do, and that effectively this forces me to say that it is in the best interest of the organization and the interest of the furtherance of the organization's goals to act as if something is true that I believe is not, in fact, so. This is a very uncomfortable situation, but I can see no better way to move forward."
  
  Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush thanked Alvestrand "for a very concise explanation of the position that I think many board members find themselves in". No one voted against the resolution, but two people, including CEO Rod Beckstrom, abstained.
• Five Chinese IDN ccTLDs Approved - The delegation of five new Chinese IDN ccTLDs was approved: two for China (中国 and 中國), one for Hong Kong (香港), and two for Taiwan (台灣 and 台湾). The audience greeted the approvals with a standing ovation.
• .ORG DNSSEC Deployed - ICANN and the Public Interest Registry (PIR) held a press conference to announce that .org is the first gTLD to offer full deployment of DNSSEC, the DNS Security Extensions. Also, during the DNSSEC workshop it was announced that the Internet Society's domain isoc.org was the first signed domain in .org. ISOC's Leslie Daigle reported that due to a transcription error there was an issue with validating the newly signed domain.
• IGF Workshop - A workshop on the Internet Governance Forum was held; a summary of the session has been posted on the ICANN blog. The UN General Assembly is expected to vote later this year on the continuation of the IGF.
• Panel on DNS Vulnerabilities and Risk Management - An expert panel was convened to discuss the Domain Name System and security. Moderated by ICANN's Rod Beckstrom (second from left in the photo), the panelists were: Whitfield Diffie, one of the fathers of public key encryption; Paul Mockapetris, father of the Domain Name System; Steve Crocker, Internet pioneer and chair of ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee; and Dan Kaminsky, who two years ago famously unveiled an exploit of the DNS.

Timeline

• Thu, Jul 15: production signed root zone to be available
• Tue, Aug 3 - Mon, Aug 16: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
• Thu, Aug 26 - Thu, Sep 9: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
• Tue, Sep 14 - Tue, Sep 21: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election
• Sun, Dec 5 - Fri, Dec 10: ICANN meetings in Cartagena, Columbia

Webnames.ca recently added new domain extensions to our roster!  .TV, .CC and .WS. are now available for registration, transfer and renewal at Webnames.ca.

.TV

.TV domain names provide an instant association with video and rich media content. A .TV domain is the best way to announce that your site has video or other rich media, like animation, audio or streaming content.

.TV has also become popular as a secondary extension to websites with how-to videos, promotional materials, training and educational content and can be used to your .COM, .CA, etc.

 As a newer namespace, chances of securing the .TV domain name of your choice are significantly higher than with other major TLD's.

.CC

.CC is a highly memorable extension that is used to represent several abbreviations.
It is extremely popular and widely used by niche markets, special interest groups and communities, including:

Commercial Companies
Consulting Companies
Chat Communities
Christian Communities
Christian Churshes
Chambers of Commerce
Community Centers
Community Colleges
Creative Commons associations

.CC is also frequently used as an alternative to. CA and .CN domains to indicate Chinese and Canadian content.

.WS

An abbreviation of "website," .WS has become a popular alternative to .COM. .WS has no inherent implication about the nature of the website and no rules surrounding its content.
.WS is versatile, easy to remember and can be used for any manner of website (ecommerce, corporate, personal, file sharing, directories, forums, etc.).

The .WS namespace  also has excellent name availability in comparison to .COM and can be used as both a complement and traffic driver to your primary extension.


.CO Landrush

In addition to the above, Webnames.ca is excited to be among a handful or registrars offering .CO for Landrush Registration.

Landrush is always the best time to secure a premium domain name. It is the first phase whereby a person can obtain a domain name that is not trademarked. Most premium and generic domains are allocated during the Landrush registration period. .

Landrush also allows for registration of names or names that may be in demand by multiple parties.

Webnames.ca's .CO Landrush price is $275.00 US - the lowest Landrush price available (compare to $299 at GoDaddy). It includes both your Landrush fees and first year of registration. There is very little risk in applying, only a $10 non-refundable application fee if you do not win your .CO name.

Learn more about the Landrush application process for .CO here.

Why Register .CO?

.CO is meaningful, flexible and available!

.CO can represent a company, corporation, or other commercially focused endeavor.

.CO is a great fit for communities, cooperatives, coalitions, collaborative ventures, content sharing and communication platforms.
 

In two weeks time the harmonized sales tax (HST) will replace the existing provincial sales taxes (PST) and the federal goods and services tax (GST) in the province of British Columbia.

As you know, Webnames.ca is located in Vancouver; this means that BC's adoption of the HST will impact you, our customers.


What Does the HST Mean for Webnames.ca Customers?

The HST will be applied on all Webnames.ca services at a rate of 12%, consisting of the 5% federal portion and a 7% provincial portion, beginning Thursday, July 1, 2010.

Hosting, Web Builder, Email

Because Hosting, Web Builder and Email are already subject to 12% taxes due to the nature of these services, there will be no changes to your invoices or receipts for these items.

Domain Registrations, Domain Renewals, SSL Certificates

Domain registrations, renewals, SSL certificates and special program fees will become subject to HST as of July 1, 2010. This means your invoices and/or bills for these items will increase by 7% for a total of 12% taxes above the retail price.

* Customers who wish to purchase or renew domain or SSL services before July 1, 2010 will realize a savings of 7%.

Webnames.ca invoices and receipts have been updated to show the HST and will take effect July 1, 2010.

Claiming the HST as a Business

While it is hard to get excited about a new tax, the HST does have advantages for businesses. The move to HST now means that businesses can claim 12% taxes, an increase of 7% over the GST.

As with the GST, if you are operating a Canadian business you can claim back the HST you've paid out during a particular reporting period by claiming it through Input Tax Credits (ITCs) on your HST return.

Additional HST Information and Resources

For general HST information, including how to apply for an HST account and HST credits/rebates, we recommend visiting Canada Revenue Agency's GST/HST Topics page and the "Information for Consumers" section of the HST for British Columbia page.

Outside of the CRA, About.com's Small Business Canada portal is the most comprehensive resource for information on all things HST, including information specific to BC and Ontario. If you have additional HST questions, you will be able to find answers here.

Emerging Tech Companies in BC take note!

Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 BC Innovation Council Awards, which will be presented at the New Ventures BC Competition Awards at the SFU Segal Centre in Vancouver September 23, 2010.

The annual BCIC Awards recognize exceptional achievements in, or potential for, commercialization of technology and honour outstanding technology.

Submissions are now being accepted for the following three awards:

1. BCIC Ripples of Hope Award in Biotechnology & Entrepreneurship; Award Value: $35,000
2. Emerging Technology Award; Award Value: Up to $25,000 towards commercialization services
3. Entrepreneurship Fellow Award; Award Value: $25,000 for entrepreneurship education or commercialization initiatives

The application deadline is Monday, July 26, 2010. Detailed award submission guidelines can be found here.

 

Every few years a new domain extension is released to the market place. This year there is a new domain that is designed for businesses - .CO, which is associated globally with the word "company," but can also represent corporations and commercial endeavors.

With the similarity to .COM or .CA for that matter, .CO could be easily confused and open to phishing, spamming and fraudulent activity. Imagine receiving an email from yourbank.co (rather than yourbank.com) to update your personal information. There will be a certain percentage of people who will get caught. So for this reason alone, large companies and trademark owners should definitely protect their brands and company names. 

Many people have also asked me want the relevance is to smaller businesses. With limited budgets, should a small business owner invest in a .CO if the owner feels their name is less of a target by spammers?

Here are some of the unique benefits of a .CO domain name:

• .CO is universally recognized as an abbreviation for company and can represent a corporation or other commercially focused endeavor

• .CO is meaningful, memorable and easy to remember

• .CO registration is open globally, giving small businesses the chance to get the name they always wanted

Some savvy businesses are purchasing names that combine their profession and geography (such as SeattleDoctor.co or VancouverBuilder.co). This will enhance their position online, making it easier for customers to find them. I personally feel that it is important for all businesses large or small to protect your online brand. The pain of losing your name to another company, especially a competitor, could be highly damaging to a business of any size. If small businesses can't afford the $275, wait until July 20 when the General Availability stage opens up and the price drastically reduces to less than $30/year.

How to Get a .CO Name

.CO names are currently available from Webnames.ca through a process called .CO Landrush. This is a limited period of time in which people have the opportunity to reserve names before they are generally available on July 20, 2010.

Webnames.ca will be taking .CO Landrush registrations until July 13th.

During .CO Landrush, if you are the only applicant for the name, you are informed around July 20 or shortly thereafter and are awarded the name. If more than one customer reserves the same name, those customers will be entered into an auction and the name awarded to the highest bidder. If you do not win your .CO name at auction, you will receive a refund on all fees, less $10 for processing so there's very little risk even when applying for very generic names.
 
Webnames.ca is offering a .CO Landrush price of US$275 which is the lowest in the industry (compare to GoDaddy at $299).

More information about the new .CO extension and the Landrush application process can be found on our .CO Landrush page. Here you can search the .CO WHOIS to find out what domains are available before you call our customer support at 1-866-221-7878 to apply for your names. Good luck!

Worldwide Domain Name Registrations Surpass 193 Million - According to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief published by VeriSign, the first quarter of 2010 ended with more than 193 million domain names worldwide, an annual increase of 11 million registrations, or 6%. Registrations from the ccTLDs stood at 76.3 million, a 2.9% decrease for the quarter but a 3.2% increase annually. The number of .cn domains declined due to policy changes. The largest domains are: .com, .de, .net, .cn, .uk, .org, .info, .nl, .eu, and .ru.

Picks To Click

• Notes and photos from the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Vancouver conference, in the domain industry news magazine DN Journal. The conference featured several sessions on the .ca domain.
• A ceremony to generate the first DNSSEC key to secure the root zone will be held on June 16 in Culpeper, Virginia.
• The agenda for the ICANN Board meeting in Brussels on June 25 has been posted.
• Perfetti Van Melle Benelux B.V. wins a dispute over mentos.ca
• Toyota Canada loses a dispute over scion.ca.

Timeline

• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect
• Thu, Jul 15: production signed root zone to be available
• Tue, Aug 3 - Mon, Aug 16: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
• Thu, Aug 26 - Thu, Sep 9: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
• Tue, Sep 14 - Tue, Sep 21: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election
• Sun, Dec 5 - Fri, Dec 10: ICANN meetings in Cartagena, Columbia

The latest batch of TBR domains has been released and the list contains hundreds of single dictionary words, mainly adjectives.

I've never seen a list with this many single word domains set to expire  ... lot's of cogent, memorable URLs up for grabs!

Below are my "top picks" scheduled for release on June 16th. Prebook early!

More domains are added to CIRA's To Be Released domains list every day until the drop date, so you may want the TBR list on CIRA's website for new selections.

There are so many GREAT domains this week, that I've only highlighted a few "picks" below.

These domains are available for pre-booking now at Webnames.ca, and will be released by CIRA on Wednesday, June 16 2010.

abrupt.ca
abruptly.ca
absorbed.ca
absorption.ca
abundantly.ca
abuses.ca
accordance.ca
accorded.ca
according.ca
accordingly.ca
accounted.ca
admitted.ca
affected.ca
affectionate.ca
afflicted.ca
agreed.ca
airy.ca
assigned.ca
astonishment.ca
awakened.ca
awoke.ca
betrayed.ca
boiled.ca
boldly.ca
borrowed.ca
bowed.ca
bursting.ca
calculated.ca
celebrated.ca
cell-phone.ca
cellular-accessories.ca
cellular-phone.ca
challenged.ca
chatspot.ca
cheaperdrugs.ca
cheered.ca
childish.ca
cling.ca
coffeetogo.ca
commanders.ca
commanding.ca
composing.ca
compressed.ca
conceived.ca
concentrated.ca
confessed.ca
constrained.ca
contained.ca
contributed.ca
cookscuisine.ca
correctly.ca
corresponding.ca
corrode.ca
coveted.ca
cowbaydance.ca
cowboycrafts.ca
cried.ca
cries.ca
culminate.ca
cumulative.ca
daga.ca
danced.ca
datatrack.ca
deduce.ca
defensive.ca
degrade.ca
degraded.ca
dehydrate.ca
demonstrator.ca
demonstrators.ca
dented.ca
dependant.ca
detained.ca
dictated.ca
dipped.ca
disappearance.ca
disappeared.ca
disappointed.ca
disappointment.ca
discontent.ca
displaying.ca
downward.ca
drained.ca
drown.ca
drugcosts.ca
duly.ca
drugcosts.ca
eastcoastrealty.ca
eaten.ca
enclosed.ca
enforced.ca
enlarged.ca
environmentaladvisors.ca
equalize.ca
equivalent.ca
ethicalplanet.ca
ethicalworld.ca
exceeding.ca
exhaustion.ca
factorycarpet.ca
faculties.ca
faults.ca
faulty.ca
favoured.ca
fearful.ca
finalscore.ca
finalscores.ca
flaming.ca
flashed.ca
flatter.ca
flattering.ca
floated.ca
flooringpros.ca
flushed.ca
followed.ca
folly.ca
footie.ca
footing.ca
fought.ca
frequently.ca
freshness.ca
frustrate.ca
futile.ca
gently.ca
gradually.ca
healthassessments.ca
healthierskin.ca
healthwise.ca
homephysio.ca
immediately.ca
imprisoned.ca
improper.ca
impulses.ca
inconsistent.ca
increased.ca
inexperienced.ca
inflict.ca
inflicted.ca
influenced.ca
inherited.ca
injurious.ca
inseparable.ca
insignificant.ca
irritation.ca
jetty.ca
judging.ca
kelownahotels.ca
laughed.ca
leisurely.ca
liking.ca
livelihood.ca
longing.ca
lovesex.ca
lowered.ca
mainly.ca
maintained.ca
maintaining.ca
mastersigns.ca
mbw.ca
meetguys.ca
mhb.ca
middleaged.ca
mildly.ca
neatly.ca
necessities.ca
necessity.ca
newhomemarket.ca
numerous.ca
oblige.ca
obtained.ca
occasional.ca
occasionally.ca
offended.ca
onlinebets.ca
operated.ca
ordained.ca
orderly.ca
organicblackberries.ca
organiccarrots.ca
organiccherries.ca
organiccranberries.ca
organicgrapes.ca
organicnectarines.ca
organicpeaches.ca
organicpears.ca
organicpotatoes.ca
organicspelt.ca
originator.ca
outdated.ca
overtake.ca
overwhelming.ca
painfully.ca
peasants.ca
peculiarities.ca
penetrated.ca
penetrating.ca
performed.ca
permanently.ca
pitched.ca
plainly.ca
plentiful.ca
pokerwin.ca
powerfully.ca
powerless.ca
practicable.ca
practically.ca
precipitate.ca
precisely.ca
preferable.ca
proving.ca
provoked.ca
pupils.ca
quietly.ca
ragged.ca
recollection.ca
recovered.ca
recollection.ca
reconciled.ca
recovered.ca
regularly.ca
regulated.ca
remorse.ca
replied.ca
requisite.ca
rescued.ca
resent.ca
resistance.ca
respectable.ca
respects.ca
restored.ca
rehydrate.ca
ruled.ca
rung.ca
sank.ca
satisfactory.ca
scant.ca
seafooddirect.ca
seasoned.ca
seated.ca
seeming.ca
seldom.ca
separately.ca
sharply.ca
shrinking.ca
shrunk.ca
shun.ca
simplyboxes.ca
slew.ca
soccerbets.ca
solicited.ca
sounding.ca
southasianliving.ca
specially.ca
specifically.ca
stationed.ca
steadily.ca
strongest.ca
subsistence.ca
substantial.ca
successfully.ca
suggested.ca
summoned.ca
summons.ca
supported.ca
suppress.ca
swallowed.ca
swiftly.ca
swimpro.ca
temperament.ca
temporarily.ca
tending.ca
tends.ca
terrified.ca
thanked.ca
thou.ca
torontohostel.ca
torontohostels.ca
treated.ca
trembling.ca
tripping.ca
truthful.ca
tweetcamp.ca
uncertain.ca
uncomfortable.ca
unconscious.ca
unfortunate.ca
uqt.ca
varieties.ca
vectortrade.ca
ventured.ca
videogamedepot.ca
webspecialists.ca
wiped.ca
withdrawn.ca
withdrew.ca
workmen.ca
wounded.ca
wtb.ca
youthfulskin.ca

To pre-book a To-Be-Released .CA domain from the above list:

1) Go to Webnames.ca's To-Be-Released .CA Domains page

2) Find and click on the domain(s) you wish to pre-book and they will be added to your cart

3) Review your shopping cart. Login or create a Webnames.ca account. Complete your transaction as though you were registering new domain(s)

4) If your pre-book is successful you will be notified by CIRA after the Wednesday registration period. Within 24 hours of receiving this notification, Webnames.ca will charge your credit card for successfully registered domains

Note: You will only be charged for pre-booked domains that are successfully registered.

On June 8, 2010, over 800 people from BC's technology and business community came together at the Vancouver Convention Centre West to recognize BC's best in the technology industry.

Webnames.ca as long time supporter of the BC Technology Industry Association - Technology Impact Awards and we would like to offer our sincere congratulations to all the winners of the 2010 awards.

 Company of the Year - Peer 1 Hosting

2010 Person of the Year - Ward Chapin, former CIO of VANOC

Community Leadership - FCV

Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology - Icron Technologies

Best Application of Technology - Nexterra Systems Corp.

Excellence in Product Innovation - Simba Technologies Inc.

Most Promising Start-up - Indicee Inc.

Emerging Company of the Year - Avigilon Corporation

Team of the Year - MDA

Read the full press release on this year's BCTIA Winners here.

Photo credit: Kim Stallknecht Photography

Top row: Fabio Banducci - PEER 1 Hosting, Robert Haefling - Icron Technologies,
Doug Johnstone - Simba Technologies, Jonathan Rhone - Nexterra Systems Corp.,
John Starkey - FCV

Front row:  Ward Chapin, Mark Cunningham - Indicee Inc., Lori Guetre - MDA,
Alexander Fernandes - Avigilon Corp.

.CA Registry Approves 2010-2011 Corporate Plan - The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has posted its 2010-2011 Corporate Plan as approved by the CIRA Board on June 1. Among the major activities planned for the coming year are: rewriting the registry management system, hosting a Canadian Internet Governance Forum, and undertaking a Community Investment Program to support social and economic Internet-related activities in Canada.

ICANN Publishes Revised gTLD Draft Applicant Guidebook - ICANN has published the fourth version of the gTLD Draft Applicant Guidebook that describes the process of applying for new generic top-level domains. Included in the new content: incorporation of trademark protections, geographic TLD changes including a prohibition on country names as gTLDs, a new gTLD Registry transition process model, and a revised base registry agreement.

Picks To Click

• The full schedule for the upcoming ICANN Brussels meetings is available.
• Poker.ca sells for $400K.

Timeline

• Thu, May 13 - Fri, Jun 11: applications to CIRA's Nomination Committee solicited
• Tue, Jun 8 - Thu, Jun 10: T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference and Expo in Vancouver
• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect
• Thu, Jul 1: production signed root zone to be available
• Tue, Aug 3 - Mon, Aug 16: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
• Thu, Aug 26 - Thu, Sep 9: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
• Tue, Sep 14 - Tue, Sep 21: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election
• Sun, Dec 5 - Fri, Dec 10: ICANN meetings in Cartagena, Columbia

It is less than one week until the Targeted TRAFFIC Vancouver conference and the full schedule is now available online.

The three day conference kicks off Tuesday, June 8th with opening remarks from Rick Latona at 11:00 am, then it's straight into panels, networking and breakout sessions.

Webnames.ca CEO Stephen Smith and Director John Demco will be on two of the many panels, along with other well known domain industry and monetization experts.

Here some highlights we are looking forward to:

Tuesday, June 8th

11:15 am. - 12:30 pm - ccTLDs are taking over the world, is North America immune?

In Europe and the rest of the world ccTLDs have emerged as the extension of choice for most countries. In Canada .ca has gained momentum but in the United States .us is still for the most part unknown or misunderstood. Is America ready for .us?

Webnames.ca CEO Stephen Smith will be participating in thispanel discussion alongside Ken Hansen from Neustar and Ron Jackson, Editor of DN Journal.

2:00 - 4:30 pm - Main Event 1: Test Track

First launched at T.R.A.F.F.I.C New York and inspired by ABC's hit T.V. show Shark Tank, Test Track provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses to seasoned investors. This event isn't to be missed. It's the most education and intellectually simulating event in the domain business.

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Wednesday, June 9th 2010

11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Domain Names, the future or the past?

More than ever we are questioned about the future stability of domain names. Will they be replaced by a technological or media innovation? What is their projected life value as an investment or asset? After developing and monetizing domain names for over fifteen years we have some answers that may surprise you

This panel discussion features the Castello Brothers of CCIN and Victor Pitts of iGoldrush.

1:00 -1:45 PM - Fireside chat with John Demco

Webnames.ca Director and co-Founder John Demco will be hosting this smaller, more informal session. John conceived the .CA country code domain name in 1987 and served as its initial Registrar. He helped establish the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) where he continues to serve on the Board of Directors. John is playfully referred to by many as the "Godfather" of .CA and has been recognized by the Prime Minister as a founder and builder of the Canadian Internet (1997).

2:30 - 3:45 - Oh Canada! Panel sponsored by CIRA

This panel will focus on the .ca extension. It will explore .ca growth initiatives by CIRA, recent and interesting cases of .ca development, SEO advantages of .ca and .ca versus .com . The panel will review .ca registration requirements, the .ca drop process and the secondary market.

Panel members for this discussion include Paul Andersen of CIRA and President of EGATE,  Zak Muscovitch of DNAttorney.com, Peter Maxymych, prominent Canadian domainer and President of EMall/DOAC and David Fowler, Marketing Director at CIRA.

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Thursday, June 10th 2010

11:00 am - 12:15 pm - Domain Development: In-house or outsource?

Developing domains into great web properties is easier than ever with technology such as aps, widgets and content feeds. This panel will discuss what kind of domains to develop as well as how and whether or not you should go it alone or outsource.

Panel features Mark Michael of Dev Hub, Mike Smutka of Blue Wire Solutions, Morgan Linton of Domain Investor Television and Kevin Legault from n49 Interactive.
          
1:00 - 2:15 pm - Mastering the resale market

Buying domains is easy but selling the right domain at the right price to the perfect buyer is an art. Our panel will discuss finding a buyer and negotiating a deal

2:15 - 3:30 pm - Advanced parking solutions

New and emerging products and tools make it easier than ever to optimize your parked domains. Our expert panel explores some of the best ways maximize potential revenue.

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We're really impressed with the variety of the schedule and the incorporation of considerable Canadian content. The organizers of TRAFFIC have done a great job cultivating a conference that with appeal for both Canadian and International audiences.

Tickets are still available, however the time limited early bird price has now expired. Targeted TRAFFIC Vancouver presents a great opportunity to learn about the business of domain investment and monetization in your own backyard. We hope to see you there!
 

Here is a selection of recent domain-related items:

• Neustar, the .us domain registry operator, is proposing to make one- and two-character .us domain names available. It also proposes to launch a .us URL shortener service, and to expand the marketing of .kids.us.
• New proposals for a Bulgarian TLD name in Cyrillic are being discussed. The original request for .бг was turned down because of its resemblance to the .br domain for Brazil.
• The auction of the sex.com domain name is reportedly back on again.
• ICANN has posted its draft operating plan and budget for 2010-2011. Total operating expenses are budgeted to be $US 60.8 million, an increase of more than 8% over the current fiscal year's budget of $55.9 million. Revenues are budgeted to increase from $62.6 million to $65.5 million.
• CIRA has updated its Privacy Policy.
• The .SPORT Policy Advisory Council has written to ICANN urging that individual sport TLDs not be introduced at this time.
• Canadian anti-spam legislation, the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act (FISA), has been introduced in the House of Commons, together with amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The anti-spam bill is similar to one introduced last year but not passed into law before the legislative session ended.
• VeriSign is selling its authentication services business, including its certification services, to Symantec for $US 1.28 billion in cash. VeriSign will focus on its Internet infrastructure services including the .com and .net domain registries.
• LEGO Juris A/S wins a dispute over legomaniac.ca.

Timeline

• Thu, May 13 - Fri, Jun 11: applications to CIRA's Nomination Committee solicited
• Tue, Jun 8 - Thu, Jun 10: T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference and Expo in Vancouver
• Sun, Jun 20 - Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
• Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect
• Thu, Jul 1: production signed root zone to be available
• Tue, Aug 3 - Mon, Aug 16: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
• Thu, Aug 26 - Thu, Sep 9: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
• Tue, Sep 14 - Tue, Sep 21: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
• Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
• Wed, Sep 22 - Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election
• Sun, Dec 5 - Fri, Dec 10: ICANN meetings in Cartagena, Columbia