Susan Boyle is currently enjoying unexpected Global success following her recent appearance on “Britains Got Talent”, with the subsequent media hype help making her into a household name, but NOT on the internet.  Why? – because all of the susanboyle internet domains names were snapped up by cybersquatters, the moment they realised the value in her name (with the exception of the .com – which was already owned by a artist in Texas – I wonder if her spam has increased?).

Many of the sites which were registered in the days following her appearance on the show are branded “fan sites”, but call me cynical – I’m sure they’ll also be fully aware of the potential value such a high profile celebrity name brings with it.  With YouTube now at over 50 MILLION views for the Susan Boyle Clip, it’s easy to see how getting just a small percentage of the current Google searches to your site could bring in some financial gain, not to mention the possibility of Susan herself wanting to buy it from them.

On the 17th April, I emailed Talkback Thames (the production company responsible for Susan’s current fame), and explained:

“…surely you have a responsibility to Susan, to help protect her best interests, and with the knowledge that she was likely to become the subject of media interest (given the show is pre-recorded), I find it difficult to understand why you (acting on her behalf) did not takle measures to ensure the relevant domain names were secured in advance of such public exposure, and therefore protecting her online identity for the future.”
 
I did received a response, claiming that they “already have domain names secured for them (they are just not active yet)”, however I’ve still to find the domains they are referring to, and in a news article released just 1 week after this, Susan herself is reported to have confirmed she doesn’t actually have an official website.

The issue of celebrity cybersquatting is nothing new, and I use Susan Boyle as a very current example, however, I could easily substitute any “reality TV star” from Britain’s got Talent, or X Factor etc.  The same thing happens every year with Big Brother – the contestant’s names are registered as domain names often within minutes of them being announced on the first live show.  We know – we’ve seen the orders!

So whether you’re destined to be the next overnight global success or not, make sure that you understand the value in your own name, and take steps to protect it online by registering your domain name(s),  or risk exploitation by all your adoring “fans”.

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Having recently celebrated it’s 10th birthday (watch this space for details of NSDesign’s 10th birthday early next  year), Google continues to be busy on the development front, releasing a number of new products and services recently.

Two of my favourites so far – Google Chrome – their new web browser, and Mail Googles, a fun addition to their GMail platform that might save a few people from sending the occasional dodgy email late on a Friday night while under the influence…

Chrome is big news in the web world – 1) Because it’s a new browser from Google, and 2) Because it brings with it the possibility of another browser war, with Google’s rivalry with Microsoft stronger than ever.

We’ll post our own review of Chrome soon, but for now, suffice to say that Google’s first effort into the world of browsers does a decent job, and most importantly, seems to be pretty much standards-compliant (being based on the Webkit engine which powers Apple’s Safari) which should save a few headaches from a design/development point of view.  Read Bruce Lawson’s “On Google Chrome” for a more detailed evaluation and opinion.

A million miles from the “strategic move” that is Chrome, Google also announced Mail Googles.  Had it been April 1st I’d have thought it a joke, but think about it a little deeper, and it’s really not a bad idea!..  We’ve had many a domain order, placed at 3am (you know who you are!) from customers returning from the pub…  Many of which are on the phone next day trying to ask for their money back…  “Can I get a refund for ScottyKingofBeer.com please?  I don’t really remember ordering it…  Maybe we’ll follow Google and introduce something similar…  then again….

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Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of sitting down to lunch with some of the Nominet Staff, including CEO Lesely Cowley and board member Gordon Dick.

As well as a very nice meal in Malmasion, the opportunity to catch up on new Nominet initiatives within the .UK domain world was well worth it, and  I’d like to highlight just a few of these here…

Renewal Campaign
As some of you may have seen, Nominet are currently involved in a clever marketing campaign, aimed at .UK domain owners, reminding them of the importance of keeping your domain renewal up to date, and generally looking after your domain to ensure it’s not lost.  Their dedicated keepyour.co.uk site and associated marketing is great news..  anything that helps domain users better understand the importance of keeping their contact details up to date, and knowing when their domains should be renewed etc should help stop the many domains that are lost every year because people simply “forget”.

Register a UK domain for 1-10 years
Finally, Nominet will shortly allow the registration of UK domains for anywhere between 1 and 10 years, bringing consistency with Global domains (such as .com).  For us this is a positive step forward…  Customers who wish to give anothe rlayer of protection to their domain can secure it for 10 years at a time, minimising the risk of losing it every 2 years at renewal time.  The 1 year option is also great…  It means that finally we can offer “annual hosting accounts”, and have the UK domain match up with the renewal date (instead of the current situation of the domain being every 2 years, and the host account every year).

2 character Domains
Nominet also confirmed that they are currently looking into the process of making available the limited number of 2 character uk domains (at the moment, a UK domain must be a minimum of 3 characters in length).  So for example – we’ll be hoping to get NS.co.uk.  This whole idea (although a good one) opens up a whole new can of worms regarding how it’’s managed, who get’s first pickings, the prices for these (since demand will be so high) etc…  There’s talk of auctioning them off, with the money going to charity, and I’m expecting that if this is the route they take – the end-price will be well into the 10’s of £1000’s for each one of them – some going for much higher!  Maybe we won’t get our ns.co.uk after all….

Some other general chat between Nominet members focussed on the role that “small players” have in the domain industry..  While it’s impossible for small companies to match the crazy “domain names for a penny” offers that some of the Domain Giants can offer, everyone agreed that smaller companies by their very nature offer a better personalised service, both in terms of other value added services, and also customer support.  There’s even a call for Nominet to offer “accreditation” to members who can show and continually demonstrate a high standard of service across all areas related to domain registration – and I would agree that this is a good step forward, increasing consumer confidence and proving that just because we don’t give domains away for 1p, there’s a LOT more to choosing who to register with than just price alone.

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Would you pay money to a Random Electricity Company that sent you a letter saying your bill was overdue?…  Would you hand over your credit card to a Mobile phone company you’d never heard of, simply because they sent you an official looking invoice for your Vodafone account?  I’d hope not…  So WHY are so many people still getting scammed by the Domain Registry of America (DROA) when it comes to Domain renewals.

We first reported on this outfit back in early 2004, and again just recently, but they are just as active today (if not moreso), and still conning people into transferring their domain names into their control, simply down to their official looking letters.  Check out Nominet’s site for details of other current domain scams.

Do not be fooled, and if in doubt – contact NSDesign for any advise or questions before signing a cheque to a company tht you’ve never heard of!

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Yesterday’s press announcement from the Scottish Nationalist Government regarding moves to introduce a Top Level Domain (TLD) for Scotland, has sparked some lively debate.  Despite the fact that this is nothing new (similar proposals have been around for many years), finance secretary John Swinney is backing the campaign for the new “.sco” suffix which will see Scotland have it’s own domain space.

My own opinion to the question – “should we bother” is featured in today’s The Scotsman newspaper (p 24), but in short – I seriously question the value in the .sco domain, and can’t help thinking it’s being used by the politicians to push their own agendas, and not the interests of the companies trading online from Scotland.  Shortbread and whisky anyone?

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