Editorial
What's In A Name?
We've all heard of the "dot com revolution" that is currently sweeping the world and marvel at how listed companies only have to put up a "dot com" website to significantly increase their share price.

So why haven't we heard of the "dot co dot nz" revolution? And for that matter, where is all the "dot co dot uk" or "dot com dot au" mania?

One must also ask -- why is TVNZ exclusively promoting the domain name "nzoom.com", for its new "NZ homepage" -- even though it's a New Zealand site and can also be accessed through the domain name nzoom.co.nz?

Given the recent hoo-ha created by the new government's demands that TVNZ spend more time addressing the local cultural needs of NZers -- to boldly promote a "dot com" name in favour of a .co.nz one seems a little risky doesn't it? I hope nobody tells Marian Hobbs!

Let's face it, these days a "dot com" name carries some prestige, even here in New Zealand where a .co.nz name might be more expected and I suspect that a number of website owners have only reluctantly chosen a local name because there are so few good "dot coms" left

If you can find a suitable "dot com" then you're well advised to snap it up for your website -- particularly if you're looking at doing any kind of e-commerce or perhaps marketing to an audience outside of New Zealand.

You'll also find that the initial registration of a "dot com" is no more than US$35 (about NZ$70) which is cheaper than the price of the same here in NZ by a significant amount. In fact, since the monopoly of Network Solutions was broken, you can pay as little as US$10 (NZ$20) per year for a "dot com."

Suffice to say that with a first-year cost of NZ$83 (US$41.50), it's not hard to see that NZ's registry is still run by a monopoly -- and that's perhaps yet another reason to opt for a "dot com."

The shortage of good "dot com" names has lead however to a roaring market in speculation. Just do a search on "domain name" at the ebay site and you'll find over 2,000 items, most of which are speculators trying to flog names they've bought up hoping to make a quick dollar. While many are dreamers, there are a few names that, like personalised plates, might well be worth taking a punt on in the sure knowledge that they will appreciate in value.

Even though a raft of new top level names (TLD) are being mooted to go along with .com, .net, .org etc, the "dot coms" will always carry a premium and be associated with long-term Net players.

Oh... and as footnote, perhaps TVNZ ought to consider registering the domain nzzoom.com just in case some purveyor of porn, or even a competitor decides to pick it up. An ounce of prevention is worth tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills trying to wrestle it back from the wrong hands.

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