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Some people like to think of a domain
name as an address or a phone number. I like to think of it as being
a little more important than that. Putting it simply, to me, your
domain name is synonymous with your logo. This is the first point
of contact with your company from the Internet. The people that
contact you via the web, enter this name and remember you by it.
A great many of the "dot.com" companies today, use their
web address (including the "com") as their company name.
As to the question of: "Do I really
need one?" the answer is: technically - no. Every domain name
is translated into a numeric code (happens behinds the scenes, you
do not even notice it). For instance, "www.discoverydatasystems.com"
translates to "207.69.207.198". You could literally enter
"http:// 207.69.207.198" on the address line of your browser
and it would work fine. You do not get to choose the numbers assigned
to your domain name. If you happen to end up with some catchy sequence
of numbers that you can make into a company name, then you are set.
If you do, let me know, I still have not seen one yet.
Is the ".com" really that
important. If you asked Internet specialists this question two or
three years ago, they would have looked at you as if your were crazy
and replied a curt "Of course!". If you ask a web specialist
in another two or three years, the answer will probably be something
like, "well, it is the most common, but the others work too."
The fact is we are running out of hard addresses to host all of
these websites, and the ".com" names are starting to get
a little scarce, a little long, and a little strange. Today, the
accepted standard is that ".com" sites are for business,
the ".net" are generally some form of Internet service
company, the ".org's" non-profit organizations, and the
".gov's" are government agencies. Well, now an entire
country has sold off its' rights to the ".tv" extensions
to the highest bidders in place of being country recognizable (supposedly
worth over $1billion to the country).
General comments on domain names. While
the ".com" is currently still the most recognizable and
desirable, it is not mandatory. More and more ".net"s
are starting to emerge, but slowly. If you can not come up with
a good, rememberable, typeable (not too long, not too complicated)
domain name, then consider the ".net" or ".tv".
There are a number of sites that will offer to let you search for
a domain name for free. Some are more free than others. Most people
do not understand why some of these websites exist. Some say it
is for the advertising on the site. Well for many, there is a far
more sinister reason for their existence. Most of these sites remember
each name as you search for it. When they get enough hits on a particular
name, THEY go and register it for themselves. They also tend to
register all three versions of each particular name (".com",
".net", and ".org"). They will then gladly turn
around and sell you that name for a small profit (many over $1000)
plus a long term hosting contract on the server that they just happen
to own. If you want to look up a name without consequence, go to
www.networksolutions.net and select "WHOIS Lookup". The
major disadvantage of this method is that you can only lookup exact
spellings. Some of the other "free" lookup sites will
let you search with wildcards or give you a list of other names
that are close to the one you entered. When you find an available
domain name, and if you think it is one that someone else may want
to use, it may be worth the $72 to register the ".net"
if you get the ".com" name (or vice versa) to eliminate
the possible confusion. Some companies go as far as also taking
the ".org" name just to seal the deal.
© 2001 - Barry
Wroobel - Discovery Data Systems, inc.
(note: Set left and right printer margins
to 0.25" for printing)
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